walkprovence

The year began with lunch.

2012-01-31T08:01:00.000-08:00

So starts Peter Mayle's A Year In Provence. A long, lazy lunch on New Year's Day in a nice restaurant is a popular way to celebrate the start of another year in France. For some its a soothing antidote to any excesses of New Year's Eve, for others an amiable alternative to partying all night. We took to New Year's Day lunches right away when we came to Provence, and this year we decided that it was the perfect time to see once again why the Cabro d'Or in Les Baux, is one of our walkprovence.com clients' favorite destinations........

I didn't intend to blog about lunch, just enjoy it. Didn't even have my camera. But when we got there the light was perfect, so why not snap a few plates with my iPhone? The results were a surprise, nice enough to share (I hope you'll agree). This is not the whole menu, just a few dishes that looked best in the new year's Provencal light.

Here are some nibbles with drinks. The goat is the place's emblem. Cabro d'Or means Golden Goat.

And here's an amuse bouche, a nice dollop of intensely flavored wild mushroom soup. A big bowl of it would have been a feast in itself with a boule of country bread.

Then came the first dish on the menu, a big bang of solid taste to soak up the night's champagne.

A whole soft boiled egg, immersed in artichoke mousse and caramelized onions, and generously topped with wafer thin slices of local truffles. Breakfast at noon. Good timing on New Year's Day.

And here are some traditional lamb chops on a fine ravioli of minced parsley and shoulder and foot (yes, foot, not leg) of lamb.

And for desert, one of several, a crisp chocolate and lemon cake with crunchy meringue and toasted hazelnut ice cream.

We took the pistachio creme brulee and the apricot macaroons out on the terrace with the coffee, for the Provencal weather was off to a good start for the New Year.

Les Alpilles beckoned for a brisk New Year's Day walk - another great Provencal tradition. But that would have been a busman's holiday. So we just headed home instead.........

.....and settled in for a Provencal winter's night. See you on the trails in 2012!

Lucky Dog Will Always Have Paris and Provence

2011-12-07T03:39:00.000-08:00

Oh, what conversations we can have with our favorite furry friends on a good long walk. Eyes and eyebrows, busy tails, yips and yelps, and all that sniffing and darting about tell the most compelling tales if we just know how to listen. And when your walkies take you all over Paris and Provence those tales may well be worth recording. Sheron Long thought so when she and her husband, Bob, took their nine year old sheltie, Chula, from Carmel, California to France for a summer. The result is Dog Trots Globe, To Paris and Provence, a delightful travelogue that will make Francophiles drool, and very possibly prompt others to consider becoming Francophiles...........

Chula at the St Remy Market

Dog Trots Globe is a visual treat. Over 150 color photos trace Chula's wanderings through Paris, St Remy, where the Longs live in a 200 year old house for part of the year, and the surrounding Provencal villages and countryside. Graphic artist Darius Detwiler's delightful 1960's retro style cartoons and graphics add an airy, timeless French mood.

For readers of the enhanced e-book version technology brings more. Three embedded music videos and a video clip of Provence's annual sheep migration put you right in the picture, complementing the traditional reading experience.

Chula smells the lavender near Sault

But above all is Chula's lively, light hearted narrative. She rides the TGV super-fast train and finds out even dogs need a ticket. She learns dog etiquette on the streets of Paris, and discovers the lavender fields of Sault. She does the rounds of the weekly Provencal markets and hangs out in the bistros and cafes as all well bred French dogs do. She rambles across the land and swipes ripe tomatoes from the vegetable gardens. And what does a Californian Shetland Sheepdog do when she drops by the cafe in St Remy for a quiet croissant and a bowl of water and suddenly 3,000 bleating sheep hove into view? Well, it's not right to give everything away.....

As Chula shares her adventures you settle into armchair travel at its best. You smell the lavender and taste the flaky croissants. You salivate after the sausages at the butcher's and feel the dry, Provencal summer heat lulling you into an afternoon nap. And you curl up under the bistro table waiting expectantly for scraps from on high.

And don't be surprised if you find yourself flipping through Chula's tales from time to time long after someone slipped them into your Christmas stocking.

Where to find it

Dog Trots Globe, To Paris and Provence

as barked to Sheron Long

OIC Books, 2011

Hardcover, 160 pages, e-book, enhanced e-book

Buy from these sources:

OIC Books

Amazon

Apple iBookstore

Reservations S'il Vous Plait?

2011-12-06T07:57:00.000-08:00

You have your eye on a restaurant on a Tuesday in November in a Provencal village for lunch. Should you make a reservation? I was never inclined to, reasoning that surely they'll have a table on the slowest weekday in the off season. But spending the lunch shift on the other side of the fence in Jerome Nutile's starred kitchen at the Hostellerie de Castellas in Collias on just such a day has convinced me to change my ways……..


walkprovence client working the lunch shift in cooking class

We were there for a cooking class, rotating through the kitchen's various stations with Nutile and his staff, observing them and being allowed to do a surprising amount of the simpler tasks. We soon noticed they kept looking at a big board next to a clock, where the front staff would periodically write things. It was the daily reservation board, displaying each party's name, number of diners, and time of arrival. Lunch reservations on the left, dinner on the right.

Jerome Nutile checks the reservation board

"For you, reservations are to make sure you get a table on a busy day," said Nutile. "For us it is essential information to plan our day, regardless of how full we are." A reliable reservations list is invaluable for planning the prep work and workflows to perform the complex choreography that makes up the cooking, plating and serving of 4 and 5 course gourmet meals. It also helps manage wastage by taking out at least some of the guess work from estimating the big heap of expensive perishables that have to be available for an uncertain number of diners.

