From Flat Hayden and Tania in Iceland:
From Flat Mrs McCann and Pierre and Sophie in Provence, France, to Ella.
Dear Ella and Flat Mrs McCann,
We are Pierre and Sophie d’Agay, French citizens, living in the south of France close to the Mediterranean Sea.
We are friends of Melbourne’s
Citizen Tracy Lynch we’ve met in the South Pacific 10 years ago. We were lucky
to visit her and her Husband in Melbourne when we were living in New Caledonia.
We live the small city of Tarascon in Provence. The city used to be the residence of the King René of Provence. He was a powerful King in the 1400’s. There is a huge stone castle in the city overhanging the magnificent Rhone river. This castle was the king’s court place. Very nice to visit.
Provence is one of the most beautiful and famous place of the old world. It was named after the Romans called it “provincia romana” 2000 years ago.
The big cities are Marseille, Nice,
Avignon, Toulon.
During the summer (July-August) more
than 10 millions people coming from all northern Europe travel to Provence for
their holydays.
Landscapes of Provence were (and are
still) a deep source of inspiration for many famous painters of the last
centuries. Van Gogh, Monnet, Renoir, Cezanne, Picasso amongst others…
The big city next to our small city
is called Avignon. It means “city of the wind”. Because there is a terribly
strong wind blowing very often. Pierre was born in Avignon.
There is a famous French song “sur le pont d’Avignon” which was written with
respect to the huge stone bridge built there 850 years ago. Once, the Popes
settled in Avignon for one hundred years because they didn’t agree with the
people of Rome in Italy. As a consequence, there is a lot of beautiful ancient
buildings in the city and marvellous Pope’s palace and towered walls around the
city centre.
Provence is well known all over the
world for growing olive trees. The high quality olive oil from Provence is
excellent for health. Provence is also known for growing flowers such as
Lavender used to make perfume essential oil necessary to make the highest quality
perfumes for Chanel, Dior, Hermes and Guerlain.
You may not be interested to learn
that Provence is the N°1 producer of Rosé wine.
The Mediterranean Sea borders the
south of Provence in an alternance of beautiful beaches and coves. Marseille is
the main City of Provence and the second city in France in term of population
size. It was founded 3000 years ago by some Greek sailors. There’s is now more
than one million people living in this city.
Although we were born in France we
only live here for one year. We have been travelling all over the world for
business purposes. We lived in Sub Saharian Africa, North Africa, New
Caledonia, Caribbean. We have travelled a lot with our 4 children and our dogs.
Currently this is summer time in
France. Winter comes when it is the summer in the Yarra valley. It is hardly
snowing in our city but there is some places in France in the Alps that are
famous for all winter sports.
Just like you, we are annoyed by the
current pandemic of Covid-19. We cannot travel through Europe and we have to
carry protection mask everywhere as soon as we go out. Tomorrow starts the new
school year for the kids. Schools will be opened. Teachers and pupils must wear
mask and have to wash hands and materials all the time. Depending on the region,
parks are open but most playgrounds are closed.
You asked if we have been to the
Eiffel Tower. Of course, we have been to the Eiffel tower several time despite
we do not live in Paris where the tower is located. It is an humongous piece of
iron erected in the middle of the city. From the top the view is astonishing.
You can see the entire city and all the monuments.
In our region of Provence, people
eat a lot of fish and veggies such as tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, garlic,
salads…and a lot of fruits. Sophie’s favourite food is oysters and Pierre’s
favourite is cheese. There is more than 365 kinds of cheese in France.
During our holydays we visit our
families (parents, cousins, kids) and friends. We are very lucky to have a nice
house on the shore between Cannes and St Tropez where Pierre’s father lives.
Next week end, some friends are visiting us for a canoe ride on a river next to
our place.
We are very happy to have you as a
flat traveller with us. Let us know how it is going for you after the winter.
Feel free to ask more questions if you have some and visit us as soon as you
inflate (and can)
Warmest regards from France.
Pierre & Sophie
Pictures: Avignon bridge and Pope palace in the background; family house on the shore; Kids and Floyd the dog; Our home; Pierre and Sophie in front of Tarascon Castle; Provence painted by Van Gogh; Sophie and the four kids; Vegetables from Provence.
From Flat Mrs Cripps and Colleen in Minnesota, USA
Mrs Cripps traveled to Minnesota. She stayed in Chatfield MN where Ms Moore went on exchange to teach.
She stopped by a river that a lot of people go fishing on and canoeing. They also float down the river on tubes during the summertime. This river also travels from Chatfield to Lanesboro and eventually feeds into the Mississippi River (the river that runs from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico)
Mrs Cripps traveled to Fountain. This is where Ms Moore lived when she was in exchange.
Here are some of the wild flowers that grow here. One is alfalfa. It’s what farmers grow and feed to their cattle. The other is a wild sunflower. It’s much smaller than the tame flower. Sometimes they are called black eyed Susan’s
