How to live like a local in Provence?
 

It's only for two weeks...I know, too short of a time. But this summer we've rented a house near Bedoin and want to try our best to "live" the lifestyle.

Important to doing this was having a great kitchen and knowing that markets, butchers, bakers, etc. were within walking distance. This is confirmed.

As seasoned provence travellers, what other tips would you offer? What, besides food, in your opinion is central to the provencal way of life?

Thanks!

jen

Not speaking too loud, not being impatient, speaking reasonable French, not doing anything (apart from eating and siesta) between 13h00 and 16h00, and not expecting any independent shops to be open during that time slot either. But it also includes shopping at huge, convenient, but ugly hypermarkets such as Carrefour or Géant Casino, drink way too much pastis at Sunday barbecues, discussing not very politically correct politics (check the Front national's performance in the Vaucluse in the upcoming April and June elections), and having to put up with miles of not very attractive gasoline alleys surrounding even medium sized towns.

..sorry, there is no way you can "live like a local" as you aren't. You are a tourist and will remain so. However, a suggestion that I have is to learn the language..may take several years of study and a lot of practice. However, if you start now even simple vocabulary will really inhance the trip. Even the butcher will be different. The animal is usually cut differently. I would suggest that you are familiar with the part of the animal that the cut of meat comes from on the steer and describe this as saying a "strip loin" for example won't work.

Say "Merci Madame" when you leave a shop - even if it's a butcher shop

We'll be in a Gite very close to you this summer. We were there for 2 weeks in '05. Great market on Monday in Bedoin. There is an adequage grocery there also. Several boulangeries, charcuteries/bucheries, and lots of cafes. Many simple restaurants - one a "pasta" place.

Buy a market basket as soon as you arrrive, and take it with you to the grocery. Plastic bags are become more scarce at groceries in France (they were worthless anyway).

I hope you're planning on a bike ride up Mt Ventoux !!!

We'll be there the enitire month of June - returning July 8. If your visit is later than that, post here & I'll give you a run-down on restaurants. Our favorite is l'Oustalet in Gigondas.

Your name seem familiar - did you & I exchange e-mails earlier??

Stu Dudley

It is endearing to ask how to cook those cuts as well - return a second time and get "the smile" and I got the "Bonjour Madame, Comment est-ce que je peux vous aider ?" His eagerness and seemed pleased that I had returned ... it is a nice feeling.

You won't "live" the lifestyle anymore than I would live the California/N Mexico/Alabama, etc life style if I were to spend two weeks in those areas.

What so strange about Americans that they want to "fit in" in just 2 weeks when it takes others a lifetime to do so? You'll be visitors in Provence, you'll miss the acquaintances, the language, the invitations to a meal into a French home, in other words the gist of the country.

Believe me, provençaux don't all go to the market in L'Isle sur Sorgue, they leave that to foreigners. Their houses do not necessarily sport "provençal" designer kitchen towels and they don't all drink pastis and spread origan all over their steak.

Of course Pvoyageuse is correct, renting for 2 weeks does not make one "provencaux." But really, is there any harm in merely "pretending"? Go to the butcher, baker and candle stick makers? Give them one's custom?
Are there not a great many non-French owning property in the Cote d'Azure and Provence? They may have lived there for years, do they get to be provencaux at some point? Is it a time requirement?
It is not necessarily a matter of wanting to fit in - its a matter of pretending that for a short time, one could live like that.
And truly, for that short time, one can merely, not so much fit in, but "Live the life style".
Sheesh PV ??

SuzieC

Nothing wrong with "pretending" of course. And yes, there are lots of foreigners who have bought property in Provence and elsewhere in France.

It even started with P.Mayle which did a lot of harm to the place, believe me
:-))
I read a while ago on Fodor's the sad story of someone who had rented a place in France from a British owner who had fitted the flat with British electric plugs. Can you imagine going to the US for your holidays, renting from a German owner and having to buy a European adapter to be able to shave? So much for living "like the locals".

I don' think there is a time requirement to "fit in". But IMO you'd have to be pretty fluent in the language otherwise you'd miss a lot.
Not typical of Provence of course, the same would happen to anybody moving to a new place. It takes a while to develop a special relationship to the owner of the nearest gas station in the US too.

If it's a small town, the time required for a newcomer - even a French person - to fit in is approximately forever.

