Generation Fabulous's bloghop this month is “transformative travel.” Many of my vacations hold special places in my heart, yet one in particular stands out in particular.
Running around fields of poppies
One very magical journey.
There are moments in every mother's life when you want to freeze some moments in time. Even after years fly by you still recall, in your mind's eye, an instance your young child did something that left an indelible mark on your heart.
Playing with Pa outside our house in Joucas
At three years old, our son's youthful exuberance was pure and joyous and infectious. We saw Provence through his eyes.
It was my Utopia.
In the days of SLR cameras with wide angle and zoom lenses, I schlepped my equipment around France to record our son on film. When he gleefully ran through fields of bright red poppies in the Provence region of France, I was right beside him, snapping picture after picture.
Photo: www.map-of-france.co.uk
The year was 1996 and my parents, who were world travelers, decided to rent a house in Joucas, a commune in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France.
It was the summer before our son would begin nursery school, the last time a school calendar wouldn't be able to dictate our vacation schedule.
We were thrilled to be able to go.
Our house in Joucas was idyllic, located on a hilltop with a captivating view of the beautiful French countryside.
The view from our house in Jourcas
My father is a master at planning trips, with great attention spent to every last detail. We relied on his expertise and were never disappointed.
Every morning we'd drive to new towns, eagerly anticipating what our next new adventure would be . We enjoyed sightseeing historical towns, an expatriate.
From Carpentras,
Carpentras: Important center of French Judaism with oldest synagogue in France. Also famous for black truffle market.
We loved experiencing the food markets, particular in Castillon,
Buying food for dinner
and bringing it back to our house to Claudie, our housekeeper/cook extraordinaire.. She didn't speak a word of English, and our son didn't speak a word of French. Yet somehow they managed to communicate, laughing and having fun while she created her delicious country French cuisine.
We always had fun.
The last day finally came, and we had to say good-bye to my parents to head back to the States while they continued their journey. While travelling on a remote road in the middle of nowhere, we came upon the best meal of all. Lunch at Chateau--------pure heaven. We ate outside, surrounded by olive trees, below us a fresh pond and, of course, a field of poppies.
