Six Provincial Lives!

SIX PROVINICAL LIVES : MONDAY 9 MAY – FOX AMPHOUX near AUPS, PROVENCE, FRANCE

This morning we woke to the faint chirping of the birds outside and the light banging of strips of bamboo that hung outside the living room door to act as a fly deterrent.  I could peak through the shutters to see that it was a glorious spring day.  I couldn’t lie in bed too much longer, the first day of our provincial life had begun.  We were buried deep in the Provincial countryside.  Amazingly, the landscape reminded us exactly of the landscape in Australia, very similar to outback Australia actually.  The soil is very dry clay with many bare patches showing through the vegetation especially on the hilltops.  It was all very dry.  I had imagined a totally different landscape, one of rows and rows of lavender and vineyards.

First things first, we needed some breakfast.  Jack, Madi and I walked the 50m to our little corner shop and bar but unfortunately there were no croissants which we desired.  The lady told us to go to the Boulangerie nearby so we went back to get the car and I experienced my first driving experience on the opposite side, only about a kilometre round trip mind you.  The boulangerie was a little shop on the roadside built in front of a house.  As we opened the door, the little bell rang to alert the shopkeeper.  The smell was very welcoming, warm bread and pastries freshly cooked.  We asked for six chocolate croissants in French and I surprised myself (afterwards) that I had counted in my head in French as she was putting the six in the bag.

Looking left out of our house

Restaurant up the road

Back at the house, I sent Corky the 50 metres to the corner shop to buy some juice and then we set ourselves out in the sun around the pool and enjoyed our breakfast.  Sure enough, it didn’t last long, the kids were eager to drag all the equipment out of the garage to use; pool equipment, table tennis, balls, totem tennis, bikes etc.  While Corky set up umbrellas and the BBQ, Madi sunbaked and Sophie & Harry got ready for a swim, Jack and I took a bike each for a ride up around the corner to see what was beyond our little haven.  A couple of hundred metres in the distance, we could see a field with sheep and goats so we headed over there.  The spring lambs were as intrigued by us as we were by them.

Back at the house again, we lazed around the pool, the kids did some homework and we enjoyed relaxing in the fresh country air.  Nowhere to go, nothing to do, it is a glorious life.

Between 12-3pm France stops to eat!  At 3pm precisely we were in the town of Salernes and ready to do our Intermarche food shopping.  I love that if we wanted to, we can push an empty trolley in and come out with a box of cereal, pigs knuckles, a bottle of alcohol and a TV …. which of course we didn’t but hey, it’s there if we want to!  It is quite a fun experience as we all pick up things and analyse the packaging to make sure it is what we want.  I almost go into a lactose intolerant state when I come across the miles of cheeses on display and I just love that we could buy a 350g wheel of creamy camembert for only 1.68 Euros but what I really love is that I can buy a bottle of champagne for 1.84 Euros, cheaper than soft drink.  I just had to buy it to try it.  We also picked up a 12-pack of beer for 6.55 Euros.  The French definitely have their priorities sorted.  Pigs knuckles can wait thanks!

Once our car was stocked, we quickly returned to the haven of our rural provincial abode and shut our pale blue gates for an afternoon of serenity.  It was nice to be somewhere quiet and easy-living after the fast pace of Paris.  We have 4 weeks ahead of us to explore the surrounding areas but for now we were enjoying downtime after hotel rooms and continual travelling.

I went for an evening walk along the winding road that led from our house to seemingly nowhere, though I do know it is to somewhere because I have seen many signs previously pointing in that direction to other towns.  The sun was setting beautifully over the hills in the distance as I walked past a grand old house nestled amongst the fields with a dirt tree-lined driveway that led up to it.  Up ahead was a field of sheep and goats feeding on the long grass.  I would have loved to have taken a photo of these animals and the landscape because it was such a wonderful sight however often a photo doesn’t do justice because you can never capture the sounds and smells as well.  These definitely completed this perfect scene I was walking past.  Interspersed amongst the many sheep and lambs were goats that wore bells around their necks.  The bells weren’t the light tinkling sounds but the lovely deep clanging bell sound together with the occasional baa and chomping of grass.  Sheep and goats don’t normally entertain me however these ones were just another part of this beautiful provincial day in the Var.

