A week in Provence

I am on a balcony, overlooking a 14th century village in the South of France. It's a place called Mirabel-aux-Baronnies and it's delightful. My son and I are visiting one of my greatest friends and her two sons, and we're having a fantastic time.

We took a morning train out of Gare de Lyon and even though I love Paris, and am enjoying every minute of my life there, I was glad as the train left the station and the view of apartment complexes and warehouses changed into views of fields, sheep, and the French countryside.

It's been 19 years since I last came to this part of the world, and even though that is a long time, I immediately remembered why I love this place so much. I love the golden light upon the arid soil, the blue and lavender window shutters, the terracotta flower pots housing ruby red geraniums, the taste of olive oil so good you can drink it, and the wine. Oh, the wine.

blog-writting set-up

mirabel-aux-baronnies, provence

So what am I eating in this corner of lavender, olive oil, and wine heaven, you ask? FRUIT! Fruit that I pick with my own two hands from the family orchard. Cherries, apricots, white peaches, and I have my eye on a fig that should be ready by tomorrow - if the bees don't get to it first, that is.

my son in the orchard, between olive trees and grape vines

an apricot. it's not perfect like the pesticide-injected variety, but it's real and pure 

I'm a total city slicker, but I think I inherited traits from my mother's German woman-of-the-earth ancestry. As I pick a cherry and put it in my mouth, I think about how real it all is. How pure and perfect.

Yesterday we drove to the lavender fields. Even though they're not quite in full bloom, they were breathtaking. Today I bought lavender salt and lavender sugar. I've been told that the lavender salt goes beautifully with lamb. I'll try it, and tell you how it goes.

Time and light have different effects here in Provence. Days go by in sleepy towns and the sun has a special hold on this corner of the world. At the end of the day here, I feel relaxed, content, and inspired. This place did inspire some of the most important artists of all time, after all...Here is the next generation: