Provence - Day 6: Roussillon

Friday, September 24, 2010

It was still pretty dark when the alarm went off at 7:00 this morning.  I had forgotten that we just had the autumn equinox a few days ago.  As the sun came up, there was just a tinge of pink in the sky and it was very cloudy.  The sun acted like it would come out, but the clouds overcame any effort made by the sun.

I finally made contact with Kathy last night around 10:00.  I gave her directions to get from Avignon to Coustellet where we would meet them at 10 AM in the town square near an odd little building that is all decorated with brightly colored murals.  I was pretty sure their GPS wouldn’t do a much better job than ours did at finding our house.  Mom and I got there about 9:45 after depositing our week’s recyclables in the containers in the village.  We had our Kindles, so sat in the car reading.  Kathy & Royal got there about 10:10, so we went back to the house where they left their car, and we all used the facilities.

We headed for Bonnieux, a hill town, which isn’t too far from Maubec.  Today was market day, so we thought we would go to the market.  The drive up there was really pretty with lots of orchards, vineyards, and farms and gardens, as well as old stone houses.   Of course, Bonnieux was very busy and we couldn’t find a place to park that didn’t require a strenuous up-hill walk for all of us, so we turned around to go back to Lacoste.  It wasn’t market day there, but otherwise the situation was much the same as in Bonnieux, so we just drove on through.  The road up there though, was much nicer than to Bonnieux.  Apparently, Pierre Cardin owns the chateau there and has put up a lot of money for improvements to both the chateau and the village.  The chateau was originally the family seat of the Marquis de Sade.  All of us, while disappointed that neither of these towns were good stopping places for us, enjoyed the drive.  We decided to go to Roussillon.

Roussillon is situated on a hill of ochre, which is mined in the area for use in various pigments.  It has many galleries and artists’ studios.  Right away, we could tell that this town was different, and we found a good place to park.  Still an uphill climb, but doable.  We found a nice place with an outside terrace for lunch – pizza – and had a good visit.   After lunch, we explored the town.  Kathy and I walked up to the top of the village where there were panoramic views of the village and valley below.  By then the sun was breaking through a little bit.  The buildings in Roussillon are all painted different shades of ochre, making it quite colorful. We stopped in several shops.  Kathy likes pottery, so we stopped in several pottery shops.  One shop had some pretty posters depicting Provencal scenery, so we went in to see if they were for sale.  It turned out to be the shop of the artist, herself, who spoke very good English and was quite chatty.  Kathy took an interest in one of her paintings, which was priced far out of my price-range, and the woman and Kathy became good friends on the spot.  Kathy has never met a stranger, and easily attracts these kinds of encounters – must be because she’s from the south.  The woman also has a friend who has a booth at the Street Fair in Palm Desert, so there was another connection.  In the end, we both bought the 2 posters.  We really enjoyed Roussillon and it helped make it a perfect day in Provence.

From Roussillon, we went to Gordes (the 3^rd time for us), but after Roussillon, Gordes seemed colorless, as the buildings there are plain stone.  Mom was able to get into our favorite café to use their nice restroom just before they closed.  We weren’t there long when it began to rain, and all of the shopkeepers frantically started to bring their wares inside.  Kathy & Mom had gotten out of the car at the bottom of the hill while Royal & I parked.  I managed to go back up the hill for the car and pick them up just before it started to pour.  It didn’t rain very long, and once we were down in the valley, it wasn’t raining much at all.  Shortly after we arrived at the house, it poured briefly, but now the clouds are clearing and there are some “Seattle sun breaks.”  Hopefully, it will be nice tomorrow.

We got back to the house around 4:00 and they wanted to head back to Avignon around 5 so as to get there in daylight.  I set out some pate, Roquefort cheese, apple, olives, and bread to go with some wine.  We had a nice visit before they left.  It has been so much fun to see them both here and in Paris.

Tonight is our last night in this house.  We will need to pack up our baggage tonight.  I want to leave by 10:00 so we can try to get to Pezanas before the Saturday farmer’s market shuts down.  We’re looking forward to getting to “our house” in Languedoc, but have thoroughly enjoyed our week in Provence.

Salamander update:  He’s back….!!

Provence - Day 5: La Camargue

Thursday, September 23, 2010

In my last post, I don’t think I did a very good job of explaining what the Santons are.  I said that they are clay figures dressed in fabric clothing, but there is more to them than that.  They are traditionally made by artisans in Provence and they are part of their crèche (nativity) scene at Christmas.  In addition to Mary, Joseph, The Christ Child, Magi, shepherds, etc., they make figures depicting the villagers: baker, butcher, housewife, farmer, etc.  These are then all added to the crèche, which may actually resemble their local village more than it does Bethlehem.   The Santons range in size from a couple of inches to 15 – 18 inches in height & some even taller.  The one I bought is about 10 inches tall and it is an older woman in traditional dress, carrying a basket and umbrella.  I liked her face, so that is why I bought her.

Last night there was a full moon and we watched it come up as we drove home from Les Baux-de-Provence. It wasn’t quite dark when we got home, but we could see the moon through our terrace door and when it got dark, we went out to see the stars.  But, the moon was so bright that we didn’t see any but the brightest of the stars.

This morning we got up to another gorgeous sunrise, and left the house by 9:30, heading for La Camargue, which is the estuary of the Rhone river and it is a National Park.  It is a huge area of marshland where they grow rice and other grains, and harvest salt from the sea (Fleur de Sel). They also raise the small black bulls used for Provencal  bull fighting (unlike Spanish bull fighting, the bull is not killed), as well as white horses.  The horses begin life brown or black and change to white when they are about 3 years old.

About a third of the route duplicated yesterday’s route to Les Baux, then we covered some new territory, skirting Arles, and heading to Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer.  The highway into and out of St-Remy-de-Provence has huge trees on either side, creating a tunnel of leaves.  We believe the trees are sycamores, and I think some of them look old enough to have been there when Van Gogh lived in St. Remy.

We got to Stes-Maries around 11:30, and found a place to park, then had lunch.  We had a “daube,” which is a stew.  In our case it was made from bull meat and had a very dark and delicious sauce.  It was served with locally grown rice and was really good!  We then walked around the town for a little while.  Stes. Maries isn’t a very picturesque town and it’s very flat as it is right at the sea.  It reminds me a little of Santa Cruz, CA.  There is an interesting old church, but mostly it is shops and restaurants catering to tourists.  It was easier for Mom to get around since it is flat and there aren’t any cobblestones.

The legend is that a boat was abandoned in c40 by Jews of Jerusalem which, without a sail or oar, landed safely on the shore of Les-Saintes-Maries.  The boat carried Mary, the mother of James, Mary Magdalene, Martha and her brother Lazarus, and Mary Salome, the mother of James and John, among others,  including Sarah, the two Marys’ black servant.  Martha and Mary Magdalene went elsewhere, but the other 2 Marys and Sarah stayed in the Camargue, eventually dying and were buried in Stes-Maries.  (abridged from the Michelin Green Guide) The significance of this that Sarah became the patron saint of the Roma people (gypsies), who live in the area, and there is a “reunion” of the Roma people in Stes-Maries every spring.  When we were there today, some Roma women tried to sell us medals and trinkets.

When we visited the Camargue five years ago, we drove down the other side of the river, and didn’t see a lot of bulls or horses, but today, we saw lots of them.  The Camargue is also famous for its flamingos, which arrive here from Africa in the spring and return in the fall.  We saw a lot of the flamingos last time when we were here in April, but not very many today.  Today, we took a boat trip up the Petit Rhone (the Rhone splits into 2 branches at Arles).  We saw several Great Blue Herons, some white egrets, gulls, as well as bulls and horses.  It was a nice trip, taking about 1 ½ hours and since it cost just 10 euros each, it was a pretty good deal.  When we got off the boat, we were in need of refreshment before starting for home.

We retraced our route back home, arriving a little before 7:00.  It was a long day, but a good one.   The weather was good – the sun was hot out on the water – but by the time we left Stes-Maries, it was starting to get overcast.  Hoping for some blue sky tomorrow as we are meeting Kathy & Royal Larison, who are staying in Avignon, and visiting some of the hill towns of the Luberon.

