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Guided Fishing and Foraging in Provence

February 23, 2015, 5:28 am
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Lisa and Johann Pepin, the folks behind the truffle and olive farm Les Pastras, are now offering fishing and mushroom-hunting adventures in the Provençal countryside.

The idea for the new program came from their long-time truffle-hunter Jean-Marc Hennequin; Lisa calls him "the ultimate outdoorsman." One day after a particularly successful hunt, Jean-Marc was telling the Pepins how happy he was to be earning extra money doing what he loves and, at the same time, sharing his passion with travelers from all over the world. "If only people would pay me to fish and mushroom hunt!," he said, half joking.

Knowing that finding a guide to do these things in Provence is virtually impossible--serious fishermen and mushroomers are hesitant to share their favorite sites and would certainly never invite tourists to tag along--Lisa and Johann immediately saw the possibilities. 

So the trio joined forces to create Provence Outdoors, offering daily excursions over the rivers and through the woods. They launched the company this month.  

From May 15 to November 30, Jean-Marc will take you to fish local lakes and rivers for pike, carp and perch. The tour includes an English speaking guide, one-day fishing license, all equipment and the quintessential outdoorsman's breakfast: pâté, sausage, baguette, olives and red wine. Fishing is in the early morning or late afternoon...and it's all catch and release. 

In fall (September 15 to November 15) you can tromp the unspoiled forests of the Luberon or the Alpes de Haute Provence, foraging for 10 varieties of mushrooms: cepes, chanterelle, golden chanterelle, hedgehog mushroom, blue stalk mushroom, Tricholoma myomyces, saffron milk cap, white saddle, elfin saddle and black trumpet. Knives and baskets will be provided, along with a tutorial on how to distinguish edible mushrooms from poisonous. You'll also be treated to an outdoorsman's picnic or aperitif, depending on the time of day. (Just an aside: Pharmacists in France are trained in mycology. So if you find delicious but suspicious looking specimens, just take them to any pharmacy to be sure. Isn't that great?)

Costs for excursions vary slightly depending on the day and time, but adult prices start at 50€ (mushroom hunting) and 60€ (fishing).  Kids are welcome on all tours and pay lower prices. For all the info, click here. 

And if it's a truffle hunt and tasting you're after, winter truffle season at Les Pastras runs November 15 to March 15...followed by summer truffle hunting from May 1 to September 30. For info on those programs, click here.

Photos: (1) Jean-Marc (left) with a friend...and carp. While some people call carp ''pigs with fins," they're prized by British and Russian anglers. A Frenchman holds the world carp-fishing record, having landed a 74-pounder. They're hard to catch, hard to clean...and the most widely eaten fish in the world. Jean-Marc releases everything he catches.  (2) Jean-Marc with pike. (3, 4) Two of Jean-Marc's favorite Provençal fishing holes. (5, 6) Chanterelles in the wild; white saddle mushrooms in the basket. (7) Man does not live by fish alone...he needs wine, olives, sausage, pâté and baguettes. So on morning fishing and mushroom excursions, your Provencal picnic is included. (8) Lisa and Johann Pepin are Jean-Marc's partners in the new venture.
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A Beginner's Guide to Brocantes in Provence

March 2, 2015, 8:59 am
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Above: Two popular ways to find brocantes and vide greniers are signs like this one...and the website Brocabrac.fr.
Grant Innes has filled his beautiful old farmhouse in Maussane with antiques and brocante items found locally.
"I have a fetish for silver cutlery," Grant says. "I can spend hours on the hottest summer day, searching hundreds of stands for a dusty, tarnished old set of flatware, the one that, with a bit of spit and polish, will look like a million bucks. You can find wonderful brands like Ercuis, Christofle and Ravinet D'Enfert. They make lovely gifts too." 
(Five photos) More of Grant's favorite finds. He paid 9€ each for his Napoleon and Josephine plates...and 50€ for the Champagne bucket. Lots of brocante loot is on display in his open living room, dining room and kitchen.
Blogger/brocante maven Corey Amaro found a "transition period" pair of armchairs in seafoam colored leather for 500€ at the brocante in Barjac, one of her favorites.
More of Corey's found treasures.
For her house in St. Remy, my friend Karen Pohlman is making a pillow from the old French postal sack she found at Emmaus. You can buy the pillow above here.


Antiquing is a both a national pastime and competitive sport in France...and Provence is known to have some of the finest antiquing in all the land. But it's also know to be expensive, unless you know where to go.

The great American tradition of the rummage sale, yard sale, garage sale or estate sale doesn't exist here. (Actually, when I wanted to have one in my driveway, I was told it's illegal. Yep, I did it anyway...and sold nothing. But I had fun giving things away to passers-by!)

What does exist here is a wide range of other ways to buy old things, from the very cheapest cr*p to the most-exquisite antiques. 

Locals who love antiquing tend to follow the circuit...meaning they know which village to go to when...and where they're most likely to find things they love at fair prices. But for tourists--and those of us who love brocante but don't follow the scene closely--the code can be a bit tough to crack. And that's where the terrific website Brocabrac.fr comes in....and there's more info on that below. 

First, here's some general info and popular places to get you started.

The village of Isle sur la Sorgue is the epicenter...a major antiques center for all of Europe. In addition to the items sold at the huge weekly Sunday morning market, there are as many as 250 antique shops and malls (with multiple vendors) spread out around the village. Keep in mind that many shops and stalls/malls are open on weekends only; others are Thursday through Sunday.

Then, there are second-hand shops such as the Depot Vente in Eygalieres...and the European chain known as Troc. These shops tend to take old items on commission rather than buy them from owners outright. While the selection is generally of lesser quality than what you'll find in the shops of Isle sur la Sorgue, people have been known to happen on screaming good deals. These shops can quickly feed your addiction for second-hand treasures with a quick, cheap hit: dishes, small pieces of furniture (side tables, etc.), lamps, art, linens, jewelry, books, etc. You’ll also find huge pieces of wood furniture...not particularly beautiful but heavy, well made and inexpensive...and lots of not-so-pretty couches. Shops like these can be a good source for what’s known in the business as smalls; see what the New York Times says about smalls here. 

Around France, you'll also see shops with Troc in the name that aren't part of this national chain; some sell clothes only, others, a bit of everything. If you see "Troc" on the sign, it could be fun...so pop in. 

Then there are charity shops such as Emmaus near Arles (on the D570, also known as the Route Saintes Maries de la Mer, phone 04 90 49 79 76). Here people donate their old things and the proceeds benefit a specific community, charity or cause. The equivalent in the US would be Salvation Army or Goodwill. Again, you're not likely to find a precious treasure...but it’s been known to happen. On the first Saturday of every month at 9 am, this particular Emmaus (there are others around France) opens the “special room” where they gather the best stuff all month. My friend Karen Pohlman went a few weeks ago and found a 7€ vintage linen La Poste mail bag, from which she plans to make pillow for her St. Remy rental house. “It’s a pickers’ paradise,” she says, “but you really need to dig.” (To see Karen's house, click here.)

Some weekly village markets, such as the Sunday one in Isle sur la Sorgue, have old furniture, decorative items and housewares...in addition to all the usual market items such as food, clothing, jewelry, linens and more. The Wednesday market in St. Remy, for example, almost always has a couple vendors selling small antique items such as tableware, artwork, pottery, decorative items and small pieces of furniture.

Moving on...most villages of any size have certain days of the year set aside for a community brocante or vide grenier. (At a brocante you’ll find more antiques and more dealers selling, whereas a vide grenier--literally, “empty attic”--is more of a rummage sale with more individuals selling.) They're announced via signs (pasted to trees and light poles, usually) and they happen in parks, parking lots and town squares. Blogger Corey Amaro, a passionate brocanter who features many of her finds in her online shop here, says one of her favorites is the one in Barjac, which happens twice a year: the week before Easter and again around the 15th of August. Corey used lots of her finds to decorate her own home in Provence, of course, but also her Paris rental apartment here. 

Corey says she tends to have good luck at the smaller brocantes organized by Jean-Marie Dropsy, who does at least one brocante a month, with nearly 200 dealers. "I find most of my smalls there,” she reports. "I know for example that when I see Mr. Dropsy's name on Brocabrac, the fair will be good...he has dealers that follow him yearly." You can also find his brocantes listed on his blogor on Brocabrac.fr under the company name Utopies et Lumieres. Or, you an call email him (utopies-lumières@hotmail.fr) or call him: +33 (0)6 17 80 07 36.

Moving on...on certain days of the week, some villages have a weekly brocante, vide grenier or marché aux puces (flea market).  The vide grenier on Wednesday morning in Beaucaire comes to mind, held in a pretty, tree-shaded park by the Rhône River. Three other examples are all day Sunday in Carpentras; Saturday and Sunday mornings in Mornas (just off the A7 north of Orange) and every Sunday in Jonquieres (in the Vaucluse).

