A Taste of Provence

Image: Toprural via flickr

"Everybody in some childlike way craves a life of simplicity where they have a garden, beautiful sun, where they can walk into a small town and everybody will know them and wave. You can go to the boulangerie and the baker will say "ahh, good to see you again..." -Anthony Bourdain

One of the gems on my horizon is a plan to spend 2-4 weeks in some combination of Italy, France, and Spain this coming year. As some of you may know, this past fall I began planning a trip to Chile, which was inspired by none other than Anthony Bourdain and his lovely show "No Reservations." That trip would have been the fulfillment of many dreams-a first-hand view of Patagonia, a food tour of a South American country (which I planned to write about), some leisurely surfing... Last summer's trip, however, was cancelled long before fully planned due to the Chile earthquake.

I have high hopes that the trip for this coming year will not be a bust, and have been enjoying the early stages of research and planning. Last night I enjoyed yet another Anthony Bourdain special, this one featuring Provence, an unassuming food mecca for tourists in search of the good life. Watching the show, I was captivated by the above quote and think it may get at the heart of some of my own desires to travel Europe. The idea of soaking in a simple lifestyle accompanied by fresh delicious food, good wine and no real plans or commitments, albeit somewhat mythical, is incredibly alluring. As tourists far and wide flock to places like Provence I wonder if the vision for these trips is getting at some deeper craving to fully invest oneself in a place and its people-ultimately to know and be known.

The kind of lifestyle featured in Bourdain's tour de Provence often seems impractical, but perhaps the clutter of our own lives has muddied our ability to catch glimpses of such a life in the here and now. I am curious to know what it might look like to cultivate a consistent lifestyle, not of leisure and no commitments, but of centering life around the table and more broadly around the community and its many tables, right here in the states. This is not some idealistic hope, but rather an inkling that the Provencals may be on to something: that a slower, more deliberate pace of life is something to be valued and striven for. As someone who has yet to visit Provence, I can't be quite sure, but am curious for a richer taste...