Update on Mom’s pet salamander:  when we got home, he was finally gone from the shower.  We are hoping he was able to get out through the drain.  I think she’d better check her bed before getting in it tonight.  I know I’m going to check mine!

Provence - Day 4: Les Baux de Provence

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

We are at the McDonalds in Cavaillon.  Mom is drinking a petit cafe and I'm drinking a "Coca Light" and using the free Wi-Fi.

After yesterday's clouds, we were happy to see blue skies and sunshine this morning.  We left right after breakfast, heading for St. Remy and Les Baux.  It was market day in St. Remy, and it was a mad house.  No place to park, so we drove straight through for Les Baux. 

St. Remy is where Vincent Van Gogh spent a year in an sanitarium and where he painted many of his most famous paintings.  He painted over 140 paintings while he was here. Unfortunately, there are none of his original paintings here, or in Arles either, which is where he spent a couple of years.  We came here in 2005, so didn't feel bad that we didn't stop.  There are also some Roman ruins close by.  I wanted to stop, but when Mom waved the handicap placard at the parking attendant, they made us go across the road - I guess they thought we wanted to see those Roman ruins.  Where they took us was too far for Mom to walk back over to see what are labeled as The Antiquities, so we just went on to Les Baux.

When we got to Les Baux, the parking lot closest to the entrance was already full, but this time when Mom waved the placard it got results and we got a spot close to the main entrance to the village.  When were here 5 years ago, Mom was tired so stayed in the car while I went into the village, which is built up the side of a cliff.  This time, she went into the village with me, but it was hard-going as the cobblestones are very big and uneven.  We walked a little way and went into a couple of shops.  We also went to the Santon Museum.  Santons are "little saints" made of clay and dressed in cloth clothing.  They have been made since the 17th century and there is a man in Les Baux who still makes them.  I took some pictures in the museum, and also bought one from the craftsman.

We had a wonderful lunch in Les Baux, a Provencal specialty of poached cod and vegetables, including steamed califlower, potato, carrot, and zuccini.  There was a huge glob of aioli (mayonaise) and a hardboiled egg, too.  It was really good -- the fish and vegetables were perfectly cooked.

Unfortunately, the restroom at the restaurant wasn't well suited for Mom, so we walked up a ways and found a cafe with a better restroom.  She stayed there with a cup of coffee while I went exploring further up the hill.  There's a chateau at the top of the hill, but I didn't go in as I didn't want to leave Mom too long.

We left La Baux around 2 and headed back home through St. Remy again.  We got home and I hung out the towels we washed this morning and grabbed the laptop, so we could go looking for Wi-Fi.

We have a little pet!  Mom has a little salamander in her shower.  We think it came in through the window in her bathroom, which we left open.  It's been there since yesterday.  This afternoon I tried to tease it onto a broom handle so I could take it outside, but it wasn't interested.  It doesn't seem to bother Mom, but I'm glad it's not in my shower!  I believe the salamander was the symbol of one of the royal families of France, or perhaps of one of the cities -- can't remember which, I'll have to look it up -- so maybe it is lucky to have one...or not.

One of the things we have noticed is how the grapes grow here compared to Burgundy.  In Burgundy, the grapes are grown in perfectly pruned manicured rows.  In Provence, the grapes are allowed to grow as they want and are not severely pruned.  A lot of produce is grown in this region, including apples.  The apple trees are smaller than what we have in Eastern Washington and in many places they are espladed (not sure how to spell that) - grown on wires.  We've seen red apples as well as what appear to be Golden Delicious.  The produce in the supermarket is labelled to show its country of origin.  Most everything comes from France, except bananas, pineapple, kiwis, and avacados.

All for now.  We need to get back to the house.  It will probably be Saturday before I do another posting.

Provence - Day 3: Cassis & Les Calanques

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Today we got up a little earlier than usual.  There was a beautiful sunrise, but there were a lot of clouds this morning.  We left the house around 9:30 to go to Cassis, which is a resort town on the Mediterranean, about 20-25 km east of Marseille.  We took the autoroute all the way, and the trip took about 90 minutes each way and a ¼ tank of diesel.