A very nice brocante (known for high quality and good prices) is every Saturday morning in Villeneuve lez Avignon, across the Rhône from Avignon.

Most markets and many brocantes and vide greniers finish up around 1 pm...but if sales are strong, the vendors stay on longer. Some go all day so make sure to check.

The city of Arles has an all-day (8 am to 6 pm) Foire à la Brocantethe first Wednesday of every month.  My friend Jill Mitchell reports: “The weekly Arles brocante is friendly with lots of charm, a good selection and good prices." The brocante is on the Boulevard des Lices, the same grand street where the large Saturday morning market is held. The Arles Tourist Office tells me to expect roughly 50 exhibitors at this brocante year round, with as many as 60 in April and May.

Still another way to feed your antiquing fever is at one of the large antique fairs or foires. Two of the biggest ones in Europe are held each year in Isle sur la Sorgue: one over Easter weekend (April 2 to 6, 2015) and one the weekend of August 15. There you'll find hundreds of vendors selling all over town. You can try their website here but it’s a bit maddening as some of the info is two years old. The Isle sur la Sorgue Tourist Office website here should have complete info as the event draws closer.

Having never been to this particular Isle sur la Sorgue fair, I asked Jill Mitchell—who leads antiquing trips in Provence and sells French vintage goods on Etsy and Ebay--what she thinks of it. "It's very good," she reports, "offering an amped up version of the regular Sunday market, with vendors often coming from around Europe. My two cents though, is that on any Sunday of the year, Isle sur la Sorgue is already so abundant with fantastic items (nearly to the point of overwhelm) that it's a great destination either way. In general, however, prices in L'Isle are much higher than you'll find in other city and village markets in Provence. The rule is, using the price for an item bought in Marseille as a base, add 35% for the same item for the Isle sur la Sorgue price and add another 35% to that for the Paris price."

And yet another big foire (also known as a déballage, which means unpacking) happens in an Avignon expo park seven times a year--roughly every six weeks--but you need to have professional credentials to get in (the info is here). A friend who’s been reports: “It’s a wonderful collection of some very fine antiques. Mostly dealers buying for their shops. Good prices and some room for negotiation. Things sell very fast so you need to make quick decisions.  Mostly indoors in multiple buildings and some on lots outside.” Beziers and Montpellier have similar déballages.

Of course you’ll find examples of all the above all throughout France, not just here in the South. The annual Grande Braderie of Lille (in northern France), for example, is a mega-brocante, with a reported 200 km (125 miles) of stalls. I’m told it dates to the 12th century and attracts as many as 10,000 sellers. It takes place the first weekend in September. Let’s go! 

Ok so what about Brocabrac.fr?  I learned about it just last week at dinner at the vacation home of my friend Grant Innes. I was admiring all his wonderful antiques and objets...and he told me that most came from local antique shops, brocantes and vide greniers. Grant's been collecting for years and uses Brocabrac religiously to plan his forays. He says his favorite find ever was the pair of blue and white Delft-style plates pictured above--one with image of Napoléon, the other, Josephine--that now hang on the wall in his dining room. The plates were 9€ each, at a vide grenier in Carpentras. His more-recent purchases include the elegant seau à Champagne also pictured above, from a pop-up brocante in Sénas for 50€, and a set of nine Salvador Dali plates for 10€. 

Grant likes to plan ahead, checking the Brocobrac site the day before he heads out. “Then I get on the road early with my dog, Luca,” he reports, “and we make a day of it, visiting up to five or six different towns. It’s a lovely way to explore Provence.”

The Brocabrac site is only in French but it's easy to figure out. Just find your region on the map, click it...and wait for the list to appear on the right. What's great is the site shows you what's happening today, this week...and for quite a few weeks to come. 

For brocante beginners, Grant's best advice is: dress down, carry coins and small bills, try to haggle if that’s your thing, always start any inquiry with “bonjour Monsieur or Madame”...and above all, be polite and respectful. He also suggests you have a couple sturdy shopping bags in your trunk, plus newspaper and bubble wrap, “because you may find the perfect set of Baccarat wine goblets but not in the original packaging.” Bring water in summer, he adds, because brocantes and vide greniers are often held in open parking lots or sports fields, in direct sun.

So that's the general lay of the land. Obviously, you're not going to find the same things at a flea market in a dusty field as you will at a high-end antiques show...but both are fun and could be fruitful! So have at it...good luck...and let me know what you find! And if you have a favorite shop or regular brocante you care to share, please leave it as a comment below. 
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Advance Screenings of Cinderella for Charity

March 10, 2015, 1:02 am
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Every year the Rotary Clubs of France and their local chapters stage a fundraiser for brain research, in conjunction with Disney in France, which generously provides a new, not-yet-premiered film.  The beneficiary is the Federation pour le recherché sur le cerveau (FRC).

This year, the movie is Cinderella (Cendrillon, in French), which officially premiers in the US and France on March 25. Helena Bonham Carter plays the Fairy Godmother and Cate Blanchett, stepmother Lady Tremaine. Lily James plays Cinderella and Richard Madden is Prince Charming. The new film was directed by Kenneth Branagh.

My favorite line from the movie’s press release: Wouldn't you prefer to eat when all the work is done, Ella?

The fundraiser screenings will be Tuesday March 17 and 450 theaters throughout France, Belgium and Luxembourg will participate. Most theaters will show the film in French only but some will also have it in English.

In my village of St. Remy, for example, the Rotary Club des Baux de Provence will host two screenings: one in French and one in English. The French version will be at 6:30 pm at Cine Palace; the English version will follow, at 9 pm.

Tickets are 15€, of which 8€ goes to the charity. Each adult ticket includes one free child's ticket...but two free kids only per family, please.

Screenings will also happen in Arles, Tarascon, Avignon, Marseilles, Nimes and elsewhere…across the Cote d’Azur and in Paris. For a full list of participating theaters, click here. Tickets will be available at all box offices.

“This is a cause we love to support,” says Larry Ware, president of the Rotary Club des Baux.“And a nice way for the Anglo community in Provence—and visitors--to get together and participate.”

To purchase advance tickets to the St. Remy screening, contact: Gérard Bodel: 06 14 34 99 95 or gerard.bodel@orange.fr.

For info on the Rotary Club in France, click here. For the regional Provence site, click here.

And while I have you here, the Rotary Club des Baux (in the Alpilles region) is actively seeking new members. For info, contact Larry: ware42larry@gmail.com, 04 90 93 15 42 or 06 19 05 31 90. The men-only group is mostly French--with a smattering of members from Belgium, Japan, USA, Germany and Spain--and Larry tells me they'd love to have more expats in the group. 
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March 19: On your Mark, Get Set, Eat French!

March 17, 2015, 4:35 am
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On Thursday, March 19, more than 1,300 restaurants in 150 countries will offer special dinner menus designed to celebrate French gastronomy in all its forms.
Participating chefs include some of the top names in French cuisine — among them Paul Bocuse, GuySavoy, Joël Robuchon, Raymond Blanc and Marc Haeberlin— along with scores of other French and non-French chefs working in France and abroad.
Known as Goût de France, the initiative was spearheaded by superstar chef Alain Ducasse and Laurent Fabius, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development. 

The duo was inspired by legendary culinarian Auguste Escoffier, who launched the “Dîners d’Épicure” in 1912. Escoffier’s idea was to promote French cuisine by serving the same menu on the same day in cities all over the globe.

Ducasse says that Goût de France will "honor the merits of French food, its capacity for innovation, and its values: sharing, enjoying, and respecting the principles of high-quality, environmentally responsible cuisine." (The event is also being called Good France, as opposed to the literal translation of its name, Taste of France).
In everything from rustic bistros to gilded Michelin-starred dining rooms, those lucky enough to get a table will enjoy a set-price French-style menu featuring a traditional French apéritif, a cold starter, a hot starter, fish or shellfish, meat or poultry, French cheese, a chocolate dessert, and French wines and digestifs.
The chefs are free to highlight their own culinary traditions and culture, but have been directed to base the meal upon fresh, seasonal, and local products, with an eye to lower levels of fat, sugar, salt, and protein.
Menu prices are at the chefs’ discretion, and all participants have been encouraged to donate 5% of their proceeds to a local NGO promoting health and/or environmental protection.
French embassies abroad will also be involved, staging their own Goût de France dinners with ambassadors present. A grand dinner will be held at the Château de Versailles for foreign ambassadors posted in Paris along with other dignitaries.
After an open call for applications, Ducasse and his 40-chef committee chose the finalists based on the “coherence and quality of their proposed menus.”

Here in the South of France, you can see everyone who’s participating by clicking here. Below is just a selection; most but not all have posted their special menu and price on the Goût de France site.