Once I had walked as far as I thought was reasonable, I turned around and headed back.  I could only hear the goat bells and the occasional cicada in the grass.  Up ahead as the trees formed an arch over the road, above that I could see the hilltop town of Fox Amphoux.  Its terracotta houses and tiled roofs were sticking out of the surrounding trees and all basking in the last rays of sunshine as it perched on the hilltop.  We have nicknamed this hilltop town ‘Fox Heights’ because we are also staying in Fox Amphoux but down below on the flats.

View of Fox Amphoux

A BBQ for dinner, profiteroles for dessert and our day was complete.

TUESDAY 10 MAY – FOX AMPHOUX near AUPS, PROVENCE, FRANCE

We decided to venture out of our pale blue gates today but first Corky & Jack rode their bikes to the boulangerie for a couple of baguettes for our picnic lunch.  We decided to go to Lac De Saint Croix, a large crystal blue lake which is about 20 minutes drive away. This whole area we were going into is the Verdon, a natural regional park which gets its name from a river which has cut a spectacular passage through the rocky masses of the Prealps.  We wound up through the hills which formed one edge of The Gorges du Verdon (Grand Canyon of France).  The lake of Sainte-Croix is a 2208ha expanse of incredible turquoise water.  We found a perfect spot to have our picnic and for the kids to paddle on the edge of the lake, it was still a bit cold to go in properly. Unfortunately the ‘beach’ was all pebbles, so very uncomfortable to lie on, but we managed.  The view from our spot was amazing, across the turquoise water and up to the incredible backdrop of the bare mountains. 

Lac De St Croix

We finally packed up and drove further around the lake coming across a bridge that gave us an incredible view down into the canyon where canoers were enjoying a paddle around.  Only 7km from the lake was a town called Moustiers St. Croix, we were told this would be worth seeing and it definitely was.  Ca vaut le voyage.  It’s worth the trip.  The town has been listed as one of France’s most beautiful towns and has been built on the side of searing cliff faces.  The road into the centre of the town wound precariously around the lower cliff taking you up into the centre of the town which seemed to have been built around a bridge that also seemed to precariously cling to either sides of a narrow gorge as a torrent of water from the mountains stormed below it.  To look over the edge into the raging river gave you a sense of vertigo.  We clung to the railing and admired the view.  The town seemed to climb up and around this central bridge and up above on a precipice of rock sticking out, the town church sat overlooking the town and the surrounding countryside.  But even further above that, strung between two cliff edges at the highest points, was a star that was hung on a 225m chain, this star was so high and seemed to shine down on the village.  The star is called Cadeno de Moustie.  It was put there by a knight of the local Blacas family and comes from his coat of arms.  The original star was stolen in the Wars of Religion and it wasn’t replaced until 1957.

There were so many little restaurants and shops in every nook and cranny but you had a permanent feeling that you were teetering continuously on the edge of the cliffs.  Not a good town for someone affected with vertigo or needing a sense of open space but certainly a town for those who love the beauty it offers and sense of the beautiful Provincial life.  I loved it and we decided we would definitely return for lunch one day.

Back home, we brought out the cheese and crackers and I decided it was time to try the 1.84 Euro champagne.  It was fab!  A lovely light rose champagne that perfectly suited the lovely balmy evening by the pool.  Gee, I might even stretch myself and get a case next time!  I am still amazed that I can buy, what I feel is a perfectly fine bottle of Champagne, for less than Corky’s bottle of coke.  This lifestyle could work for me, cheese and champagne for a collective total of 3.52 Euros.

WEDNESDAY 11 MAY – FOX AMPHOUX near AUPS, PROVENCE, FRANCE

Late morning we headed into Aups to get some baguettes for lunch, check our emails because we don’t have access in the villa and to see the weekly Aups market.  I have been very excited about visiting the markets throughout provincial France and we were on our way.  Surprisingly we managed to get a park quite easily and then we wandered down through the narrow winding street looking at the various shops until we got to the market place.  Amazingly the night before it was quite deserted, with a few people at the nearby café/bar enjoying a drink, some old people sitting on a park bench and some kids playing in the square.  This morning however, it was a hive of activity with many stalls set up under the shade of the huge plane trees that sheltered the square.  Before we had a wander through the markets, we went to the street-side bar where we knew we could get internet access (with a beer) and we checked our emails.  Other people were gathering around enjoying a drink or some lunch, several with their cute little dogs on their laps.  It was such a village atmosphere.  Once satisfied with receiving and sending our communication to the outside world, we wandered down through the markets which were unfortunately starting to pack up (1pm).  Never mind, they are on each week and I am sure we will be back.  We did however get to glance at a few stalls and it seemed the main objects for sale were hats, clothes, fruit and vegetables and of course the cheese and meat stalls.  This one I loved the most, looking at and smelling all the various cheeses, goat (chevre) and sheep, from the various regions.  The sight of them temporarily satisfied me as much as if I were consuming them.

