Grasse - 6th August 2015

The view from the garden.

The view from my bed.

My room.

Sometimes when travelling, it is nice to stop being a tourist and just do normal things. This morning, I did some exercise, slow going in the heat. Then did some washing, hanging my things out to dry on the warm terrace to the sound of the cicadas, pretending I live here rather than just passing through. 

I wandered into town for a late breakfast and a gentle mooch. Having marked a boulangerie and an epicerie to buy my supplies from later, I wandered about the narrow, old, slightly shabby streets and found myself trying perfume in the Fragonard museum. I wasn't in the right frame of mind to visit the museum properly, so after a token browse around, I decided it was time for a cup of tea.

Perfume stills in the Fragonard museum

Wandering though the square, noting that everyone else was already on the booze (at 12:00), I decided I'd have a glass of rosé after my tea. Then, sitting in the brasserie, next to a fountain, with my pot of tea, I noticed other people ordering moules mariniere and saw that it was today's special - only €10. It would have been rude not to, and it felt more appropriate to have food with my lunchtime wine...

Lunch.

When you have more time to play with, when you're not rushing from one task to the next, it is fascinating what you notice. When I was having lunch, I observed that the fountain next to me seemed to defy gravity - the water, upon reaching the lips of the tiered bowls didn't cascade over the edge as you might expect, instead, it hugged the concave undersides of the bowls, washing down the entire structure. The design and physics that goes into these things is incredible, especially as they are created purely for aesthetic pleasure. Unless you're a pigeon.

Lunch had a soporific effect, so feeling satisfyingly rotund, I collected my provisions and staggered back up the hill for a snooze.

Nap time.

The afternoon passed slowly and lazily, I sunbathed a little and shade-bathed a lot, reading my book in between gazing at the hazy view across the town and towards the sea. I'm reading A Year in Provence which I'm really enjoying and which I'm glad I delayed reading until I was here, in situ.

Prompted by the many descriptions of food and drink in my book, I have opened a bottle of Côtes du Rhône, picked earlier with the lack of fridge in mind, and will shortly have a simple, al-fresco supper of cheese, tomatoes, avocado and fresh bread, followed by my current favourite fruit, apricots.

The International Perfume Museum - for tomorrow. Maybe...