Saintes-Maries de la Mer
Thursday, June 17, 2010 at 4:22AM 
Hemingway used to come here. Picasso too. Vincent Van Gogh painted it, and Tori Amos wrote a song about it. Obviously, I'm not the first to be charmed by this little beach town on the French Mediterranean.
We visited Saintes-Maries de la Mer with our friends and fellow family-travelers The Pilbeams. That's Roonagh Pilbeam in the water with Owen and Ella. For the week that the Pilbeams were with us in France I was blissfully free of planning duties. Ian had it all in hand. I was in charge of goat cheese. So when we got to Saintes-Maries (named for the three Maries who found Jesus - or rather the lack of Jesus - in his tomb) I was completely surprised. It's so very Spanish! So VERY Spanish. Being the girl that I am, I zeroed in on the fashion, and Oh What Fashion was to be had!! Where else, I ask you, could you buy your little darling a classic Provence dress (or at least a dress made with cheap Provence fabric) AND a Flamenco costume, all in the same street! Not to mention the shoes! I won't lie. I wanted them, but they didn't come in my size. Probably because the shoe people are wiser than I, and realize that size Mid-Fourties Lady spotted shoes wouldn't be nearly as cute as size Tiny Little Girl. Ah well. Bob says he'll make me a pair with a Sharpie when we get back home.
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Reader Comments (5)
"I was in charge of goat cheese." Heh. You made me giggle.
Also? I believe that if ANY forty-something year old woman could pull off the polka dotted shoes, it would be you...
Which dress did Ella pick? Tell me she got more than one. If I had to choose I could die. Literally die. Just fall over. Dead. Thump. Probably, she should have two. Maybe three.
What happened to your link to Amazon?
Such great little dresses! I saw them in Provence (very tiny ones) and bought one for my first grandchild, whom I just knew was going to be a girl. That was 12 years ago. Silly me.............my first grandchild turned out to be a beautiful blond boy who charmed my socks off. Glad to see that he and his sister are having so much fun.
I can just see Ella dancing around in her wonderful sundress and dot shoes charming everyone around her.
Miss you guys.......................
I have been to Provence and also St-Maries de la mer in May. I loved it!
Have you also climbed the church for the best views ever of the Camargue? :)
Happy travelling! Viele Grüsse, Kristina