We ate the lunch we helped prepare in the dining room. Although not full, it was pretty crowded, and about three quarters of the diners had made reservations. And by coffee I was resolved to do so, too, from now on, even on the darkest and stormiest off-season weekday.

Other Advantages

Having a reservation helps in other ways, too, at least here in our corner of Provence, where there is less of a standing hierarchy of regular diners and le beautiful people for a restaurant's limited perks. With a reservation we invariably get a really good table, even if we make it for a late time slot in the service. A reserved table for two is often a table for four set up for two with the best view in the house. We took the trouble, so they do, too.

Its all in the ingredients

Often there are subtle advantages, such as a bit of extra attention in an otherwise uniformly impeccable service in a good place. There may be an exceptionally generous helping from the cheeseboard, or a brandy on the house at the end. Mostly it shows you are considerate and helps form a bond with the staff that can be the beginning of a nice personal relationship if you like the place and end up becoming a regular.

Remember to Cancel, Too

If there is anything a restaurant likes less than no reservations, it is failing to cancel one if you can't make it. On busy nights the revenue implications are obvious and places can be pretty aggressive in tracking you down, but it sure helps their planning on the slow days, too.

The Calanques, Provence's Newest National Park

2011-07-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

Our favorite coastal walks in Provence are along the soaring cliffs of the Calanques between Marseilles and the the bustling, small fishing port of Cassis to the east. We are delighted to hear that in 2012 this area of awesome sea views, rugged wilderness, and deep, fjord-like turquoise inlets that lead to golden beaches accessible only to walkers, is to become France's newest National Park. Come along with us for a stroll from Cassis for a preview........

Cassis - Charles Camoin 1905

Here's how Charles Camoin saw Cassis in 1905. While the quay has become much busier, it still looks just like this early in the morning when we set out for the Calanques. Camoin, born in Marseilles and influenced by Van Gogh and Cezanne, was one of the Fauves, the wild ones, displaying in the famed Cage aux Fauves in the 1905 Salon d' Automne, and becoming particularly close to Matisse and Jean Puy. This area was one of their sources of inspiration.

Calanque en Vau and its enticing little beach at the end

This is the goal for the day, the Calanque en Vau. The rugged 25 or so miles of coast along the entire Calanques and the countryside immediately inland has been kept a vehicle free zone with only a handful of access points to the trails, and visitors by tour boat to the inlets are not allowed to get off. So walkers have the place to themselves. The area was a natural candidate to become a national park ever since it was first protected, but it took decades to sort out the local rights, restrictions, and politics between the adjacent communities. The last time a national park was established in France was in 1979.


The inlet of the Calanque de Port Miou overlooking Cap Canaille across the bay

The trail from Cassis first leads past the Calanque de Port Miou, a natural harbor for sailboats of all sorts. Past the inlet a compelling view opens up across the bay back toward Cap Canaille. The towering cliffs of Cap Canaille are some of the highest in Europe and there is an outstanding ridge walk along the top.

Calanque Pont du Pin

Then comes a bit of scrambling and some slippery stone trails and the reward is the beach of Calanque Port du Pin. This is a friendly, intimate little calanque, great for a break, and soooo tempting for a longer stay on a hot day.

First Glimpse of the Calanque en Vau

But then the more heady stuff begins. The trail ascends slowly and steadily. It is safe and generously wide, but you can start scaring yourself if you wander too close to the edge. The French like to let nature remain natural and leave it up to you to be sensible instead of erecting bars and rails along exposed ledges. And soon comes that first turquoise glimpse of the Calanque en Vau. There are over 20 or so calanques of all sizes along the coast - this one is the most dramatic.

Its still a long way down. Some walkers with mountaineering experience scramble down to the beach from here.The rest of us trundle along the high trail and descend into the valley behind to get there.

From here its straight on along the ledges to Marseilles

From the valley that leads to the Calanque en Vau you can climb out to the west and generally follow the coast to Marseilles. There are numerous tails, color coded and well marked. Some are relatively easy but run more inland. Others are some of the most hair raising and rewarding in Provence. The other alternative for a relaxed day hike is to head back toward Cassis on an inland trail with a lovely view of Cap Canaille and the sea all the way back. Either way, here's to France's newest national park.

Provence in Bloom

2011-04-18T07:38:00.000-07:00

Spring bursts in seemingly overnight around here. You wake up one morning and winter's bare branches are smothered in flowers, like these cherry trees. Colors run riot across the countryside. It doesn't last long, though. If you don't get out there pronto, it's a long wait till next year............

The irises are quick to draw their admirers.

Lilacs here grow into enormous bushes, bigger than a respectable olive tree, and thrive on their own. Their scent is carried far by the slightest breeze, often surprising you where the plants are nowhere to be seen.

Rock roses thrive in the garrigue, the scrubby Provencal wilderness, scattered across the landscape as if Georges Seurat's paintbrush had playfully dotted the fields in pink and tiny orange.

This climbing rose took three years to reach the balcony. Now it pumps out a wall of roses every spring.

A cascade of spirea is a common sight. These hardy plants are popular in gardens because they grow quickly into large hedges with minimal care. They also thrive in the wild.

Wild irises in the garrigue. They differ from the cultivated ones only in having barely any stem.

They grow wild in this color, too.......

Spring Stroll From Gordes

2011-03-25T16:31:00.000-07:00

Gordes through an olive grove on the trail

The other day we were out on a circular walk from Gordes, checking the trail for clients coming next week and had one of our best walks ever in our time in Provence. Perfect, toasty spring sun, just the slightest hint of a breeze, and crisp, faintly perfumed air your lungs can never get enough of. Twelve miles went by like a stroll around the neighborhood............

