It’s Academy Award season, and as it was with me a year ago when I wrote of Marcel Pagnol, I am drawn back to Provence, in fact to his hometown of Aubagne. On this occasion it began last fall when I was discussing with my wife Benedicte, who is French, …

Contributor blog post by Margo Lestz: The French are a superstitious lot. They have many traditions that predict whether good or bad luck will follow a certain action. One such superstition states that you should never lay bread on the table upside down. It’s widely known that this action invites …

Contributor blog post by Margo Lestz: Aix-en-Provence, the City of a Thousand Fountains Aix-en-Provence is known as the city of 1,000 fountains. However, since the folks of this area have a reputation for exaggeration, we should probably take that with a grain of salt. The real number might be closer to …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: The ‘dig’ being carried out ahead of the redevelopment of the Place de la Madeleine has already yielded results in that skeletons are being exhumed and taken for examination. As expected, there was a 16-18th century cemetery beside the church. The archaeologists are also hoping …

Contributor blog post by Margo Lestz: Did you know that the city of Nice, France almost had a 49 foot (15 meter) tall statue of the Virgin Mary standing atop the Colline du Chateau (Castle Hill)? In the 1980s, the idea of the “Virgin on the hill” came to the …

Ginger and Nutmeg live near to the village church. When they first return to France it takes several days to get adjusted. Between the 8-hour time change and the village bells, there is no need to wear a watch. The clock tower bells chime every hour, day and night. Angelus …

Nutmeg is reasonably certain she is not the first person to walk through the Glanum archaeological site, near St Remy de Provence, and consider that mankind is relatively insignificant in the passage of time. Ashes to ashes Dust to dust Rocks to rocks Glanum a Roman oppidum, protected by its fortified walls once …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: It’s so fascinating that every time people start digging in Aix, they come up with remains from Roman times. And the latest to be uncovered is 50 metres of a road near to the hospital. There is to be a new car park for the …

Contributor blog post by Margo Lestz: Just like Robin Hood, Gaspard de Besse robbed from the rich (who detested him) and gave to the poor (who adored him). But while Robin Hood’s roots are shrouded in mystery, there’s no doubt about the identity of our French outlaw. …Continue reading here for …

Over 100,000 people (some estimates as high as 126,000) died in Provence between 1720 and 1722, including almost 50% of Marseille’s population some 46,000 inhabitants. All in the name of commerce. The Grand Saint-Antoine arrived in Marseille’s port on May 25, 1720, from Syria (previously Levan), the vessel was late, …