2007 France and Beyond

It seemed there was absolutely no stopping me, the house was sold, James and Joe ‘alternately lodged’ and my belongings all packed up, so before long there I was, back in France and again in Mary’s lovely little house in Fayssinet-le-Gelat.
I spent a month painting furiously, and playing tour guide to various friends, and then whammo.... I met Peter, and my usual French stint (and my life) changed dramatically.

Peter lived in Pezenas a lovely medieval town in the Languedoc region. This was an area I had barely visited. We spent as much time as we could exploring the region; the nearby river plains, lined with vineyards as far as the eye could see, the rugged mountains (still with vineyards often squeezed into the valleys), the beautiful hillside villages, and along the coast, the bustling Mediterranean towns and colourful buildings and boats.

This was the start of a whole new French adventure for me, and this time with a wonderful man to share it with. The rest of my stay in 2007 was a whirlwind of everything, particularly travelling.

Belle France again

So back behind a French steering wheel again – what a relief. I hoped to whizz out of Nice very quickly to avoid the traffic – the thought was to head for the hills, the general direction of my B&B, but no –I got stuck on the main road heading along the Med, and after sitting in traffic jams I finally arrived in Antibes! Finally after winding around what felt like all the roads in the vicinity of Grasse, I found my first night's B&B. The owner could believe I had found my way to her all the way from Australia!

The next few days I spent slowly making my way to the Lot, and stopped one night through in Cotignac (a B&B run by Eric, who’s wife seemed absent - he was running the B&B on his own and came flying out of his room all dishevelled in the morning to make my breakfast - slept in!). Next night was in Villeunette, a teensy walled village famous for providing fabric to ....... and then a night in the middle of nowhere past lots of Roquefort sheet in the Tarn somewhere.

When I arrived back in Frayssinet to Mary's little cottage, it was like returning home and great to see everyone again and be able to stop for a while. The next 5 weeks or so were spent on the social social whirl, taking photos of the autumn colours in the vines, and painting - tho a whole new palette of reds and golds was called for.

Lucca, Italy

I then spent the day on 3 different trains to finally arrive in Lucca, a medieval town I’d seen a photo of somewhere. I spent a night right up on the rooftops of the town – just me and the churchbells!


Next day was another 3 trains – and of course, they all arrived late, so I missed all my connections and finally arrived at San Remo at late Sunday night, where I had dinner with a nice young American couple I’d met in Genoa!!

Roma

Flew into Rome and got the train into my hotel - fortunately not too far from the station. Spent a day or so wandering around Rome, camera in hand. Had forgotten how noisey the Italians are - everyone seems to shout or have their hand on the horn.

A Wedding in Italy

The time came to again venture off to the other side of the world. I was invited to Jen & Scott’s wedding in Italy, and of course this called for a visit to belle France as well. The Irish/Australian wedding (with the men wearing kilts!) was held in a castle perched on the top of the hillside town of Poppi in Tuscany. If this wasn't eye catching enough, the interpreter was a very chic young Italian girl dressed in skin tight pants and an orange midrift top. Only in Italy!

Beyond Arles

From Arles I took other little jaunts and discovered villages such as Gordes and Roussillion and fields of sunflowers and lavender which set my heart racing and camera clicking ...... and then of course, back to the Lot for more meandering through the winding roads and exploring the honey coloured stone villages, and painting and sketching.

Arles and Provence

From Normandy I ventured down to Provence (yes I know I was heading back in the direction I’d just come, and beyond – but there was a little stop to gather breath in the Lot). I was lucky to have a couple of weeks in Arles and to spend time exploring that part of Provence.

Arles is a beautiful Roman built city (and I thought the Lot was old!) with a maze of tiny narrow streets, and renown for Vincent Van Gogh’s presence. It has a Roman arena with real (but gentle!) bullfights, the Rhone river, perfect for promenading along in the hot evenings, a huge market twice weekly and plenty of small boutiques and cafes.