Seasons in the Sun: The South of France: A Second Year of Visual Visits to Roussillon

By Salley J Robins

Bonjour Encore Cher Ami! (Hello Again, Dear Friend!) The door's open again for you to come on into the South of France...
Welcome to a second year of visual visits to the ancient kingdom of Roussillon, known in modern times as department 66, the Pyrénées Orientales. You are the most important character in this story which filled with rich visual descriptions of the joyful everyday experiences of living in a small French village. "C'est belle la vie" (Life is beautiful) when you join us in the South of France!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Salley J Robins
• Release date: Oct 31, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311208491

Salley J Robins

A writer who loves bringing readers into her world. A storyteller, poet, and amateur photographer, Salley writes with passion. She adores travel and sharing the good things in life. Currently based in the South of France, her unique voice speaks with enthusiasm about the culture, history, and people of the region.To preview that Taste of France you will find a blog and a few stories on her website. However, she also enjoys writing in a variety of styles which include YA sci-fi, adult fantasy and surprisingly - an adult steamy novel - Never Say Kiss me to a Frenchman! under the pen name of Lascivia Bené!Her eBooks-only "South of France" books are visual visits designed to welcome readers right into her sunny village on the Côte Vermeille. A historical-fiction-fantasy book about life with the California Indians in Yosemite delights readers of all ages. For the ten-to-twenty group as well as the young-at-heart, she delighted in creating a trilogy of sci-fi adventures set on Mars. Arthurian Legends of Avalon inspired her two Adult Fantasy/Sci-Fi novels.As she edits her 11th novel, she draws on the experience of nineteen years of life in France to solve a mystery and warn her readers that one must "Never Say Paint me to a Frenchman!"

Book preview

Seasons in the Sun – The South of France

A Second Year of Visual Visits to Roussillon

By Salley J Robins

Copyright © 2014 All Rights Reserved

Smashwords Edition

Seasons in the Sun

Dedicated to the man who flew away to France with me:

The sunshine in every day of my life, my husband.

Without whom, none of these adventures would have happened.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - Avant-Mots (Preface)

Chapter 2 - Early Winter -Vive Le Vent! (Long Live the Wind!)

Chapter 3 - Mid-Winter - Soleil d’Hiver: Les Mimosas (Winter Sunshine: Mimosas!)

Chapter 4 - Late Winter - Accrochez Votre Chapeau! (Hang onto Your Hat!)

Chapter 5 - Early Spring - Bienvenue, les Hirondelles (Welcome to the Swallows)

Chapter 6 - Mid-Spring - Le Paradis Trouvé (Paradise Found)

Chapter 7 - Late Spring - La Vie en Cerise! (Life in Cherry Pink!)

Chapter 8 - Early Summer - Un Café à Collioure

Chapter 9 - Mid-Summer - Le Chanson des Cigales (Song of the Cicadas)

Chapter 10 - Late Summer - Dansons! (Let’s Dance!)

Chapter 11 - Early Autumn - Adieu, Les Hirondelles (Farewell to the Swallows)

Chapter 12 - Mid-Autumn – Fêtons les Vins Primeurs (Let’s Celebrate the New Wines)

Chapter 13 - Late Autumn - Temps Chaleureux & Muscat de Noël (Warm Weather & Christmas Wine)

Chapter 14 - Après - mots (After-words)

Chapter 15- More Information

Chapter 1 - Avant-Mots (Preface)

It’s time for you to be in the south of France where you will find a warm welcome. You can start anytime you want and visit any season and guess what? It’s another sunny day. Travel brochures claim that our department (number 66) on the Mediterranean coast has 300 days of sunshine a year. You ask yourself, Can that be true? Oh yes, dear friend. But don’t be put off by the thought of day after day of monotonous sunshine. There is variety and a range of beautiful seasons for you to enjoy. Be ready for a few showers and dramatically windy days as well! But as with any ocean-side life, the weather moves on quickly and soon you are in the sunshine once again.

You will find it is just as we’ve promised you before: This is your secret French getaway in the Pyrénées-Orientales, the modern day department that was once the ancient kingdom of Roussillon. Here are your days spent in our little French village and the towns and cities nearby. The tourists rarely see more than the hot August days when the beaches are packed to overflowing. However, when you step into our world, you are no tourist - you are one of us. This is the real Roussillon. Just come on in, the door is open to The South of France.

These days spent with you were inspired by the monthly South of France internet postings published under the pen name of R. Salley. All photos were taken by the author or her husband.

(Return to Table of Contents)

Chapter 2 - Early Winter - Vive-le-Vent! (Long Live the Wind!)

Bon ! Vous et ici! (Good! You are here!) Welcome to another bright day in the south of France! No, you aren’t imagining it. The sky really is robin’s egg blue and bright winter sunshine pours like pale gold honey across the Roussillon Plain. It creates artistic shadows between the rows of bare plants in the neatly trimmed vineyards around our village. The last shreds of autumnal color still highlight the landscape with soft yellows, deep oranges, and gold - though they are muted and some trees are completely bare. Still, the beauty of the wide rolling plain surrounded on three sides by the foothills and facing the deep blue Med. is enough to send any self-respecting artist mad with longing.

It makes you understand why Picasso, Matisse, Dufy, and so many noted artists moved into the area during the last century. They came, they marveled, created a scene, created masterpieces, and ran up such huge hotel bills that some of them paid off their debts with paintings. Let us commiserate with their dilemma. How difficult it must be to capture all of this or even just some of the beauty on canvas, print, or screen. There are so many shades of green and gold cast across the rolling plain, interspersed with the old stone buildings and red tiled roofs of the villages. At the beaches, the mysterious deep blue of the Mediterranean shifts hues in an endless cycle of change. In the distance, Mount Canigou is ever present in the landscape. The slumbering giant of a mountain, white topped with snow, surveys the domain with a beneficent gaze. No wonder it is the sacred mountain of the Catalan people who dwelled here long before the French and Spanish went to war over this part of the world. Every little road holds the promise of graceful trees to embrace your voyage and enhance your travel pleasure by