The French village where I have lived for the last eighteen years.
(Today under each photo and text, I have included a link to a site or subject that you might find interesting about France. To see more click on the highlighted links provided.)
Before living in this French village my family and I lived in Marseilles and before that we lived in Paris.
Though out of the twenty five years I have lived in France; this is the place I have called home the longest.
(My friend Karen's blog talked about summers in France.)
The French boulangerie (bakery) with a wood burning oven is around the corner from where I live.
The French baguettes,
(Want to take cooking lesson in Provence? Ask my friend Karen)
…and French pastries tempt me everyday.
The maisons (houses) are often painted in eye candy colors. The village dates several hundred years old.
(Want to take an art classes in France, ask my friends the Vieths.)
French laundry. Well some of it at least.
(Want to learn more about Provence, have a question to ask? Check out: Provence Post.)
You can read part of a person's life by French window shutters.
Chances are that if they are closed it is because the person is not home, or that the afternoon sun in too hot, or it is bedtime. . or they have moved. Otherwise the shutters are opened
There are sixteen fountains in the village where I live.
This is my neighbor's car and I want it.
The Mediterranean is twenty minutes away. The French Rivera a hop skip and a splash. The best bit about our village there are over twenty plus brocantes (antique fairs) every weekend within a half of a hour's drive.
The door that leads to my friend's home right around the corner from where I live.
As there is hardly any parking in our village center, walking is the easiest way to travel. It takes me as long to walk to her house as it does to walk to my car.
(My friend Kit has the best recipes, home and family that always feeds the soul.)
Most French villages are circular in design. The church or city hall being in the center.
(If you are looking for sewing inspiration ask my friend Jill.)
In the south, the Provencal region of France, the shutters are often pastel color, with red tile roofs, called "tuiles". There is also a thin sugar cookis called a tuile, which is shaped like the roof tiles. They are served with ice cream.
In fact everything we need is in walking distance. That is the luxury of living in a small French village: You never have to use your car for the basic needs of running a household.
The grocer, the doctor, the post office, the church, the bar (like how I put church and bar next to each other?) the bakery, the hardware store, the bank, the gift shop, the pharmacy…. all within five minutes on foot.
When you live in the village center you can hear the church bells, and the children palying at recess.
I also hear our neighbor's chickens. It doesn't bother me…. but if they bring in a rooster I might consider eating chicken.
(Looking for some good books to read about Provence:)
Though it takes more than five minutes to walk anywhere when you live in a French village because, one runs into everyone and their dog. Two kisses, and "Ca-va?" Takes time, and that is an extra plus.
(A list of the top French films… or at least this site says so…)
Since garage sales are not allowed there is a bi-annual brocante in our village, like there is in every village in France. But there isn't a Brocante shop… and that is a downright sad, real sad. But even more sad is that my family and YOU do not live nearby…
Ah if only you, my family, and the brocante were in my village, it would be perfect.
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Want to shop the brocante online…
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