Family Matters

It's August 20, & we've one more week left in our French Summer. After 11+ weeks of hot, dry weather with blue skies, I'm sitting on the terrace at 4:00 in the afternoon, sipping a cup of HOT tea with a sweater on. Is this some signal from above that it's time to leave?

The lavender is cut back, the figs are ripe, the lawn is brown, & my plumbago needs a haircut (& so do I!). That's another hint…it's almost over. But what a summer it's been! We feel so good in this house, in this village, in this part of France! I feel like we take the time to LIVE here.

But we also love to travel, & this summer's 3 trips were very special. Basically, it was all about family. We discovered how much family matters, whether they are family you've never met before (as in Finland & northern Italy), or reconnecting with family you've met once or twice (my London cousin & his wife), or your own immediate family, time together is time well spent.

Les & I returned a week ago from Corsica, where we met our 2 children, their spouses, & our 5 grandchildren for a week's stay in a lovely villa on the eastern (or French) side of the "Mountain in the Sea". See our albums (Corsica 1, 2, 3, 4 & Bastia) if you're interested in the antics of our small "tribe" in the pool, in the Mediterranean, in a ferry, in a canyon, in a cramped car, & elsewhere. Also included are pictures of not only a number of pizzas (& other delicious Corsican food) but, according to Les "THE BEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD"!

The Tour de France 2019

Somehow we always manage to connect with something special going on in France each summer. This year it was the Tour de France, with its 3 day stop in Nîmes. We got in on the "fan park" on the Sunday before the cyclists' day of rest, & enjoyed the rest of the Tour via the TV. We were absolutely thrilled to see our region highlighted by the excellent French media coverage. We agonized over the fate of the 2 French hopefuls, & sympathized with the cyclists as they encountered hail, mud & ice in the Alps. (What a difference a day makes!) Check out our album called "La Boucle Romaine" if you are a TdeF fan.

New & Old Art Forms

We are definitely museum freaks & try to visit as many as we can each summer. The Musée du Vieux Nîmes had a special exhibit about an old art form that is so popular now, tattoos. Dr. Charles Perrier (not the bubbly water family!) photographed & catalogued the many tattoos of prisoners in Nîmes prison in the early 1900s, all displayed together. He also measured their body & facial parts to try to establish a correlation between them & their crimes. See our album called Dr. Perrier's Tattoo Parlor to learn about this odd collection of body art.

And lastly, I have just added an album for one more odd exhibit about an art form that is a necessity if you live in France. We visited the Musée du Tire-Bouchon (the Corkscrew Museum) in Ménerbes (Provence) last Sunday. We were hoping that by viewing the 1100 corkscrews there, we would know which kind to buy! (We have gone through 2 or 3 this summer! If you don't have a corkscrew, it's a disaster!) I've titled this album "Prenez le Temps de Vivre" (Take Time To Live), a lovely suggestion, found in our Villevieille newsletter.

We hope your summer has been a good one. As it ends, as all summers do, we hope you've had time to enjoy your family & friends, been able to explore a bit (or a lot!), discovered some new art forms & enjoyed a lot of beautiful sunsets!

A bientôt,

Elise & Les