INCLUDING such exotic places as Marseilles, Cassis and Nice in the French Riviera, spending Valentines Day in Provence is really ideal. On Valentines Night itself when the moon is three quarters full, you can bask skinny dipping in the Mediterranean beach. The moon will make your smooth face glow yellow white while your body will be illuminated by planktons underwater.

Of course, France is one of the most fashionable countries in the world and there are lots of both usable and novelty household crafts that are available here in any city in Provence. They range to items such as fragrances, eye balms, face creams, moisturizing creams, cleansing oil, cream masks, lip balm sticks, cleansing milk, face scrub mud, radiance masks, cold creams, foaming cleansers, toners, moisturizers, exfoliants, soaps, lotions, shower gels, shampoos and hair conditioners.

The items I have mentioned above are all used in the body. Let’s now take a look at some of the items you can be practically using and you will carry with you when you go back to Spain. Of course, there are lots of duty-free signature boutiques at Nice International Airport but you can find more humongous discounts when you have the knack to travel and go to other lesser known shops all around Provence. Take note that these items are crafted in Provence so it would be very wonderful to show these off to your nieces and neighbors back home in New Jersey that you have imported a few French items into your home. Some of these items include cruets, tablecloths, atomizers, jugs, mortars, wine coolers, wooden salad bowls, pens, card holders, plates, paper knives, bags, table mats, napkins and bread baskets.

With all that shopping, it’s now time to have that Valentines dinner. For a change, how about dinner right at the vacation suite that you are billeted. All you need to have is some wine to charge up your Valentines evening. There are different wines that you can purchase in any grocery or convenience store here in Provence from sparklers such as champagnes to white wine, Polish wines, rose, wines imported from Tuscany and Bordeaux as well as Spanish and Italian red wines. But the one that I really like is the Provencal cocktail. At 750 mL, it is available at only $125. The bottle is not only beautiful to look at; you will also be enchanted with the aroma of the citrus and the pear inside. Well of course nothing still beats rose because of its pale pinkish color.

But if both of you are really bent on having dinner outside, and then do away with the usual Mediterranean diet of seafood only. Let’s have something more elegant for a change. Anyway, Valentines is celebrated just once a year. Let’s have some braised wild boar shank, scallops dipped in cauliflower puree, duck leg decorated with lettuces, walnuts and apple bits, grilled Moroccan chorizo, black cod, lamb chop, steamed mussels and Hawaiian sea bass, among others.