Madame Boisvert

21 July 2009 | Uncategorized | boisvj

Our stay in the Vaucluse was just great: we finished all of the research that we’d planned on doing and we took all of the excursions, big and small, that we wanted. But with our time drawing to a close, we had lots of last minute details to take care of–packing up boxes of books to mail home, searching around our rental house to gather all of our stuff, getting suitcases ready for the trip to Paris and the flight back, and all the rest. Our last week in Bédoin, however, wasn’t simply been filled with chores. We also took the time to enjoy some culinary treats.

On our final Saturday night la Cave Coopérative held another of its famous get-togethers. This one, la Fête de la vigne et du vin, is actually a department-wide event taking place in more than 60 caves of the Vaucluse. Bédoin’s version of the festivities included ATV buggy rides through the vines and a visit to the bottling assembly line. We were more interested in the 16-euro apiece dinner, which included une assiette provençale, consisting of saucisson (“salami”), pâté, jambon cru (“prosciutto”), salade, cornichons (“pickles”) and green and black olives. The main dish was followed by a cheese course, and finally a dessert of fresh strawberries in red wine with crème chantilly (“whipped cream”). There was a live band, playing mostly American music, and of course, being at the cave, the dinner was bien arrosé with lots of local wines. We had fun talking to the people sitting next to us: a young social worker from Zurich who had just returned from climbing Mont Ventoux on his bike and a nice vintner and his wife from Bédoin who made a special trip inside the cave to get a chèvre cheese for us.

We also revisited some of the restaurants in the vicinity that we enjoyed over the past few months, two of them being right on the main street in town. Both have very friendly équipes working there and offer good, relatively inexpensive meals. Le Grillon is a small place whose name, I believe, is a play on the verbe griller, rather than on the word cricket. The chef, who comes from a restaurant family, grills your supper in front of you on a wood fire in an elevated fireplace. We’ve had some lovely meals there including a tasty salade au chèvre chaud (“warm goat cheese salad”), a grilled dorade (“sea bream”), une marmite de poisson—a fish soup—, and brochette de canard (“duck shishkabab”). All were very good, but the best was Ray’s travers de porc, a grilled pork sparerib with spices that made it taste like barbecue. Yum! Another place we like in town is the Hôtel l’Escapade’s restaurant. We’ve had appetizers like des cuisses de grenouille (“frogs legs”) and barigoule aux artichauts (artichoke hearts served with prosciutto). Some of our main dishes there included for Ray pieds et paquets (you don’t really want to know!) and for me a very delicious cuisse de canard (“duck leg”).

My favorite eating place around, and possibly throughout the whole trip (though others were close), is in Carpentras: La Petite Fontaine. Small with a limited menu, this restaurant serves up delicious meals every time. On our first visit there I had fresh asparagus with a green onion sauce as a first dish, followed by wonderful Saint-Jacques (“scallops”) with a chive sauce which was well worth the 5-euro supplement we had to pay. On our second trip we both had the 17-euro menu: a half of a small, grilled eggplant topped with mozzarella slices and fresh tomato; as a main course, Ray had une cuisse de pintade (“guinea fowl”—whatever that is) and I got a great piece of grilled tuna. So there you have some meals to enjoy vicariously!

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13 July 2009 | Uncategorized | boisvj

Since we still had the car on a Monday in May, we decided to go see another of the big towns of the Vaucluse: Orange. The area has undergone tremendous transformations and hardships over the centuries. Originally settled by the Gauls, the Romans established a colony there around 35 BCE. The city went on to be attacked and partially destroyed by the Visigoths in the fifth century. Its population was decimated by la peste (“the plague”) in 1348 and again in 1720. In the sixteenth century the locale was settled by the Dutch whose ruling family is still referred to as “the Royal House of Orange.” But today this city of about 30,000 people, known as having one of the warmest climates in France, is relatively quiet, yet proud of its heritage.

