“Elle travaille de la cafetière!” “Ah, occupe-toi de tes oignons.” “Mais, elle pédale dans la choucroute….ça tourne au vinaigre.” “Oh, purée, mon petit chou. Quelle salade!” “Bien, bien…les carottes sont cuites.” You may wonder if I am working from my coffee pot or pedaling in sauerkraut….another post on food? You thought this blog was about France. Ah, mais oui, it is about France; but, in France, mes canards, it’s all about food! Let’s face it: The French are obsessed with food. Debates are passionate about the best restaurant in the village, the best baguette in town, and where to buy the best saucisson de sanglier.…

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Ahhhh, Pastis….The sweet scent of anise wafts from the tall heavy-bottomed glasses on our tiny table in Café Gaby.  Memories of a subtle licorice flavor laced with fragrant herbs are called forth.  Our thirsts on this very warm late August day will soon be quenched. We arrived in Lourmarin yesterday afternoon and are now sitting in our favorite café, in the heart of this Luberon village, where we will mark the start of our vacation with—what else? —a little pastis.  We sit, nestled among locals and tourists,  in this lively café where people have come for generations for their pastis. “Since the war,” the waiter…

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Twenty six years ago today, August 15, 1944, Allied troops landed in Provence to help liberate Europe from the Nazis and end World War II. The Allied invasion of Provence, code-named Operation Dragoon, got overshadowed by the better-known D-Day invasion in Normandy two months before (June 6, 1944). So much so that it got dubbed “The forgotten D-Day.” Yet 66 years later, Provence is strewn with memorials to the Provence landings. And this August 15, at least one community will devote the whole day to remembering the historic military campaign that freed southern France from occupation. Two hours from our rental apartment in Lourmarin, the…

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