We had to park up yet another hill, but this one wasn’t quite as steep as the one in Gordes.  We arrived by 11:00, so I thought we might be a little early, but the town was already buzzing with tourists, mostly French.  We  headed for the Tourist Information, then bought tickets for a boat trip to see Les Calanques, which are chalk cliffs and fjord-like inlets that stretch about 20 km between Cassis and Marseille.  The only way out there is by boat or hiking on a trail along the top.  We decided it would be best to do the boat trip before lunch, so we took the noon tour that visits 5 Calanques, and takes about an hour.  Our boat was probably the ugly duckling of the fleet, but was named the Marseille, so must have once been a proud little boat. There weren’t a lot of people on it, and it was very comfortable.  Everyone else was up front until it got windy and they started to get wet from spray.  We stayed in the back under an awning with open sides.  Even with the clouds, the wind was fairly warm, so I didn’t even wear my jacket.  The sea was not glassy smooth, but it wasn’t real rough, either.

The boat went up into each of the Calanques as far as feasible.  The captain gave a narration, but it was in French, so it didn’t mean much to us.  At one point, as we approached a sandy beach, the captain made an announcement, and everyone but Mom & I scurried to the front of the boat.  We wondered if the announcement was that it was a nude beach – the men, especially, seemed very interested and were taking a lot of pictures.  For a brief moment while we were there, the sun came out and you could see how the cliffs must look in bright sunshine with the turquoise of the water, the blue of the sky, and the white chalk cliffs.   We could also see a lot of fish in the water beside the boat.

The weather wasn’t quite as I envisioned for the trip, but it was great to be out on the water and the scenery was spectacular.

After getting off the boat, we had lunch quay-side at Le Delphin – it was the first place we came to, but once Mom saw that they had mussels, I couldn’t get her to move on.  Mom had the moules frites (mussels & fries), and I had a salad with chicken, avocado, egg, and tomato.  Mom loved the mussels – she had wanted some ever since we got here – they were in a sauce flavored with fennel, and my salad was very good.  When we sat down at the table, a couple of older French men at the table next to us seemed to be quite taken with me – I think they were about my age within a few years.  They gave us the half-bottle of red wine they had left, which was nice, and it was good wine, and I thanked them.  They asked if we were “anglais,” but I explained “americaine” and told them we were from Seattle – they seemed to know where that is.  When they left, one of them touched me on the shoulder and said “a bientot” (see you soon) – what a flirt!  When we’d finished eating, Mom looked for a wet-nap to use on her hands.  The French couple on the other side of us also had the moules frites and they had wet-naps.  When the woman realized that Mom needed one, she asked the waiter to bring one for her.  That’s another example of how nice the people have been.

After lunch, we walked around a little while before starting back to the car.  It was about 3:00 when we left to head back home, again via the autoroute.  The toll costs were about 12 euros for the trip. 

This was a really good day because we had no parking debacles and no missed turns or close calls with on-coming cars in tight spaces.  This kind of daytrip is fairly easy on mom, too.

Our house is in the area known as the Luberon.  We are right below the Petit Luberon on the north side.  Today, we were on the south side, and the terrain is quite different.  We saw several old churches and castles on hilltops, vineyards (they are harvesting now), chalk and limestone outcroppings, and the vegetation is a little different than on our side of the Luberon – it’s scrubbier over there.

Mom’s skin is so fragile that every time she even brushes against something with her forearm or back of her hands, she bruises and even peels back the skin.  She brought some band-aides, but not enough, and even the band-aides cause her skin to bruise.  We stopped in a “pharmacie” today to get some gauze pads and gentle tape.  Her right arm is now all bandaged up.  It is really interesting trying to find what you need when the labels are all in French, but the people who work in the pharmacies are very helpful.

I’m fixing steak for dinner tonight.

Provence - Day 2: Return to Gordes; L'Isle sur la Sorgue

Monday, September 20, 2010

We arrived in France a week ago today!

We both woke up this morning feeling very rested.  Our lights were out by 10 last night, and Mom actually looked very rested and relaxed at breakfast.

