The joys of travel include the unexpected delights of meeting interesting people and accepting their invitations to see and do things that were not in the itinerary. This week I exchanged texts with Christine, a woman I met at All Saints last Sunday. I asked if we might meet for coffee or lunch, while aware that she and her husband live north of the city. Several texts later, and I found myself purchasing tickets to and from Manosque. She had graciously invited me to an overnight at their home, and I decided I could not pass up the chance to visit the home of local inhabitants, British ex-pats who of course speak English!

That will be the highlight of my weekend, and then on Monday I will go to Nice with the rest of the Cru team. So, a short post today but with several photos for you to enjoy if you like.

June 11 was a “normal” day, and I took Sydney to a playground we like. She loves to hop on the horse and yell “Yee-ha!” as she also did on the carrousel in the Vieux Port. But this time she slipped and hit her nose. Owww! I rushed to her side with the tote holding her essentials, only to discover that I must have left the baby wipes back at the pâtisserie where we had had a treat.

I was not helpless, however. Three other mamans et grands-mères rushed to my aid, offering tissues and pointing out where she was bleeding. The sisterhood in action! After stemming the flow, I retraced our steps–no baby wipes at the pâtisserie–and purchased more. We went back to the playground, where I told the leader of the helpers, Merci encore pour votre aide. Tout va bien maintenant! Thank you again for your help. Everything is fine now!

June 12…I was able to get away in the morning for a nice walk. I decided to wander along Baille Boulevard. I found a great supermarket where I bought some navettes, shortbread cookies Marseille is known for. They were originally baked for pilgrims to take as a long-lasting cookie for their travels.

That day I carved out some time to make some art. I have a little collage kit I take on my travels, consisting of a tiny handmade “fairy book” by Sugarboo & Co., a glue stick, scissors, a couple pens, and snippets of paper I collect from making larger collages. The rest of this post will be a gallery of samples from that little book. (The photos have a little pen showing on the edge, since it is impossible to lay the book flat without it.) Whether you like them or not, I hope it inspires you to try your hand at whatever kind of art you have thought about trying!

I look forward to sharing my experiences when I get back from Nice in a few days. À bientôt! See you soon!