*Gérald Passédat (Le Petit Nice, Marseille)
*Lionel Levy (Hotel Intercontinental, Marseille)
*Ludovic Turac (Une Table au Sud, Marseille)
*Guillaume Sourrieu (L’Epuisette, Marseille)
*Marc de Passorio (L’Esprit de la Violette, Aix)
*Pierre Reboul (Restaurant Pierre Reboul, Aix)
*Mathias Dandine (Les Lodges Sainte Victoire, Aix)
*Christophe Martin (Bastide de Moustiers, Moustiers)
*Erwan Louaisil (Moulin de Mougins, Mougins)
*Ronan Kervarrec (La Chèvre d'Or, Eze)
*David Cahen (Au Petit Gari, Nice)
*Notel Mantel (Mantel, Cannes)
*Alain Llorca (Restaurant Alain Llorca, La Colle sur Loup)
*Yoric Tieche (La Passagère, Juan Les Pins)
*Benjamin Collombat (Cote Rue, Draguignan)
*Paolo Sari (Elsa, Roqeubrune Cap Martin)
*Jean-Francois Berard (Hostellerie Berard, La Cadiere d’Azur)
*Benoit Witz (L'Hostellerie De L'Abbaye De La Celle, La Celle)
*Reine Sammut (Auberge La Fenière, Lourmarin)
*Xavier Mathieu (Le Phebus, Joucas)
*Robert Lalleman (Auberge de Noves, Noves)
*Thibaut Serin-Moulin (Restaurant Valrugues, St. Remy)
 *Johan Thyriot (Meo, Tarascon)

For restaurants elsewhere in France, click here.

And to find a restaurant in another country, click here.

In the US, there were 45 restaurants participating at last count, and you can see them all listed here.

At his three Bouchon Bistros (in Las Vegas, Yountville, and Beverly Hills), Thomas Keller’s Goût de France menu starts with foie gras cromesquis (foie gras that’s been cured, poached, breaded, and fried, like a fritter), then moves on to saucisson à l’ail (garlic sausage in brioche, with marinated vegetables, Dijon mustard, and garden mâche) and selle d’agneau rotie et farcie (herb-stuffed Elysian Fields lamb saddle with spring beans and English peas with mint-scented lamb jus). The cheese will be Camembert Le Châtelain (with rhubarb compote and black pepper pistachio pain de campagne), and the dessert, an opera cake (almond sponge with coffee and chocolate butter cream). The menu is priced at $65, with wine pairings offered for an extra $45. Seats are still available at all three locations. 

“Even though this is a one-day event, for Bouchon it’s all about paying homage to the core values we embody as a French bistro every day,” Keller says. "For Americans, Goût de France is really about discovering an appreciation for French culture through cuisine that’s responsibly prepared with high-quality ingredients and execution. We’re proud to represent the United States in this worldwide celebration.” 

At Jade Mountain on St. Lucia in the Caribbean, executive chef Jeffrey Forrest has infused his Goût de France menu with a wide range of local ingredients. He'll be serving roasted cabbage with toasted farro, christophene and a lime-curry nage; cured lionfish with passion-fruit caviar; fromage frais with papaya mustard; "wahoo aubergine"and a chocolate mousse made from from chocolate grown and produced onsite. (Full menu details are here.)

"Jade Cuisine embraces the French concepts of culinary exploration and the use of fresh farm-to-table ingredients," Forrest says. "Our resort runs its own organic plantation producing fruits, vegetables and spices such as turmeric, cashews, tamarind, mango, avocado, oranges, tangerines, guavas, papaya, coconut, breadfruit, yams and sweet potatoes. Cocoa plants are numerous on the grounds for guest to see and for the resort to produce their own chocolates.  We completely embrace the French philosophy and principles of high-quality, environmentally responsible cuisine."
So why this promo and why now? No one is addressing that exactly, but French chefs have come under fire in recent years, accused of serving frozen rather than freshly made food, high menu prices, failure to keep up with global culinary trends, failure to innovate, and the sin of “aesthetic snobbery” — meaning hiring only the prettiest people and seating guests according to attractiveness.
Ducasse and his culinary comrades have worked tirelessly to counter these attacks through a wide range of initiatives, of which Goût de France is the latest. ''In the space of around two months, we received and approved applications from over 1,300 restaurants throughout the world,'' he says. ''This is certainly food for thought for all those who love to talk about the decline of French cuisine.” (And what will Ducasse serve on this special night? His restaurants and their Goût de France menus and prices are here.)

“France is well known as the country of art de vivre,” says Parisian chef Guy Savoy, “and cooking, of course, belongs to that art de vivre. As cooks, our craft is to make our guests happy… and we want to share it, show it, promote it." He adds, “French cuisine is built on ancestral know-how, and is wide open to the future.” Savoy’s menu is here, but the dinner (at about $400 per person) is fully booked.

At the restaurant Pavillon in the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich, Michelin-starred chef Laurent Eperon calls Goût de France an exceptional way to preserve the ideals and pleasures of French gastronomy. “In my humble opinion as a Frenchman, French is the best cuisine of all!” he proclaims. “I’d love to see Goût de France happen annually. The world could always use more French cuisine!” Eperon’s $160 menu for the occasion is here.

Quite a few chefs told me they hope this will be the start of something big, a regular event that will keep growing as time goes on. "I am so happy and proud to celebrate the French gastronomy in the world!" proclaims Laetitia Rouabah, chef at Allard restaurant in Paris. "Good France was able to gather more than 1300 chefs all around the world and that is wonderful ! I sincerely hope that after this first edition, other initiatives like this will follow to promote the French cuisine all around the world." To see Allard's 85€ menu (140€ with wine pairings), click here.

Ducasse, for his part, says the initiative has already satisfied one of his major goals: to illustrate how French-trained chefs are respecting the traditions of the French kitchen while tweaking them to make vibrant, modern and highly personal cuisine. 

“When I look at all the chefs participating,” he says, “I’m struck by their great diversity... all generations and styles of restaurant are represented. The influence of French cuisine can be seen in this human chain of men and women, whose professional roots extend far back into great French culinary traditions. It’s a brotherhood of professionals who share and uphold the same values worldwide." But, he adds, “The main point of this event is generosity and sharing, and a love for what’s beautiful and tastes good.”

For all the info, visit GoodFrance.com. They’re also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Photos: One thousand chefs in 1300 restaurants worldwide will be serving Goût de France dinners on Thursday night. Top photo: Event organizers gathered for their close up, which in this case was more like a far away. (2, 3, 4) Jade Mountain on St. Lucia, Benoit in NYC and Pavillon in Zurich will all be strutting their best culinary stuff. (5) At Thomas Keller's three Bouchon Bistros, one course will be this herb-stuffed lamb saddle with spring beans, English peas and mint-scented jus. (6) Laetitia Rouabah at Allard in Paris. (7-13) The large number of chefs participating in the South of France include: Paolo Sari (Elsa in the Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel), Olivier Rathery (with wife Sylvie) at Le Gout des Choses in Marseille, Xavier Mathieu (Le Phebus, Joucas), Noel Mantel (Mantel, Cannes), Johan Thyriot (Meo, Tarascon), Alexandre Lechene (Le Roc Alto, Saint Veran) and many more. (14) The logo.

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Big Châteauneuf Wine Fest April 11 & 12

March 23, 2015, 6:29 am
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The Printemps de Châteauneuf-du-Pape, now in its sixth year, is a festive rite of spring for wine lovers here in the South of France. This year it's Saturday and Sunday, April 11 and 12, with a special day on Monday April 13 (9:30 am to 2:30 pm) for wine-industry professionals. More than 85 winemakers from Châteauneuf will be on hand, schmoozing, pouring and selling, making this a wonderful opportunity to meet local winemakers while tasting their latest releases and a few smashing older vintages. It’s also an easy way to buy the wines you love, some of them normally quite difficult to get. This year, there will also be eight winemakers from Spain (particularly the Priorat region) on hand. 

As in years past there will be tasting seminars ("ateliers degustations") for an extra charge but all three are already sold out, sorry! 

Les Printemps takes place at the Salle Dufays on the Place de la Renaissance in Châteauneuf, from 10 am to 7 pm both days. Your 8€ entry fee gets you in all weekend and includes a tasting glass. There will be free parking...indoor and outdoor play areas for the kids...and food available on site. For all the info, click here for the event website; you can also call the Tourist Office at 04 90 83 71 08.  For general info about the the wines of Châteauneuf, the village and the region, click here and here. 
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Another Fine French Book Giveaway!

April 3, 2015, 6:21 am
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I’ve been wanting to write about Elizabeth Bard for a while now and her new book gives me a perfect excuse. It comes out on April 7 and it looks every bit as delicious as its predecessor, Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes, which was a New York Times bestseller, an international bestseller and winner of the 2010 Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Best First Cookbook (USA).

