20 Comments

Just what I need....a list of more books to read! LOL! Great! I see some "gems" in here I may need to track down. Might come in handy if I decide to suddenly lose my mind and get on an airplane!

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Jul 26Liked by jodi {fiftybeautifulthings}

Beautiful. Is it Fontaine de la Rotonde in Aix en Provence ?

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Yes, the first photo is Aix - and thank you!

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Jul 24Liked by jodi {fiftybeautifulthings}

Bonjour! I just discovered your wonderful Substack. I can't wait to dig into the archive :)

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Hello! And welcome - I'm glad you found me. Thank you so much for subscribing! :)

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Jul 21Liked by jodi {fiftybeautifulthings}

We missed the Matisse chapel too. Sigh… As always, your photos are enchanting.

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Jul 21Liked by jodi {fiftybeautifulthings}

Off to the South of France in September so this is invaluable thanks Jodi!

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Wonderful - lucky you!! I'll look forward to reading about it! =)

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Jul 20Liked by jodi {fiftybeautifulthings}

Thank you for the list of books! They will mean much more to me, now that I have spent a little time between Nîmes and Avignon, and a little time on the coast around Hyeres. I had only been in Nice (and briefly) before. What beautiful countryside and beautiful people. ❤️

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Thanks Etta! I agree, I'm reading a book set in Avignon (the one I mentioned above) and it's so nice to be able to picture the scenes that are described exactly...it really does add to the experience!

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Jul 20Liked by jodi {fiftybeautifulthings}

So enjoyable - as ever. Thank you Jodi! Interested to know what you think of Mary Stewart as she's on my (horribly long) reading list.

South of France novel - definitely Bonjour Tristesse...

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Thank you, Laura! Mary Stewart has been on my reading list forever, too...I thought it was high time to start! I'm enjoying it so far, but I will say I'm struggling with the typeface - don't you hate it when that happens?? Publishers should know which typefaces are easy to read by now, shouldn't they? I need to put Bonjour Tristesse on my list, too.

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Jul 20Liked by jodi {fiftybeautifulthings}

Oh a typeface can stop me reading altogether, completely agree.

Bonjour Tristesse is a marvel. So sophisticated it's impossible to believe that Sagan wrote it when she was 18.

Also it's very short... (!!!!)

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Jul 20·edited Jul 20Liked by jodi {fiftybeautifulthings}

Thank you for your recommendations, they feel like a cute little duffel bag in a French hotel, a useful supplement. It’s wonderful when travelling somewhere to really immerse yourself in the culture of a place by reading something of it. It’s a beautiful extra layer.

I know the Peter Mayle books about Provence but haven’t heard of the Fortescue books. How wonderful. I love that time period too.

May you have many more wonderful adventures! (And most DEFINITELY photograph and write about them!!!)

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Thank you so much for the nice comment, Julie! I agree - I love reading books associated with my travels, I'm glad someone else feels the same!

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❤️😘

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Jul 20Liked by jodi {fiftybeautifulthings}

This was lovely, Jodi.

I like Arles, Avignon, and the Roman theatre in Orange. It's a lovely part of the world. Thank you for exploring it for us!

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Thank you Jeffrey! I wish I had seen the Roman theater in Orange, but after a month in Arles I was kind of Roman ruin-ed out.

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Jul 20Liked by jodi {fiftybeautifulthings}

There's an amazing amount of interesting stuff here. I'm afraid it could lead me down a lot of rabbit holes... Julia Child, Durrell and Matisse, together at last.

And now I'm scratching my head thinking about how I can swing $5K per night to stay at Julie and Paul's cottage. I might need to stand on a stool to cook in her kitchen, though, if it's the same high counters as that one in the Smithsonian.

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So glad you enjoyed it! I know - it looks pretty heavenly, doesn't it??

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