always follow personal rules

We've developed a rule of thumb in our travels, whereby we insist on staying a minimum of three nights (and thus, two days) in every location on our itinerary. We made an exception for the Riviera, because I was dying to make a stop for some world-class modern art viewing, and while I'm glad we did (see more below), I'm reminded of why we don't like to build our intineries this way... four hours (plus getting-lost time) in the car will be a welcome relief for my tired feet tomorrow.

We hit the Matisse & Chagall museums in Nice today (The Musuem of Modern & Contemporary Art is closed on Mondays... whoops). Both were great (and managable! All musuems should feature just one artist...). I really enjoy modern art in general, but especially so in contrast to the likes of the Louvre (& most European museums). The bright colors, contemporary interpretations & abstract depictions of timeless themes, simple shapes and creative mediums do me well.

The Chagall Museum was particularly interesting for his Old Testament paintings (done especially for this museum). I love the way he draws out themes of the relationality of God's character in some of the seemingly-cruelest stories of the biblical narrative (the sacrifice of Isaac, the fall, the flood, & on & on & on...). Chagall was raised a Hasidic Jew, so his use of the crucifixion to represent the suffering of the Jews (particularly in his time - Holocaust) is pretty interesting.

Backtracking on our intinerary... as I mentioned previously, Provence was absolutely wonderful. We stayed at a great B&B, which, in many ways, made our time what it was. Our hosts, John & Monique, were so (SO) knowledgable on the area. All their recommendations were spot-on, and John's impecable directions didn't lead us astray a single time. We day-tripped from our B&B each of our four days in Provence, and John seemed pleased that we had really tasted an authentic glimpse of Provence by the time we left. If he thinks we have an accurate picture, I'm more than willing to take his word for it.

Perhaps the highlight of our time in Provence was just the simple daily routine of breakfast in the garden. John & Monique would prepare a wonderful array of fruit salad (including a particular apricot combo I'm going to be attempting to recreate upon returning home), homemade jams with lovely baguettes, big/fluffy croissants, yogurt (which I took as an opportunity to consume more of that yummy melon jam), coffee in a FRENCH press (no one else seems to be serving French presses... perhaps we should start calling them Freedom presses?), etc. We'd take an hour or so for breakfast each morning, nibbling our way through John's thoughtful creations, perched upon our little Provencal daybeds, discussing with John & Monique what was in store for our day's discovery. What a special experience...

Since I'm on highlights, Collioure was certainly one. This little beach town is oh-so-romantic (perfect for a mother/daughter getaway!), makes a great French/Spanish fusion (Catalan) in all respects and was surprisingly peaceful (despite the hordes of French vacationers - I can't say the same about Nice). Save for our dinner of raw seafood, Collioure was just a perfect little French beach vacation from our vacation.

And finally... Paris will definitely make my list of favorite major cities. I was prepared to be disenchanted, realizing it was just as noisy, dirty and slimy as Rome... but it's not. Now don't get me wrong, it's no Vienna - but its public transit alone is enough to make a Portlander convert. In many ways (and showing my true lack of worldliness), I found Paris a happy medium between Rome and Vienna. It has Rome's style with Vienna's moderation. It poo-poos Vienna's stuffy attitude (which I didn't mind) for Rome's appreciation of things uncouthe. It's professional with all the comforts of real-life (baguettes tucked under suit-clad arms on the way home from work). Its residents appreciate its cultural signficance (pinics at the foot of the Eiffel tower), but aren't defined by it (a modern monument that says 'peace' in countless languages sits opposite the walkway from the Eiffel Tower).

It's going to be rough to return to a land where croissants are not a normal breakfast (I found a cinnamon roll this morning [which a French twist, of course] and ohhhhh... I realized American pasteries may be a welcome shock to the system after all), where baguettes are not served with every meal and where the cheese selection is not in the hundreds, but BBQ IS sounding pretty delectable at the moment. (And ice cubes. And milk.)

I expect this will be the last blog posting until I return home, sift through pictures, recount my trip enough times to figure out which stories are worth telling, etc... Until then, much love! - b.