Hey, jengoestofrance, I don't want to hijack your thread. But Stu, I'd be very interested in anything you can share about the Haut Vaucluse (since you mentioned Gigondas). So I'll ask some questions in a new message.

Do the locals need to work? Can you collect unemployment? ;)

Wow...some great responses.

Perhaps the words "living like a local" were the wrong words. Our goal for our "vacation" is to get to know an area in provence and hopefully to have a chance to appreciate some of the things that those who live there love.

We loved Provence the last time we were there but by spending time in a few different areas (only spent 1 week in the same place) we found that by the time we got "to know" a town, we were ready to move on.

I am very aware that you don't become "a local" quickly. In my own town I'm a realtive newcomer - 4 years around here is considered new - so I guess what I'm saying is I'm not looking to fit in or be accepted as anything more than a gracious traveler.

My question was more looking for suggestions of ways to appreciate a town. And maybe even to pretend like I'm local - if even for my own delusional pleasure as a tourist.

Yes Stu we talked before and we will be in Bedoin the same time you will. Thank you for your suggestions in this post and for all the help you've given...we're actually looking at the resturant you mention for a dinner while we're there.

And of course we're riding Ventoux...it was so great the last time (from Sault), this time we'll climb from Bedoin.

Jen

I am sorry to post this here but it is all I can do; is anyone else having trouble seeing the boxes at the top of the page? I only have half of the box that says General Interest and can't use the search button, and no box for posting new messages! Any ideas as to what gives?

No problems with the board here, Ronda. Try rebooting?

We lived for six months between Bonnieux and Lacoste and have been back several times since, including a month this past summer. I'm so looking forward to being back for two weeks in March. We feel comfortable and at home. We have friends, some we consider very good friends.

One suggestion I would make is to find a local cafe or restaurant in "your" village that you like a lot and go there often. Be polite and friendly. Try to speak as much of the language as you can. Ask for recommendations of what to drink and eat. After a few visits perhaps you will make some connections. In two weeks the same thing may happen at the boulangerie and at the tabac where you stop in to buy a paper. Go for a walk in the village in the morning or evening. Smile and nod at the people you encounter. A few days and they will remember you. Maybe some of the people you meet will be expatriates, but I think it's very possible to make connections in a fairly short time. During our long trip in Europe (we did 20 rentals over a 14 month period), we were invited into several homes quite unexpectedly. This was one of the best parts of our travel experience.

Jen, you might enjoy my blog about our summer stay in Provence. Here are two entries that might capture a bit of what you are looking to experience:

http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/wood/archives/000994.html
http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/wood/archives/001038.html

Kathy

You've gotten some good answers to your question... and I applaud you for wanting to enjoy your stay here.

I've lived in Maussane-les-Alpiilles for about fifteen years now and there IS a certain rythmn to life here.
Find a local café that appeals to you and enjoy your morning coffee and croissant, peruse the newspaper, La Provence, that every café usually has out for customers. If you speak French, start a conversation with the staff or someone who looks interesting... one great way to find the best butcher, baker, restaurants, or even to hear a little gossip (last winter our butcher ran off with the barmaid from our café - only to return to his wife three months later).

Get your errands done before 12:30 - 1 PM before everything closes up. Enjoy leisurely lunches and a siesta.

Go to markets and find out which villages are holding fêtes... beginning in June, for example, there are the St. Eloi festivals in a different village each weekend. Involves horses and decorated charettes (carts)and pastis and bull running. They do enjoy partying in the summer !

Patricia

Nope, Betsy, still doesn't work. Thanks.

Thank you very much.

These are wonderful - and such useful tips. The cafe tips are particularly interesting and something we will do now that we know.

Our French is okay, but it definately needs some work. We can understand quite well, speaking is really rusty....I got one oh la la la la last time we were in France, but I suspect this was more of a cultural misunderstanding rather than a language misunderstanding (I was asking for a coffee to go in a small village near St. Emillion...very silly I now know, we spent a good 30 minutes instead at the bar enjoying a couple of espressos and realized why they didn't understand...but cut me some slack, it was our first day)

Hopefully, as we continue to explore the Provence area in the coming years, our French will improve (I would like to consider a french language course at some point and spend a couple weeks in complete immersion!)

Any other tips will be warmly welcomed!!!

Jen