Friends tried to prepare me that I would have to acclimate to what is known as “Provence Time” when I was packing in the steel skies of Paris in exchange for the sapphire shine of the South. “Think of Island Time, then extend it,” they would knowingly toss out with a cigarette-dried rattle. I admit, this gave me pause. Paris was laughably languid, delightfully so, in comparison to my previous existence in Manhattan. So Provence would be… even slower, c’est ça?
Oui, c’est ça. The clocks, internal and external, seem to hesitate and hover. People linger, they dawdle, sometimes nothing gets done. It can drive me crazy, true, but after eight years, I have learned to embrace it. Because I realize that these extra hours–the stolen sieste, the café loll–are a key ingredient in the cake called Quality of Life, one the French and especially the Provençaux savour delicately.
During a recent getaway to the northern stretches of the Luberon, I felt time take another bendy yawn. Seasons sashayed in front of each other with the remains of last summer’s lavender perfuming the ochre leaves of autumn that refused to fall. And within that breathy gap were plenty of opportunities to see in the calm, and enjoy the present clasping hands with the past. The continuity of goodness–simple, solid stone farmhouses and brooks eddying over–is deeply reassuring. Why be quick to change when none is called for?
It is a question with an echo, and somewhere in the answer is the Provence Time of my contentment.
All text and images © Heather Robinson
Heather Robinson is a travel writer and photographer who resides in the south of France. You may visit Heather at Lost in Arles.
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HOORAY!I agree it can drive one mad but what is the hurry…………really?Those dishes will get done and well lets just enjoy this time together as tomorrow may not come!I find I’m constantly running around……….need to take note here!
xoxo
Quite right, Contessa. Why ARE we in such a hurry?
Heather brings the delicious slowness of a warm Provence afternoon to my gray Sunday morning. In the spirit of Provence time think I’ll pause for another espresso before starting on my list of to-dos!
Eh bien, Jeanne… Now I want an espresso too – though I’d like it at Heather’s side while petting Ben and Kipling!
Hello guys, that little stream bubbling along looks heavenly as does all of that part of the world. Heather, I think you said it perfectly and when compared to “island time” we all know what you mean. Just stop and take it allllllll in very very slowly.
I think that is partly the main reason why I go on holiday to just readjust my clock! Lovely and poetically expressed thought as always Heather!
One of the rare places in France I have very little knowledge of. I must go there soon! 🙂
Yes you must, Francois!
Ah yes, I remember taking my parents to Provence and not being seated until 10pm for our 8:30 dinner reservation because of a wedding that hadn’t quite finished – not to worry, the bride welcomed us and gave us all drinks! 🙂 Ahh…the South!
Hello there! I just wanted to stop by and say thank you everyone for your lovely comments and to the amazing D for welcoming my little guest post.
And I find myself on Provence Time myself today…got so little done but had a lovely lunch with my honey. If that isn’t living the life here, I don’t know what is. 🙂
Thanks Heather. I miss Provence and attended university there. Monte St Victoire was a welcoming sight every morning as was a stroll down the Cours Mirabeau. I wonder if they still hold concerts in the coliseum in Arles, you can still drive across the aquaduct at Nimes and whether Avignon has been over run by tourists. I enjoyed the writing and pictures. Enjoy yourself and I will live vicariously until I can get back.
Hello Curtis and lucky you to have gone to Uni in Aix, one of my favorite cities on the planet. So let’s see…starting this year, they are going back to having concerts in the Arena here in Arles on top of the fabulous concerts in the Antique Theatre (I have tickets to see Melody Gardot in July)…I think that you mean the Pont du Gard aquaduct north of Nimes and NO you can’t drive across the top anymore! But I have seen the photos…and Avignon? Hmm…Yes and no. The Palais des Papes is as visited as ever but step to the next street over and you will have it to yourself! 🙂
Heather, the quintessential travel writer and photographer!! I should have known that you and BigLittleWolf would be collaborating colleagues… Living in, and savoring, the moment, rather than rushing right past it (as my profession has encouraged and so often seemed to mandate), has become a requirement, and one of the biggest challenges, in my life. I look forward to hearing more from each (and maybe both?) of you on this subject. Thank you for this inspiring post! Fondly, Leslie
P.S. Did Ben and Kipling, and you and Remi, get to play in the beautiful stream in your photograph?
This post is exactly what I needed to read after a hectic few weeks here in Paris. Thank you, D.A for welcoming Heather to guest post. Heather always manages to put me at ease with her words like a song.
This post is reminder to take it easy and to enjoy this thing called “quality of life” – something that is amazingly easy to overlook. Thank you again.
Oh Heather… Thank you for the instant vacation call your article installed in me! 😀
Actually they get things done in Provence as well. And why hurry? Quid hoc ad aeternitatem? I love this mindset. Yes, I love being focussed and on time and a crazy perfectionist, but it’s like with driving – sometimes you enjoy the vitesse, sometimes you just cruise, wind in your hair, watching the landscapes change.
BigLittleWolf, gimme more Heather 😉