We had three reasons why we chose Avignon. The First, it was on the very western edge of Provence and could perhaps offer us a different flavor of the region. For almost seventy years, from 1309 to 1377, the city was the home to a succession of popes; a “satellite” office of the Vatican in… Continue reading

The entrance to Grotte de Saint Cezare (“Cave of Saint Cezaire”) was deceptive. The nondescript beige-colored building with the undersized balcony in the middle of the woods could not possibly be the entrance to an underground network of tunnels. Maybe this was the ticket office or the gift shop. We would still have to tromp… Continue reading

Tuscany is replete with popular tourist attractions: the Statue of David, the Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The same could not be said of Provence; it has a unique appeal all its own. There was the scenic esplanade, the Promenade des Anglais, in Nice. Further west along the coast was the… Continue reading

The Head Note, perceived upon applying the scent. Maybe if I had known what a nose (perfumer) was much earlier in life then things might have turned out differently. But how was I to know that such a thing even existed, let alone dream of becoming one? I am an immigrant; a child of laborers… Continue reading