Holy Water Fonts

We're here in Goult at La Treille, my favorite B & B. Dani and Michel have a lovely 19th century house furnished with a tasteful combination of modern and vintage furniture. There's a huge china hutch in the dining area that displays Dani's beautiful Provencal dishes. She also has a large collection of doll-size santons. But my favorite thing decorating the Marsat house is this collection of holy water fonts. I blogged about a particularly pretty one on Dona Nobis Pacem. I'm intrigued by their delicacy and their symbolic meaning. Three of them hold old rosaries. My French wasn't good enough to ask Michel about them...were they family heirlooms? did the rosaries belong to special people? So, that's an incentive to become more fluent. I'd love to hear their stories when I go back to Goult.

Today I made arrangements with an American woman living in Provence to buy a font from her antique/brocante business. I'm beginning my own collection! She visited my blog, I visited her website, and soon I'll be the proud owner of a 19th century piece of Provence. It should arrive the end of the month, and I'll make sure I do a blog posting on it complete with a picture. For now, know that these pretty antiques are my # 7 favorite things about Paris and Provence.

Sainte Chapelle

One definition of a favorite thing is that it is a place or an experience you would repeat over and over because it gives so much pleasure. Ste. Chapelle is just such a place. I would visit it again and again to experience that moment of breath-taking awe I feel when I reach the top of the narrow stone spiral stairs that lead to the chapel. "Oh my God!" I whisper as I remind myself that I need to keep moving into the room; there are others behind me on the stairs. Staring with mouth open at the magnificent stained glass windows, I lose track of time and place. This moment is # 6 on my list of 25 favorite things about Paris and Provence

Favorite Things # 4 & # 5

Drum roll here....favorite thing # 4 is French wine! I consider wine one of the major food groups and tasted as many yummy wines as I could on my trips to France.One night in September at Le Bistrot de Paris, my dinner companions and I shared an $85 bottle of Pouilly Fume that was wonderful. I've sipped roses across Provence. But my very favorite French wine is the one I'm toasting with here in Patrick's tiny upstairs kitchen....a lovely red wine called Cahors. It's specific to the Lot region of the Dordogne and is made by only a few families there. I first read about it in Michael Sanders' book "Families of the Vine," which follows wine families of this region as they work their vineyards and produce their wines. I don't have an educated wine palate, so I can't describe this wine in terms of the subtle flavors in it. I can tell you that it's big and bold and almost black in color. It holds up deliciously against the most complex and richly flavored foods. The best thing about it is...I can actually buy it in Des Moines! A bit pricier than it was in Paris and Provence, but still a very special treat.

Here's # 5 on my list of favorite things from Paris and Provence....pastis. It's an anise-flavored liqueur that is very popular as an afternoon aperitif in the South of France. "51" is one of the popular brands and the glasses are made especially for pastis. You pour the liqueur up to the white line, add an ice cube, and fill the rest of the glass with cold water. The clear amber liquid immediately turns cloudy. Sip slowly and enjoy the Provencal afternoon sun! Yes, I brought the bottle and the glasses home from France and managed to do it without anything breaking. I noticed as I set these on my dining room table that the pastis bottle is getting low...time to make another trip to Provence!

Favorite Things # 2 & # 3

Here are numbers 2 & 3 of my favorite things about Paris and Provence. Coming in at #2 is goat cheese. I adore goat cheese! and absolutely never ate it until my first trip to Provence. It has become an obsession. Alas, it's hard to find great goat cheese in Iowa. Are you surprised? What I can find is pretty bland. My favorite way to eat it in Provence is warm and runny over a great salad of mixed greens...yum! I have a Rick Steve's travel video about France. In one of the segments, a friend is showing him a fromagerie in Paris. "Goat cheese, goat cheese, goat cheese, everywhere goat cheese," she sings. "A Parisienne cannot live without goat cheese." She picks up a chunk, holds it to her nose and inhales deeply. "Ah," she sighs, "it smells like the feet of an angel." Hm-m-m!

