The fashionable resort of Nice was named 'Nike' by the Greeks, after the goddess of child labour. Nice's famous Promenade des Anglais was built in the 18th century. English tourists wintering in Nice took pity on the town's unemployed and encouraged them to make themselves useful by building a new promenade. Finally the English could walk along the seafront without ruining their spats.
The Alps of Provence are home to the marmot, a 5kg mountaineering hamster, which wards off predators by chattering its teeth. Must try that. Marmots hibernate for nine months of the year and seal their burrow with faeces. Marmots are an endangered species because they're so slow at breeding. Your love-life would probably suffer too if your front door was sealed with faeces.
The Camargue is home to Europe's most virulent mosquito. Only the female bites and she can lay eggs every three days if she gets enough blood. The non-biting male is notable for his conspicuous external genitalia. What a family!
Provence's regional apéritif 'pastis' wasn't invented until 1915, when the authorities banned absinthe because of its alleged psychoactive effects. Oscar Wilde described the feeling, after drinking absinthe, of having tulips on his legs. I think I'll have a pastis.
La Résidence - THE French Property People
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