Aix en Pains

Awake at dawn. Quick check of sore and stiff joints, muscles and hair. You know you ache when your hair hurts.

"Good morning my darling. How does it feel to wake up in Provence in a lovely cottage near an olive  grove? Was it worth the trip?" He says.

From Shell Cove to Aix carting around four heavy suitcases, three of which contain paintings, was a bit of a slog. The stairs and small lifts were fun (for Richard). 

Why are we doing this? I thought as I wandered around the market in Lourmarin.

I was watching the chef demonstrate French cooking. Could hardly see. Craning neck and understanding little I appreciated the artistry. 

The fringe dwellers dined on little bits of plain bread or pastries (pains is the French for breads), delicate slivers of pancetta maybe a tiny olive and a glass of red wine. They don't eat much. And the food is expensive. We paid nearly $60 for cheese on toast and pasta and sausages. It was the best cheese on toast I have ever eaten and the sausages were superb. 30 euros. I just double it. Rough calculation.

So why? 

Why travel?

Sometimes it is luxury.

Sometimes it is fun.

Other times it knocks off rough bits. 

Makes you appreciate home. 

.....but I do appreciate home.....and I have squirmy discomfort moments just stepping from warm shower to cold tiles....so why the effort. At one stage during the last leg of our flight I was fantasising about jumping out of the plane I was so claustrophobic and not enjoying the experience.....

"Good morning! It is so nice to be here. What a gorgeous day!"

Looking out the window it is worth it.

Seeing his excitement about painting and showing his paintings is worth it.

Reading stories and then being part of your own is worth it.

Air brushing, photoshopping, gilded lilies, romanticising, ooh and ahhh and oh it is all just so easy is part of the modern hype. It inspires jealousy and denies effort. 

The trick is to enjoy where you are, to bloom where you are planted. Travel teaches that nothing good is ever easy. Effort is worth it wherever you are. The effort of raising children, the work of teaching children, the informing process of art. The performance of an Olympic athlete. 

The modern lie of everything is and should be easy is shamed when we look behind the scenes.

Here's to more behind the scenes looking.