Rêver de roulottes...

The summer holidays are gone again, which tends to make me a bit melancholic. I usually deal with that by becoming slightly more domestic, expressed by a sudden interest in making chutneys, pumpkin soup and fruit liqueurs in all the beautiful colours of autumn.

It also makes me fantasize about the summers-to-come, and the places I would love to go next.

I'm not a list-making type of person, but I have a number of places in mind where I still want to go, for different reasons. Sometimes to discover a country, area or culture I'm really interested in; to visit a site of great historical (or personal) value, or just because I've found a rare, pure holiday gem that calls to me, regardless of the location.
This can be a precious B&B, a quirky boutique hotel or any kind of place where I feel that the owners have put a tremendous amount of love, time and care into creating something that's truly unique.

A few months ago I found one of those, or at least one that - on its website - seems to have that magical potential. It's located in the high Beaujolais region in France, and it consists of beautifully decorated historic ... gypsy caravans!

Wouldn't you like to spend some time in one of these... living out your creative, romantic or vagabond dreams?

More pictures on their website: http://www.lesroulottes.com/ 

In case you're considering to get one of your own: check out http://www.les-verdines.com/.

Or if you'd rather just stick to dreaming, I love Jeanne Bayol's books and the pictures on her website: http://www.jeanne-bayol.com/.

Have a great autumn!

Thanks to Pascaline and Jeanne for so kindly letting me use their pictures!

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Have we become romance-intolerant?

A few days ago I watched an episode of Sex and the City. (I know.)

It was the one where Carrie's new boyfriend (the Russian artist) showers her with old school romance: reciting poetry, writing her a song and playing it on the piano, taking her to the opera, inviting her to dance with him under the moonlight, you name it.
She couldn't stand it. It was too much for her "as a modern New Yorker" (her words).

It made me think about our current definition(s) of romance.
Somehow the first images that come to mind still are: roses, hearts, candlelight dinners and long walks on the beach. Try the keyword "romance" in Google images and count the number of sunsets, or the German word "Romantik" and it's even worse.
Now, I happen to love roses, candles and beaches, but when they're being applied as an infallible strategy, they make me queasy.

Does this mean romance is dead?

I don't think so. But we might have lost sight of its essence: spending time, energy and most of all attention on the person / people you love. Consciously looking for something that will surprise them, which you can only do if you've put in the effort to really get to know them.

That's what romance comes down to for me: get to know the ones you love, and not just in the things they have in common with you.
The opportunities for romance might be hiding right there where you're different.

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