I have never seen a multi-colored Fatima before. The rainbow-coated hand tickles a sluggish passer-by, Reveille-toi! Reveille-toi! Wake up! Wake up and paint the town! (Picture taken on the Ile de Ré. Watch out for the cougars.)
Today's word is le pecheur, after the mention in Jean-Marc's letter, just below. Read it in French or in English, and listen to the recorded letter: Download MP3 or Download Wav file
le pêcheur (pesh-er)
: fisherman
Finally, the news!
Chers amis, Dear friends,
Après 5 années de grande intensité, nous avons décidé d'ouvrir une nouvelle porte de notre vie familiale. Nous venons tout juste de nous installer au bord de la Mer Méditerranée, à proximité du village de pêcheurs de Bandol. After 5 very intense years, we have decided to open a new door in our family life. We have just settled beside the Mediterranean seashore, close to the fishermen's village of Bandol.
Bien entendu, cela peut sembler étonnant de quitter notre vignoble de coeur mais nous avons suivi notre instinct qui nous mène vers la mer. Nous resterons néanmoins très liés au Domaine Rouge-Bleu et je continuerai à en assurer une partie de la distribution. Of course, this may seem surprising to leave our cherished vineyard, but we have followed our instinct which leads us to the sea. We will remain, however, very tied to Domaine Rouge-Bleu and I will continue to ensure a part of its distribution.
Bienvenue à Caroline et Thomas à qui nous passons maintenant le témoin. Je détaillerai dans une future édition les raisons qui nous ont poussés à ce changement majeur de notre vie. Caroline et Thomas se présenteront à vous tout prochainement. A big welcome to Caroline and Thomas to whom we now pass the baton. I will give more details, in a future post, about the reasons that pushed us towards this major change in our life. Caroline and Thomas will introduce themselves to you very soon (in an upcoming post).
Entre temps, les vignettes de Kristi prennent une petite pause mais, rassurez-vous, elles reviendront très vite avec l'air marin… Meantime, Kristi's vignettes will take a little break but, rest assured, they'll be back quickly, with the sea breeze.
Nous vous remercions pour tous vos messages de soutien. We thank you for your messages of support.
Jean-Marc & Kristi
Some people are so creative.
Discover more from French Word-A-Day
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Kristin & Jean-Marc, best wishes to you and your family as you begin this new chapter. All things happen as intended and while it must be difficult to leave the home and memories you’ve created in St. Cecile, there will be more memories and adventure awaiting you in Bandol. I anxiously await your stories by the Sea….and darnit….guess I’ll have to check out Bandol on my next visit!
Kristin ans Jean-Marc,
bonne chance, mes bons amis!
All the best on your new adventure! I will live my dream through you, with your stories and pictures of my dream retirement.
Felicitations a ce change d’aire. je me rapelle bien de Bandol au temps de mon stage a Marseille.
J’espere que les gosses sont aussi content que vous, mais sinon cela viendra!
amitiés,
yo
Is it ok to say I’m sad about the move? I will miss the vignettes from Provence, almost as much as Braise, Smokie, Max, and Jackie will miss the place where they were raised, and where their roots will remain. I wish all of you wel in the transition to a new way of life.
Ha! Wonderful news! A new chapter of life that will make for many chapters of your books. The best comment of all is from your mom of course – made me laugh out loud – “driving the little yellow man around” all the roads of Bandol. I know that Google maps obsession well, using it to check out far flung French villages that I consider for a secret get-away. Perhaps we will get a glimpse of Smokey and Braise in the next Google pass through of Bandol! Felicitations to you all, and much happiness there.
Ellen from Beverly Hills
Well…So happy re your news !! Looks like a lovely place …I see they have grapes there too…so maybe another winery? There is something very calming and healing about living by the sea and what beautiful views !!
The climate will be MUCH kinder too. Hope your teens will not drag their feet too much…they always seem to think it’s the end of the world if they have to make big moves…but soon adjust. I’m sure the beach and bikini lifestyle will be a bit of a incentive for them though !!
Lucky old Jules is going to join you soon !
In the meantime “we” all will have to wait patiently for the new “Word a Day” and photos of your new wonderful (warmer) life in the south of France… Bonne Chance!!
Congrats, I knew it had to be a move. Your clue gave it away! I’m excited to read about this new chapter! Also, I have to say that I’m in total agreement that you shouldn’t stress over the content of your posts. I enjoy them, always! As a last thought, thanks for the link to PermissionSlips – I love what I’ve read, and will be subscribing!
