The Art of the Provençal Carte Postale

Provence is beautiful, and it is no stranger to tourists. Entrepreneurial designers take advantage of the opportunity to provide their guests with the most common of souvenirs — one that is relatively inexpensive, fits easily into a purse or fanny pack, can let loved ones know you're thinking of them (and prove that you actually did visit this dreamy place), and most of all: it captures the spirit of Provence in thirteen by eighteen centimeters.

Below is a sample featuring my friend, Marissa.

Provençal postcard designers can't be limited to one picture; their work often features a collage of images that best represent the quaint lifestyle and historical beauty of the area: colorful fields of lavender and sunflowers; arrangements of wine bottles and grapes; aged stone steeples and terracotta villages nestled into green hills; shade-dappled hammocks (which I have yet to actually see here, though they must be popular among the locals since they are represented on such authentic documents as postcards); wrinkled men carrying baguettes under their arms; and groups of graying women in shawls, chatting on the corners of cobblestone streets.

Kittens and puppies abound in the south of France, as evidenced by a heavy-handed use of their likenesses in the forefront of collages, occasionally accompanied by a tasteful kiss-mark clip art and an even more tasteful caption: "bisous... bisous... gros bisous de Provence" ("kisses... kisses... big kisses from Provence").

Of course, buying cartes postales in Provence and mailing cartes postales in Provence are two entirely different endeavors. One can expect a Provençal post office to be open whenever the workers feel like it, and never ever during lunch.

So while you may decide to hand-deliver your cartes postales when you return home, you know that your loved ones will soon hold proof of your experience in the authentic beauty of Provence, even if they have to wait for your bisous.