I wish I had time…

I wish I had time to..... lack of time is usually what keeps us from doing something we would love to try.  I always wanted to take some type of art course, but never seemed to have enough time to myself to do it.  This year abroad gave me the opportunity to finally do it.  I started my first course in September, every Thursday morning and it really felt like a treat.  

Held in a tiny atelier "artist's workshop" with mainly retirees who have all been taking art for several years it was nothing fancy. The ambience was authentic and I really found myself absorbed in the classes and was surprised how quickly each class flew by. The teacher, Maurice was always patient and did a great job in educating me not only in the techniques of drawing, watercolor, encre de Chine and acrylic but also in art history. 

It was a little intimidating at first given the quality of work the others ended up with, but everyone was so encouraging and ready to offer their advice on how to improve.  After a few months my work was slowly starting to improve and I enjoyed coming home and seeing the reaction from Sal and the kids.

By January, I had enrolled in another painting course and decided to try my hand at sculpting and was now busy doing my courses 3 mornings per week.  The courses were all different, with some teachers better than others, but I enjoyed the diversity and looked forward to all of them. The welcome from the teachers and other students was always warm. They seemed happy to have me there and took an interest in what I was doing. 

I realized that art is like everything else, it takes time and practice to develop and improve. For me the classes were not just about the finished product. It was a great way to be absorbed in the process and to be immersed in French. I enjoyed listening to the French music playing in the background and listening to others speak French and believe my French improved as a result. 

The courses are all finished for the summer break, my paintings and sculptures are packed up and ready to take home. I couldn't help but feel sad when it was over and feel envious when they all re registered for the fall courses. I am not sure if I will continue with art when we get back. 

Somehow I think work and schedules will get in the way and the ambience will be irreplaceable.  I will however look at my work with fondness and it serves as a great reminder of the enriching experience I had. I will certainly miss the freedom I felt doing it, when time constraints were not a factor.
  
Nancy

Hiking

Eyes closed, face tilted up towards the warm sun, the mountain air offers a comforting breeze as I sit quietly listening. The sounds of birds and marmots off in the distance and the soothing sound of rushing water cascading down over a bed of rocks delight my ears.

Whats so nice about this mom?

I purposely fall behind the others and take a moment to absorb the grace and beauty of my surroundings and enjoy the moment. Butterflies dance effortlessly from flower to flower across a meadow providing balance and gentle softness to the rugged and imposing yet majestic mountains. Mother nature is at her best. What a feeling! 

Look at those cute guys....
oh those are our dads!!

Nancy and I have fond memories of some hiking we did in the Canadian Rockies before the girls arrived. Apart from a short outing along the Cabot Trail a few years back the girls have never been hiking. Avid hikers, Laurent and Tania invited us to join them and their girls, Fanny and Charlotte, for two days of hiking in the heart of Mercantour National Park about 2 hours north of Nice.

Fanny and Simona are classmates and Fanny has become one of Simona's closest friends here in France. Thankfully, Charlotte and Madeleine are the same age and seem to get along. Laurent happens to be the dad I said 'ola' to in my 'How Embarrassing' post back in February and we are grateful for their friendship. 

Hameau de Bousieyas

Happy to just tag along, we left the details to Laurent and Tania who booked rooms at La Cle du Vert Eden, an authentically rustic bed and breakfast located in the hamlet of Bousieyas. With only 4 or 5 buildings, Bousieyas is located at an elevation of about 1800 meters and is uninhabited except for the summer months. 

Now this is my speed

We dropped off our overnight bags at La Cle and set out around 11am yesterday hiking to Col de Colombiere which provided a sweeping view of the valley below. Luckily, hiking with other children ensured that all the kids were distracted and entertained and the complaints of 'I'm tired' or 'this is difficult' were minimized.

Facial anyone?

Charlotte and Madeleine amused themselves by covering their hands and faces with clay, while the older more 'mature' sisters were happy to simply lose themselves discussing whatever 12 year old girls consider important. 

