Travelers' Tales Provence: True Stories

by James O'Reilly (Editor), Tara Austen Weaver (Editor)

Provence is one of the world's beloved places—redolent with the scent of lavender, steeped in olive oil, marinated in wine. Provence teaches us to appreciate the simple life of abundance—buying bread at the morning market, lingering over meals, and soaking in the vistas of old stone villages surrounded by fields of flowers. Immerse yourself in the landscape and light that has inspired some of the greatest artists of all time. Travelers' Tales Provence takes you into a magnificent world of food, wine, history, and art. For those who love this region, Travelers' Tales Provence will rekindle fond memories. For those who have not yet ventured into this magical part of France, it will fire the imagination with the many delights that await.
- Experience the time-honored ritual of pressing olives for oil with Carol Drinkwater
- Join Lawrence Durrell as he opens the day at a Provençal town market
- Hike the hills of Provence with Margie Goldsmith
- Search the back streets of Nice for the perfect pan bagnat with Calvin Trillin
- Explore the charm of Aix-en-Provence with M.F.K. Fisher

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

James O'Reilly has been a traveler since infancy, and a storyteller almost as long. Born in Oxford, England, in 1953, he savors the early memory of walking as a five-year-old boy across the tarmac at Shannon Airport in Ireland and gazing up at the huge triple tails of the now-defunct Constellation aircraft. The smell of fuel and Irish fog and the amazing sight above him must have made a deep impression because he's been traveling willy-nilly ever since. After emigrating from Ireland to the United States, he grew up in San Francisco, where he was schooled by Jesuits, nuns and assorted yogis and eccentrics in the '60s. His eclectic education was formed as much by growing up in a large Roman Catholic family where he was the second of seven children as it was by being an omnivorous reader who was studying Eastern religion and meditation by his early teens. He traveled a great deal with his family - to Ireland, England, Scotland, and Canada - before heading off to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where, among other things, he spent a semester in Salamanca, Spain.

At Dartmouth, James met his good friend Larry Habegger, with whom he has collaborated since 1982 on projects ranging from radio shows to mystery serials, newspaper and magazine columns to world adventure travel. Since 1985, O'Reilly and Habegger have co-authored the nationally-syndicated travel column "World Travel Watch." In 1993, they co-founded the publishing company Travelers' Tales with James's brother Tim, and have since worked on more than 100 books together, winning many awards for excellence, including the prestigious Lowell Thomas award for outstanding travel book. James has been an active member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) since 1990, and is a former board member of the Tibet Information Network.

James has visited over forty countries and lived in four. Among his favorite travel memories are visiting headhunters in Borneo, rafting the legendary Zambezi River in Zimbabwe, enjoying a meal cooked by blowtorch in Tibet, and hanging out laundry with nuns in Florence. He has made traveling with his own family a priority, and together he and his wife and three daughters have roamed all over Europe. He lives in Palo Alto, California, where he is usually conspiring to be somewhere else.

Reviews

[R Fontaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of true stories revealing the many joys of Provence; when you believe everything has been said and done about this beautiful part of the world new discoveries come to light with almost every story. My love of Nice and the Cote 'dAzur makes any insight into such a familiar area of France another pleasant experience.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable and descriptive stories of Provence. Made me want to go back!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are planning a trip to Provence or have just returned from a trip (as I did) this slim volume of short pieces is the perfect accompaniment/refresher. Stories about living the Provencal life from some of the Greats such as MFK Fisher to memories of Van Gogh from Paul Gaugin to Richard Goodman discussing his obsession with growing tomatoes in a tiny Provencal town. There are also stories by some lesser light, short pieces from various periodicals and the like. All in all it was a wonderful ride. I can almost smell the lavender and thyme in bloom.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. A few of the many short stories in this Definitely For the Bathroom book were amusing or interesting but most of them were mediocre or just down-right boring. I didn't leave the book thinking, "WOW! I totally want to go there now!" Wouldn't recommend unless you're trying to re-live a past visit to that area and want a few nostalgic reminders of lavender and bucolic country vineyards.

[Liza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd recommend this for anyone thinking of going to Provence.