And, because I live to please you, I’ve asked Elizabeth and her publisher Little, Brown and Company, for three copies of Picnic in Provenceto give away. Of course, they said bien sur!

Elizabeth is an American journalist and author, born in New York City and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey. She graduated summa cum laude from Cornell University with a degree in English Literature and later earned a Masters degree in Art History from The Courtauld Institute of Art, London.

Elizabeth’s articles on food, art, travel and digital culture have appeared in The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, The Washington Post, Wired, Marie Claire and Harper's Bazaar.

Since 2009, she and her husband Gwendal have lived in the tiny Provencal town of Céreste, where they own and operate the artisanal ice cream company Scaramouche.

The first book, Lunch in Paris, told Elizabeth’s story of cute-meeting the perfect Frenchman at a conference in London, and chucking her life plans to move to Paris to marry him. 

Picnic in Provence picks up where Lunch in Paris left off, or, as the author says, “it’s about all the things that happen after the happily ever after: marriage, motherhood, entrepreneurship...and in our case, ice cream!”

“It’s about unexpected choices and how they can be the best choices we make,” she continues. “There’s no five year plan in the world that would have gotten me here. And yet it’s exactly the right place to be.”

The 336-page hardcover has 60 recipes and is also available in ebook and audiobook versions.

You can see a trailer for it here.

Elizabeth first met Gwendal at an academic conference when she was a student in London.  “I asked what his research was about,” she recalls, “which is as good a pick-up line as any in academia. He was finishing up a PhD in computer science and I was just starting a Master's in Art History. So anyone who says you can't meet the love your life in a lecture on a Hypertext Version of Finnegan's Wake is wrong...”

The crafty American soon made an excuse to come to Paris for the weekend. Next thing she knew she was back and forthing on the Eurostar--they wouldn't be married if it wasn't for the Eurostar, she tells me—and soon Elizabeth had a decision to make: go back to New York to pursue her dream of being a museum curator...or take that flying leap and move to Paris for love.

She chose Paris, of course, and the couple married in 2003.  Those first years in Paris, she worked as arts journalist and as a private museum guide.  Eventually, she realized that “everything I'd learned about France I'd learned autour de la table–around the table. So I decided to write about my experiences from the ‘market’ point of view, and include recipes with every chapter. That's how Lunch in Paris was born.”

On a last romantic jaunt before their baby arrived—he’s now five –the couple traveled down to the Luberon in Provence... and a chance encounter led them to the wartime home of the famous poet and WWII Resistance leader René Char, whom Gwendal had long admired.

“In what felt like a brush with fate, the house was for sale,” she remembers. “Something about it felt perfect--inevitable.” Under the spell of the house and its unique history—Char buried his most famous manuscript there--Elizabeth and Gwendal decide to up and move--lock, stock and Le Creuset--to the French countryside.

The full story of how they found their house is here.

‘’Almost as soon as we arrived in Céreste,’’ she continues, ‘’we knew we wanted our careers to become more local. Gwendal was working as an executive in Digital Cinema. In the spring of 2012, he got a call about a job with Warner Brothers. He’d never really wanted a studio job...he was more of an entrepreneur. We had a long think about what we really wanted and we realized we wanted to do something that would be fun for us and good for the town, something that would allow us share the amazing local flavors we’d discovered here: melons so juicy they drip down to your elbows, strawberries that taste like sunshine.” They spent a year getting things together--six months of vanilla testing!--and opened Scaramouche on a rainy day in April, 2013.

Word spread quickly and in August 2014, TripAdvisor published their list of the top ten ice cream parlors in France: Scaramouche was tied for #5.

Scaramouche is now a local mainstay and a destination. People come for classics like salted caramel ice cream and bitter cacao sorbet and come back for the odd ones: 1001 Nuits (Raz-el-Hanout ice cream with grilled almonds), Pastis sorbet, Rose geranium ice cream with pistachios, and a brand-new black truffle ice cream made with truffles from the nearby farm Les Pastras.

Elizabeth, Gwendal and their team make all their own ice creams and sorbets in a lab on the outskirts of town. They use raw milk from a dairy in Volx (don’t worry, the milk is pasteurized during the ice cream making process), organic eggs, and the best local fruit they can find. Flavors change with the season...and there’s always a line in June when the first tubs of cherry sorbet arrive.

For those who can’t make it to Cereste, the products can be found at La Bris de Glace in the center of Bonnieux, an ice cream shop launched a year ago by the owners of the restaurant Le Fournil next door. It’s also available at Luberon Paysan in Apt and Naturellement Paysan in Cousellet.  For more places, check the Scaramouche website.

And you can look for their ice cream truck--the "Scaramobile"--in and around Banon this summer.

Ok so what about the new book? Filled with recipes such as stuffed zucchini flowers, fig tart, and honey and thyme ice cream, Picnic in Provence is about love, family and building a business but also about a cook’s initiation into classic Provencal cuisine. Throughout, Elizabeth reminds us that life--in and out of the kitchen--is a rendezvous with the unexpected.

“If you had told me on my wedding day that, ten years later, I’d be standing in a field in Provence making small talk with skinny cows,” she writes on page 1, “I would have nodded politely and with a twist of my graduated pearls, said that you had mistaken me for someone else.” The skinny cows produce the perfect milk for the ice cream, by the way.

In advance of the book’s April 7 launch, positive reviews are streaming in. Kirkus Reviews said: "Like the Provençal food and lifestyle it celebrates, Bard's book is one to be savored slowly and with care. Delectable reading.”

Ok on to the giveaway! To enter to win a copy, just leave a comment below, under COMMENTS. Tell us about a lifelong dream of yours (fulfilled or not), or perhaps about your own experience taking a big leap of faith. Tell us your favorite summer ice cream story...or about the book you’re writing...or anything you feel like sharing! Just please be sure to leave us your email so we can reach you if you win. Bonne Chance!

If you’d like to go ahead and buy the book, it’s on Amazon here.

To contact Elizabeth, email her at: mylunchinparis@gmail.com. You can also find her in the following places:

elizabethbard.com
facebook.com/ElizabethBardWriter
facebook.com/ScaramoucheArtisanGlacier
glaces-scaramouche.com

Photos: The book, the shop on opening day, the happy couple.


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Do Good...and Win A Week in Provence!

April 10, 2015, 2:35 am
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My friend Lucy is a tireless supporter of a charity called Busoga Trust, which builds and maintains wells in rural Uganda. 

Since 1983, the group has created more than 2000 sustainable sources for clean, safe water...used by villagers for drinking, cooking, sanitation and hygiene. 

Lucy often stages benefits for the Trust here in Provence and many of us love to support the group. 

Lucy's latest project is a glorious week in Provence that the Trust will be raffling off as a fundraiser....and it's only £10 (roughly€14 or $15) to enter.

The Week in Provence contest includes accommodation for two in a charming private house in St Rémy de Provence, plus a guided mountain hike, a full day tour of Marseille and a 50€ food and drink credit at our favorite local hangout, Cafe de la Place. Plus, Lucy will be on hand to offer lots of local expertise. 

The prize package does not include flights or transport to Provence...and black out dates are June through mid September. Otherwise the winner is free to come anytime in 2015.

All proceeds go directly to Busoga Trust’s water and sanitation projects in Uganda.
To enter simply follow this link to make your £10 donation. Enter as many times as you wish to increase your chances of winning. The competition closes at midnight on April 26th and the winner will be announced on the 27th. 

If you prefer to enter with a UK check, send it to: Busoga Trust, 1 Creed Court, 5 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7AA. Please write "Provence Experience" on the envelope and  include a way for the charity to reach you if you win.

If you have questions or want to be added to Lucy's mailing list for future fundraisers in Provence: lucydavid@bakr.fr

Bonne Chance!

Photos: A typical Provencal street scene...a video about Busoga Trust...and the charming bungalow in St. Remy that's yours for a week if you win. 
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Caumont Art Center Opens in Aix May 6

April 19, 2015, 4:51 am
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The new Caumont Art Center opens in Aix on May 6, with a major show featuring 60 works by Venetian master Canaletto (1697-1768). The show, called Canaletto--oma, London, Venice: The Triumph of Light, runs until September 13, 2015.

Sixty paintings and drawings from international public and private collections will present the artist through all the different phases of his career. 

 The Caumont Art Center (officially called Caumont Centre d’Art) was conceived to celebrate and promote a wide range of fine arts and is a major opening for this city of of 143,000, the birthplace of Paul Cézanne (1839–1906).

Each year, the Center will stage two major temporary exhibits devoted to the grand masters of art history from the 14th to the 20th century.  A summer exhibit will be dedicated to the re-discovery of great masters from a new angle. A winter exhibit will reveal treasures from private collections or from internationally renowned museums. The exhibit space comprises eight rooms, totaling 400 square meters.