Easy peasy

Clear skies gave way to dark clouds and strong winds and our leisurely lunch at 2100 meters didn't quite have the feeling we were anticipating so we ate quickly and made our way back down to La Cle. 

After yesterday’s long hike and climb, we opted for a less ambitious outing, driving to the mountain village of St-Dalmas-le-Selvage, hiking for about an hour to sit and bask in the sun in front of a waterfall. We then stumbled upon the most beautiful meadow filled with flowers of every hue which offered the perfect setting to enjoy lunch in the mountain air. Cognizant of our impending departure, Nancy and I sat silently knowing what the other was thinking and wishing the moment could last forever.

Sal

Just like skiing

Not sure I like this hiking stuff Simona

Sharing lunch

Laurent and Charlotte

'Wherever the car takes us'

I came home from school last Wednesday to find out that we were going for a long boring drive to "wherever the car takes us" as dad likes to say.  At the beginning of the year we took a two hour drive along the "bord de mer" that my sister and I did not enjoy.  I wasn't really looking forward to taking another drive, and I just wanted to stay home and shop.  

The sun was shining and the sky was blue so we decided to take a beach bag just in case... After about 40 minutes of driving and looking out at the beautiful coast with big red jagged rocks leaning out over the ocean, I had to admit, I was starting to enjoy it; but just a little.  Just past Cannes, we were headed to Frejus/San Raphael.   

We drove by many small beaches that were barely big enough for a few dozen people.  We decided to stop and go down to a beach seeing that we were all hot and that the beach looked so welcoming.  As we made our way over to the stairs heading down to the beach, dad noticed something that gave us all second thoughts about going down there...all the men and women on the beach were nude.

Sadly, my sister and I walked back to the car, being reassured by mom and dad that there would be other beaches we would find. In no time we were all out of the car again, with beach bags in hand making our way down to another small beach hidden behind some big red rocks. Madeleine and I immediately jumped into the water with dad tagging along.

Maddy and dad decided to leave me and mom on the main beach and go behind some rocks to see what they could find...perhaps dinner? Maddy excitedly shouted showing dad and I a little sea snail she had found. In no time the three of us were filling up a bucket with dinner. We found sea snails and other shell fish that were stuck to the rocks, and dad found a strange looking shellfish with black spikes on the outside. 

When we got home Madeleine and I helped dad make spaghetti with shellfish. Although it wasn't as tasty as we had hoped, we had a lot of fun looking for dinner on our 'boring drive'.

Simona

Keep cycling dad!!  The belly's still there

Driving in Provence

The beauty of Gordes

Sun makes all the difference and while we did have some good stretches of clear sky and sun, the kids didn't quite make it into the pool at Le Medievale. Instead of the sun-soaked Provence we had read about and were hoping for, we crisscrossed our way daily, visiting a rain-drenched Provence. If only I had a nickel for every time a local told us 'il ne pleut jamais come ca en Provence'. I now know how the Quarins felt when we told them it never rains like this in Nice when they came to visit back in March. 

Winery in Chateauneuf du Pape

Rain or shine, we set out each morning in a different direction guided mostly by where local markets were being held. The kids would ask 'where are we going today' and I would respond 'who knows, wherever the car decides to take us'. And after 5 days and hundreds of kilometers later we visited much of Provence hitting all of the highlights and then some.

No description needed!!

From Avignon, to Carpentras, Apt and Gordes, Bonnieux to L'Isle-sur-la Sorgues, Roussillon, Fontaine de Vaucluse to Chateauneuf du Pape and countless villages in between we weaved our way through the area stopping in to stroll the streets, visit the markets, sit at cafes and enjoy some wine.  

