OUR FORAY INTO PROVENCE REAL ESTATE CONTINUES WITH A SHEEPFOLD, A PARKING SPACE, A COURTYARD, AND A CAVE

Posted on May 18, 2014December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

This is the second in a series of posts about buying, renting, and selling our property in Provence. Please note that, our homes, christened La Bonbonnière and L’Oustaloun, were purchased by a lovely family who continues to rent them both—for more information about these vacation homes as well as others, visit www.RentOurHomeInProvence.com It was beginning to feel like Monopoly—do we buy Park Place so we can build on Boardwalk? I hoped one of us had a “GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD” card. ...

FALLING IN LOVE WITH A VILLAGE IN PROVENCE AND TAKING THE LEAP TO BUY A HOME

Posted on May 4, 2014November 27, 2015 by Susan Manfull

This is the first in a series of posts about buying, renting, and selling our property in Provence. It is an abbreviated version—really, Mom, it is—and a few of the names were changed. (If you want to hear the long version, you’ll have to invest in a gastronomic dinner and some very nice wine.) Please note that, our homes, christened La Bonbonnière and L’Oustaloun, were purchased by a lovely family who continues to rent them both—for more information about these vacation homes as well as ot...

PROVENCE CHRISTMAS MARKETS: LOURMARIN’S MARCHÉ DE NOËL IS DELIGHTFUL

Posted on November 18, 2013January 23, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Although lavender, poppies, and leisurely lunches with rosé at poolside tables are the typical draw to Provence, Christmas Markets—Les Marchés de Noël—are another wonderful reason to visit this region. Okay, it is cold but the sun is bright, the relaxed pace prevails, and the spirit of Christmas warms your heart. The Christmas markets of Alsace are the most famous in France and probably the most authentic since that region neighbors Germany where such markets are thought to have originated wa...

VAUGINES MAY NOT BE IN TOUR BOOKS BUT IT RATES HIGH WITH ME…AND PETER MAYLE

Posted on September 30, 2013December 29, 2015 by Susan Manfull

I never met Peter Mayle when he was living in Lourmarin—despite sharing a few friends, an affinity for Café Gaby, and a fondness for Château Constantin Chevalier rosé. I still harbor the hope that someday I may have the pleasure of his acquaintance even though, about two years ago, Mayle and his wife Jennie moved from their home in Lourmarin to the neighboring village of Vaugines. Ah, but that tiny village is just a few kilometers from Lourmarin and happens to be one of my favorite Luberon villa...

FIGS IN PROVENCE: A CAUSE FOR SLEUTHING, CELEBRATION, AND A LINGERIE SHOW

Posted on August 11, 2013January 3, 2016 by Susan Manfull

The luscious fig—its sweet flesh accented by crunchy seeds and enveloped by a deep purple skin—will soon reach perfection in Provence, arousing passions that border on obsession in folks who live in this part of the world. A cause for sleuthing, celebration, and, in Solliès-Pont, a lingerie fashion show that’s part of a three-day festival devoted to a particular variety of fig. I am a lover of figs—plain; wrapped in jambon de Parme; topped with chêvre or with Fourme d’Ambert cheese and a doll...

A NICE TIME TO BE IN NICE: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MUSÉE MATISSE!

Posted on July 21, 2013December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Nice was where we first touched down in the South of France. We were on our way to Aix-en-Provence and then, to our final destination, Lourmarin. We had a direct flight from Boston to this city, known as the capital of the French Riviera—so the itinerary was practical—but, really, who doesn’t want to delight in the beauty of the Cours Saleva Flower Market; walk along the famous Promenade des Anglais; and visit the iconic Negresco Hotel whose guest list has included such luminaries as Pablo Picas...

A DOG’S REFLECTIONS ON PROVENCE

Posted on July 14, 2013November 27, 2015 by Susan Manfull

I had a village house in Lourmarin, at the foot of the Luberon Mountains. Okay, I took some liberties with Karen Blixen’s opening sentence of her famous book, “Out of Africa.” My apologies, but like the young Ms. Blixen who moved from Denmark to Kenya, I, a beagle just barely past my first birthday, made a major move from the United States to France. Like Ms. Blixen, I left a piece of my heart in another country and, like Ms. Blixen, my view of life was forever altered. For different reasons,...

LE QUARTORZE JUILLET: CELEBRATING BASTILLE DAY

Posted on July 6, 2013January 4, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Le Quartorze Juillet, also known as La Fête Nationale or, especially in English-speaking countries, simply Bastille Day, is next Sunday. July 14th is a French national holiday that marks the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille (prison) in 1789 and the symbolic birth of modern France. To learn more about the history of this fête nationale, please see an earlier TMT post. If you are lucky enough to be in France as you read this post, it will not be difficult to find a place to celebrate ...

TUESDAYS IN PROVENCE : OH THE STRESS OF WHICH MARKET TO VISIT

Posted on June 23, 2013January 23, 2016 by Susan Manfull

It’s Tuesday morning in Lourmarin and, as I drink my grand crème at Café Gaby, soaking up the morning sun and watching the passers-by, I feel pressure mounting. Our empty baskets rest on the chairs next to us and our shopping list—loosely composed so that what I find at the market can guide my ultimate selections—sits on the table. Which market shall we head toward this morning? There are so many markets from which to choose. Stress in Provence? Yup….but, oh to have such stress. Every day is ...

THE CITROËN 2CV: I LOVE THAT TIN SNAIL

Posted on June 9, 2013January 4, 2016 by Susan Manfull

I always wanted a Deux Chevaux. I first saw that much beloved French car when I first visited Paris in 1972. I remember thinking that something that funny looking must have been a model car project gone terribly awry. A sardine tin on wheels. But there were so many...partout. My grandfather, with whom I was traveling, along with my grandmother, had a certain fondness for the car, an affinity that should not have surprised me since he and my grandmother had owned one of the first Corvairs and...