Locked Down in Essoyes, Le Grand Est
The most striking thing to me, really, is that if any of us have ever doubted that we are in fact one human race living a somewhat precarious existence on this beautiful planet of ours; and that we all share fundamental desires, needs, and responsibilities as human beings so blessed; and that we are most certainly “in this together”–now is the time when it should be perfectly clear that we are in fact, all of those things…
Early Winter Highlights from Essoyes
…in early December the village of Essoyes marked the centenary of the death of Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The day was cold, but thankfully also clear and sunny, A substantial group of villagers, plus visiting dignitaries, joined Mayor Alain Cintrat in honoring the day by gathering at the great painter’s grave and placing a bouquet of flowers there…
Bonne Nouvelle Année d’Essoyes! (2020)
Tonight is one of the most important holidays of the year in France, as people gather to celebrate le reveillon of the New Year.
It is a night to enjoy fine food, champagne, fireworks, friends, families….in short, life!
May you enjoy seeing in the New Year wherever you are.
Wishing you all good things in 2020.
Janet Hulstrand is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who divides her time between the U.S. and France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and is currently working on her next book, a literary memoir entitled “A Long Way from Iowa.”
Thanksgiving in France (2019)
Thanksgiving is my favorite American holiday, and I am certainly not alone in this sentiment. Americans around the world tend to carry a passionate fondness for Thanksgiving with them wherever they go, and they have a habit of introducing their friends in other countries to the special traditions, foods, and ways of celebrating it…
Interview with Jane S. Gabin, Author of “The Paris Photo”
An interview with Jane S. Gabin, author of “The Paris Photo,” a novel that was inspired by her discovery of a photo in her father’s papers after his death,…
Continue Reading November 24, 2019 at 12:53 pm Leave a comment
A few wonderful days in Paris…
“Every once in a while I am lucky enough to spend a few days in Paris….”
Autumn in Champagne
Champagne is beautiful at any time of year…But some parts of the year are more beautiful than others….
Continue Reading October 27, 2019 at 6:02 am Leave a comment
The grapes are in, the harvest was good…
Pinot noir grapes, Champagne
The grapes are in, and despite a very hot, dry summer, in the end it was a good harvest. Not fantastic, like last year, but good. Good enough. Pretty good! Thank goodness!
The lingering scent of grape juice in the air has lessened, the clanking and clanging late into the night coming from the pressoir, the enjambeurs heading up into the hills before dawn and coming back down around sunset, all of that has stopped. The pressoir is closed up, the field near our house where the vendengeurs and their families were camping is empty again. The pickers have moved on to other vineyards, some of them going as far away as California.
I had the opportunity to join my neighbors who were feeding 24 hungry pickers a bountiful lunch one day during the harvest. It brought back fond memories of when I did the vendange right here in Essoyes as a young woman and was discovering France for the first time.
Now the fall routine is well underway: the kids are back in school, and for adults the preparations for fall and winter have begun.
And finally, this week we have had some badly-needed rain. Pshew!
More to come soon. For now, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, here’s wishing you a bonne continuation…
Janet Hulstrand is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who divides her time between the U.S. and France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and is currently working on her next book, a literary memoir entitled “A Long Way from Iowa.”
Writing from the Heart, Reading for the Road 