The mansion itself, known as the Hôtel de Caumont and built in 1715, is located in the Mazarin neighbourhood, the southern, aristocratic quarter of Aix. Built "between court and garden,” it represents an architectural style that first appeared in Paris in the 16th century…a château and park on an urban scale. Four elements characterize the layout: the gate, the courtyard, the main building and the garden, taking visitors from public to private spaces. It was built on a square plot, with the main building to the northeast, the cour d'honneur to the northwest, an enclosed garden on the southeast and servants quarters (with an outer courtyard) on the southwest. In Aix, this type of construction disappeared in 1680, after which mansions were built on street-front sites, distinguishing them from the Parisian style.  The Hôtel de Caumont’s design, unlike anything in Aix, is considered an excellent example of French 18th-century architecture. The carriage gate, façade and wrought iron bannister are of such high quality that they were listed in a supplementary inventory for Monuments Historiques in 1925. The entire mansion was listed in 1987.

Compared to the exterior façade, the interior is much more elaborately decorated and demonstrates a mix of the Regency and Louis XV styles. More info on the architecture, design and furnishings appears on the Caumont website.

In addition to the temporary exhibits, a 20-minute film dedicated to Paul Cézanne (1839- 1906) will be screened daily in a 100-seat auditorium.  "Cézanne in the Aix Region" follows the career of the great Post-Impressionist painter who died of pneumonia in Aix in 1906 and is buried in the Saint-Pierre Cemetery.

The Art Center will also host concerts, dance performances, readings and lectures. It’s also available for private functions, meetings and social events.

Facilities include a bookstore, the ground-floor Café Caumont (open daily for breakfast, afternoon tea and sweets, with a terrace overlooking the French gardens) and the Lounge Bar Caumont, open Tuesday to Saturday evenings.

Caumont is operated by Culturespaces, which oversees 14 important French sites, museums and monuments such as the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild (Saint Jean Cap Ferrat),  the Carrieres des Lumieres and Château des Baux (Les Baux)  and the Roman Theatre in Orange.

Located at #3, rue Joseph Cabassol, the Caumont Art Center is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm (October to April) and until 7 pm (April to October).

For all the info, click HERE.

Photos:  (1) The mansion housing the museum was built in 1715. (2) Canaletto's "Le Bucentaure de retour au Môle, le jour de l’Ascension." (3) Canaletto's "Caprice avec des ruines classiques et des bâtiments de la Renaissance
." (4) Restoration work on the mansion took 18 months. (5) Detail of ironwork adorning the balcony. (6) Cafe Caumont. (7) The "Chambre de Madame." (8) There are three paintings in the show not by Canaletto: two by Bellotto and one by Guardi. This is Bellotto's "Venise : Caprice avec une maison sur la lagune."

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Networking Party April 30 in the Luberon

April 23, 2015, 1:18 am
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Network Provence will hold their second meeting Thursday April 30 from 5 to 7 pm in the Luberon village of Maubec, about 15 minutes east of Cavaillon and an hour north of Aix.

This is a loose organization designed for business and social networking, with English-speaking members drawn from all over Provence. A 15€ fee for the event includes wine, soft drinks and nibbles provided by Sandra Nguyen of SandKitchen.

The group was the brainchild of Rebecca Ronane, who moved to Provence from London in the mid ‘90s. Professionally Rebecca wears a number of hats, including working as a tour director throughout Europe and, more recently, providing life and business coaching to women over 50. (She works with individual clients and also offers what she calls Cappuccino Group Coaching Sessions on a monthly basis.) Her husband Alain (half French and half Dutch) works in the travel industry as well, when he’s not busy with his pet project: reviving an olive grove abandoned in 1956.

“I was looking around for opportunities and events where I could meet other English speakers, with the goal of promoting my coaching business,” Rebecca tells me. “I looked at the various groups in the region and didn’t find one that seemed like what I wanted. So I thought, ‘why not start one myself’?” The first meeting drew 26 people--25 of them women--and a mix of nationalities including French women who speak just a bit of English. “It was a nice multi-cultural mix,” Rebecca says, “and some really interesting things have already developed from it. Sometimes a bridge between cultures can be difficult unless you’re put in the right circumstances.” 

For the time being, the get-togethers will be held in Rebecca and Alain’s home and are therefore limited to 30 people max but as interest grows, different venues could be used. “Our house is rather convivial which adds a nice dimension,” she says.

At each meeting, anyone who wants to present their business or activities to the group is welcome to do so, for a minute or two each. Everyone is also encouraged to bring flyers, business cards or other promo materials.

While men are welcome, the group is really designed to help English-speaking women of all nationalities make business contacts and new friendships. “I’m not eliminating men but my goal these days is about women power,” Rebecca says. “The idea is to enable networking focused on that. And the women come because they like that idea.”

If you’re interested in attending the April 30 event, being added to the mailing list for future events or receiving info on Rebecca’s coaching: rebecca@rebeccaronane.com or 06 41 80 21 72. Her website is RebeccaRonane.com and you can follow her on Twitter here. 
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Another Fine French Book Giveaway!

May 3, 2015, 10:45 am
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The new Monet's Palate Cookbook is being released this week and the publisher has offered me three copies to give away.  

Produced by filmmaker Aileen Bordman and garden writer Derek Fell, the book includes 60 recipes linked to Monet's two-acre kitchen garden near his home at Giverny, France. Between the covers are lots of luscious details about the vegetables he grew, along with gorgeous photos and descriptions of the house interiors, the gardens and the artist's extraordinary lifestyle. 

“Our goal was to bring Monet's kitchen garden back to life," Aileen tells me. "His desire for fresh garden produce extended beyond the flavor and health benefits that they could provide. His need to cultivate a kitchen garden, plant seeds and work the soil with his fingers allowed him to connect with nature in a spiritual way, feed his soul and see beauty oblivious to others.”

Immersed in the world of Claude Monet since 1980, Aileen has more than 35 years of experience at the property in Giverny. Her first visit there was in 1980, when the museum first opened. Her mother, Helen Rappel Bordman, was one of the handful of Americans responsible for the renaissance of the home and garden, which had fallen into complete ruin.

In 2005, Aileen wrote and produced of the documentary film Monet's Palate: A Gastronomic View from the Garden, which was broadcast in the US through American Public Television to all 350 PBS stations...and was re-released this year. It features Meryl Streep, legendary casino operator and art patron Steve Wynn, and chefs Alice Waters, Anne Willan, Roger Vergé, Daniel Boulud and Michel Richard. It screened in Cannes and New York and was featured during the six-month "Monet's Garden" exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden in New York in 2012. The 58-minute film is available on DVD here.

The book brings the farm-to-table tradition--lived passionately by Monet--into the 21st century, with recipes inspired by his cooking journals and the places he visited. And of course, by his garden's abundance of fresh herbs and vegetables: zucchini, cherry tomatoes, radishes, pearl onions, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, rosemary, mint and more.

Aileen's partner in the book project, Derek Fell, is the author of The Magic of Monet's Garden and Secret's of Monet's Garden. One of America's most widely published garden writers, his titles on gardening, travel and art have sold more than 2.5 million copies. He divides his time between Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Sanibel Island, Florida.

The book has been earning lovely reviews...along with praise from big names in the food and gardening worlds. "There's no thrill that compares to growing one’s own food," says journalist, cooking teacher and author Patricia Wells. "Planting, caring, harvesting and bringing the treasures to the table. Monet’s Palate Cookbook provides all the inspiration anyone needs to go out and dig, plant, absorb the joys that soil offers each of us. Whether a garden novice or seasoned expert, this book offers a wealth of advice and recipes destined to improve all of our lives.”

Meryl Streep wrote the foreword and the recipes were beautifully photographed by Steven Rothfeld. 

Published May 1st by Gibbs Smith, the hardcover has 176 pages in full color and 60-plus recipes. It lists for about $30 and you can buy it on Amazon here ...or direct from the author here. 

To enter to win a copy of the book, just leave a comment below. Tell us about your garden. your connection to Monet, your passion for the Impressionists or anything else you care to share. Be sure to leave your email so we can reach you if you win; signing in with your Google account is not enough. Winners will be chosen and alerted towards the end of May. 

For more info about the book, click here.

To reach Aileen directly: abordman@monetspalate.com

Claude Monet's Gardens at Giverny are open daily until November 1st, 2015. To visit, all the info is here.