This little watercolor by Paris Breakfasts illustrates #3 on my list...croissants. You haven't eaten a croissant until you've eaten one in France. They are fabulous! Try as I might, I cannot find anything anywhere close here in the States. After reading a recipe on how you make them, I'm not going to make my own either. Definitely a reason to return to France to eat one. I had croissants every day at my bed and breakfast in Goult. Michel ran across the street to the boulangerie every morning to bring me a fresh one. I'll never forget the very first morning I was there. As he stood watching, I took one from the serving plate and proceeded to butter it. Zut alor! you should have seen the look of horror on his face! "Non, non, Madame!" he implored. I immediately realized I'd committed some sort of American faux pax. One taste of that delicious, flaky roll provided me with the answer...they are plenty buttery enough! A bite of croissant, a sip of coffee...instant melting buttery flavor in my mouth. Ah!

25 Things I Love About Paris & Provence

As I was browsing the blogs I read on a regular basis, I found an entry at Just Another American in Paris that captured my imagination. The author had been seduced by the same idea from yet another blog to post entries about the 25 things she loves most about Paris. Since I don't limit myself to just Paris, I decided to meet her challenge with 25 things that I love about Paris and Provence. I start, mais bien sur, with the Eiffel Tower. During my three visits to Paris, I've taken many, many photos of the Tower; I just can't help myself--it's so beautiful! This one is my favorite. You might remember that I used it as a Christmas card one year. I took it in March of '06 during my first ever solo visit to Paris...8 days of total immersion, by myself, in the most wonderful city in the world. The first time I saw the Eiffel Tower, I literally teared up. I was in Paris! I often wonder if Parisian's feel the same way I do. The Tower to me is the symbol of all of France. So this is entry #1. Check back for 24 more of my favorite things about Paris & Provence.

**mais bien sur--a common French phrase meaning 'but of course.'

A Surprise Phone Call

My phone rang last night and in a blink of an eye, I had a new cousin...at least I think that's how she's related to me! Her name is Kay (she said that's what family call her and now I'm family). She's the granddaughter of my mom's eldest half-sister, Lucille. She's doing geneology research and remembered my name from a letter she received in 1999 from my mom. She was very sad that mom passed away in 2000 and isn't around to help her as she searches for the family story. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to hear Kay speak about my beautiful mother and how much she appreciated being in contact with her. Evidently Kay actually stayed with us a few days when we lived in Fullerton; I was 12 yrs old at the time and obviously a self-absorbed pre-teen because I don't remember her visit at all! It was a bad time in Kay's life and my mom was very kind to her. My mom was kind to everyone and always wanted to help folks, so this doesn't surprise me one bit. We talked about family, what we both remember from the stories our moms told us. As a kid, I remember sitting around the dinner table long after we'd finished eating, and my mom would entertain us with her stories...stories of murders and bodies in the Okefenokee swamp and 'haints' and bad signs, of bodies laid out in the parlor for visitation and crosses burned on the lawns of sinners. Oh, how I wish I'd written those stories down before she died!! I sent Kay all the geneology stuff that I got last fall from Zane. Funny, huh? You go for years with no extended family and then within 6 months, you have two new cousins!

A Surprise Gift

I received this book in the mail earlier in the week. It was a surprise gift from my friend, Marie. As you can see, it's a bit tattered as well it should be....it was published in 1947! Printed in France, it's written in English and on the inside cover Marie's maiden name is written in pencil. I assume, then, that it's a book she's had since childhood. As I carefully open its thin, fragile pages, I'm struck first by the introduction which describes the Allied liberation of France. It's painful to read about those dark days, but the last two paragraphs are very touching.

"This book has been written to portray the liberation of France....to give our Allies essential information about the country they liberated. May this book, dedicated to those who played a part in making our country free, remind our Allies of those terrible--and glorious--days. May it be accepted as a token of gratitude and appreciation for the decisive part they have played in the history of France."

It's signed "COFBA Franco-Allied Goodwill Commitee."

The first 25 pages are, indeed, about the liberation of France. Then comes another introductory page...

"You have seen France in the joy of liberation, you have seen her in the midst of war, you have seen the results of her suffering from four years of enemy occupation and pillage: but you have not seen the real France. The following pages will give you an idea of what France was before the war, and what she will be once more, when you come back on a visit."

I've heard so many people complain that France never appreciated what the Allies did for her. I think this little book proves that those people are dead wrong. I'm proud to share it with you.