During Pax Romana, the time of peace and prosperity with the Gauls, the Romans created many buildings in the colony they called Arausio. There is an Arc de Triomphe on the outskirts of town, which is currently undergoing restoration. The crowning achievement of Roman architecture in the city is the antique theater. For a small fee, fee, visitors can take a self-guided tour with audiophones of this 1st century structure built during the reign of Augustus. The theater has one of the best conserved murs de scène (“stage walls”) in the world; according to our audioguide only in Syria and Turkey could you also find such an impressive relic from Roman times. The sight of it in the seventeenth century prompted King Louis XIV to exclaim: « C’est la plus belle muraille de mon royaume. » (“It’s the most beautiful wall in my kingdom.”)

The theater, we learned, used to have statues in all of its niches, marble facing on the walls, several rows of columns, and mosaics decorating it. The sitting area, called the cavea, provided room for about 8000-10000 spectators, seated according to their status in society; the orchestra, in a semicircle on the ground, had room for moveable seats for the highest-ranking dignitaries. On the uppermost tiers sat prostitutes and beggars. All of the presentations were free of charge and a kind of tarp, a velum, stretched across the top of the theater to protect spectators from the sun. After the so-called “barbarian invasions” and the 16th century wars of religion, the theater fell into disrepair; houses were even constructed inside it. But thanks to author Prosper Merimée, a restoration project was launched in 1825. Only the first three rows of seats are original and in 2006 a glass and metal roof was built to protect the stage wall and to add lighting. Placed on the list of Worldwide Heritage Sight by UNESCO. International music festivals, currently called Les Nouvelles Chorégies, have been presenting symphonies and operas every summer since 1869. Plays have been staged at the theater as well; Sarah Bernhardt, for example, performed the role of Racine’s Phèdre in 1903. The day we were there several groups of young people were trying out the theater’s great acoustics by reading to their friends who were in the upper part of the stands.

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02 July 2009 | Uncategorized | boisvj

On a Saturday in mid-May the “weather gods” were with us as we left Port-Fréjus heading east to see more of la Côte d’Azur and making our way to Cannes. The drive along the cliff road, la Corniche de l’Esterel, afforded stunning views of the red Esterel Mountains which served as a beautiful contrast with the deep blue of the Mediterranean. We passed through the coastal towns of Agay and Théoule-sur-Mer, stopping from time to time to enjoy vistas of the beaches, the rocky coast, and boats out at sea. In the car, I was putting the digital camera through its paces the entire time, while Ray negotiated the narrow thoroughfare. The biggest problem along the way was not other cars, but cyclists, who at times rode two or three abreast, including some with babies on the back of their bikes.

We were well aware that the yearly Festival de Cannes 2009 was in full swing, meaning traffic and people galore. So we grabbed the first underground parking lot we could find near la Croisette, the city’s seaside boulevard. Our first sight upon exiting le parking was of hundreds of huge yachts in the marina and, looking out on them, white tents with what seemed like conferences going on. Not a bad location, but potentially distracting for those attending! The crowds were enormous, especially as we neared the Palais des festivals et des congrès, where the films are shown and judged. Again there were white tents with signs indicating the American delegation, etc. , this time inside a fence. Security was extremely tight, though the guards were nattily dressed in beige suits instead of uniforms to fit the stylish occasion, I suppose. As far as what really goes on in Cannes, I have barely a clue. I know that it’s practically impossible for the average person to get a ticket and actually see a film there. The festival is mainly a meeting place for producers, sales agents, distributors, and buyers from all over the world. Apparently anyone can submit a film and a good judgment by the international jury can launch a filmmaker’s career.

A little further down the boardwalk we passed some lovely hotels with their private beaches and matching umbrellas across the street. The majestic, early twentieth century Hôtel Carlton, whose façade was classified as a monument historique in 1989, still draws le jet-set and people like French actress Sophie Marceau who was staying in a room named after her. Just past the Carlton, we came upon l’Hôtel Martinez where photographers and tourists were grouped, apparently waiting for stars like Eva Longoria and Tony Parker who were staying there to exit the building. After a lunch of Lebanese food, we continued down la Croisette where there was another marina, more outrageously impressive yachts and the lovely Parc de la Roseraie, full of roses in bloom.

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