Apple blossom on ancient Luberon stone wall

The trees start flowering early around here. Almonds flower in February, and cherry blossoms are almost all gone by the second half of March, when it's apple blossom time. The blossoms above spill over a typical old Luberon stone wall. The horizontally laid conventional wall is finished off with a row of vertical stones. More a matter of style than anything else as far as we can tell.

Mountain bikers looking at nature guide overlooking the Senanque Valley

We were alone practically the whole way. We encountered only a pair of mountain bikers early in the walk and three monks in civvies heading toward Fontaine de Vaucluse from the Abbey de Senanque late in the day.

Mt Ventoux to the north

From the plateau above Gordes we got a splendid view of Mt Ventoux. The rock roses in the garrique (the Provencal bush) were groaning under masses of buds. We'll be back in a week or two when they burst and turn the trailside pink.

Walkers' directional post above Gordes

It's a real crossroad of medieval highways up on the plateau. Ancient trails connect Fontaine de Vaucluse, Venasque, Murs, Gordes and countless villages beyond. And the modern signage is a big help.

Abbey de Senanque

A late afternoon view of the Abbey de Senanque and its dormant lavender fields. This is a favorite spot of ours climbing out of the Abbey, for from here it is only a little over a mile back to Gordes and gently downhill all the way..........

Provence Off Season

2011-03-11T22:45:00.000-08:00

Roussillon in November

As soon as October rolls around the walking season starts to wind down. By the end of the month most walkers visiting Provence are gone, not to be seen again in numbers until the following May. But as this view of Roussillon on a late November afternoon shows, some of the best walking in Provence is to be had in the off season..............

Weather is the main concern for off season walkers, but we have over 300 days a year when it's mostly sunny, so it's never bad for too long. If the sun is out and the wind is light it is always warm enough to walk, and the crisp, fresh air is intoxicating. With all the visitors gone there is a sense of getting the place back for ourselves. And just enough locals come out to play on the trails to remind you of a cosy sense of community in between the long stretches of delicious, tranquil solitude.

On location - The Wages of Fear

An iconic movie location on a hidden stretch of the Gardon river on a perfect February day. In the early 1950's this dirt road stood in for the wilds of Venezuela during the filming of the harrowing final scenes of The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la peur) starring Yves Montand and Charles Vanel. At the bottom of the valley you can still glimpse the rusty wreck of the famous truck.

Gordes on a foggy winter morning

Gordes gets a bad rap for being too touristy, but it's no wonder they all come. A more impressive pile of stones is hard to find anywhere else in la toute Provence. Have it to yourself on a winter walk from here to the Abbey de Senanque. Soak up the rising sun's rays and feel like a cat.

Don't stand under the icicles

Provence's magical light is often at its sharpest in winter's hyper-clear air. Snow is fleeting and there's always a rush to get in a good long slog among the vineyards before it all melts.

Olive tree in December

A feather light dusting of snow on an olive grove is an unusual and pretty sight, but frost is bad news for olives. In the 1950's a severe frost wiped out practically the entire olive industry in Provence. Farmers planted vines instead, giving a major boost to Provencal wine. But slowly the olive orchards have also recovered, giving us the best of both worlds.

Leg of lamb roasting in the fireplace

One of the best treats after a long off season walk is a leg of lamb roasted in the fireplace. Stick cloves of garlic in small cuts in the lamb, smear it with herbes de provence or finely chopped rosemary and a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Hang it on a string just in front of the fire with plenty of embers and a low flame, put a pan under it and let it be until it's done. Twirl the string occasionally with your thumbs which will make the leg of lamb rotate and roast evenly. Have it with a bottle of Chateau St Cosme Gigondas Valbelle.........

Walking Is Good For Your Brain

2011-02-25T09:51:00.000-08:00

Working on the little gray cells along the River Gardon

I'm always on a mental high after a good walk and it is not exactly headline news that walking is good for your health. But now come two scientific studies which conclude that walking can even increase brain size......

According to scientists the part of the brain that plays a role in memory formation begins to atrophy in healthy adults around the age of 55 or 60. But now a study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and three other institutions has found that this area can be modestly increased in size and memory improved by nothing more than --- regular walking. The study, presented in the Jan 31, 2011 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, selected 120 healthy but sedentary men and women and arbitrarily divided them into two groups. One group went for regular 40 minute walks three times a week, while the other group did other aerobic exercises, including yoga.

The study found that after one year the walkers' relevant brain area (the hippocampus) increased in average volume by 2% while in the others it declined by 1.4%. Memory tests showed improvement in both groups, but the walkers improved more.

Do this for a year and we'll remember where we left the van

Another study, conducted over 10 years and presented last year at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America also found that walking had a positive effect on brain size and improves memory in both healthy and cognitively impaired adults, with important implications of reducing the risk of progression of Alzheimer's disease. It found that healthy adults needed to walk six miles a week to maintain brain volume and reduce memory loss symptoms by half. Cognitively impaired walkers needed to walk five miles per week to achieve the same results.

Now, where did I put my walking shoes?

Provencal Cooking Class 2 - coarsely pureed wild hare with autumn salad

2010-11-19T22:54:00.000-08:00

.....picking up from where we left off last time, chef Eric Sapet's first course on the autumn game menu at La Mirande's cooking class was compote de lievre a la royale, pain grille, et salade d'automne, or, coarsely pureed wild hare on toast with an autumn salad.