All the best to you guys, and do keep a close eye on the pups in their new surroundings. We know they like to wander, and we don’t know if we could go through another heart-wrenching puppy story!
Congratulations, and may you and Jean-Marc have many happy years in your new home.
Felicitations !
You are back in Var and so much nearer to Les Arcs. Perhaps we can even catch up for a coffee one day.
It must have been so hard to leave that beautiful vineyard – we have watched over the years as you built up the house, the garden and vineyard to the success it is.
Now you start a new phase in life and we’ll watch with interest as it develops into something just as wonderful.
Bonne chance !
Congratulations Kristin, Jean-Marc and the children.
Any move is a huge change and it takes a while to adjust, but I am sure you have thought it out well.
All the best for everything!!!
Love,
Rina.
OMG!! I knew you had something up your sleeve. We were going to contact you today to invite you both to lunch, as we will be in Provence for the next couple of weeks;perhaps there will be another time? We can’t believe it has been 5 years since you moved to St. Cecile. Hasn’t the time just flown? Well, we both admire your ability to change and we wish you and the family all the very best for your new life by the sea. Looking forward to blogs from Bandol. Bonne chance!xxxx
Félicitations to the entire Espinasse family. I look forward to sharing your new life by the sea. I’m sure it will be as full of adventures as your vineyard years.
So spooky! And what a coincidence! I’m currently reading a book by Carol Drinkwater – The Olive Route. It’s about her personal journey through the Mediterranean countries to discover the origins of the olive tree. The chapter I happened to be reading, last night, before I went to sleep was about her time in Tunisia, in which she was describing the doors of the flat-roofed houses in Djerba, with many of them displaying the hand of Fatma (Fatima); a symbol of good fortune! I opened your e-mail first thing this morning, and to my surprise, low and behold, there it was; the hand of Fatima!! Say no more!!
Kristin and Jean-Marc,
I wish you the very best in your new life! Change is time for excitement and a bit of fear but I know this will be wonderful for you. I look forward to “notes from a new life!”
I hope we see you soon on our upcoming visit.
Margaret in Durham anticipating 3 glorious weeks in Provence!
I would just like to add my best wishes! Bandol looks beautiful. So excited for you and Jean-Marc as you begin a new chapter in your life. Can’t wait to read all about it!
I guessed it! The reference to perhaps not seeing the lovely old plant man again was the clue. You are moving. To the seaside, how wonderful. I would swap the whole Black Forest for the beach any day! Good luck and good nerves for the move! You will be sorely missed in your present area, I’m sure. Hope all goes smoothly! Look forward to hearing about your new neighbours and surroundings!
What a wonderful place for your new adventures! Jack and I remember mentioning Bandol when we stopped to visit you and saw the light in both faces when that town near the sea was mentioned.
If the sea is in your blood almost anywhere else seems claustrophobic so we are sure your new residence will inspire wonderful news for us all on French Word a Day. Can’t wait until you have time for new posts!!
My wife and I made a very similar move at about your age, and it was the best thing we ever did. Congratulations and we all look forward to continuing to hear about life in France.
Congratulations and the very best of luck on this new chapter of your lives! I’m very excited for you and looking forward to hearing of your adventures and viewing all the new pictures! Dieu Benissent!
It was so good to finally get your news! (I thought maybe you were going to have a baby. Especially when you showed the nostalgic pictures of your children when they were younger.) Your move sounds exciting. Blessings and strength for all the many details of the move. Martin & I made a big move when we moved from California to Canada after our retirement. I loved all the planning and preparation, and I love our new home of one year and exploring and still feeling like we are really home at last. Even though I’m an American, my home is wherever my best friend and husband is.
I just discovered this blog in May (while boning up on my French before a trip to Provence) and I just got your two books from Amazon in the past week, so I am happy (and relieved to know) you will continue the blog. My wife and I have not been to Bandol but we have been to Cassis twice. What a lovely area. Bonne chance!
Alors, BIENVENUE! My husband and I lived in the Luberon for 10 years, and although we didn’t have a wine business, we had grapes and olives and gardens enough to keep us busy from dawn to dusk. Five years ago we sold it all and moved to BANDOL! You’re going to love the sparkle of the sea and life in general here on the coast! And the wine, as you know, is very special. Look forward to positive change and wide horizons!
Congratulations! What a wonderful new adventure. Bon Chance!
Best wishes to la famille Espinasse as you begin your new life in Bandol. You are in our hearts as you go through this transition. Life by the sea will be full of new possibilities and adventures! Bon chance et bisous!!
Mois, je viens d’ouvrir un bon bouteille de Domaine Rouge-Bleu pour feter les nouvelles. Sante’!!!
