Love letter to France: novel concept | EUROtoday

Carol’s Latest Book has been launched – and he or she’s already on the hunt for contemporary inspiration…

Summer the Arrival of GUESTS; Brilliant Sun-Swept Colors; The Sense of Exhilaration. This yr is additional particular as a result of I’ve a brand new novel printed, one summer time in Provence. However, a brand new novel means I’m writing the subsequent one. Right now, I’m Deep in a Story Still Being Shaped, Peopled with Half-Born Characters and Their Locations. It requires Research. Travelling to a arth the small print. This novel-in-Progress is about in mid-Twentieth-century France, Along the shores of the Mediterranean. It begins in Marseille, considered one of my favorite cities and a treasure chest if you’re sleuthing historical past. There is the Early-Morning Fish Market, the Winding Lanes of its Evocatively shabby Old Town, Several Museums Application the Tragedies of its Second World War Story…. thrilling, if somits stunning revelations.

An inspiration for artists

Over the previous ten days i’ve turned my consideration Further west, Motoring Slowly from Marseille to the Côte Vermeille and the French-Spanish Border. STOPPING THIS SIDE OF THE FRONTIER, I SCHED Upon Collioure, Originally A Roman Town. Paul Signac First go to in 1887 when the village was solely accessible by boat. Here he started his neo-impressionist work, and the outcomes are gorgeous. In 1905, Henri Matisse Arri. Both have been Enchanted by this Jewel, this Sleepy Fishing Village With Its Fortified Royal Castle/Citadel, Its Pebbly Beachfront, Churches, Chapels and Terraced Houses of Many Hues. Matisse’s Paintings from Collioure Are Awash with Color and Sunlight and the Promise of Hot, Lazy Days.

© Carol Drinkwater, Domain public

Other artists Followed within the Footsteps of These Two Giants. This Remote Haven Quickly Gained Notoriety and Its Twentieth-Century History is the History of Europe: Two World Wars Impereded the Growth of the Artists’ Colonies. However, there we Those Who Wanted To Settle This Far South to Escape Fastism. Others Hoped to Cross the Border Into Spain, A mom 15 Miles Away. The worry, the oppression, modified the tone of the art work. It Grew Darker.

A Writer’s Journey

I COULD WRITE A Novel Based Exclusively on this enchanting Little Town, We Stayed on the Elegant Hideaway, Les Roches Brunes. It hugs the cliffs and has the mediterranean instantly at its ft. Sitting out on our balcony watching the yachts and fishing boats duck out and in of the harbor was balm to my soul.

Matisse, of Race, Ended His Days in our NECK of the Woods, in Nice. His Last Great Masterpiece was the Rosary Chapel in Vence a must-See. A 20 Minute Climb Into the Pyrénées, Winding Through a Land of Dizzying Vineyards with Breathtaking views and roads that plunge to the glistering sea, we we have been delivered into the border city of cerbère, which is fascinating. Who knew that France has a compreition, ‘write a letter to your native Bell Tower? And a lady from this outback submit received the National Award. Cerbère has been the Franco-Spanish Frontier since 1695. In 1841 a border submit was ereced to eradicate smuggling with the spanish. TODAY BOTH COUNTRIES ARE Within Europe, SO The Customs Buildings Are Derelict, Scrawled with Graffiti. Cerbère’s Sprawling Railway Station, A Vital Escape Route Before and During Wwii, was partially designed by Gustave Eiffel. And don Miss the Solar-Paneld Lighthouse: It Marks the precise rental the place the Mountains Meet the Med, and was the Boundary of Ancient Gaul.

How I Love Border Towns! Cerbère is Particularly Inspiring, Rich in Secrets. I’m Home Now For Summer. Fingers Crossed, My Writer’s Pen Will Flow With An Abunance of French-Mediterranean Discoveries.

Carol Drinkwater is an award-winning actress and the best-selling writer of the olive farm sequence. Read about Her Latest Novel, One Summer in Provence.

From France Today Magazine

Lead Photo Credit: © Carol Drinkwater, Domain public