Photos: (1) The new book comes out this week. How can you not want a copy? (2) Tulips, irises and water lilies in Monet's garden; today some 200,000 different flower varieties are rotated regularly by head gardener James Priest and his team, which numbers as many as 30 people working daily, year round. Always on the look-out for rare varieties, Monet bought young plants at great expense. "All my money goes into my garden," he said. But also: "I am in raptures." (3, 4) Two dishes from the book: moules marinière and chilled asparagus salad with olives. (5) Aileen shot this Bowl of Beauty peony at Giverny last year.
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Transhumance in St. Remy is Monday May 25

May 8, 2015, 2:28 am
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Wool you be there? Monday May 25 is the annual Fête de la Transhumance in St. Remy, when local shepherds herd their flocks (roughly 3500 sheep and goats) three times around the village's circular "main drag" before taking them up to graze the green pastures of the Alpilles Mountains for the summer. They say the Transhumance in St. Remy is one of the "100 Prettiest Festivals in France" and even though I can't find that referenced anywhere, let's just go with it. If you haven't seen the Transhumance, it's great good fun...my friend Philippe calls it ''sheep cooking in the streets.'' An all-day flea market and goat-cheese fair starts at 9 am on the Place Republique and then the Transhumance starts around 10:30 am...but arrive by 9:30 to find parking. Other villages in Provence have Transhumance festivals but St. Remy's is one of the biggest and most popular. 

Afterwards, everyone flocks to the Plateau de la Crau for sheep-herding demos (starting at noon-ish) and a community lunch. Want to party like a shepherd? Here's your chance: The Repas des Bergers (Shepherds Lunch) begins at 1 pm and all are welcome. The feast includes grilled lamb chops and gigot, stewed beans, green salad, cheese, dessert and all the wine you care to drink (but don't forget: good shepherds don't let other shepherds drive drunk!) The lunch is popular and often sells out so reserve ahead if you can (call 06 16 78 61 55) or arrive early. Lunch is 25€ per person, 1/2 price for ages 5 to 12 and free for kids under 5.  To get there: leave St. Remy on the D571 direction Eyragues/Avignon; turn right on the D99 (direction Noves) which you'll find at the first rondpoint (roundabout) just outside town, then pass the BricoMarche and turn left at the next rondpoint. The street will be blocked so park at the soccer field or by the school and walk up the gentle hill about 10 or 15 minutes. Or, just walk from town, which takes about 20 minutes.

The night before the Transhumance (Sunday May 24) you can see the documentary L'Etoile des Bergeres at the Cine Palace in St. Remy at 6:30 pm. The film (in French) is just under an hour and the screening is free, compliments of Li Pastre de San Roumie and the Maison de la Transhumance. Schedules change so it's always best to pop into the theater beforehand, just to check.

For more info on Transhumance, call the St. Remy Tourist Office at +33 (0) 4 90 92 05 22.  And don't miss their fun Transhumance video here. 

Photos: (1) Courtesy of Philippe Donnart. (2-4) Photos courtesy of Guy Butters; see more of  his work here and here. (5) Photo courtesy of weloveprovence.fr
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June 5: Big Weekend in Aix for Design Lovers

May 18, 2015, 3:30 am
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Sponsored by the popular magazine Côté Sud, the 17th annual salon known as Vivre Côté Sud is coming up the weekend of June 5...a showcase of beautiful things for your home, garden and "lifestyle." 

As in years past, the Parc Jourdan in Aix (yes, the one with the lovely lime trees) will be all dressed and tented up for the occasion. More than 230 companies will be exhibiting, spread out over 10,000 square meters. The products on display will come from France, Italy, Spain and elsewhere...organized by themes such as Antiques, Decor, Savours, Creators, Talents and Home Improvement. You'll find furniture, fabric, clothing, decorative items, design services, food and wine, cooking demos, round-table discussions and much more. Last year's event attracted 21,403 visitors. 

The list of chefs doing cooking demos includes Anna Bini (Ecole de Cuisine à Florence), Arnaud de Grammont (Le Café des Epices, Marseille), Reine and Nadia Sammut (La Fenière, Lourmarin), Georgiana Viou (Chez Georgiana, Marseille), Daniel Hébet (Le Jardin du Quai, L’Isle sur la Sorgue), Edouard Loubet (Domaine de Capelongue, Bonnieux), Yvan Cadiou (TV chef and cooking teacher, St. Remy de Provence), Edouard Giribone (Le Bistrot d’Edouard, Marseille) and Pierre Gianetti (Le Grain de Sel, Marseille). To see the demo schedule, click here.

There will also be plenty of food products for purchase...and food trucks in a dedicated dining area. 

The salon also offers opportunities to work one-on-one with design pros. For interior projects, one-hour "Deco Coaching" appointments are available for 89€ (coachingdeco@cotemaison.fr or +33 1 75 55 16 88).  For garden projects, one-hour appointments are 59€ (+33 442 025 686, contact@thomasgentilini.com).

Hours for Vivre Côté Sud are Friday June 5 from 10 am to 11 pm (evening session), Saturday June 6 and Sunday June 7 from 10 am to 8 pm, and Monday June 8 from 10 am to 6 pm. For more info on exhibitors, special events, the various themes and more, click here. If you read French, you can see the press kit here. Tickets are 9€ (6€ for students and groups of ten or more) and can be bought at the gate.

This year, there's another reason to visit Aix the first weekend in June. On June 5, 6 and 7, design guru Samantha Mureau and her company Trendline Europe will host Discovering Designers, in the private 18th-century manor house known as the Hotel de Gallifet. The event is designed to coincide with Vivre Côté Sud and the theme is "English Garden Party." The idea is to introduce a hand-picked group of 30 British and French designers to locals and to the larger design community. The show will feature interior design, wallpaper, soft furnishings, fabric, ceramics, housewares and perfume....and all of the designers will be present. The Discovering Designers event is free and open to the public. Hours are: Friday 9 am to 7 pm, Saturday 9 am to 10 pm and Sunday, 9 am to 7 pm. The Hotel de Gallifet is located at 52 rue Cardinale in the Mazarin quarter of Aix and their phone is 09 53 84 37 61. For questions about the event, contact: sam@trendlineeurope.com. 

Print and online journalists are invited to a special Discovering Designers bloggers' breakfast at 9 am on Friday 5th June. Email Samantha for details. 

For general info about Aix, the Tourist Office website is here. 

Photos: (1, 2) This year's Vivre Côté Sud poster...and the one for Discovering Designers, a new event in Aix for 2015. (3-8) Vignettes from past years at Vivre Côté Sud. (9) The Hotel de Gallifet, where Discovering Designers will be held. (10) The gorgeous floral fabric is from Royal College of Art-graduate Claire de Quénetain Brunse, who is launching her product range at the Discovering Designers event. (11) At Discovering Designers, London-based Anna Jacobs is showcasing her beautiful, eye-catching lampshades, lamp bases and cushions. 

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Four Magical Evenings at the Pont du Gard

May 27, 2015, 1:30 am
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The 2,000-year-old aqueduct called the Pont du Gard is one of the most magnificent sites in Provence; I never get tired of tromping around on it, photographing it and splashing around in the water beneath it.  And my favorite Roman relic is even more spectacular when she’s all lit up with video, light, flame and fireworks as she is each summer during a popular evening sound-and-light show series called “Les Féeries du Pont’’ (Fairies of the Bridge). This year's show is called Mondes Magiques.

Mondes Magiques will be presented four times in June, on Friday and Saturday evenings: June 5, 6, 12 and 13. Showtime is 10:30 p.m or at dusk. But definitely arrive early as there are "animations" before the main event, starting around 8 p.m. 

Designed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Pont du Gard's listing as a World Heritage Site, Mondes Magiques takes inspiration from the world's legends and folklore...and sites such as Angkor Wat, Borobudur, Prambanan, the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Eiffel Tower. "The show is sort of a birthday party where the aqueduct welcomes into its home it's old friends--all listed monuments--into its home," the organizers tell me.


Once again, the producer is Groupe F, the internationally acclaimed pyrotechnicians known for shows at the Eiffel Tower, Versailles and the Olympics. If you want a smile, have a look at their website; their work is over-the-top wonderful. 

The Pont du Gard site will be open all day, as usual, but separate tickets are required for the show. Seating is on the right bank of the river so if you arrive on the left bank, you must be in by 9:30 pm in order to cross the bridge; the gates to the Pont du Gard park will close at 9:30. Bring cushions, chairs and blankets or you'll be sitting on the ground; the shops on site also sell seats if you forget. My best advice is sit as close to the bridge itself as possible.  ''And don't forget to bring also warm wears,'' my contact at the Pont du Gard sweetly tells me. 

Tickets for Mondes Magiques range from €15 to €25; kids under six are free. You can buy tickets at the Pont du Gard on the night of each show, as long as there are still places available. You can buy them online here (if you have a French credit or bank card) or at the Pont du Gard box office at any time. They're also available at FNAC, Carrefour, Géant, Magasins U, FranceBillet.com and Ticketnet.com. Group rates are available (for group rates call 04 66 37 51 10). If you have an annual pass to the Pont du Gard, you get a discount. Parking is free. 

