A Magic Place

A Magic Place
The lovliest little village on the Cote d' Azur and occasionally it's mine.

Monday, June 16, 2014

Cause The Living's Easy

“So why do you do it”?
Well... you see. As you become, as they say, “a man of that certain age”, your memories of what you wish to remember, they become memories of what you think you remember. So I commit them  to type in hope that they will remain true a while longer.
And... if I should choose to share these memories with a few friends, and... if even a few should find them amusing, then... we all profit as the French would say.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant.”
“I meant, why do you go back to the same place each year?”
“What’s so special about it?”
"What do you do there?"

Do you remember an old  Blues tune,  “Summertime and the Living’s Easy”?
Well the living’s easy here, very easy.
Everything’s easy about living here.

After eight years, each time you return, et voila! Without effort, you slip back into the rhythm of life
You “slip into azur blue”.

“Yeah, yeah”. “Lotta words, but what’s all that really mean”?

First of all, the village is just way cute. No, no... it’s certainly not the little fishing village any longer, (although there are still a few fishermen here) but the old town has managed to retain much of it’s past charm. Narrow streets criss-cross, rows of  old houses “leaning over you” as you pass.
First level, shops, many of them tourists fare. Some not. But a vibrancy of life in any case.
No “museum village” this. Above the shops, apartments. Places where people live. Daily life plays out.
Some vintage, some renewed, some new. But none “tarted up”.  Authenticity  appreciated, no doubt legislated.

A pedestrian place.
Yes, yes. Of course we have cars here. Too many sometimes.
But, the village elders have sought to create a balance. One recognizing the role walking plays in the quality of life. Cars do not rule. They are separate. Parking is strategic. You enter, you park, you walk.
In our old town, there is no place, nothing which you cannot easily reach by foot.
The market, groceries, wines, drugstores, bakers, butchers, hardware, cafes & restaurants, banks, doctors & dentists, post office, bus & train, and on and on...
Again, nothing which you cannot easily reach by foot.
You only have to walk but a short distance, and any of your needs can be met. Really!
And...you see them all around, the older folks, retired, some way beyond that. Walking, going about their business, an independence not often realized. It is, I sense,  a gentle place in which to grow old.

Now in all fairness I must add, this all presumes that you don’t work, or at a minimum, that you  don’t work outside of the village. I have had more than one lively discussion regarding this fact. Because... if you do have to commute into or outside the village, then you are more than likely dependent on a car. And... it’s no easier to navigate here than most anywhere else. Perhaps, even a bit more difficult. You see, there’s just not been as much thought given the “auto-centric” , or  suburban lifestyle, as perhaps in many areas of modern America,  though that has not seemingly made so much of a difference there either. It all has just evolved, and in many cases, somewhat higgelty-piggelty at best.
So, Madame M.-A. and Madame G., I will concede that argument.
But, if you don’t have to commute for some reason, it really is just so easy.
If you want, you need something. It’s no big deal. Assuming it’s not between 12 and 2 when most everything’s closed for lunch, you just walk down the street and that’s it. No car, no driving there, no traffic lights, no gas station, no waiting, no find a parking space. You just do it.
It’s very, very  liberating really.

No doubt, in part because of the pedestrian lifestyle here in the village.. life, or at least,  the complexity of life, slows measurably. Walking to the bank? You pass an acquaintance. Bonjour, ca-va? Kiss-kiss.
You enter a stall at the market, bonjour-bonjour. Ca-va? A little chit-chat with your produce.  Enter the butcher’s shop, everyone in the shop greets you, bonjour-bonjour. Chit-chat all around. Everyone bids an au revoir upon your departure, the butcher adds a merci, (thank you). Walking, you pass a sidewalk café. Lovely. Grab a table. Bonjour-bonjour, ca-va?  Have a little cup of coffee. Watch the world, this world anyway, walking by.
It’s just so easy!

I love good food. I love to cook good food. And, I love to eat good food.
I’ve said it before, but, there’s just an “embarrassment of food” here.
Yes, the French have a long tradition of fine food and gourmet tastes.
That’s not really even what I’m talking about though.  It’s not about the cuisine, rather I’m talking about the richness of products available. Provence is arguably the richest area of production for fresh fruit and vegetables in all of France, perhaps Europe. All of that within a 50 mile radius of here.
The freshest, and highest quality (they wouldn’t have it any other way) fruits, vegetables, wines, oils, cheeses, seafood, meats. And... it’s all local. It’s in the market or in the shop within a day or so.
Chef I’m not, good cook perhaps, but given the best of ingredients, the role of anyone who prepares good food is to shepherd it to the table with a minimum of interference. Let the food speak for itself.
It’s just so easy!

Central to this quality of life, good health and the ability to eat all of that fine food is an active lifestyle.
It all starts with the walking.  Walking to the market, shops, cafes. But, walk to another of the village neighborhoods, along the coast perhaps, and you can quickly add up to  4 miles or so of walking bliss. A walk to the beach, 15 minutes or so, and it doesn’t get any better. Take a towel, maybe a parasol, add a sandwich and wine for a picnic, swim and sun, ogle the girls. Perfection!
Hop on the velo (bicycle) 20 minutes along a sleepy coastal road and you end at the causeway to a little island park Isle de Gaou. Picnic, water & sun, sometimes all alone. On the return, stop at a little harbor side café in le Brusc for a cold pression (draught beer) , maybe another when I return to the village, we’ll see.
It’s just so easy!

You know, when you get down to it, it’s all about the small stuff really.
I like to say that life often gets in the way of living.
It’s hard to enjoy life when so many things get in our way, things so many times out of our control.
Too often, however, that’s just how it is.

But... not here.

So why do I do it?

Cause the living’s easy.  


The Livin's easy



Walking toward the harbor.


Walking back to the apartment

One of the cute little squares  


Quality "cafe time"

Classic market scene


A view along our daily walk

Sweet time on the beach looking back at the village

The velos

Beautiful afternoon on Isle de Gaou

Local bounty, melon & proscuitto

More local bounty, tomato mozzarella & basil

The sweet life, just me & UFO and some awesome pork chops

Playing Petanque with my landlord, a great way to wile away the hours 



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