Since being in the house, our breakfasts have consisted of fruit (melon and half a banana); yogurt (plain in cute little glass pots) – we put some jam in the yogurt, a trick we learned when we were here in 1994; baguette; orange juice (Tropicana – just like at home), and coffee.  Unfortunately, when we bought coffee on Saturday, we got ground decaf, but regular beans, so with no coffee grinder, I’ve been caffeine-free for a couple of days.

This morning we left the house a little before 10, to go back up to Gordes.  We arrived there around 10:30, and even then there were quite a lot of people, but not like yesterday afternoon.  We had to drive up the hill to find a parking place in a lot (didn’t have to pay, though, because of Mom’s handicap placard & she’s convinced that is why she gets to come with me on these trips!).  We walked down the hill, and actually saw a couple of the bories (stone huts) that we didn’t get to see yesterday, so that was nice.  At the bottom of the hill, we popped into a café for some coffee.  It had a great view of the valley and we could even see the Luberon hills across the way, which loom over our house.  It was good to get a shot of caffeine, but it was expensive!  Over 8 euros for 2 cups of café crème.  However, the restroom made it worthwhile.  It was one of the best restrooms in a business we’ve ever found in all of our travels in France!

We then walked around the village a little, but many of the streets are very steep and we didn’t venture down them.  There were a couple of nice shops and we bought a few small items.   We found a good spot to sit in the village square to do some people-watching.  A couple sat down near us, and we asked if they would like us to take their picture, which we did.  We started talking, and they turned out to be neighbors from Vancouver, BC.  They were there with another couple, so we took a picture of the four them, and they took our picture.  It was fun talking to them and comparing notes.  We advised them NOT to try to go to the Village de les Bories.

When we were ready to leave, Mom stayed down below and I walked back up the hill.  All those weeks of walking around the neighborhood at home paid off, as I went up the hill without a puff, and drove the car down to pick up Mom in the taxi parking spot, but while we were getting her walker in the car, a tour bus came right up behind us.

Mom commented today that she hasn’t seen a lot of older people.  Some of the tourists are maybe in their mid to late 70’s, but she’s probably one of the oldest people we’ve seen.  Several people have commented on what a trooper she is and think it’s pretty neat that she’s on a trip like this.  I don’t think we’ve seen anyone else using a walker or ambulator, as they are called here.

We had lunch in l’Isle sur la Sorgue, which is a town situated on an island in the Sorgue River.  The town has several old water wheels, which had been used for industry in its early history, but are now just scenic.  They are covered with huge amounts of algae, and the river is also filled with algae and weeds.  We didn’t see any fish, but there are a lot ducks.  We had lunch at a bistro and sat outside under a canvas shelter.  It was really nice, with a gentle breeze passing through.  The wait staff was in no hurry, so we had the typical 2-hour French lunch.  We had salads with smoked salmon (lox-style), tiny pink marinated shrimp, avocado, tomato, caviar (the tiny red kind), and greens with a vinaigrette dressing.  It was very good.  We ordered a crepe with ice cream, chocolate sauce & almonds for dessert.  It took a long time for it to arrive, and when it did, it was quite a sight.  There were 3 rosettes of Chantilly (whipped cream), a scoop of ice cream, chocolate sauce, and almonds arranged on a crepe that was positioned like a mountain backdrop.  We had quite a laugh about how big it turned out to be, but actually, we skipped most of the whipped cream, so it wasn’t too bad – it was really good, though.

After lunch, we walked along the river to the town square and found some shops, bought a few more things, then headed back to the car.  We were both pretty tired by then.

We have really enjoyed the sunshine – yesterday and today have been beautiful.  It’s been a joy to just sit and soak up the warmth.

On the way home, we stopped in Cavaillon again to go to the supermarket.  This time, we needed to buy some decent knives – the ones here are pretty dismal.  We will take the new ones with us when we leave here.  We also got some more provisions, including some regular ground coffee, as we plan to eat all of our dinners here at the house.  The location of the house is such that we don’t really want to try coming home in the dark.

