Legends of Provence

Posted on February 24, 2021 by Keith Van Sickle

The world is rich with legends. We still dream of Camelot and King Arthur’s court. We hope to one day find El Dorado and its streets paved with gold. And who wouldn’t love to take a dip in the Fountain of Youth?

Provence, too, has its legends.

Is it true that a terrible monster once lived in the depths of the Rhône River? Did a saint poke his finger in a rock and cause wine to pour forth? And what’s this about Mary Magdalene living out her days in Provence?

Read about these and other legends in My French Life!

Living in Provence and Why We Love It

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Keith Van Sickle

Annette Charlton is an Australian woman who bought a house in France on her very first trip to the country–true story! Now she’s a part-time Frenchwoman, as she and her family spend part of the year in Brittany. If you haven’t already visited her wonderful website A French Collection, I encourage you to take a look.

Annette asked me to write about what Val and I love about our part-time life in Provence. There was so much to say that I had to keep myself from running on and on–there are the markets, the charming villages, the stunning landscape, and so much more. Best of all are the people, some of our best friends on earth. Whenever we are away from Provence, we long to return.

If you’d like to know what we love about Provence, take a look at this article that I wrote for Annette.

Popular French Baby Names

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Keith Van Sickle

When you think of classic French monikers, names like Brigitte and Jacques come to mind. But do French parents still give their kids those names?

Some of today’s most popular names are what you’d expect, like Chloë and Jules—it doesn’t get more French than that! Others, like Noah and Adam, reflect the country’s long Catholic heritage. Mohamed makes the list in a nod to French citizens with North African ancestors.

But there are some big surprises, like the number one girl’s name. Wonder what it is? Check it out in France Today!

The Queen of Wine

Posted on January 27, 2021 by Keith Van Sickle

If you look at a list of the most expensive wines in the world you’ll see it stuffed with beauties from France. Look closer and you’ll see one name pop up over and over—Leroy. You think to yourself, I don’t know who this Monsieur Leroy is but he must be quite the winemaker.

Surprise! It’s not Monsieur Leroy, it’s Madame: Madame Lalou Bize-Leroy. Another surprise: she’s in her 9^th decade and still at the top of her game. You might not have heard of her but she’s famous among the cognoscenti, and for good reason.

Lalou Bize-Leroy is the fourth generation of her family to run Maison Leroy, founded by her great-grandfather in 1868. She was perhaps destined for a life in wine after her father Henri placed a few drops of Burgundy on the lips of his newborn daughter.

Read all about this fascinating lady in The Good Life France!

Moscow on the Med: The Russian Cathedral of Nice

Posted on January 20, 2021 by Keith Van Sickle

There are so many fun things to do in Nice—you can walk along the Promenade des Anglais, enjoy the view from one of those famous blue chairs, and dig into a salad niçoise in the Old Town. Now here’s one to add to your list: visit the most Russian spot in France, the Saint Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral.

This magnificent structure was built in 1912 in memory of Nicholas Alexandrovich, the one-time heir to the Russian throne who died in Nice of meningitis. It was designed in the classic Old Russian style, with five beautiful onion domes. Seeing the cathedral you think you’ve somehow stumbled into Moscow. Today the cathedral is a National Monument of France and one of the most visited sites of the French Riviera.

Read all about this unique site in Perfectly Provence!

Carrières de Lumières—Only in Provence

Posted on January 13, 2021 by Keith Van Sickle

Imagine walking into a massive cavern inside a mountain. The walls shoot straight up and the ceiling is high above your head. Here and there are side chambers, and rough-hewn benches are carved into the walls. The whole place looks drab in the dim light—you wonder why your friends keep saying “You can’t miss it!”

Even after having looked at the photos and having viewed the promotional video, the actual experience of the Carrières de Lumières (Quarries of Light) is almost impossible to describe. But once the lights go out and the magic starts, you just know you have to tell your friends, “You can’t miss it!”

Read all about this unique Provencal spot in My French Life. It’s part of my “Only in Provence” series and I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Hilltop Villages of the Côte d’Azur

Posted on December 30, 2020 by Keith Van Sickle

When most people think of the Côte d’Azur, they think of glamorous spots like Cannes, Antibes, and Nice—beautiful cities, all of them. But this glorious corner of France is also home to charming inland villages that are well worth a visit.

There’s high Gourdon, the Eagle’s Nest. And Saint-Martin-Vésubie in the so-called Little Switzerland of Provence. And let’s not forget the “Tibetan village” of Saorge.

You can see a garden designed by the same architect who designed the famous gardens of Versailles, a monastery famous for its ancient sundials, and visit a park where wolves roam free. It’s a fascinating region of France.

Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!

Happy Holidays!

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Keith Van Sickle

It’s the holiday season so I thought I would share a couple of posts about this time of year.

First is a story about Christmas in Provence. Would you like to discover the origins of santons, those cute little figurines so popular in Provence? Or how about the thirteen (yes, 13!) desserts traditionally eaten at Christmas? You can read all about Provençal Christmas traditions here.

And New Year’s Eve is the time for toasting friends and family. How do the French do it? And what about other countries? Here’s a fun story about how to make a toast around the world.

My very best wishes to you and yours during this holiday season!

The Changing World of Work in France

Posted on December 16, 2020 by Keith Van Sickle

Working life has changed all over the world, especially this year due to the coronavirus. Is it the same in France?

A recent survey asked French managers what have been the biggest changes in French working life over the last 30 years, since 1990. That’s a long time—back in 1990 we still used rotary phones and didn’t have to go through an Xray machine to board a flight!

What sorts of changes did these French managers identify? The creation of the 35 hour work week, of course, but also things like “the right to disconnect” and the recognition of burnout as a professional illness.

The survey results are very interesting and you might want to check them out. Here they are in France Today!

The Surprising History of Jewish Provence

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Keith Van Sickle

People are often surprised to learn that France has the third-largest Jewish population in the world, after Israel and the United States.

And they are even more surprised to learn that for centuries the center of Jewish life in France wasn’t Paris, it was Provence… thanks to the Pope!

How did this happen?

Jews have long been subject to persecution in France, as in many places.

In the Middle Ages, French Jews were the victims of murders, riots, and outright expulsions. There were few places where they were allowed to live, even fewer jobs they were allowed to hold, and many were forced to wear a yellow star.

Life was intolerable… but hope beckoned in the south.

Learn all about the surprising history of Jewish Provence in My French Life!

Life in Provence

Keith Van Sickle

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