Walls in France: The Harvey Curtis clan

The Wall family has always been lucky with neighbors…it seems like every place we have lived, we have had neighbors who are also dear friends. One of those families is Jane Harvey, her husband, Charlie Curtis, and their kids Sam and Nancy. We lived next door to them on Capitol Hill in Seattle when we lived in what we refer to as the ‘yellow house.’ This was before we moved to Sweden so it was a long time ago. Kathleen was about a year old when we moved in and Lucy was three. Nancy is the same age as Kathleen (she actually shares a birthday with moi!) and there are just a few days difference in age between Lucy and Sam too. We already knew the Harvey-Curtis’ when we moved in, but being neighbors brought us closer. We put in a gate on the fence that separated our yards, and spent lots of time going through that fence to visit, play or have a margarita or two. Lots of fun times were had on the corner of 17th Avenue East! Since moving away from Seattle, we have kept in touch with Jane and Charlie and their kids…we visited them at their home on Fishers Island and they made their way to Charleston twice to visit us. This summer, they made the trek to visit us once again and this time, they came all the way to Eygalieres!

Since they wanted their own space, Jane asked if I would help locate a home for them to rent while they were here visiting. Since I knew it was going to be super hot during their visit, I only looked at rentals with swimming pools. I found a beautiful home with a pool that was available and right across the street from us! After some negotiating, the Seattleites signed up to be our neighbors in Provence! After spending a couple of days visiting family in Paris, they took the TGV to Avignon where I met them at the station. I couldn’t get over how much Sam and Nancy had grown up, but I knew that Jane and Charlie would say the same thing about Lucie and Kathleen. (They were still in school at the time so they didn’t go with me to the train station.) They got their rental car and I lead the way to Eygalieres.

As Jane and Charlie got settled in their lovely rental home, my girls got home from school and reunited with Sam and Nancy. It was like no time had passed…they fell back into being friends just like they had been when they were little! We celebrated our reunion with a Provencal dinner together and lots of wine…the first of many meals that we would share over the next week and a half. Early on, Jane pulled out her trusty red notebook to make lists of what they wanted to do while in Provence…hiking, biking, visiting Glanum and Pont du Gard, seeing the Camargue and doing the market were all on the list. We all agreed, however, that just living in the village and taking part in the daily life of Eygalieres was an enriching aspect of the experience. So, this allowed us all time to relax together at their pool or at our house, hanging out and chit chatting just like old times. We set up a system of hiding our key so that the kids could go back and forth between the houses as they wished. They had sleepovers, played cards and laughed a lot. Meanwhile, the parents visited, drank wine and made lots of lists. We did make it to a number of tourist attractions including the Camargue, Glanum and Les Baux, but for me, the best part of their visit was their company. It was wonderful to have Jane, Charlie, Sam and Nancy as neighbors again.