Town of Aups

Receiving our daily bread!

Walking down the street of Aups

Back home Corky cooked some kebabs on the BBQ, the kids had a swim and I continued reading Peter Mayle’s ‘Bon Appetit!’ which was on the bookshelf in the villa when we arrived.  It is about Peter’s gastronomic travels through France, highly appropriate I thought.

This afternoon we decided to head over to Draguignan which is the capital of the Var Region to try to sort out our lack of internet problem.  We didn’t have internet access at the villa so we either had to go to the bar in Aups to get access (after buying a drink and only getting 30 minutes worth) or we had to try and get a SIM card.  Draguignan is about 40 minutes from where we are staying and towards the Cote D’Azur.  We couldn’t get the SIM card organised but we had a nice drive there and saw a bit of the large town.

THURSDAY 12 MAY – FOX AMPHOUX near AUPS, PROVENCE, FRANCE

Back into Aups this morning to sort out some more computer business and to pick up some baguettes and then back to the villa for lunch.  Off for another drive to discover more of Provence this afternoon.  Only 11km from our villa is a glorious town called Cotignac, set just below steep tufa cliff faces and down into the valley.  We fell immediately in love with this town and decided to ‘ditch’ our local town of Aups (12km from us) in favour of this becoming our ‘new local town’ – closer at 11km away.  In former times, these tufa cliffs were hollowed out for wine cellars, stables and homes and you can go up to explore them if you like but it looked too precarious for 4 young children so we gave it a miss.  We wandered the narrow laneways waiting for the shops to re-open after their ‘lunch’ and stopped in the town centre for an ice-cream (yummy white hot chocolate drink for me).  The shops were fabulous with gorgeous French items and everyone was so friendly and welcoming.  We will definitely be back often. 

Village of Cotignac

Cliffs of Cotignac

Main square (rectangle) of Cotignac

On the way back to our villa we went via another lovely town called Entrecasteaux which is a small village with a huge Chateau overlooking it – another place we will come back to explore further but for now the sun was setting and it was time to get home for dinner.

Chateau in Entrecasteaux

Houses in Entrecasteaux

FRIDAY 13 MAY – FOX AMPHOUX near COTIGNAC, PROVENCE, FRANCE

We headed left out of our villa today for the first time.  We were off to Quinson for a look around and a picnic lunch today.  Quinson is only about 15 minutes away and just over the border into the Department des Alpes de Haute-Provence.  There is a lovely lake that feeds from the mountains and plenty of boats and canoes to hire.  We found a nice spot to have our picnic, swans included.

Bridge over river in Quinson

We headed back into Aups to get some food for dinner but dropped into the Tourist Office first.  We needed to research the fast train (TGV) to Disneyland Paris where we are going in a couple of weeks since we didn’t have the time when we were in Paris last week.  In the market square there was a fete so the kids had a go on the few of the rides and won a few prizes on the games.  Back at home we all had a big cook-up in the kitchen together for dinner.

PARIS 3-8 May

What joie de vivre to be in Paris.  We asked the kids which place they were most excited about visiting and they all had said Paris.  We were staying in an apartment in the 2^nd arrondissement.  To enter the apartment you had to use a code to go through a little door within a large door and that took you into a courtyard.  At the end of the courtyard was the staircase that took us up to our apartment which was on the 5^th floor, unfortunately no lift but we got our daily warm-up each morning coming down and last work out for the day each evening.  The apartment wasn’t large but certainly adequate for us with windows looking out one side into the courtyard below and the other side down to the street.  Unfortunately being such an old building and being on the top floor, the water pressure was terrible, barely a trickle out of the bathroom tap but it wasn’t too bad.  There were 3 sleeping areas with access to upstairs through the main bedroom via a curvy staircase in which you had to duck half way up otherwise you would hit your head.  At night you could look out the window upstairs and see the bright ‘search’ light of the Eiffel Tower shining around Paris.  The shutters on the windows were old wooden ones with appropriately French peeling paint that you swung open in the morning to let the light in.  The only thing that stopped you falling out the window was an old antique style ornate railing, so, with 4 kids and being on the 5^th floor, we didn’t open the windows.

