These are questions going through our minds as we wait for our next little one to enter the world. We were supposed to move to Challans in December to live closer to my husband's family in Normandy. We decided to stay in Provence until the baby is born because it would have been too stressful - move across the country to a temporary month-to-month house while house hunting, and then buying furniture (we've only lived in furnished apartments/houses over the past 2.5 years in France). And now after passing it by, we're thankful because the weather there is very similar to Normandy.We know we … [Read more...]
Oct 28, 2012
Baby on the Way = Change of Plans!
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We're staying in Provence for another year and I can't have a home birth. Two very difficult decisions.We didn't think I'd get pregnant so quickly, so moving to Challans (Northwest France, south of Pointiers) would not be a big deal. We love Provence but it's difficult trekking 13 hours to visit my husband's family. Since we were planning on having another baby, we figured it'd be best to live closer to family. We lived in Bordeaux for almost a year and enjoyed it there, so moving a couple hours north of there wouldn't be too bad. It was a good compromise. We'd live only five hours away … [Read more...]
Sep 3, 2012
There’s More to Provence than Sunflowers and Lavender Fields
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When I moved to Provence, all I envisioned were gold and purple fields weaved around rolling hills. I didn't expect to see a blanket of snow covering my dreams. It was February and it snowed the night before we arrived and was so thick that our little economy car couldn't make it up the driveway. We parked our car outside a neighbor's house and trekked in the snow to our front door. Our experience in Provence has been nothing but surprising ever since. Of all the places we have lived (Orlando, Montreal, Marseille, Bordeaux, and Lantheuil), I will miss our little provincial village of Banon the … [Read more...]
Jul 26, 2012
Lost in the Lavender Fields of Provence
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At 5am each morning, I watch the sun rise over patchwork fields of wheat and lavender. The mix of gold and purple with the rolling hills as a backdrop is one of the best things about living in this quaint village. Over the past month, I procrastinated photographing the fields until I could no longer. We are leaving for vacation and when I return, all the fields will have been harvested.My husband and I drove to fields within five to fifteen minutes from Banon with our cranky daughter in the backseat. Her fifth and sixth teeth just broke through her gums. We reached the first field and saw … [Read more...]
Jul 12, 2012
The Largest Bookstore in France Will Be Where?
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Tucked discretely away in the small village of Banon is one of the largest libraries in France. Even though the population here is roughly 1,100 people, it didn't stop the owner from investing over 4 million into expanding his business.Jöel Gattefossé founded Le Bleuet in 1990 with 77 books and now has over 100,000 books. With the dream of having the largest bookstore in France, he further invested to expand his business. He is in the process of building a second location which will be used to store and ship books.Of course, the city is ecstatic about this development. Not only is he … [Read more...]
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