Felicitations! It sounds like a wonderful move for your family. Kristin, I hope you will heed the sage advice from your readers and take time for yourself once everyone is settled in the new place. BTW – Readers, thanks for inspiring me with your wonderful wisdom.
Bravo et felecitations!
Sounds like a wonderful change! I wish you all happiness with the move. I aspire to living by the sea (now at least living on a coast in New York City) so cannot wait to hear all about it when you’re up to writing about it. Bon chance!
Wow! After all the work you’ve done in the vinyard and on the house….what a HUGE change! I can’t wait to hear the details.
Don’t tell me that Jean-Marc is now going into the seafood business!!!
Bon chance!
Bisous.
BTW, have you told les chiens about this move yet? What do THEY think of this?
KRISTI –
IF YOU DON’T CALL ME SOON I AM GOING TO START TELLING STORIES HERE ABOUT ALL OF YOUR SECRETS…!!!
XOXO
MOM
I now recall that when asking you for a recommendation for this autumn’s trip to Provence, you said JM loves Bandol. We should have taken you up on that as we could have helped you unpack!
I met a French law student of ours from yesterday who is from Avignon. He taught me the correct pronunciation of Bandol. Something like bonne-dohl. Now maybe I won’t embarrass myself.
Cher Kristi et Jean-Marc, Felicitations! What an exciting new chapter in your lives.
We wish you bonne chance, and hope to visit the next time we are in Provence.
All the very best, Annabelle and Bill
Pack the hat and the sunscreen, and bring a bucket and shovel to build your magical sand castle! Crown it with sea urchins and let a hermit crab move in. Oh, and don’t forget to bring a bag for the shells, while remembering to sing: “She sells seashells by the shining seashore!”
Bandol is lovely. Bonne chance! Cheers~
Congratulations Kristin and Jean-Marc! Enjoy being by the sea! Life is such a fun adventure….enjoy it!
I love wine but oh, a hoem by the sea! I am hoping for one on Lake Michigan
Wonderful. They say if we don’t make changes in life we become dinasours! Life by the sea. I can appreciate that as I am only 4 blocks from the ocean. With all the new gardening you are going to be doing and all the veggies you will be planting, perhaps “the cougar” will open her own stall at the market 😉 I assumed Jean-Marc had always had a certain link to the sea as it seemed that you always took holidays and outings near there. You will love it. Hope the kids are ok with it also.
Bon chance to the whole family – do the doggies love to swim?
What an exciting new adventure you’ve embarked on! Every wonderful thing, every new favorite person and place will surely be an inspiration to share with all of us. I’m looking forward to getting to know Bagnol via you! Bon courage and best wishes!
Congratulations on an exciting new adventure. I always look forward to your new posts and certainly will now. I have had the great fortune to travel with my father to France on a couple of occasions and we made Saintes-Maries-de-la-mer our headquarters while in provence. What a beautiful and diverse country France is!
That’s wonderful, Kristi. I imagine you are feeling a bit wistful, though, at leaving a part of your life behind — the place where you were the mom of young children. Transitions like this are important.
You will settle in to your new life in Bandol and enjoy it hugely, and with your talent of sensitive observation and reportage, we will be the beneficiaries. Felicitations and bon courage! May you find yourself in just the right place. Alice xo
A friend who wishes you the best, joyce Hoover
That announcement even gave ME larmes! Bon courage à tous!
Elyse
Hi Kristen and John-Marc,
Woo Hoo… You all are hipsters now : ) It sure takes courage to choose change, have fun and enjoy your new space and all the loveliness and success it will bring you. Dangle your feet off of a dock for me, okay? And I am with Shelagh, wear the sunscreen, the REALLY noticeable white stuff that does not allow ANY sun to get thru to skin.
Bonne chance,
Patty in Bethesda, MD
Dear Kristin and Jean Marc,
I am so happy for you.I cherish Bandol.I/we have very good friends who live there,Guy and Michelle Levy.,and all their children and grand children.We met while they were living in California.My husband Richard and Guy were always commiserating on lasers!..
Hopefully,your paths will cross.I am excited for you.
Another adventure in life. They do grow grapes in that area, too. Will you? At least you won’t need to worry about hurricanes living near the sea as we do here in Florida. (Isaac just passed us by, thankfully.) Can’t wait to hear how the dogs react to their new territory. Can’t wait to hear about everything. Don’t keep us waiting and enjoy every moment of your new adventure.
Aug. 30
Merci pour le deux langues ensemble!
C’est bon comme ca Continue cela s’il vous plait MMH