Our apartment

Our front door

Staircase leading to our apartment

Unfortunately after battling to grab a fabulous ‘payant’ carspot, during the day you could only park there for 2 hours at a time however from 7pm – 9am it was free to park there all night.  So, each morning we either had to be out to take the car at 9am or put money in the meter for up to 2 hours.  We knew each day would be a long day so we put money in the meter and took our time leaving in the morning.  Wherever we went, we had to take the car which suited us because then we had access to anywhere in Paris without having to battle public transport and also it was handy with the kids. Besides, Corky quite enjoyed driving the streets of Paris and believing he was a rally car driver.  I loved finding a radio station that played beautiful French music as we explored the arrondissements and sites of this beautiful city.

Our first morning we decided to head straight out to the Palace of Versailles.  As we left the city, we could see behind us the Eiffel Tower proudly displayed on the skyline, we still hadn’t been close to it yet so it was quite a novelty to sight it.  We found a park quite easily at Versailles which we were excited about because already we were quite weary about the difficulties of finding a park especially with the size of car we were driving.  Since we hadn’t had the chance to get breakfast, we wandered the streets first and found a lovely café to sit at for our breakfast/lunch, brunch I guess.  We just had to sit out on the sidewalk, that was all I wanted to do in Paris, sit on the sidewalk and watch the world go by.  Oh so Parisian!  We headed up to the Palace and we shocked at how long the queue was to get in.  It wound from the ticket office at the gates down the courtyard which was about 100m long and back up again … and down again and back up again.  It would take minimum an hour to get to the ticket box we estimated so we made do and took some photos out the front of the gate and set off back to Paris.  I would have been way too hot in the midday sun to stand for an hour with the kids.

We were going to save going up the Eiffel Tower for my birthday however we couldn’t wait another couple of days so today was going to be the day.  Once again, the parking gods were on our side and we got a great spot right near the tower.  If anyone has driven and parked in Paris, they would appreciate our excitement of getting a park in the city, especially with the size of car we had.  It really was a highlight of our day when we got a great park!  There was always a collective cheer.

After the obligatory photos next to, in front of, pretending to hold it in your hand, scenic, artistic shots of the Eiffel Tower, we joined the queue (another thing we would have to learn to tolerate in Paris) to get the lift to the top of the tower.  We didn’t mind this queue so much because everywhere we looked was this enormous structure to admire.  After about 45 minutes we boarded the first of the lifts to take us to the first level.  The view from this level was superb though we knew it would be even better further up so yet again we joined another queue to board the next lift to the top of the tower.  The ride up in this lift was a bit nerve racking especially since we could see out and how far we were going.  Once at the top though, the view was incredible, as far as the eye could see in every direction and also we could pinpoint all the landmarks that makes Paris so wonderful.   Once again, the few obligatory photos and then back into another queue to go down to the 2^nd level before getting the lift to the bottom.  All up we spent 90% of our time in queues but the time seemed to fly with such a wonderful vista surrounding us.  We went for a walk along the Seine up to Princess Diana’s memorial above the tunnel she died in.  There wasn’t much of a memorial for her but people had left flowers and notes due to Prince William’s wedding a few days prior.

We meandered back along the river enjoying the sites, sounds and ambience.  It certainly is a busy city, I can’t really remember much from the last couple of times I visited because I was in my 20’s when I was last here and so was Craig.  We did notice the abundance of security and police patrolling the area, in particular the French army with machines guns at the ready, patrolling in trios.  The kids enjoyed waving off the bridges at the many cruise boats going underneath and we saw a Masterchef boat going by with the film crew hard at work capturing the chefs.

