“Better lucky than smart,” Beverly said. I certainly felt lucky. I’d only met her in person the day before, yet here I was, glass of rosé in hand, seated on her terrace in the south of France, the lights of Valbonne in the valley below mirroring the stars.
Almost nine years ago, a friend and I stopped into an estate sale, and I came away with a four dollar bottle of Lucien Lelong Indiscret parfum (the story and a mini-review are here). A few years later, a stranger — Beverly — wrote to me saying that her mother had worn Indiscret, and would I send her a sample? Her mother had died when Beverly was only 18, more than fifty years earlier. I sent her the bottle.
Beverly and I corresponded a bit over the next few years, and she invited me to visit her and her husband at their second home where the Riviera borders Provence. Finally, this summer, I took the train from Paris to Cannes,1 where I stood in front of the train station in the broiling sun, staring at a row of taxis, trusting fate hadn’t led me to a dead end.
“Angela!” I heard behind me and turned to see a plush blonde smiling and waving. She looked made to wear gardenia. “I knew I’d recognize you somehow.”
I spent the next four nights with her, exploring the Côte d’Azur by day and dining in the town square — or, once, tucking into fritto misto with my feet in the sand, gazing at the mammoth yachts on the Mediterranean.
We talked a lot, in the car, at lunch, and late on the terrace. Beverly has a keen eye for beauty and astute observations of human nature. “Use things, love people,” she said as she took delicately handmade plates from the buffet. “Not the other way around.” A good motto to apply to fragrance.
One of our day trips was to the Musée International de la Parfumerie in Grasse. Grasse spills over a hill, and nearly every street seems to contain a few hairpin curves, but the views are worthy of To Catch a Thief. After outwitting the GPS, which seemed programmed to kill us, and sardining the Toyota into a parking garage, we made our way to the museum.
The Musée International de la Parfumerie (not to be confused with the Fragonard perfume museum just down the hill) straddles a 19th-century townhouse and a new building, with a courtyard between them. The ground floor gives an overview of perfumery today — and showcases Jean Carles’s perfume organ, possibly where he composed Indiscret — and individual floors explore perfume culture, including hygiene, history, and technology, chronologically, from the Renaissance on. In one of the courtyards is a garden of scented plants, including patchouli, jasmine and cardamom.
I was ready to move into the floor dedicated to the 20th century, just so I could study each perfume bottle along the timeline and dream of the dresses and drawing rooms into which each perfume launched. The final floor was for a temporary exhibition on Eau de Cologne. (My final burst of happiness came from finding a copy of Nez magazine in the gift shop with an article I’d written. My name in the International Museum of Perfumery! I was so proud, even if it was just the gift shop.) Perfume lovers, if you’re within a hundred miles of the museum, you’ve got to visit it.
I’m home now, and this summer’s vacation feels like a glamorous movie I once saw. I know those three weeks will continue to cook in me and hopefully inspire me to take more risks, meet new people, and see the possibilities in life. As Beverly reminded me one night on the terrace, “Life is what you make of it.”
1. Writing this never gets old.
Note: top image is 2017 Valbonne France (19) [cropped] by Alehins at flickr; some rights reserved.
Lovely story! Thanks for the smile.
It was an even lovelier experience!
It’s always great when you meet someone irl after corresponding and it works out well. Glad you had such a fun, perfume-centric adventure!
Thank you! As I said above, I feel amazingly lucky.
What a fabulous few days!
A total dream come true for me!
I loved this story Angela. I’m just back from France myself. No Provence or Côte d’Azur this year, but the shores of the Lac Léman are just as beautiful. I’m so glad to hear that your meeting with Beverly worked out so well!
so lovely there by Evian!
Welcome home! It sounds like you had an idyllic trip.
What a great story and experience!
Thank you! It was something I’ll always remember.
Lovely Angela!!
Thank you!
Love your story and what a bonus to find your article/ magazine in the International Museum. That must have been such a buzz
I was alarmingly proud. Basically, there’s not enough wood to knock for luck.
Use things.
Love people.
not the other way around.
What a lovely way to phrase and remember this important lesson.
thank you Angela.
Kind of catchy, huh? And, I agree, a great lesson.
Angela, a dream come true, n’est-ce pas? Such a lovely story, and I’m glad you had the telling of it. 🙂
It really was a dream come true. I’m glad you enjoyed the story!
Wow, what a cool trip! Sounds like you encountered some incredible people, places and perfumes.
I’m happy for you that you got those experiences. 
Thank you so much! It really was a wonderful trip, and I know just how lucky I am.
I am still smiling and teary that you sent Beverly the bottle and not a sample. You embodied what she said about loving people and using things by doing just that. Respect!
I’ve been to Côte d’Azur several times but never thought to look up the museum! Next trip, whenever that may be!
You know the sad part? The perfume didn’t bring to mind any memories for Beverly! Oh well, I’m still glad she got to smell it.
I hope you get the chance to visit the museum!
Yes that struck me as well. Such a generous thing to do.
A wonderful story. Thank you for sharing it with us. I’m so glad for you.
Thank you! It was a wonderful time. I’m so, so lucky.
Angela, what a wonderful story! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. I know you will enjoy lovely memories for many years. ❤️
I’m glad you enjoyed the story, and I agree about the memories! I hope the whole trip makes me a better person, too.
How lovely!
It was wonderful!
Oh Angela I’ve been to both those museums and you are right, they are so lovely. My friend lived in Aux for several years, what a good excuse to visit!! LOL I drug her to both places and we both loved it. And on our sojourn to Paris I then drug her on what we dubbed “The Paris Perfume Tour” as we visited as many as I could fit in.
What a nice story on how you visited.
It’s that much more fun to do it with friends!
Thanks for sharing this story! I’m so glad you got to meet in person, and in such a beautiful part of the world.
You’re welcome! It really is a beautiful part of the world. I’m ready to return any time!
Angela, this is just a wonderful piece of writing! It sounds like such a glamorous vacation. And I just absolutely loved the line “she looked made to wear gardenia.” What a perfect description
I knew that perfume people would understand the vibe I meant to suggest!
What a beautifully told story of a beautiful vacation!
You’ve earned every second of it by generously sharing your love of perfume and writing — congratulations and thank you so much, Angela!
Thank you so much! That’s such a generous comment!