Even if I had a camera ~ which now I do not, since on moving-in day it escaped the car to begin a new life with someone else in Provence ~ even the best camera (which this former, fickle one was not) couldn’t have captured the moment this Sunday morning when the bells of St-Sauveur sang through our open fourth floor windows. In the plane tree that touches our shutters, magpies (or some other black & which bird) laughed from their nest high among the leaves.
And if I could paint, even as Cezanne spent his days trying to capture all of this: the cathedral spire, Mt Ste-Victoire in the distance, the black & white birds; if I could layer the colors and the density of the air, thick like honey; if I could paint such a scene – how could I bend the view around the corners, across the rooftops, and down to the grassy courtyard below to find the faces of two little girls waiting to walk SweetPea.
So begins our third day in Aix-en-Provence, where all is a mystery and everything feels like home. Already we have met our apartment neighbors, learned to work the keys in the ancient doors, manouvered the Renault through tiny streets, and -today I made my first latte on my new french machine. We played golf nearby yesterday, and we had our first wonderful french restaurant meal in Aix last night. We can tell Yovanna and Ernesto that hundreds of beautiful young men and women in their 20’s swarm the town plazas on Saturday night having a great time.
Our apartment is more spacious than the photos suggest – with very high ceilings, tile floors, and huge french (of course) windows overlooking the garden. I still get lost finding which room is where. For our future guests: take note * start your fitness training now in preparation for the 3 flights of stairs. By the third floor, where Monique’s 91 yr.-old mother lives, both SweetPea and I begin to pant, whispering “I think I can . . . ”
French classes begin tomorrow morning: 24 hours/week for two weeks. We can walk there in 15 mins. What a great adventure!! With luck we’ll have a new, more faithful camera soon and post photos to spice up our entries. For now we’re descending to the garden for a party with wine and snacks for all the residents of La Bastide – tablecoths with sunflower centerpieces waiting on the grass for us to gather. Just like in the movies!
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