Falling For A French Dream by Jennifer Bohnet

Author:Jennifer Bohnet [Bohnet, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boldwood Books

23

The restaurant where Gilles had booked a table was a mere half-hour drive up the road from Le Jardin de Dominic but seemed to exist in a time warp.

From the moment she walked across the drawbridge over the River Var and under the arch into the ancient moated village of Entrevaux, Nicola was fascinated by the place. Tall, thin sixteenth-century houses lined narrow lane after narrow lane, occasionally opening out into a small square. Window boxes with their tumbling red, white and pink geraniums clung precariously to sills. Narrow alleys were ablaze with colourful flowers.

‘This is the picture-book image of a French village,’ Nicola said. ‘It’s beautiful.’

As they made their way through the village, Gilles pointed out the Vauban Citadel high above it.

‘The village was an important place back in medieval times,’ he said. ‘And even in the seventeenth century, it guarded a highly strategic approach from the south.’

‘It looks like quite a climb,’ Nicola said, craning her head to see the fortress properly.

‘Another day we will be brave and do it, but today, on your first visit, you must see the church,’ Gilles said, leading her past some olive trees towards a plain wall with a simple doorway.

Walking through the ordinary nondescript entrance into the ancient Notre-Dame-De-L’Assomption, a cathedral until the end of the eighteenth century, Nicola gasped as she saw the breathtaking beautiful Baroque interior.

‘But the outside was so ordinary,’ she said and Gilles smiled.

Wandering back down through the village, Nicola kept stopping to look at the houses and to wonder about the people who had lived in them through the centuries.

‘I feel as if I should be wearing a long dress and a wimple on my head,’ she said.

‘You must come and see the medieval parade when everyone dresses up and the place looks as if the clock has been turned back hundreds of years. You could even join in,’ Gilles said. ‘There is so much going on those days.’

The restaurant Gilles liked was on the main square, where a tall tree gave welcome shade and the water from an old fountain soothed as it tinkled into its granite trough.

‘What a magical place,’ Nicola said as they took their places at one of the outside tables set up in the square.

‘After lunch, we take a stroll in the hidden medieval gardens,’ Gilles promised.

‘Will we have time? Don’t you have to be back at work?’ Nicola said.

Gilles shook his head. ‘Today I make sure I have the afternoon free,’ he said, smiling at her. Nicola returned his smile. He was good company and she was happy at the prospect of spending the afternoon with him.

The popular restaurant was busy, with a mixture of tourists and locals enjoying the good food and chattering away in a mix of languages. Several people stopped by their table to say hello to Gilles and shake Nicola vigorously by the hand when he introduced her.

Gilles smiled apologetically. ‘It is because of my job. Everybody wants me to be their friend. To remember them when they apply for planning permission.

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