A Year in Provence

Provence, France

"You don't have to be rich to travel well." -Eugene Fodor (www.expertvagabond.com)




I read a fun little book that I think you'll enjoy. I learned about A Year in Provence when I skimmed through my AAA travel magazine last month. An article recommended that we read three books about travel: Paris: The Novel, Turn Right at Machu Piccu, and A Year in Provence. Since I had already read the first two books, I decided to read the third one about a couple who moved from England to the small town of Provence in France. The book was published in 1989, so it has been around for a while. I rarely purchase books, but I ordered this one as a used book from Amazon because it looked like something that I would enjoy. I do love to travel, and I love adventures, but I'm probably never going to be able to visit every place on my bucket list so I turn to books. Even though the Mayles were from nearby England and accustomed to the European lifestyle, they definitely had a lot to learn about living in a small town in France. As you can imagine, their first year in France involved new friendships, new food, and a more relaxed pace of life. Although the book is short (only 200 pages) and only covers their first year in France, the Mayles still live in Province today.

One important thing that the couple learned is that the French people love to eat. Mayle goes into a lot of detail about French bread, wines, sauces, truffles, and main dishes. During their first year in France they visited several restaurants and enjoyed every single one of them. In some of the restaurants they weren't given a menu or a choice - they simply ate what was brought to them and paid whatever they were told when they finished.  There was always more food than they wanted, but to stop eating was considered to be an insult to the chef. So they learned to eat. Mayle doesn't say anything about how much weight they gained that first year, but it had to be a sizable amount!

They also learned to cook a lot of French dishes at home, and they were often hosts to guests who stopped by, some of which were total strangers such as tourists who were new to the town. They often fed the men who were renovating their home as well. The men spent the entire year working on their house, much to the dismay of the new transplants, and these men could often be seen chugging down a lot of beer as they worked. Yes, they were a relaxed group of men for sure, and so the couple never knew when they would show up to continue their work. Provence was clearly a relaxed place, and no one was in a hurry to do anything. This forced the couple from a big city to adapt, and being patient wasn't always their forte. As you can imagine, there is a lot of humor in this book because the Mayles have to learn a lot about their new home. Peter Mayle has a natural way of telling his story as he weaves sarcasm and wit into his travel memoir. If you are interested in foreign languages, travel, or adventures, you'll love this book. As I read this book, I realized that I've read several travel memoirs, books such as Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, A Walk in the Woods, Born to Run, and We'll Always Have Paris.

I'm so excited that I now have a copy of McCullough's new book, The Wright Brothers! I was on a waiting list at the library to get it, and so I picked it up yesterday. I've read several of McCullough's historical books, and I've enjoyed them all. So, I will write about The Wright Brothers in an upcoming post, but I doubt that I'll finish it in just one week - it's a long one. After this one I'm hoping to read another McCullough book, The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge. That one will also take some time to complete.

OK, so here we go, the next ten books from my card catalog:

1. Little Family, Big Values by Matt Rolof and family
2. The Art of Teaching Christianity by Wayne R. Rood
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
4. Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio
5. Fanny Crosby by Bernard Riffin (she was a writer of many great Christian hymns & was blind)
6. Doc by Mary Doria Russell
7. Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral by Mary Doria Russell
8. Empire Falls by Richard Russo
9. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
10. Paris: The Novel by Edward Rutherford

Next week I return to my E.S.L. teaching work at an elementary school, so my reading pace may slow down. I'm driving my car down to my daughter's college on Sunday afternoon to help her move back into the dorm for her senior year of college at Gardner-Webb University, so our routines will change. But I think I'm ready for it.

Have a great week,

Melissa
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com
Amazon used book seller: MCH SELLER