The hare is done, time to finish the sauce

This was a pretty racy dish for some, using an entire front half of a wild hare including the heart, lungs, head and the creature's blood. It also involved a large piece of foie gras......

First we pureed the heart, lungs, and blood with an electric hand blender and set the gory goo aside (the full recipe is at the end of the narrative). Next we slow cooked the hare, including the head, in red wine with some chopped vegetables in a deep, heavy aluminum pot in the oven for three hours, a process that left a nice, dense sauce and meat falling off the bone, and allowed plenty of time to deal with the rest of the menu while the hare was in the oven. The wine we used was a Rhone valley syrah, Eric's choice for reasons of aesthetics and taste: it would color the sauce a dark, deep brown and would also caramelize nicely.

When the hare came out of the oven, the playing with our food began. We stripped off all the meat, including the lovely, moist, supple fillet mignon, and discarded the bones. We poured the innard and blood puree into the sauce, and cooked it for a few minutes, being careful not to boil it as the blood would have frothed all over the place and ruined it. An important reason for using the blood quickly became obvious. It is one of the most effective natural thickeners. When the sauce was just the right texture we strained it through a sieve, and it was finished. Dense, gamey, earthy, aromatic - it required all the willpower in the kitchen not to dunk chunks of crusty country bread in it and finish it off then and there with sips of the leftover syrah.

Eric Sapet serving lievre royale

But we were distractable, for now the foie gras came into play. Eric talked one of us through sauteing it on top of the antique wood-fired stove - a few minutes on each side, poke it with your finger to get just the right impression when it is done. Then it was allowed to cool and was coarsely chopped while someone else diced the meat of the hare.

And here the dish got quite interesting for the average home cook. Eric had filled a huge cauldron with ice in which he embedded a pot. He tossed the diced hare into the pot and had us take turns drizzling the sauce on the hare while he continuously mashed and stirred the mixture with a spatula. When the mixture was quite cold and stiff he added the foie gras and a splash of truffle oil, worked it some more, and it was done.

Now all that remained was to lightly toast thin slices of crusty dark country loaf brushed with a bit of olive oil on the stove top, assemble the autumn salad (mostly endive) on each plate, and serve the hare, using two spoons to form quenelles.

You eat what you cook in the dining room adjacent to the kitchen

The reduction of the spicy syrah, the use of the blood, heart, and lungs and the total absence of any butter or cream gave the lean hare just what you want from a first course - a powerful, complex and intense taste that was also light and remarkably fresh, leaving plenty of room for more.........

Ingredients (serves 6)

The hare
2 front halves of wild hare (the butcher will know what you are talking about)
100 gr of smoked bacon, diced
2 onions
6 cloves of garlic
4 ordinary white button mushrooms
1 bouquet garni
1 l red wine (preferably syrah)
2 dl balsamic vinegar
2 dl fond de veau lie
100 gr foie gras
2 cl truffle oil

The autumn salad
6 slices of dark country loaf for toast
1 endive, 1 red endive
1 lamb's lettuce
olive oil for dressing

Preparing

Coarsely blend the heart, lungs and blood of the hare with an electric hand blender and reserve.
Dice the smoked bacon, the onions, the garlic, and mushrooms. Sweat in one tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy aluminum pot until the onions start to brown. Deglaze with the balsamic vinegar and reduce until the liquid is completely gone.
Add the red wine and reduce by one third.
Add the hare cut into pieces (include the head), the bouquet garni and the fond de veau. Braise the hare in the oven at 140 degrees C for three hours.
Remove the hare's meat, dice finely and reserve; discard the bones
Lightly saute the piece of foie gras and chop coarsely.
Reduce the sauce on the stove top until it you have 2 dl. Add the pureed innards and blood. Cook for about five minutes, being careful not to boil. Strain through a sieve.
Place a pot in a bed of ice held in a cauldron or another pot, and add the diced hare. Drizzle the sauce on the hare, while continuously mashing and blending the mix with a spatula. When the mixture is quite cold, add the foie gras and truffle oil and mix with the spatula.
Toast the slices of country bread lightly brushed with olive oil on the stove top.
Chop the endives coarsely, shred the lamb's lettuce, and mix with a splash of olive oil and a few drops of balsamic vinegar to taste.
Place the salad and toast on the plates. Use two spoons to form quenelles of the hare and place the quenelles on the slices of toast.

Next: roast venison filets with sauce grand veneur

Provencal Cooking Class 1

2010-11-13T17:52:00.000-08:00

"Reserve the heart and the blood and throw the head in the pot," said Eric Sapet cheerfully as he deconstructed a wild hare before his attentive audience gathered around the massive wooden farm table. We were in the 19th century kitchen of the La Mirande Hotel in Avignon on a crisp autumn morning, attending its "Le Marmiton" cooking school.

Assembling compote de lievre a la royale

Together with Eric, the roly poly chef and our instructor for the day, we would turn the hare parts spread before us into compote de lievre a la royale by lunch time. We would also turn a saddle of venison into that most classic of game dishes, filet de chevreuil roti avec sauce grand veneur. And we would finish up with a desert playfully called une religieuse pas tres catholique, a not very catholic religion.
Cooking schools have multiplied like the luckless hare in recent years across Provence as the food obsessed are no longer content with just eating everything good in sight, but also want to know how to cook it all. Most classes take you through cooking a three or four course meal which you then eat at a leisurely French pace, so if you start at nine in the morning you'll go well into mid-afternoon. Others run through a weekend, or several days, covering a variety of themes, such as truffles in season at the Maison du Moulin in the Drome. The grand dame of them all, At Home With Patricia Wells (at her lovely country house and vineyard near Vaison la Romaine) takes a whole glorious week.