I fixed duck breast for dinner tonight with potatoes, and green beans & carrots.  Mom fixed the salad.  We had our dessert at lunch! 

A lot of the appliances here are “child proofed.”  For example, you have to wait 5 minutes before you can open the washing machine to take the clothes out, which is a safety measure for children.  I wanted to put the duck in the oven for a while after pan-searing it, so I turned the oven on to preheat it, but once it was on, I couldn’t get the darn door open!  I couldn’t find a button or latch to release the door – I couldn’t even open it when I turned the oven off, I had to wait until it cooled down.  I guess that’s another child safety feature, but I sure can’t figure out how you’d get a cake out of the oven when it’s done – I suppose there’s some secret to it.  Good thing I don’t plan to bake a cake!

Another wonderful day in Provence!

Provence - Day 1: Market Day in Coustellet

Sunday – 9/19/10

Our house is just outside the village of Maubec, which isn’t very far from Peter Mayle’s village in his book “A Year in Provence,” Menerbes (accent over the 1^st e).   There is an “old” village of Maubec, but the “suburbs” have been built up with new homes.  We are still trying to get our bearings.

Louis & Cathy told us there was a good market in Coustellet on Sundays, so after breakfast, we headed that way (about 8 km) and it was a very good market.  Very big and lots of people.  Just about every village, town, city in France has a market at least once a week.  You can get just about anything at the market.   Clothing, shoes, craft items, even mattresses.  We got some tapenade, some olives, raspberry jam, bread, cheese, apples, pears, potatoes, onions, garlic, green beans, salad greens, herbs de Provence, and flowers.  It was a lot of fun. 

Our objective for today was to rest, so after the market we headed for home and did a couple of loads of clothes, which had to be hung on the line, and had lunch – goodies from our trip to the market.  Mom took a nap and I read until about 3:00, then we went for a drive.  I thought we would go up to Gordes, which is a hill town built up the side of a cliff – it’s quite a sight.  Being Sunday, I think a lot of French people were on outings and it was very busy, so we decided not to stop, but to go back earlier in the day later this week. 

It is funny to watch the pedestrians – they walk across the road as though they haven’t a care in the world and are totally oblivious to the traffic around them, even those that don’t have a cellphone to their ear.  It can be frustrating waiting to leave a parking space as several people parade past without concern.  Tour groups are even worse – they are so intent in keeping together than they just plow right on by. 

On the way back, I took the turn for Les Bories.  It is a “village” of stone huts dating back to the dark ages or earlier.  The road to get there is very narrow and it was quite hairy at times when faced with oncoming traffic.  When we finally got to the parking lot, which was pretty full, I decided I’d had enough and decided to turn around and go back.  Unfortunately, turning around wasn’t all that easy.  Finally, someone left, so I could use that parking spot as a turn-around spot.  We went back to the main road and only had to squeeze by 2 or 3 other cars on the way out.  An Audi driver thought I should scrap a stone wall so he wouldn’t have to brush his car with branches.  Fortunately, I got out of there with no damage to the car.  I think we’ll just buy a post card of the bories and call it a day!

The washing machine here at the house is really different.  It’s only about 18 X 24 inches (looking down at it).  You lift the top and inside there is a steel drum that opens up and you put the clothes inside.  The drum is horizontal.  You latch the drum, then pour the soap in the slot, decide how hot you want the water, and push the button to start.  The cycle takes a very long time – it is well over an hour, maybe even 90 minutes, but it seems to get the clothes clean.  When I was hanging the clothes on the line, I notices little tiny grey snails on the grass – some had climbed up to the top of a tall stem.  They are kind of cute and fragile looking.  The escargot in Provence is called “le petit gris” or the little grey, so I’m wondering if these are what they eat for escargot in this area. They are pretty small for eating, but could be tasty with enough butter and garlic.  I’ll wait to try them in a restaurant and won’t cook up a mess of these from the yard.

For dinner I fixed pork cutlets, green beans, potatoes with garlic, salad greens with tomatoes & Roquefort cheese, and sorbet for dessert.  It was very good, if I do say so myself. 

I think another early night tonight.  Tomorrow we will go further afield.