Huffingtons in France - Linda & Ann take on Provence

At the market preparing for our group – no such thing as too much basil!

I am in France right now with Linda on a gallery trip to Provence and it’s one of the most fun trips we’ve ever had. I know, that’s a dangerous thing to say since we never want to play favorites and of course we love all our children equally! But what makes this trip so special is the camaraderie of the ladies in this group whose deep bonds of friendship date back to college days. They know each other so well that the jabs are flying constantly while the laughter is contagious, and Linda and I are spending half our time doubled over in stitches. Perhaps there is a little wine flowing in the evenings, but all in all, it’s such good fun.

One of my favorite parts of this trip is that for at least one guest, it is her first trip to France. Seeing it all through her eyes is like reliving it and appreciating it for the first time.

We’ve got a great system of helpers on our trips, the main one being the ever adorable and so fashionably footed Christophe, our driver. Today, taking a little side trip to the train station with Christophe, I learned that his motivation for guiding people around France is the same as ours – which is the joy you get for playing a part in showing people the unexpected, whether it’s the first time they’ve seen it or not.

The Fashionable Feet of Christophe

Christophe was a pilot in a previous life who took clients on circuits over parts of the marvelously varied Provence countryside. He said that the holidays were a busy season for him with many people offering his plane trip to their friends or families as a very special Christmas present. His favorite clients were the skeptics, like the farmer who was born and raised on his land and thought that nobody could teach him anything new. He described the farmer arriving begrudgingly to the airport, reluctant to get on a plane because he’d seen it all and knew the land thoroughly from the ground. And then slowly, as Christophe guided the plane over all the familiar territory, the farmer became mesmerized and enchanted by the countryside below, seeing it for the first time from a completely different perspective. By the time he finished the trip, Christophe said that the farmer was enchanted and beguiled by the beauty and the experience. Christophe said he loved that kind of client, and was so excited to appreciate it all over again through someone else’s eyes.

The fabulous and fashionably footed Christophe

I could really relate to this. The ladies on the trip often say, “Don’t you get tired of doing the trips and taking people to the same places every day?” and my answer is a resounding no! With each new group I get to see it through their eyes and appreciate it all over again, reliving it for the first time. Like Christophe, I sometimes even get a skeptic, someone who expects all French people to be rude and a tad anti-American. I try not to say anything, and just let the week unfold. And then little by little I get to hear each night about some random act of kindness or some unusual quirk that happened during the day. As the week evolves, I usually find that they discover something new, not just about the French but about themselves as well.

Our ladies of the week

In some ways it reminds me of life the gallery, when clients come in and admit their fear of buying art or of appearing uneducated by asking the wrong question. If there is one thing we have strived for, it is to make that person feel comfortable in our gallery. We hope they come away from their visit knowing that there are no right or wrong answers, that art is subjective, and that they should buy what speaks to them personally for whatever reason. We love it when that person comes back to the gallery, having enjoyed the process -- and the paintings.

And so it goes with these trips. If we can succeed in showing you things you’d never experienced before and opening your eyes and all of your senses to appreciate something new and unexpected, not only have we done our “job” but you will have given us an equal amount of pleasure.

New friends, on top of the world!

And that’s the case with our trip this week, and what a pleasure it has been! All I can really say is thank you to this tremendous group of women, who have given us the opportunity to see the beauty through their eyes and have taught us all again about the power of friendship, laughter and the deep bonds that connect us all together. Merci mesdames, for the week and for the happy reflections.

Our beautiful Ralph Lauren model, and her reflections

Tata,

A.