Daniele has been baking pears with sweet red wine sauce. Last night there was a big pan of them keeping warm on top of the wood-burning stove that is right inside the front door of the pub. The aroma of warm red wine and pears and woodsmoke was perfect for a late autumn evening.

The air was so clear yesterday that we could see the French Maritime Alps and all the little red-roofed houses down on the plane seemed so close that we could almost see inside their windows. The horizon line is sharp and crisp and by mid-afternoon, there is a peach-colored glow that begins just above the edge of the sea.

The two and a half strings of Christmas lights that are hung above the street just outside the pub have now been installed to inaugurate the holiday season and we can look down on them from the bathroom window here at the house and feel festive.