So what about dinner? Casual food will be sold on site or you can bring a picnic in with you. There's also a restaurant called Les Terrasses that serves excellent Mediterranean cuisine (04 66 63 91 37). A special Féeries du Pont menu will be offered at Les Terrasses but the restaurant fills up very quickly so reserve early. 

If you can't go to the show but plan to visit the Pont du Gard another time, in summer (until September 13 this year), the site stays open until Midnight, illuminated beautifully. The museum and shops close at 7 or 8 pm. 

The Pont du Gard is located between Remoulins (RN 100) and Vers-Pont du Gard (D 81).  Its 40 km from St. Remy, 27 km from Nimes,  21 km from Avignon and 19 km from Uzes.  

For all the info on the show or on visiting at other times, click here. For historical info, click here. To contact the Pont du Gard directly: contact@pontdugard.fr or 04 66 37 50 99....and yes, they speak English. 

If you want to catch a Groupe F fireworks show at another time, go to their site here and check their 2015 schedule. In addition to their four nights at the Pont du Gard, they’ll be in Provence doing the Bastille Day fireworks in Salin de Giraud (in the Camargue) on July 13 and in Arles on July 14.

Finally, if you plan to be in Paris this summer,  you can get a taste of Groupe F  on Bastille Day, as they once again have been asked to create the fireworks show at the Eiffel Tower on July 14. You can also experience them at the Chateau de Versailles, where they're once again staging their musical fountain display called ''Les Grandes Eaux Nocturnes.'' It's on every Saturday from June 20 to September 19, 2015...with the exception of July 4. And they'll be staging a new creation, "The Fire King," on July 1, 2, 8, 9 and 10. All the info is on the Versailles website here. 

Photos: This year's poster, stills from last year, video from last year.

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Contest: Send Your South of France Selfies!

June 3, 2015, 4:55 pm
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Have you been poking around Provence, cavorting on the Côte d'Azur, luxuriating in the Languedoc? Then send us your very best South of France selfie* and you could win a great prize. 

I first ran this contest last year, in the dead of winter, which wasn't terribly smart. So I'm doing it again, now that the summer travel season has fully begun. If you entered the first time around, rest assured that you and your adorable selfie will be entered into this year's contest...there's no need to send it again.

When taking your selfie, we want to see glorious scenery in the background...a gorgeous beach or medieval village...a vast vineyard, bustling bistro, crowded market, remote mountaintop....you get the idea. Be creative and have fun...climb a tree, leap from a plane, fight a bull, go where no man has gone before. Just be sure that the photographer--and something recognizably South of France--is visible in the frame. This contest will go on for a while to allow for your upcoming travels...or you can send one from a previous trip. I'll publish my favorites, readers will vote and the winner will receive two nights at Le Mas de Lilou, a beautiful B&B in Tarascon, 15 minutes west of St. Remy. Plus, dinner one night for two.

So give it your best shot and send high-quality images (jpg, png or gif only) to me at: provenceblog@aol.com. Please put Provence Selfie in the subject line, tell me who's in the photo and tell me where and when it was taken. Can't wait to see you! 

*Note: The Oxford Dictionary celebrated the selfie as the International Word of the Year in 2013. More recently, selfies were blamed for an uptick (sorry!) in the spread of head lice among teenagers. And then we have this: scientists have been investigating the selfie phenomenon using "theoretic, artistic and quantitative" methods. They call it ''the vernacular of the 21st century'' and you can read their findings here.

Photos: A very nice selfie taken in Nice by Robert Schrader of the blog Leave Your Daily Hell, who thinks he very well may be the King of the Travel Selfie (agreed). Me with my friends Olivier and Denis, one hot summer day in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. (I'm much prettier in real life, BTW.) My Irish friends Niamh and Ellen Burns have selfied themselves all over France. Next, some selfies I found online: I love the"Polar Bear Reading a Book Partial-Duck Face Selfie" which I found here, as well as this French Waiter Selfie, Eiffel Tower Selfie, Selfie in Les Baux and sweet Honeymoon Selfie Over Provence. Up in Paris, Rihanna and her fingernails got photobombed while posing ever-so-nonchalantly for a selfie. And finally, we have a new version of the selfie artform: video. This one, Selfies in France, is by Tristan Cooke. 
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Gigondas Sur Table is Monday July 20

June 11, 2015, 2:21 am
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In the heart of the Southern Rhône wine region, the 4th annual Gigondas Sur Table will be Monday July 20. One of the most-popular summer wine events in Provence, it's expected to sell out so be sure to book early. This year, 42 local winemakers and domaines will be pouring, while five top Provencal chefs tempt the crowd with small plates of signature dishes, made from local ingredients reflecting the terroir. Who's cooking? Cyril Glémot (Coteaux & Fourchettes, Cairanne), Jean-Paul Lecroq (La Table de Sorgues, Sorgues), Michel Philibert (Le Gajulea, Le Barroux), Philippe Zemour (Bistro Du'o, Vaison-la-Romaine) and André Sube (Maison Sube Boulangerie, Camaret). The cheese course will come courtesy of beloved purveyor Josiane Déal--a Meilleure Fromagère de France--and kids will be welcomed with a special menu and artisan juices. It all happens on the village square (Place Gabrielle Andeol) in Gigondas, from 7 pm to around 11 pm. Tickets are 50€ per person, 12€ for kids under 12, and reservations are essential. To book, send an email to: promotion@gigondas-vin.com or call + 33 (0) 4 90 37 79 60. To see the press kit in French--it lists all the participating winemakers--click here. For general info on Gigondas and its wines, click here. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.


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The Grill of It All: Camargue Barbecue Fest!

June 18, 2015, 2:56 am
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Yee-ha! The 3rd Annual Camargue Barbecue Fest is coming up June 27 and 28, all around the Town Hall in Saintes Maries de la Mer. Look for country dancing, cooking demos, a grilling academy, a competition, a mechanical bull and of course, tons of great 'cue!

Roughly 300 people have entered the competition in five categories: pork, bull, lamb, chicken and fish. I'm told you can sample free...or order up sandwiches at 4.50€ each. Fries, drinks and other essentials will also be sold. The hours are 10 am to 8 pm on Saturday and Sunday...and since this is "low and slow" cooking, the grills will be fired up early. But if you plan to eat (and who doesn't?), festival director Jean-Francois Dupont says it's best to come between 11 am and 4 or 5 pm. 

The party continues at Tahiti Plage beach club on Saturday night, with a BBQ Moonlight Party from 8 pm to Midnight. 

All the details are on Facebook here and on the festival website: bbqfestival.fr. 
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Whale and Dolphin Cruise Season Has Begun

June 23, 2015, 3:35 am
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Did you guys know there were whales and dolphins in the Mediterranean? Me neither...until I learned that every Sunday, Decouverte du Vivant offers Naturalist Discovery Cruises aboard the boat La Croix du Sud V to get up close and personal with them. During the nine-hour voyage you're likely to see striped dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, Risso's dolphins, pilot whales, sperm whales and the second largest animal on the planet, the fin whale. You can also expect seabirds, sunfish, loggerhead turtles, bluefin tuna, bonito and swordfish. Last Sunday, guests on the cruise saw eight whales. The season ends in October.

Cruises depart from Sanary sur Mer in the Var at 8:45 am and return at 6:30 pm. Prices are 55€ (under 13), 66€ (students and teens), 78€ (adult) and on demand for groups.  The same company also offers cruises from Canet-en-Roussillon (whales and dolphins, April to October, Saturdays only), Port Vendres (dolphins, July and August, Wednesdays only) and La Grande Motte (sea birds, September to May). 

Découverte du Vivant is an eco-responsible whale-watching operator, involved in the long- term preservation of the cetacean populations of the Mediterranean Sea. For more info or to reserve, click here, call +33 6 10 57 17 11 or email: info@decouverteduvivant.fr

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Rencontres Photo Fest Starts Mon July 6

July 1, 2015, 10:34 am
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The 45th annual Recontres d'Arles, the large international photo festival, will run July 6 to September 20, spread out over 35 different sites in Arles. As in years past there will be themed and stand-alone exhibits, panel discussions, lectures, book signings, open-air screenings, workshops for kids and adults, guided tours and more. Last year, almost 100,000 people attended.

Most but not all exhibits stay up until the end of the festival, on September 20.

The exhibits, sometimes co-produced with French and/or foreign museums and institutions, are staged in various galleries, museums and purpose-built sites around the city. Some sites (for example, a 12th-century chapel or 19th-century industrial buildings) are open to the public only during the festival.

This 2015 Rencontres is being staged in honor of Lucien Clergue, the Arles-based fine-art photographer who died last year.

Opening week (June 6 to 12) is always the busiest of the festival...and it’s the week that many industry professionals attend. As always, it features a number of special events, which you can see on the schedules here and here.

