I'm Leaving

A Yorkie with a passport, frozen peas, and procrastination techniques.

There are 14 days until June 11, the day we leave for Provence, and my to-do list is longer than it has any right to be for someone who has done this before. We will be in the South of France for nearly three months (my son Luca, my Yorkie Margot, and me) and getting there is its own small undertaking.

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Where Do You Stay?

We will be staying off-the-beaten tourist path in an AirBNB. I picked the location because it’s close to the places I want to visit, but quiet enough that we can just live and not be bothered with large crowds. This will be our third summer in Provence, and our longest stretch, so I’m eager to slow our pace and immerse ourselves in French culture and life.

Small town life is a welcome contrast to NYC.

Will You Have a Car?

It’s critical to have a car in Provence as towns are not all connected by trains. In years past we have rented a car in Marseille to use during our stays, but I’m trying something different this year. I leased a car rather than reserved a traditional rental, which was a method recommended to me by an ex-pat friend of mine. We leased the car through a French company and will pick it up in Marseille after we land. It ends up being more cost effective, includes insurance, and we have unlimited mileage which is one less thing to worry about. I always make sure that my cars are automatic because manual vehicles are more common in Europe and those are not my forté!

A “roaming wild goats” sign on the highway between Marseille and Aix.

How Do You Bring Your Dog?

With Margot coming, she has her own list of preparations and boxes to tick. Margot has a French passport, but those were recently invalidated for non-EU residents (ugh) so she is getting her American paperwork prepped. It’s an expensive process that involves USDA clearance, all to prove she’s up-to-date on her rabies vaccinations. You have to go through your American vet, who ships the paperwork to the USDA for approval, and then they ship it back to you only a few days before travel. It’s not for the faint of heart. You also need to add the pet to your airline reservation and follow all of their rules about the size and type of in-cabin carrier. Margot has made the trip with us before so I’m not as worried about the long flights as I was the first time. She’s a good traveler in general and goes pretty much everywhere I go when we’re in NYC, so France is no different. France is a dog friendly country in general, and they are welcome at places like restaurants, cafés and shops. Margot basically lives her best life in France and I joke that she becomes Margaux when she’s there!

“Margaux” at a café in Aix-en-Provence.

How Do You Pack?

We’ll purchase most of our toiletries at the French pharmacy, so I don’t have to worry about bringing enough to last the whole summer. Clothing is another story; I will try to limit myself to about two weeks of mixable separates because in true French fashion, we will have a washer but no dryer. So I will need to air dry our clothes, which can take extra time if there is moisture in the air. I’ve stocked up on some basics (white t-shirts) and am packing a lot of dresses. France just had their hottest day on record for May (it was nearly 95 degrees), so this summer will be a scorcher.

Will You Have Air Conditioning?

Nope! This is normal for France and something Americans really take for granted. There is nothing like walking in a muggy sauna, chasing the shade, and then coming inside to your home and finding it’s like a pizza oven ready to melt you like a pile of mozzarella cheese. We cope by loading up on bags of frozen peas and using them as ice packs.

Essentially what you imagined France in the summer to be like, non?

What Will You Do There?

Both of us will be working remotely. We don’t view this as a long vacation but instead just a different place to live for a while. I plan to hit several flea markets while I am there, and will be sourcing for private clients as well as Postmarked Paris. I’ve found the flea markets to be different in Provence than they are in Paris, with a more Mediterranean feel, such as lighter woods, pottery, and art. I’m always looking for a few things. This year my list includes an antique inkwell, vintage office supplies, vintage art supplies, and jewelry.

The Provençal flea market aesthetic.

My personal goals for this summer are to write, read, and make art. I want to read as much as possible, which means I need to bring enough to last the whole summer but also not feel guilty about leaving them behind when I finish. I’m collecting any recommendations, if you have any!

Slowing down my pace for the summer.

It’s easy for me to get obsessed with what art supplies I will bring, but I’m a chronic over-packer so I’m trying to be strategic. It’s a wonderful procrastination mechanism I’ve developed: Do I have actual work I need to do? Yes, so let me lay out all of my colored pencils and select a pretty palette of colors. Is there something I have to get done today that’s very important? Wonderful, let’s refill my paint palette and let it dry.

Ocher pigments sourced in Provence.

What Is the Most Difficult Thing to Pack?

One thing that stresses me out a lot before we leave for this long is if I will have enough of my medications to last the whole summer. I’ve been in the position of needing them shipped from the US before, and it was a nightmare I don’t intend to repeat. Sometimes you have to pay out of pocket for an extra month if your insurance won’t let you get extra pills off-cycle. It’s super annoying but worth it in the end to not worry you’ll run out.

Le Fin

Every time I do this, only weeks out from departure, I wonder why I put myself through the chaos of getting there. And every time, about 48 hours after we land, with a glass of rosé in my hand and the cicadas singing me a lullaby, I remember exactly why. I’ll be writing from Provence all summer… the markets, the heat, the light, the finds. I hope you’ll follow along.

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