La Mirande's Le Marmiton is an attractive choice for us for a couple of reasons. It has a regular monthly program running from April through November every year, so we can pick exactly what suits us best. And its key feature is inviting the area's best chefs to hold the classes, so you get to see how everyone who is anyone in a kitchen around here cooks.

Eric Sapet (center) teaches the art of sauce making

Eric's day job is running his own restaurant, La Petite Maison, in the charming Luberon village of Cucuron in the town square with the big water reservoir that featured in the film A Good Year. The game menu he was teaching us is a popular choice at his restaurant in season.

And how much cooking do you get to do in a one day class? Quite a bit actually. It does depend on the chef's style, but most of them let you dive in, much the same way as cooking in their restaurants is a team effort. The chef directs, conducts, and steps in for the really important bits. Eric let us do all the slicing and dicing prep, we took turns participating throughout the cooking steps, and we assembled all the dishes when everything was done.

Chevreuille roti awaiting sauce grand veneur

The maximum class size at Le Marmiton is 12, and even if a class fills up we have found it to work well in the roomy kitchen. People come from all walks of life, but all share a serious interest in cuisine which forms an instant bond. Sort of like a small selective seminar at college that everyone wants to attend and is prepared for it. Many of the attendees are French, especially in the off-season, but the chef's assistant from the La Mirande Hotel who manages the day speaks fluent English and one of her main tasks is translating for the linguistically challenged.

So how did the cooking go, and what about this mysterious dessert une religieuse pas tres catholique? Check back for the next couple of posts to find out......we promise to post them soon...........

Lavender Time

2010-07-25T16:14:00.000-07:00

This year's international photography festival in Arles had an exhibit called "I am a cliche". It had to do with artists and musicians and the purest evidence of enduring achievement, which the title makes rather obvious. Many of the best things in France have become so liked by so many people that they have also become cliches - the Mona Lisa, pastis, the Eiffel Tower, Edith Piaf, baguettes, the deux chevaux.....and lavender in Provence.

Wild lavender in the Grand Luberon

Cliches tend to be taken for granted, and with lavender that can be a problem as many visitors expect the perfumed lavender fields to majestically wave in the breeze all over Provence at all times, or at least from spring through late autumn. But to get that coveted lavender experience you need to know what to look for, when to come, and where to go........

Lavender and Lavender

There are 39 species of lavender worldwide (all of the mint family of plants), but the two to look for in Provence are the intensely aromatic true lavender, which is the real thing and grows only above 700 meters (2,300 ft), and the less aromatic but equally attractive lavandin which grows throughout the region at the lower altitudes. True lavender is used for the most expensive perfumes, cosmetics, and fine honey. Lavandin is used to scent your laundry detergent and bathroom sprays.

Lavender field outside Sault in the Vaucluse

Lavender also grows wild in scattered clumps; easy to spot on your walks at the right time.

When?

In general, the lavender season, when the plants are flowering, runs through the month of July and into early August. If you are lucky you may catch some coloring of the flowers as early as the end of June before they fully bloom. If you are unlucky, near the end of the season you may arrive just after the harvest. Contact the tourist office at your destination to keep informed about harvest time.

Where?

The center of Provence's best lavender fields is the perched village of Sault at the eastern foot of Mt Ventoux. The principal valley just outside the village is a World Heritage site. There is also a lot of production in the Drome Provencal north of Nyons, and in big commercial quantities on the Plateau de Valensole east of Sault (just off the map).

Lavender Lore

The scientific name, lavandula, goes back to Roman times and comes from the Latin lavare, to wash.

Lavender is related to oregano, thyme, sage and rosemary, all herbes de Provence.

The Greeks and Romans used lavender to wash their clothes and themselves and to scent bath water. They also burned lavender to release its aroma.

Lavender was a major medicine throughout the centuries, used to cure headaches and soothe wounds. Smelling salts are still made from essential oil of lavender blossoms.

France's principal center of perfume making is the Provencal town of Grasse, where all the best lavender goes.

Follow a Van Gogh Restoration online

2010-03-13T03:29:00.000-08:00

In coming weeks you can follow online the step by step restoration of Van Gogh's The Bedroom at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam on a dedicated blog at www.vangoghmuseum.com/bedroomsecrets.

Van Gogh, The Bedroom, Arles 1888

Van Gogh painted The Bedroom in Arles where he lived between 1888 and 1889, and where you can trace his life on a themed city walk (though you can't see any of his original paintings, as none have remained in Arles). The Bedroom is, well, his bedroom at 2 Place Lamartine in what he called The Yellow House. Just one look, and you'll be ready for a long 19th century Provencal nap.

Van Gogh, The Yellow House, Arles 1888

The Yellow House was regrettably flattened by an allied bomb during World War II, but the railroad bridge in the picture Van Gogh painted of it, at which the bomb was presumably aimed, survives.........

There are three versions of The Bedroom. The painting undergoing restoration is the first one. The other two are owned by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Musee d'Orsay.

In a frenzy of inspiration Van Gogh painted over 300 pictures during his time in Arles, including many of his best. Increasingly delusional, he quarreled with Gaugin, allegedly cut off his own ear (Van Gogh scholars have recently engaged in lively debate as to who cut off what, when), painted "Self-portrait With Bandaged Ear", and remained sane enough to check himself into the St Paul de Mausole asylum outside St Remy. In St Paul de Mausole Van Gogh's room can be seen - it is at times mistaken for the one portrayed in The Bedroom. St Paul de Mausole is also a great starting point for walks in Les Alpilles where you will find the countryside just as Van Gogh had painted it.