Highlights of opening week include:

*Photography Nights at the Théâtre Antique, July 7, 8, 10 and 11 at 10 pm. These evening screenings present the work of photographers or photography specialists to an audience of up to 2,500 people.  Each two-part evening beneath the stars begins with an award ceremony...and then moves on to a screening of photos or film designed specifically designed for the stunning, 2000-year-old amphitheater.  The schedule and details for these special evenings are here. Separate tickets are required and more info is here.

*The Night of the Year ("Nuit de L'Année") takes place on Thursday July 9, from 6 pm onwards at Papeteries Étienne in Trinquetaille. The format of this popular event has changed from previous years. Visitors are invited to walk across the Trinquetaille Bridge, from La Roquette to Trinquetaille, and on to the former paper mill, which will be open to the public for the first time. En route, you’ll see photos on the bridge and on screens. At the mill, images will be casually displayed by a group of photographers who’ve been invited to “BYOP” (Bring Your Own Paper).  There will be food, drink and a DJ on site; admission is free.

This year, the Night of the Year has been organized in collaboration with the Nuit de la Roquette, a large, annual neighborhood party organized by the folks who live and work in La Roquette. There you’ll find outdoor bars, food, music and more. Again, admission is free.

* During opening week of the Rencontres, many of photographers who have exhibits will be offering tours of their shows to festival-goers. From July 13 to September 20, Rencontres staffers will step in to offer daily guided tours through the exhibit sites.

As in years past, the major Recontres exhibits will grouped into loose themes.

One is “Rereading: The History of Photograph Revisited,” focusing on masters Walker Evans and Stephen Shore.

Another theme is “I am Writing to You From a Far Off Country” which spotlights particular parts of the world.

A third is “Platforms of the Visible: New Approaches to Documentary Photography.”

Yet another is “Odd Collectors.”

New this year is Arles Books, a satellite event which will take place at Le Parc des Ateliers SNCF. The 1000-square-meter space will be dedicated to the book, in every shape and form.

A list of all the 2015 Rencontres exhibitions is here. Start in the left hand column where they’re organized by theme and click the name of the show to see the specifics. Over on the right, you’ll see the venue, show dates, single ticket price and photographer’s bio.  A map of all the exhibitions is here.

Tickets to all events may be purchased online or at five ticket offices, which you can see here. Exhibit tickets may be purchased individually or in multi-day passes.  Single exhibit tickets start at 3.50€. A pass that gets you one entry into all exhibits, good for the entire festival starting July 6, is 37€.  A seven-day pass for opening week (July 6 to 12) is 49€. One-day passes are 29€. Info on all passes is here.

Groups of 10 or more get special rates as do students, jobseekers, large families and companions to the disabled.

Free entry is granted to anyone under age 18, all citizens of Arles and the disabled.

Please note that some shows/venues are not included in pass prices and must be paid for separately. Make sure to get a map to all exhibits when you stop by a ticket office. They should also have them at the Arles Tourist Office.

The Rencontres also presents summer and weekend workshops; info on those is here.

To see the Rencontres press kit in English, click here.

The full Rencontres website in English is here.

The festival office/headquarters is located at 34, rue du Docteur Fanton in Arles and remains open throughout the fest.  Help in English may be available by calling: +33 4-90-96-63-39 or +33 4 90 96 76 06.
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17th Annual Country Fest This Weekend

July 7, 2015, 4:40 pm
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This looks like fun. It's all weekend and all the concerts (country, blues, Zydeco, bluegrass, honky tonk, etc.) are free.  La Roque d'Anthéron is 15 minutes south of Lourmarin, 35 minutes northwest of Aix. For the schedule and all other info: countryroque.com
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A French Mega Market in Lower Manhattan

July 8, 2015, 11:01 pm
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Beverly Stephen, the former executive editor of Food Arts magazine, is a journalist and consultant specializing in food, travel and lifestyle. A lifelong Francophile, Bev lives in New York but jets off to France every chance she gets. She was thrilled when this new French food hall opened recently, not far from her lower-Manhattan home...so I asked her to tell us all about it. 

Can’t make it to France his year? Pas de probleme! Francophiles on the East Coast have a great new way to get their fix at a sprawling French market in lower Manhattan called Le District.

The just-opened 30,000-square-foot Gallic fantasy, located in Brookfield Place (the former World Financial Center, recently redone at a cost of $250 million), is divided into four "districts": restaurant, café, market and garden.  Within these districts, all culinary needs for eat-in or take-out can be met, from poisson to  patisserie and fleurs to fromage. Tourists seeking a respite from the somber 9/11 Memorial Museum nearby can happily sip a rosé from Provence, take a bite of ratatouille, and feel transported to the South of France...never mind that the sweeping views are New York Harbor and not the Mediterranean. Workers from nearby Goldman Sachs and Condé Nast are likely to eat-in at one of the restaurants, at one of the counter seats scattered throughout, or on the 7,000-square-foot plaza looking out to the Statue of Liberty. Everyone can buy plenty of ingredients to make dinner back at home...along with a chic bouquet for the table from fleuriste Yasmine Karrenberg.

Dessert  comes first at Le District.  Commanding attention at the entrance is the riotously colorful French  candy store La Cure Gourmande which offers an astonishing array of nougats, caramels, biscuits and even olives au chocolat (chocolate-covered almonds in disguise), all available in gift-worthy tins. This is the first U.S. outpost of the store that originated in the Languedoc-Roussillon and now has 45 locations around the world.

Across the aisle is a crêperie, a waffle station and a patisserie displaying jewel-like French pastries. And of course a coffee bar. 

Other temptations follow—freshly baked breads, cheese, charcuterie, salads and sandwiches (I chose a delectable roasted lamb sandwich with ras al hanout and hummus white sauce), brasserie-style meals, wine and beer. Packaged foods to take home include Provencal olive oils,  Les Comtes de Provence jams, argan oil, mustards, spices, salts and sausages.  If you prefer to avoid temptation, graze before 4 p.m., when the salad bar transforms itself into a chocolate mousse bar offering eight different varieties of white and dark with toppings such as orange confit and speculoos cookies.

Le District is the brainchild of restaurant impresario Peter Poulakakos of the HPH Group, a restaurant and development company, and his business partner Paul Lamas; together they pretty much have downtown Manhattan cornered with Harry’s Café and Steak, The Dead Rabbit, The Growler and Financier Patisserie among others. They took their inspiration from Parisian markets such as La Grande Epicerie and from other countries touched by French culture such as Morocco and Vietnam. Chef Jordi Valles, an El Bulli alum, was recruited to be culinary director of the whole project. Under him is an army of chefs and cheese mongers, butchers, bakers and sausage makers.

Poulakakos himself was standing in the aisle munching on a crêpe when I stopped him to ask about his vision. “I’ve always been thrilled with French cuisine,” he said. “It’s the backbone of precision.”  As for the customers. “I want to be there for everyone. People who live and work here love it.”  Of course, he’s not oblivious to the fact that 12.4 million visitors were counted in downtown Manhattan in 2014 with more expected this year.

Little more than a decade has passed since the area suffered the devastating 9/ll attacks. And then there were the angry flood waters of Hurricane Sandy. Now FiDi (the Financial District), arguably the hottest real estate in the overheated Manhattan market, has literally risen from the ashes. 

Comparisons to Eataly--the insanely popular Italian food hall on Fifth Avenue, with 26 other outposts worldwide--seem inescapable. Le District has already been dubbed the French Eataly. But who’s complaining?  Eataly has become one of the top tourist attractions in New York City behind the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. Last year, seven million shoppers crowded its aisles while the cash registers rang up $85 million in sales. Should Le District be far behind? Mais non!

Le District at Brookfield Place
225 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281
+1 212 981 8588
ledistrict.com
info@ledistrict.com

Photos:  (1) The Fromagerie at Le District features nearly 200 varieties of cheese, from France, Switzerland, Belgium, Quebec and American producers.  (2) The Pavilion is the "front door" of  Brookfield Place. The dramatic entry hall was created by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. (3) The layout. (4) Sweets from the patisserie section. (5) The dining room at Beaubourg, Le District’s flagship restaurant. (6) At the Boulangerie, at least 12 types of bread are baked fresh daily on site. (7) Catch of the day at La Poissonnerie. (8) A macaron tower in the Cafe District. (9) French mustards, jams, oils and condiments in the Market District. (9) Brookfield Place, formerly the World Financial Center, is just south of Tribeca, along the Hudson River waterfront. Originally built in 1985, the complex became Brookfield Place in 2012/2013 and is a five minute walk from the 9/11 Memorial.  (10) Click on map to enlarge. 

Photos by Jeff Thibodeau (1, 4) and Daniel Krieger (5, 6, 7, 9).

Beverly Stephen, who wrote this guest post, can be reached at bstephenwest@gmail.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

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