Dear Readers,
From a tad-bit-chilly but mostly sunny Saint-Rémy-de-Provence…
Wherever you may be, I hope that you and your loved ones are well and that this holiday time brings you joy. Wishing you all the very, very best for a safe, healthy, happy, and hopeful 2024!
My heartfelt appreciation goes out to each and every one of you for your spirited support of this blog (and Instagrams!) throughout the year. And for continuing to spread the word about The Birdwatcher’s Wife: A Quest across France for Birds and La Belle Vie, as well as Passion for Provence: 22 Keys to La Belle Vie. With all my heart, Mille Fois Merci!
As 2023 draws to a close and we begin New Year 2024, I hope you’ll venture into nature more and more—and with a particular interest in watching and listening to our feathered friends. To identify birdsong, try the free app called Merlin—très easy and fun.
Grosses bises, Gayle
PS
Book Number Three is in the works. Progress would be much faster if I weren’t distracted by so many of the enticing pleasures of Provence—like discovering there’s a direct train from Avignon to Mannheim, next door to Heidelberg, where Ralph and I lived and worked for many years. So a few weeks ago, we hopped aboard the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) to catch up with friends and visit the Christmas market—like a mini Strassbourg marché de noël. It was as delightful as ever, especially the Friesen Punsch, a special vin chaud with an extra bloop of rum—yummy! After freezing for a week, it was lovely to return to the relative warmth of Saint-Rémy, and much of the time, glorious sapphire skies.
*Holiday Book Sale on Amazon: A gift idea for your Francophile friends, perhaps? The Kindle version of both Passion for Provence and The Birdwatcher’s Wife will be on sale ($2.99) throughout December. Happy reading!
Gayle Smith Padgett 