Van Gogh, Wheatfield with Cypress 1889

Van Gogh, Olive Trees 1889

Vinisud 2010

2010-02-25T18:24:00.000-08:00

We spent yesterday at the last day of Vinisud 2010, the massive Mediterranean wine convention to see if we could pull off a Parker style tasting of 200 wines a day and still feel tongues in cheeks by days' end.

Provencal producers went all out for pastel wines

this year to match Vinisud's new pastel look

Held every year in Montpellier, Vinisud is the most important professional wine event in the South of France attended by approximately 1,600 wine makers showcasing wines of the Languedoc Roussillon, the Rhone Valley including Chateauneuf du Pape, and all the wines of Provence. It also draws participants from most Mediterranean countries, including Spain, Italy, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. So many wines such little time......

Most Vinisud visitors are wine buyers and other wine professionals - we had a claim to be there, too, as we send practically all our walking clients on vineyard walks and wine estate visits, and are often asked for wine advice and recommendations. But anyone serious about wine is welcome in exchange for a 20 euro entry fee and a business card, and with a solid plan for how to make the most of it, a visit is well worth the experience.

A convention like any other but thousands of

wines are available to taste

The Vinisud website lists all the exhibitors so it is easy to match them to a well chosen list of of must-taste estates, even if you've never been in the area but did a bit of homework in wine guides and publications and consulted well informed friends. Practically everyone showed up; fun upstarts, such as Arrogant Frog from Pezenas; family vineyards such as Mas Cal Demoura favored by traditionalist importer Neal Rosenthal; the best-known big negociants, such as Chapoutier and Guigal; Mondavi nemesis Daumas Gaussac as seen in Mondovino; top wine estates from Chateauneuf du Pape, such as Domaine du Pegau, Vieux Telegraphe (Brunier family), and Chateau La Nerthe; and too many Parker favorites to count.

Brunier family wine lineup including a bottle

of Massaya from the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

Our first morning stop was to say hi to Amy of La Gramiere, an American micro-vigneron near us, whom we had wanted to meet ever since discovering her blog about being a small scale winemaker in the Southern Rhone and having bought a bottle or two of her excellent wine. She was just setting up and happy to meet us and we’ll look her up later at her domaine. Check her blog for a vigneron’s take on Vinisud as soon as she has time to write it.

Then we were off to see wine makers in our favorite walking areas, particularly dropping in on those whom we haven’t seen in a while. For our walks picturesque settings, being on a walking trail, and welcoming visitors are also important considerations besides the quality of the wine.

Tasting

We really love the wines of Gigondas and were in the mood for another good sampling of the various estates, but felt awkward about tying up booth staff when serious wine buyers were on the prowl. And then we spotted the Gigondas self-service wine tasting bar. Check out the photo: a vast collection of bottles from just about every Gigondas producer waiting for you to serve yourself.

Gigondas self service tasting station

In fact, this is a well-established tasting arrangement at Vinisud to leave more time for wine makers to concentrate on serious business inquiries. Most regions feature their own self-service wine tasting bar. Some big regions’ bottle lineup can number in the hundreds. The tasting bars are a great opportunity to experiment at leisure. Not every wine of a wine maker is offered, but when you find something you like you can look up the maker for a wider tasting of the estate’s wines.

Pic St Loup

A little ways to the south of us is Pic St Loup, one of the most exceptional wine appellations in the Languedoc, and its wines have long been personal favorites. It is a small area of chalky limestone ridges and peaks with its own microclimate, cool nights, and dedicated, highly skilled vignerons. The principal grapes are mourvedre, syrah and grenache, and the wines, mostly red, tend to be well rounded, flinty, and minerally, and subtly rich in berry or animal flavors. Quite different from anything made from the same grapes to the north.

Pic St Loup behind the vineyards of Mas Brugiere

We had met a few producers whom we really liked, among them Domaine de l'Hortus, Mas Brugiere, and Chateau La Roque. The region is also a beautiful walking area, a natural choice for future expansion for our walking business, so Vinisud was a perfect opportunity to make more friends in Pic St Loup. In addition to the domaines mentioned you may also want to check out any bottles of Pic St Loup from Chateau de Lascaux and Clos Marie.

Le Palais Mediterraneen

For the rest of the time we wandered around tasting Corbieres, St Chinians, Minervois - Languedocien wines about which we'd like to know a lot more. Eventually we ended up in Le Palais Mediterraneen, the biggest self-service tasting hall of them all. Here were about 1,800 bottles laid out from all around the Mediterranean, from the friendliest little local wines practically next door to our house to some of the grandest Chateauneuf estates.

So much wine, such little time

We tried a few whites, hunted for labels we knew, and then we spotted it: a 2005 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Laurence. Almost a full bottle of this spectacular year. For us it was the best wine of the day - and this time we didn’t spit. Nor did we taste any more wine. The perfect ending. We didn’t make the Parker 200 average for the day, but we walked five miles trying, according to Anne's pedometer. And having spit scrupulously most of the time, we still felt our tongues firmly in in our cheeks as we slowly drove home through the dormant vineyards in the low winter sun.

Walking Weather - When to Go?

2010-02-19T06:02:00.000-08:00

Another common question we are asked is what the weather will be like when someone plans to come walking in Provence. For a quick idea check out the sunshine, temperature, and rainfall charts below:

The figures are averages, so some interpretation may be useful. The tops of the temperature bars represent average high temperatures, the horizontal lines within the bars, average low temperatures. Maximum sunshine is nice, but it also brings heat. So much heat, that walking can be a sweaty, sticky business in the hottest months of July and August unless you are used to it and enjoy walking in such conditions. You'll want a cool, early morning start on the worst days......