The brilliance of Roussillon

While each town provided something different (as well as the countless gift shops all offering more or less the same things) the view of Gordes on the road into town along with the brilliant tapestry and range of colours of the rock formations of the ochre mines of Roussillon stood out. We visited Roussillon twice but were unable to take the one hour walk through the 'sentier de ochre' due to thunderstorms and heavy rain each visit. The deep red, golden yellow and burnt orange of the ochre rock formations were fascinating and worth going back for. 

Helping ourselves to
some cherries

For me the highlight of Provence however, was the driving. Each kilometer seemed to bring something new to tantalize the eyes. The vibrant red of plump cherries bursting from trees, the bright green of vineyards all lined up with such precision for as far as the eye can see, the brilliance of the yellow ginestre flower in full bloom and the silvery blue and green olive trees dotting le paysage made the drive enjoyable.

Canopy of the chene

Fields of flowering poppies and rows of early blooming lavender provided perfect opportunities to pull over and snap a few photos. I loved zipping through narrow country roads under a canopy of century old speckled chene trees or between stone fences lining the perimeter of country estates. There was always something just around the bend or in the distance to catch our attention or evoke a comment.


Sal

Looking down upon the
Abbey of  Senanque in Gordes

Elegance of the Abbey courtyard

Market Day

One of the things I enjoy most about living here is the wide  selection of open air markets. The South  of France with it's abundant sunshine and warm weather provides all the elements  needed to grow great fruit and vegetables. It has  been a real luxury to be able to casually stroll through the many markets we have visited, not only to buy produce, but also to enjoy the great ambience. It certainly beats shopping at any  supermarket back home and I will really miss it.

Just having spent 5 days in the Provence countryside, we had an opportunity to visit some great markets.  Each town in the area has it's market day, which is a real event  and they are all different. The markets we visited in the towns of Apt and Carpentras seemed to take over the entire centre of the town on market day.

On Saturday morning, market day in Apt, the town is bustling so much so that we have no choice but to park about 2km from the centre and walk to the market.  Many locals are heading to the market with straw baskets in hand.  I can't help but stop at the linen stands.  I love the bright provencale blue and yellow tablecloths and the wide selection of bedspreads. I buy a few things but wish I could take a lot more home with me. We stop at a stand to sample some lavender honey and in Provence all things lavender abound. As we take our time browsing, we pass a square with lively street entertainers singing and dancing in the morning sunshine.

There is no shortage of snacks for the hungry shopper, the pizza, oriental food and rotisserie chicken trucks make an appearance. Several cheese producers offer a variety of cheeses and we can’t help but stop to sample and buy a few different types of chevre. We stop at stand selling local salami, sausages and ham and each get a small panino eating as we continue along.  I pass a stand with fresh Italian pasta and notice a group of American women amazed by the selection, but also sense their confusion. I help explain to them what the different types are and they are very grateful and happy as they purchase some for their evening dinner.

Simona and Madeleine like to wander through the racks of clothing, but aren't convinced enough to buy anything.  We stroll through the produce stands, but decide to hold off on buying any until we get to the farmer's market in the town of Valleron, a 5 min drive from where we are staying.  We stop for coffee at Cafe Louvre in the square overlooking the market stands, when we decide we've had enough.  What a great way to spend a Saturday morning. 

The daily farmers market in Valleron seems to be the most authentic country farmer's market we have seen. Each day between 6 -7:30 pm, local farmers sell their days' harvest. We stock up on cherries, plump strawberries and sweet smelling peaches, apricots and cantaloupes.  We are happy to be able to eat such fresh fruit in early June and quickly become loaded down.  We make several trips to the car before we are finally done. We pick up a large bunch of white asparagus, apparently the only type grown in this area, wonderful looking aubergines, green beans and zucchini complete with their flowers. It may be a challenge to take all this produce back to Nice, but it all looks so tempting, we can't resist.

Although I love wandering through the Cours Salaya market in Nice, it is touristy, especially at this time of the year, expensive and doesn't have the same great selection.  I would gladly trade in my supermarket back home however, to be able to shop in Cours Salaya especially in our cold winter months.
Nancy