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Peter Mayle

Peter Mayle Quotes

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Famous Peter Mayle Quotes

“The French don't snack. They will tear off the endo of a fres baguette (which, if it's warm, it's practically impossible to resist) and eat it as they leave the boulangerie. And that's usually all you will see being consumed on the street. Compare that with the public eating and drinking that goes on in America: pizza, hot dogs, nachos, tacos, heroes, potato chips, sandwiches, jerricans of coffee, half-gallon buckets of Coke (Diet, of cours) and heaven knows what else being demolished on the hoof, often on the way to the aerobic class.”

FoodTravelProvenceBaguette
Author:Peter Mayle
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“Apart from the peace and emptiness of the landscape, there is a special smell about winter in Provence which is accentuated by the wind and the clean, dry air. Walking in the hills, I was often able to smell a house before I could see it, because of the scent of woodsmoke coming from an invisible chimney. It is one of the most primitive smells in life, and consequently extinct in most cities, where fire regulations and interior decorators have combined to turn fireplaces into blocked-up holes or self-consciously lit "architectural features." The fireplace in Provence is still used - to cook on, to sit around, to warm the toes, and to please the eye - and fires are laid in the early morning and fed throughout the day with scrub oak from the Luberon or beech from the foothills of Mont Ventoux. Coming home with the dogs as dusk fell, I always stopped to look from the top of the valley at the long zigzag of smoke ribbons drifting up from the farms that are scattered along the Bonnieux road. It was a sight that made me think of warm kitchens and well-seasoned stews, and it never failed to make me ravenous.”

ProvenceFireplace
Book:A Year in Provence
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“Day after day we looked for rain, and day after day we saw nothing but the sun. Lavender that we had planted in the spring died. The patch of grass in front of the house abandoned its ambitions to become a lawn and turned into the dirty yellow of poor straw. The earth shrank, revealing its knuckles and bones, rocks and roots that had been invisible before.”

EarthHouseWaterPoorSunSawsRocksFrontsAmbitionSpringRainRiversRootsDiedBonesInvisibleDirtyGrassYellowAbandonedRevealingPatchesLawnsStrawsKnucklesLavender
Book:Toujours Provence
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“Sunglasses must be kept on until an acquaintance is identified at one of the tables, but one must not appear to be looking for company. Instead, the impression should be that one is heading into the cafe to make a phone call to one's titled Italian admirer, when--quelle surprise!--one sees a friend. The sunglasses can then be removed and the hair tossed while one is persuaded to sit down.”

ShouldCompanyHairTablesSurprisePhonesImpressionItalianAcquaintanceHeadingsPhone CallsSunglassesCafesAdmirer
Author:Peter Mayle
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“The day when a Frenchman switches from the formality of vous to the familiarity of tu is a day to be taken seriously. It is an unmistakable signal that he has decided - after weeks or months or sometimes years - that he likes you. It would be chulish and unfriendly of you not to return the compliment. And so, just when you are at last feeling comfortable with vous and all the plurals that go with it, you are thrust headlong in to the singular world of tu.”

WorldYearsSometimesFeelingsWould BeLastsTakenWeekMonthsReturnComfortableDecidedLikesComplimentSignalsFamiliarityThrustFrenchmenFormalityUnfriendly
Author:Peter Mayle
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“I have a terrible weakness for collecting snatches of other people's conversations, and occasionally I'm rewarded with unusual fragments of knowledge. My favorite of the day came from a large but shapely woman sitting nearby whom I learned was the owner of a local lingerie shop. 'Beh oui,' she said to her companion, waving her spoon for emphasis, 'il faut du temps pour la corsetterie.' You can't argue with that. I made a mental note not to rush things next time I was shopping for a corset, and leaned back to allow the waiter through with the next course.”

PeopleMadeSaidCoursesNextTerribleConversationWeaknessSittingNotesMy FavoriteArguingLocalsShopsOwnersCompanionUnusualShoppingNext TimeEmphasisFragmentsCollectingSpoonsWaiterLingerieCorsets
Author:Peter Mayle
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“Next to the defeated politician, the writer is the most vocal and inventive griper on earth. He sees hardship and unfairness wherever he looks. His agent doesn’t love him (enough). The blank sheet of paper is an enemy. The publisher is a cheapskate. The critic is a philistine. The public doesn’t understand him. His wife doesn’t understand him. The bartender doesn’t understand him.”

LooksEnoughEarthNextEnemyWifePoliticianPaperCriticsAgentsHardshipBlankDefeatedSheetsPublishersVocalUnfairnessBartenderPhilistinesCheapskates
Author:Peter Mayle
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“It is at a time like this, when crisis threatens the stomach, that the French display the most sympathetic side of their nature. Tell them stories of physical injury or financial ruin and they will either laugh or commiserate politely. But tell them you are facing gastronomic hardship, and they will move heaven and earth and even restaurant tables to help you.”

HelpingStoriesEarthMovingHeavenSidesLaughingCrisisTablesFinancialRuinsRestaurantsInjuryHardshipStomachDisplaySympatheticHeaven And Earth
Author:Peter Mayle
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