Two Best Seasons

There are two ideal times of year to walk in Provence, late April to the end of June, and September to mid-October. The days tend to be sunny and clear, the temperatures spot-on comfortable, the air pleasantly dry, and the evenings refreshingly cool - stereotypical Provencal walking weather. There is some risk of rain in April and May, and again starting in October, but most of the time the rain moves on smartly enough to give you plenty of good walking days.

What About July and August?

The weather is often fine for walking for part of this period, too, but it can also be really hot, especially in August, for some walkers unbearably so. It is also the height of the tourist season, so hotels, restaurants, and popular tourist sites, including the perched villages, can get really busy. Interestingly enough, the walking trails are so extensive that you will experience a sense of isolation and privacy on them even at this time of year. And if you come to walk among lavender fields in bloom, mid-July to the first week of August is the time to come regardless of the weather.

Most people walking here at this time of year deal with the hottest days by starting their walks early in the morning and spending the hottest part of the day lounging by a nice pool or hanging out in cool wine caves, before venturing out again in late afternoon.

On the trail in July

The Off Season

You are taking a bit of a chance with the weather if you walk from mid-October to mid-April, but this time of year can also bring sparkling, sunny days with unlimited visibility, really comfortable temperatures if there is no wind, and deserted trails. We do a lot of walking to develop new routes in the off season and it gives us some really memorable walking days, but it would be difficult, even living here, to plan for them. So come primarily for the other pleasures of the season; romantic weekends in a cozy mas, Christmas markets, truffle dinners, wine festivals. But do bring your walking boots, too.........

Romans Redux

2010-02-17T10:23:00.000-08:00

The last post on Roman dining reminded my brother-in-law of an excellent article in the Smithsonian Magazine about rediscovering the Via Aurelia. A segment of the Romans' wide network of transcontinental highways, it entered modern day France at La Turbie on the Italian border and ran to Arles on the Rhone river. The article chronicles how Bruno Tassan, a documentary film maker and amateur archeologist and a group of friends have spent years uncovering its remnants, relics, and history. Here's the link to the article. My favorite is Flavian's bridge, south of Salon, outside the village of Saint Chamas, spanning the Touloubre river. And here's the link to Tassan's site, Via Aurelia (only in French, alas).

courtesy Smithsonian Magazine

Still on the Romans, don't forget the latest and greatest bust of Caesar, mesmerizing in its realism, fished out of the Rhone at Arles not so long ago. He's the star attraction of the Arles Museum of Antiquity's "Caesar - the Record of the Rhone", an exhibit featuring over 500 artifacts found in the river in the last 20 years. Go before September 19, 2010.

By the way, the Roman legions could "walk" 50 miles a day. A one day self-guided walking tour of the Dentelles............

Walk Like a Roman, Dine Like One, Too

2010-02-08T16:17:00.000-08:00

We literally walk all over forgotten Roman ruins on our neighborhood trails, many of them still as functional as they were two millennia ago. We cross streams on Roman bridges, occasionally walk on bits of Roman roads, and at the back of our lawyer's vineyard, the appropriately named Domaine de L'Aqueduc, runs a recently excavated section of the Roman water supply channel from Uzes to Nimes, as pristine as it was the day it was built. Another vineyard, the once Roman-owned Mas des Tourelles in the Costieres de Nimes wine region nearby offers three cuvees of the only authentically reproduced Roman wine anywhere, which we make sure we keep around the house. Roman walking.....Roman wine.....so why not a Roman feast?.......

Roman bridge near Blauzac still regularly used
by walkers and bikers, practically unknown otherwise

The easy choice would have been a bite at the bistro at the Roman town of Glanum near Saint Remy, which serves authentic Roman meals and also stocks the wines, but this was in the spring and the bistro was still closed for the off season. And anyway, there was probably nothing like a good home cooked meal even back when Agrippa was getting the Pont du Gard built. Inspiration came from The Classical Cookbook, by Andrew Dalby and Sally Grainger, a history and recipe collection of Greek and Roman cuisine published by the British Museum, based on original records and cookbooks such as Apicius.

But forget tomatoes and pasta; not yet available back in ancient Rome. How about some nice juicy flamingo instead? Here's the menu we chose:

Honey Glazed Shrimp

pan fried in fish sauce with fresh chopped oregano

Roast Kid Goat

marinated in milk and honey with a hint of asafoetida,
slow roasted and served with a fish-sauce-infused
date and wine reduction

Patina of Wild Asparagus Custard

steamed, pureed with onion, and baked with a
dash of white wine, fish sauce, coriander,

celery leaf, savory, and beaten eggs

Sweet Cheese Libum

ricotta cheesecake with bay leaf, soaked in honey

And here's how the main dishes turned out:

Marinated roast goat on the left, date and wine sauce,

and pureed asparagus custard on the right

Sourcing the stuff wasn't too difficult. Our local supermarket just happened to have fresh half kid goats on sale, and wild asparagus was popping up in the countryside all around us. We only had to beat all our foraging neighbors to the draw. For Roman fish sauce, fish left to rot for months and then turned into a pungent sauce, we used nuoc mam, the modern day Vietnamese equivalent. Asafoetida - a weird gum resin the Romans used a lot, related to fennel and still used in Asia - was readily available on the internet.

Cooking was pretty simple, too. Marinating, pulverizing, chopping, boiling, roasting, baking, sprinkling olive oil, soaking the cheesecake in honey for an hour.......