Our 2^nd lot of 2 hour parking ticket was almost up, so we had to get back to the car and just as well because it was just expiring as we got there and several cars up were the parking police.  We headed back to our apartment to secure a park for the night (free from 7pm) and head out to dinner.  Once again excitement reigned when we snatched up a spot nearby in reasonably good time without having to circuit our area for too long.  We headed to the Hard Rock for dinner (that’s the thing with young kids, you really need to cater for them too so not all our dining experiences were lingering front row café style ones).  We found that since the sun didn’t set till between 9.30-10pm, we were eating quite late but that too is the French way of life and it just meant we could linger the next morning too.  We wandered home after dinner enjoying the evening crowd and bright lights …. Ahhh joie de vivre!

A lovely sleep in, a throw-open of the decrepit shutters and another day in Paris had dawned (well maybe several hours ago).  Today we lingered a bit longer and watched a movie while we took time out from what will be another busy, bustley day in Paris.  Off to the Louvre to see the most famous lady painted in history but first we needed breakfast.  Once we had secured our van in an underground carpark that was like gold to us despite our antenna scraping the whole way down, we headed to a nearby patisserie where I practiced my schoolgirl french and ordered some pastries and hot chocolates for us, the kids looked at me with wide bewildered eyes (and I think the lady behind the counter did too but we managed to get exactly what I had ordered thank goodness).   As I was taking a photo of the family eating their brekky in the shop, an old man wanted to get out but Harry was in his way so he just used his bagette to shove him aside.  I had always wondered if there was another use for a bagette since they were so popular.

Just as well as got breakfast in because it was time for another queue; backdrop the incredible glass pyramid of the Louvre (though it just reminded me of the Da Vinci Code movie).  Once inside, we made our way to the Mona Lisa, via the Venus De Milo statue.  Soon enough, we spotted the crowd and realised that we had come across the famous painting.  Yes, another queue but unfortunately this one was disorderly rather than orderly.  Unfortunately I was more focused on the kids not getting crushed and finding a small gap to squeeze us closer to the barrier than actually standing and appreciating the magnificence of what lay in front of me.  Once we had taken the necessary photos and made sure the kids had had a proper look, we squeezed ourselves out of the crowd, did a head count of 1 to 4 to make sure we had the kids and the right ones too, and went to explore other areas of this enormous museum.  We marvelled out the front for a while and let the kids wiggle their fingers in the fountains and then headed over to the park for a bagette in the sun with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop.  Couldn’t get much better.

A very lazy morning today, more so than other day, maybe also because I was another year older today (but where else would you want to be on your birthday?)  The funniest thing happened this morning though.  As per every other morning, Corky goes down to put money into the meter because after 9am you have to pay to park.  Today however our car had been moved forward.  There were some building works that were going on in the side street which we were parked in front of and clearly early this morning they needed more room so they, somehow, managed to move our car about a meter forward.  It was quite amusing and mysterious to us and we could imagine that several burly construction workers moved it out of the way. 

At lunchtime we headed out and up to Montmartre to see the Sacre De Coeur.  Once we had parked, we found a little place for some baguettes and then had a wander around the Sacre De Coeur and its view of Paris.  Back down into Paris and we spent too much time searching for a carpark over near the Notre Dame and Left Bank that we eventually gave up and went down to the Champs Elysee for a wander, drink in one of the sidewalk cafés, look around the shops and up at the Arc De Triomphe and then for dinner at a sidewalk restaurant.  It is great to people watch from here.  After dinner we drove over to get a perfect position at 10pm for the light show on the Eiffel Tower which lasted for 5 minutes.  It was spectacular.

Our last day in Paris today.  We managed to get a park over at the Left Bank where we then walked along and looked at all the stalls on the edge of the river.  This led us up to the Notre Dame and the kids had a play in a sandpit by the river.  The bridge we crossed over we aptly named ‘The Love Bridge’ because all along the railing on one side were thousands of padlocks locked onto the wire of the railing.  Each padlock had a couples names on it and often a date too.  It became obvious that couples came here and ‘locked’ their love onto the railing and then threw the keys into the river below.  This obviously created the ‘lock of love’ for life.  We saw one couple put theirs on, have a kiss and throw the keys into the river.  Their padlock had engraved on it their names and ‘Honeymoon Paris May 2011’.  Very romantic!  Back to our apartment and out for our last dinner.

Padlock Bridge

Off to Provence next .... x