The Mallers Visit Southern France
August 17-24, 2001

Steve, Doreen, Max and Sam were invited to spend a week with some friends at a lovely and historic chateau in Southern France's Provence region. We were in the town of Puyricard, about 15 minutes north of Aix en Provence. The chateau belonged to a certain Cardinal Grimaldi back in the 16th or 17th century, and has some still-standing ruins of the original structures surrounding the present-day swimming pool.

We were very impressed with Provence. In particular, we found the people to be very friendly to us, despite our very limited skills with their language (Doreen had a few years of French in high school). We also enjoyed a very favorable exchange rate, making all manner of lovely wines, delicious food and beautiful crafts more affordable than we had expected. Imagine the surprise that a group of California wine amateurs felt at being able to choose between dozens of tasty local French wines, none of which was more than $5.00 (US) per bottle!

Well, another terrific Maller Family adventure comes to an end, but the memories will last a long time, and we may find ourselves in France again some time in the very near future. Au revoir!

Photography © 2001 by Steve Maller. All Rights Reserved.

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