The results were something else. Delicious tastes from another planet. The heavy use of fish sauce instead of salt, honey instead of the then rare and hyper-expensive sugar, and the lack of many items commonly used today, such as tomatoes, somehow combined to create tastes for most of our dishes that had little resemblance to modern day tastes, in spite of the otherwise familiar ingredients. The cheesecake and the shrimp probably came the closest to our time. The goat was wonderfully tender, but made really different by the honey, the fish sauce, and asafoetida. All in all, we're ready for more.

The wines were a similar experience. The Romans laced many of their wines liberally with honey, and added sea water and all kinds of spices and minerals both for what they believed were preservative qualities and also for taste. If you like spiced wines and mead you'll love the Roman stuff.

The winemakers at Mas des Tourelles do all they can to make their "archaelogical wine" authentic. The writings of Pliny, Columella, Palladius and their contemporary wine enthusiasts were all consulted. Grapes closest to the Roman strains are used, and their wine making processes are closely followed.

With the goat we had Mulsum, a reddish aperitif wine pined over by Pliny, and laced with honey, cinnamon, pepper, thyme, and more. For the shrimp we chose Turriculae, a dry white bottled with a dash of sea water, fenugreek, iris flowers, and defrutum (concentrated must), exactly as specified by Columella. And for desert there was Carenum a lovely sweet wine fermented from very mature grapes with a variety of plants, quince, and defrutum. But we got the drinking all wrong. The Romans watered their wine and ate before starting to drink. We drew the line at abandoning our post-vandal habits of drinking before, during, and after the meal.

And by the time the last morsel of sweet cheese libum was gone it was going to be a long donkey ride to the Pont du Gard for the afternoon shift.

Walking in Provence Without Knowing French?

2010-02-06T14:26:00.000-08:00

Someone from Seattle asked us the other day if they could manage walking independently, on their own in Provence speaking very little French. This is one of the most common questions we get. The answer is "yes", especially if you have the right attitude. Always be friendly, be determined to be understood, never be reluctant to make mistakes, get all the help you can from phrase books (they really work), employ sign language enthusiastically, have a thick skin, and you'll get by just fine. After all, it is not so hard to point at a few patisseries with a smile and flash a few Euro notes in a bakery to get your message across..........

Ah, but will the locals sneer at you, or worse, laugh at your fractured Franglais? Well, when we first came here the shortcomings of G's French were exceeded only by his enthusiasm for speaking what little he knew every chance he got. One evening he proudly explained to our neighbors how much he enjoyed spending the beautiful afternoons lying under the small oak. The reaction was puzzled, awkward silence, and when he repeated it, hysterical, uncontrollable laughter. They laughed so hard they were becoming embarrassed about it, only to break down laughing again. As it turns out, G got everything right except the word for oak. He had cheerfully informed our neighbors that he enjoys spending the beautiful afternoons lying under the small dog. "Chene" and "chien". Big difference. Our neighbors are among our best friends now, and that faux pas had a lot to do with getting us off on the right track.

As for the wider issue of the local cold shoulder if you don't know French, the stories you hear occur mostly in Paris. Down here, in our experience, the locals are really friendly and receptive, as long as you, too, make the effort to be friendly and courteous to them.

Using Phrase Books, With a Twist

So what can you do to ease the language problem? A bit of pre-trip preparation can go a long way. Well structured collections of phrases (available in book and e form) can be really helpful. Look for the ones organized thematically - dining, traveling, shopping, etc. The trick with phrase books is not necessarily to try to say the phrases (your pronunciation may be hard to understand), but to simply show the person assisting you the applicable phrase to read in French. Try saying it first, then point in your phrase book, if necessary. And never be shy to use it.

Le Menu Bleus

One of the biggest problems with language occurs at meal times, when frilly French menus prove to be incomprehensible, and English translations are not always available. In this case a comprehensive English/French list of dishes is invaluable, and don't be reluctant to whip it out and use it. One of the best appears in the Cadogan Guide to the South of France, which we believe is one of the best guides for this area. We also give friends and clients custom phrase lists we developed specifically for our interests in walking, food and wine.

Here's another trick. Tons of restaurants in France have their menus on the internet these days. Find a few from the area you are planning to visit, get a good English/French list of dishes and before departure spend a little time on the net deciphering the menus you find on line.

Try it in English

Something else you have going for you with practically no knowledge of French is that an increasing number of people in the South of France, especially younger people, speak at least some rudimentary English. Hotel receptions, tourist offices, the TGV station ticket offices, and many more places where you may face a language challenge, all tend to have someone on staff who can speak enough English to sort out most requests. Although it doesn't apply to visitors that much, you might find it interesting to know that when we have a problem with our French cell phone service provider we talk to their English language help line, and when we need assistance at the local computer store there is someone who not only can speak passable English but enjoys practicing it. So try it in English. It'll work more often than you may think.

Even the emergency services are becoming multilingual. The toll free Europe-wide 112 emergency number (similar to the US 911 service) is now able to handle calls in English in France and 15 other EU countries. Check it out here.

Do Learn a Bit of French - Its Not That Hard

Another aid worth consulting prior to departure is the BBC's French language learning site. It is free and loaded with self-administrable learning modules and printable and downloadable phrase lists for all levels. You can find it here.

Serious Help

In the unlikely event that you really need serious language assistance (you lose your head and decide to buy the farmhouse you are renting for the week - or something turns into a more serious matter with the authorities), English speaking interpreters are available locally. Check at the tourist offices, and to put your mind completely at ease you might ask the people arranging your trip to get you contact info for an interpreter or two in the area where you are going, just in case.

So there it is. No need to hesitate if you can't parler even Franglais. Just make sure you know the difference between "chene" and "chien" and book that trip.