In my 'drafts' box for this blog, sits an entry entitled, "The Love of a Place". It sits because the subject is also linked to it's kindred topic in the same entry--Homesickness. The later would seem to be impossible to delve into because it is still at the moment, too close to the heart. So there it sits, begun last weekend and parked until something gives in the raw sensitivity department and enables me to set it free. In other words, until I can write the entry without going through an entire jumbo-box of Kleenex---it's not to be (and who knows how long that might be?)
In France, there is beauty all around. It's a photographers utopia--even if you are only shooting with a simple compact automatic digital camera or a fully loaded 35mm with interchangeable lenses and gadgets. I recently commandeered my husband's Cannon Rebel and collection of lenses on our last visit to France. After playing with it--there was no going back to my little 'Sure-Shot'. I am still just a beginner, but in time I hope to master at least the ability to shoot some artistic representations of the way the images flash in my mind. Because the light is so truly amazing here I am experimenting with UV filters--which I find really can do interesting things to the image--or completely ruin it.
But back to the confessions. So my feeling is that it is easy to portray in images, the outrageously beautiful scenery and much coveted 'life-style' found here in France--(you can literally shoot anything here and make it look charming)...the life here as seen through the camera, or to the visitor for the first, second or even third vacation can appear to be superior to any other place in the world---et voilà!---the birth of a 'Francophile'.
But as I said before--my confession, I never caught that bug. Now, revelations. Living in France, is not exactly as seen in those pictures.....and it is not always how it reads in books---and trust me, I have read them all. Cultural travel memoirs, books about culture and cuisine especially, and books about European lifestyles are my genre; fiction, non-fiction...I have devoured every book I could get my hands on. Maybe it began with Peter Mayle's, "A Year In Provence", (followed by "Toujours Provence" and "French Lessons"). Years later "Under the Tuscan Sun", "1000 Days in Venice", "Le Divorce" and "Le Marriage", "On the Rue Tatin", "A Vineyard in Tuscany", no to name countless design and decor books and most recently, "Eat, Love, Pray", "Recipes for the Perfect Marriage", and last but not least, Elizabeth Bard's "Lunch in Paris".......to name a FEW. In the stack on my nightstand: "French Spirits", "Paris to the Moon", "Suite Francaise".....and for fun, "Talk to the Snail" by Stephen Clarke.
"NOT a Francophile?!" say you? Not even a "Europhile"? I know at this point it would seem 'au contraire', yes? I read dozens of blogs and many of them written about the joie de vivre of the French lifestyle, the beauty, the cultural landscape, the relaxed-pace of living in France...some have stunning images of country homes, Parisian scenes, and like mine, the markets, the food....the 'life' that appears so idyllic.
I recently have been speaking with the natives and quite a few Frenchies that have also spent time living in the US--and they all shared the common opinion that the French lifestyle as perceived by 'outsiders' is often a bit skewed by the cliche lunettes de couleurs roses. Living here, working here, fully entrenched in the daily grind of being French---is a much different reality.
So there it is my friends....another side of the proverbial coin. This weekend, after 2 long grueling weeks of being 'fully entrenched' I plan on returning to the mission of seeking what it is that is seen in those gorgeous and beautifully written books and blogs- I am heading out with my camera, spending hours in my tiny kitchen, and taking a stroll with my darling French husband, so that at for a short time I can enjoy ma vie en France! (at least for today!) Bon Weekend!
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