Anne-Marie Simons
ISBN 978-0-9802175-7-5
$15.95
208 pages tradepaper
Available everywhere books are sold
They agreed on one thing before retiring—they would travel, sniff around at other countries and other lifestyles, and discover along the way which place came closest to “having it all.” There they would drop anchor and go with the flow. The going has been good, so much so that these former Washingtonians have decided to make France their permanent home. They chose the city over the countryside and took on the challenges and pleasures of Aix-en-Provence, where they have been doing as the locals do for more than a decade now. The daily markets, strikes, gypsies, curious villagers, ancient traditions, truffle cheaters, pagan and religious celebrations, secret swimming spots in the middle of Marseilles—it’s all there to be suffered and enjoyed. Not to mention an interest in food that borders on the obsessive. Add good weather, a pinch of hedonism, a dose of culture, and it all adds up to that elusive prize: quality of life.
In this collection of vignettes, take a ride in the slow lane with Taking Root in Provence, through la France profonde, ancient Roman cities, and that wonderful blend of the old and new worlds that is today’s Provence.
Anne-Marie Simons has worked as a translator, teacher, journalist, sportswriter (covering Formula 1 races), and director of corporate communications.
Her Argentine husband, Oscar, left a career in international development banking to become an expert on Provençal cooking and other local pleasures.
A Review from Maureen O’Brien, writer and actress
Marvelous! All personal, everyday, lived experience, love and exasperation in equal parts, taking us to the heart of Provence and making us locals too. The deep research and erudition are concealed by a surface as light as an airy Îles Flottantes. The book has a wonderfully chatty quality, carrying us along as in the wake of an original and uniquely privileged native. We hurry behind, gazing to right and left so as not to miss a single moment of vivid experience. This is a rich little gem.