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    We've Always Had Paris...and Provence: A Scrapbook of Our Life in France
    We've Always Had Paris...and Provence: A Scrapbook of Our Life in France
    We've Always Had Paris...and Provence: A Scrapbook of Our Life in France
    Ebook381 pages5 hours

    We've Always Had Paris...and Provence: A Scrapbook of Our Life in France

    By Patricia Wells and Walter Wells

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Patricia Wells, long recognized as the leading American authority on French food, and her husband, Walter, live the life in France that many of us have often fantasized about. After more than a quarter century, they are as close to being accepted as "French" as any non-natives can be. In this delightful memoir they share in two voices their experiences—the good, the bad, and the funny—offering a charming and evocative account of their beloved home and some of the wonderful people they have met along the way. Full of the flavor and color of the couple's adopted country, this tandem memoir reflects on the life that France has made possible for them and explores how living abroad has shaped their relationship.

    Written in lyrical, sensuous prose and filled with anecdotes, insights, and endearing snapshots of Walter and Patricia over the years, We've Always Had Paris . . . and Provence beautifully conveys the nuances of the French and their culture as only a practiced observer can. Literally a moveable feast to be savored and shared, including more than thirty recipes that will delight readers and cooks alike, the couple's valentine to France and to each other is delicious in every way.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061866494
    We've Always Had Paris...and Provence: A Scrapbook of Our Life in France
    Author

    Patricia Wells

    Patricia Wells is a journalist, author, and teacher who runs the popular cooking school At Home with Patricia Wells in Paris and Provence. She has won four James Beard Awards and the French government has honored her as a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, recognizing her contribution to French culture. A former New York Times reporter, she is the only foreigner and the only woman to serve as restaurant critic for a major French publication, L'Express. She served as the global restaurant critic for the International Herald Tribune for more than twenty-five years. She lives in Paris and Provence with her husband, Walter Wells.

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    Reviews for We've Always Had Paris...and Provence

    3.5/5

    16 ratings2 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Two of our most famous Francophile expatriats muse of the good life they've created for themselves both in Paris and Provence. Patricia's narrative was much stronger than Walter's, but like any good working partnership, they clearly are in love with their work, with France, and with one another. We are merely along for the ride.
    • 3/5
      I expected this to be an Americans in Paris story, something in the vein of Adam Gopnik's [Paris to the Moon], a book I much enjoyed for its gentle humour and insights into French culture.Instead this book, which is essentially an autobiography of time spent in France by Patricia and Walter Wells, reads much like a very long newspaper story. This should perhaps not be too surprising, since they are both newspaper reporters.They are both very hardworking Americans, he poured most of his life into long hours at the International Herald Tribune, she poured her energies into a huge number of restaurant reviews, later accompanied by a well-received book about French food, more books about French cooking, and eventually by her running a cooking school.Unfortunately, having put so much of their energies into print in other places, they seem to have very little left for the story of their lives in France. What remains is mostly a story of working really hard, the (re)building of their houses in Paris and Provence, and some of her favourite recipies.You kind of get a sense of distance in this book, of not quite getting to know them. You can guess that they must be interesting people, given their friendships with various famous chefs including Julia Child, but you have to deduce that, it's not evident in the text. There isn't even much passion for France in the book, it's mostly stories of workmen (some reliable, some not) and neighbours (most annoying, it seems). The only time you get some sense of their enjoyment of France is in the chapter about shopkeepers (the butcher, etc.) that they like.Basically they worked their way onto the New York Times, and then used good connections and an incredible amount of hard work to succeed and build a pleasant life in France with interesting friends, good food, and nice houses, but I have to say you get more of a sense of the incessant (and typically American) drumbeat of work work work from this book, than you get of them actually enjoying themselves.I would only recommend this book if you're really interested in Patricia Wells because you've enjoyed her food books or some other aspect of her prolific output, this will add a small piece to your understanding of her, but I have to say you probably get more of her heart and soul from her food books (I expect, I haven't read any of them) than you will from this rather workmanlike news report of her life.

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