Sur le pont d'Avignon...l'.on y danse......

Avignon would have to be my favourite city in the south of France, and as for the song 'Sur le Pont d'Avignon', well I remember learning it  so many years ago in one of my first french lessons at school. To think it took me nearly 30 years to 'dance' on the actual bridge itself (Pont Saint Benezet), well I guess good things come to those who wait.....??

Click below for a refresher on song..translation included :)

                                        



The first night my friend and I stayed in Avignon, we headed to a local cafe and found ourselves seated next to a large table of americans..as they were leaving, they asked us if we realised we were being 'painted'?  'No....???' we replied searching around..and there he was..a gorgeous young man, sitting a few tables along , very busily drawing us! Just before we left (before I was tempted to come out of Karaoke retirement...) he approached us with  very special  'paintings'.....

Quelle surprise! Unfortunately, mine had an amazing resemblance !!!! Of course we made the purchase, congratulating him on his fine work :)

I love the fact that the 'old' city is surrounded by medieval fortified walls, of which a portion tourists can walk along via Pont Benezet. You can almost imagine yourself back in history...only popping in when safe, of course!

It would be remiss of me not to mention Le Palais du Papes  (the pope's palace), one of the largest  medieval gothic buildings of all europe! It became the residence of the roman popes in 1309, when they fled from the violence  and chaos  of Rome after the 1305 election.....(seems elections don't go down well any time...:)  )

Palais du Papes.



There is just a 'je ne sais quoi' about beautiful Avignon......




The 'old worldly' merry -go- round in Place de l"Horloge.

 


The alluring provancal boutique fronts.....




the many cafes and restaurants beneath the cooling canopy of plane trees....

  

the old winding streets....

But beware......there is a very, VERY strong wind that can blow in these parts of Provence...it's called the Mistral...it can blow for days and days sometimes...and word has it, it can send people a little..'fou/folle'!
This poor sod below really didn't stand a chance with 'son parapluie'! (He is 'my' poor sod :) )



Of course Avignon is a wonderful 'base' if you are wanting to explore this provencal area. There is a TVG station near town (Train a Grand Vitesse.......fast train) and I have taken it 3 times from Paris, Gare de Lyon, really enjoying the 2 1/2 hours of comfort and the french countryside scenery.



Gare de Lyon, Paris.





raileurope.com

  

  If you like, you can take the 20 min TGV trip from Avignon to Aix-en-Provence, another gorgeous provencal city, and if you  go on a Thursday morning, you will catch a fantastic clothes market in the main street, Cour Mirabeau...awesome buys, great prices!

Avignon has its own markets, of course, Les Halles, for food etc, book markets, antique markets..the list just goes on and on.!

I haven't even touched on the annual  'Festival d'Avignon'....It's a huge affair, apparently. I'll get there one day...check out the link below...this is only a small street show, but fun in any language, don't you think? :)

                                                   street show at Avignon festival


  If you've spent time in Avignon, what did you love the most?

A Bientôt, Gigi

L'Occitane.. natural beauty products/ Les produits de beauté naturels

So...lets talk french....lets talk...french products....lets talk french BEAUTY products..........let's talk NATURAL french beauty products!



If you are not familiar with the L'Occitane products...well perhaps you should be :) They are as natural and organic as possible, they are 'french' products, and they are reasonably priced compared to other high end brands. Let's face it...who would know how to put together a delectable range of face, body and home products better than the french??? :)



One of their best selling face moisturisers is " Immortelle Divine cream", which has actually won an award with 'The beauty Bible' for  'The best Miracle cream".  See here.

More in my price range is the  Immortelle Precious cream..creamy and moisturising, with a beautiful subtle fragrance...mmmm I could close my eyes and be in provence right now....

Maybe you HAVE heard of the product...but did you realise that they are a socially committed brand?

L'Occitane's foundation began in 2006 and they support the visually impaired  through  a partnership with ORBIS, an organisation that fights against avoidable blindness in developing countries. Braille  is also included on the L'Occitane packaging. See below...



Speaking of the packaging...I LOVE it! It's so...so...pretty. sometimes rustic...sometimes old worldly..and not only that, they take the 'eco' approach, using recycled materials, renewable resources and design easily recyclable packaging.

Above is a fragrance called 'Pivoine Flora'...Legend has it that ..........there was a beautiful nymph named Paeonia who was so 'courted' by the gods , that a jealous goddess transformed her into a flower with 1,000 petals...a  peony  (pivoine). 

That's something else I love about L'Occitane, there are so many 'petites histoires' of their products.(little stories) such as the legend of  the perfume named Rose de 4 Reines (rose of 4 queens) This fragrance is inspired by a blend of the cherished roses of the four Queens of Forcalquier, an historical village set in Provence, very close to where L'Occitane was founded. Described as a deeply romantic opulent floral..how could one resist???

       

And for my  'produit favori',  Verveine, the verbena shower gel and body cream.. so fresh and sparkling,with citrus notes, its really energising.



escentual.com



L'Occitane aspires to be 'the worldwide reference for mediterranean well-being with unique natural body, face and home products'. Their simple values are authenticity, naturalness, effectiveness, pleasurable whilst showing repect and responsibility to man and his environment.

Soooooooooo..........how do I know so much about them?  I've been studying up, as I will be lucky enough to share these wonderful products with L'Occitane customers  over Xmas and be paid at the same time! So I will leave you to imagine  me in  absolute heaven in one of the stores below ;)

A bientôt, Gigi

Synchronicity / Synchronicité

Yes, I admit it, I am a believer in the law of attraction..when it suits :) , and most definately syncronicity,(meaningful coincidences) . I can't NOT, as it happens to me quite often..in spurts, and more often than not, it targets my francophone self.



A few years ago I was looking for some inspiration via an Anthony Robbins motivational book Awaken the giant within (je vous adore, Tony!) Around that time I had been playing with the idea of getting a university diploma in French (as mentioned in this post French, an ongoing love affair ,but it really was only a fantasy floating in the  backstalls of my mind.... but there they were, three words that just stood out and stuck.  TAKE MASSIVE ACTION! No dilly dallying, no procrastinating, GET ON WITH IT, AND GET ON WITH IT IN A BIG WAY!  Ok then, Tony..I will think about it, and I did think about it .. a lot...because Tony wouldn't LET UP until I DID take massive action..Everywhere I went he would appear, in a magazine or in a movie I would be watching (Shallow Hal loved this film!) ..it was getting 'spooky'! I phoned a like-minded friend to tell her about it and as I  was  filling her in, Anthony's face appears on the TV screen! arrghh alright! alright!  Massive action!!  Thanks Tony, I have you to thank for having a university degree in modern languages...but you are sooo pushy!!

You know, at the end of that particular book, he wrote something along the lines of  ' I hope you have found some inspiration on these pages and who knows, maybe one day we will cross paths, I would love to hear your story..'  mmm sure. Tony ..me in Australia..you on the other side of the world....but nice thought :)

A few months later, My hubby and I went to the local movies, very rare occasion, especially at 6 pm on a Thursday night... it was like a ghost town  at the ticket box...there were only  two couples lined up..hubby and me....and...you guessed it...Anthony Robbins and his wife! This could not be happening! I couldn't believe my eyes!... and if you are wondering if I told him my story...well no I didn't....I was too busy dropping lollies all over the floor and making a  complete fool of myself! Well shock can do this, n'est-ce pas???

What a ride! Does synchronicity chase you?

A bientot, Gigi