Chateauneuf-du-Pape and the Mistral

By on October 16, 2010 in France, Provence, Travel

“Mistral” is such a romantic, evocative name for a wind. Too bad it’s just an annoying, persistent cold wind.

Since today is my last day in this area, I decided I really should see Chateauneuf-du-Pape. I’ve always been intrigued by the vines growing in the rocks, so I wanted to see that, and I was also curious what the village had to offer.

Nothing but tasting rooms, dozens of them! I know in other circumstances that would be nothing but good news, but I really didn’t want to go tasting alone and struggle with the language problem when I don’t know enough about any of the winemakers to choose what to taste.

I’d originally planned to take a wine tour with Olivier Hickman at Wine Uncovered sometime this week. When I first enquired, he indicated that he be running tours this week and he’d let me know what day when it was closer to my trip time. He didn’t, so I emailed him twice before I left. He didn’t answer either one. Now, there may be circumstances that excuse his behavior, but I have to admit I’m not only disappointed, but miffed. If he had let me know, I could have looked for another alternative. (grumble, grumble, grumble)

The wind had begun to pick up here yesterday afternoon and by the time I approached Chateauneuf-du-Pape, which is down in the center of the Rhone Valley right in the Mistral’s path, it was howling. The weather forecast seems to promise that tomorrow will be the worst day and then it will get better. Hope so!

(Tomorrow I move to Lourmarin and meet Pauline and Steve!)

Comments { 5 }

Closed for the season

By on October 15, 2010 in France, Provence, Travel

If there’s been one “theme” to this week in northern Provence, it’s that so many businesses are closed. Closed for the season, closed for lunch, closed for dinner, closed because it’s Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and/or Thursday, or just closed.

The little cafe here in Bedoin that served me the perfect croissant on Sunday was closed Monday-Thursday and only re-opened this morning, I assume for the weekend.

I’ve been eating lunch out most days and then staying home in the evening, but Wednesday I was hungry and didn’t really have anything in the house I wanted to eat. I went out at 7:30 expecting to find something at one of the casual pizza/pasta places. I started near the south end of the main street and worked my way north. Closed, closed, closed, even when the sign out front suggested they would be open.

Finally, a little before 8, I found one restaurant open. I got the last unreserved table, then watched at least 20 people arrive only to be turned away. When I walked home about 9:30, nothing was open except one bar where one guy sat watching tv. I saw one other person walking, and a few cats, but not a single car. It might as well have been 3 am.

I think this applies just to small towns that depend on tourism, and those tiny little villages that are too small to support any business without tourism. I’m not complaining, because I haven’t seen many tourists, and I don’t expect small businesses to keep their doors open just in case I might drop by. But if I were to visit this area again this late in the season, as charmed as I am by Bedoin and my little house, I’d stay in a larger town, Vaison-la-Romaine maybe.

I’m not expecting to see this in the Luberon area when I move to Lourmarin on Sunday. I think there tend to be quite a few more tourists in that area any time of year, and also, I know the area much better, so I know where to look.

Today’s photo was taken in Crestet, one of the tiny, beautifully preserved perched villages. Part of the beauty of places like this is the quiet and solitude. I didn’t see a soul, not even a cat.

(My drive today was up to Buis-les-Baronnies, over to Nyons and back to Vaison-la-Romaine for lunch, with a side trip to Crestet on the way home. A beautiful drive, especially the first part, but not really much to say, and too hazy to produce any good photos.)

Comments { 1 }

Suzette and the Dentelles

By on October 14, 2010 in France, Provence, Travel

Sounds like a Motown group, doesn’t it?

After my long drive yesterday, I wanted an easier day, so I made a short loop around to Beames de Venise, up through the Dentelles de Montmirail mountains to the sweet little hilltop village of Suzette, down again to Malaucene and back home to Bedoin.

Including the time I spent sitting on a cafe patio in Suzette enjoying the view and the time I spent not enjoying a virtually inedible lunch in Malaucene, the whole trip took less than 4 hours.

The name Dentelles is supposed to refer to the lacy look of the mountains, but I always see them as crooked teeth, even more so after seeing them from different angles today.

Afterward, I replenished wine and snack supplies for an evening at home, and settled in to do a little laundry and finish my book. (Room, by Emma Donoghue, amazing!)

Comments { 3 }

Gorges de Nesque drive

By on October 13, 2010 in France, Provence

One thing that completely freaks me out is driving (being a passenger is even worse) on the outside edge of a road hanging on to the side of a mountain.

No matter how many times I tell myself that I’ve got plenty of room, my lizard brain is convinced I’m going to be sucked off into the void any second.

So why is it that I have such a knack for finding roads like that? AND going in the direction that means I’ll be on the outside edge the whole way? The name Gorges de Nesque should have given me a clue, but I envisioned driving along the bottom of the Gorge and never even thought I was about to go on another of those scary drives along the edge of the world. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

It is a spectacular drive, high above the gorge, with parts of the road carved right through massive rock cliffs. I’m just glad the Gorges part of the drive is only about 20km long!

No, there are no pictures. Of course not. It’s impossible to take pictures when your hands are frozen on the steering wheel and you’re afraid to stop for fear you won’t have the nerve to go again. If you want pictures, there are lots here on Google. Take your pick.

I don’t know how we missed this on earlier trips to Provence. In spite of my whining, I’m very glad I got to see it this time. Lunch in Sault and a beautiful, and non scary, drive back through Murs and Venasque restored my nerves.

(The photo at the top was taken along the road not far from Bedoin.)

Comments { 5 }

Market day in Vaison-la-Romaine

By on October 12, 2010 in France, Provence, Travel


I thoroughly enjoyed the market at Vaison-la-Romaine today. It was huge, and increasingly crowded as the morning went on, and just full of all that Provencal “stuff” that I crave when I’m home in California.

I arrived by about 9 and took my time, exploring the shops as well as the market booths, so I was tired, hungry, and a little footsore when I made my way back to my car about 12:30. The sensible thing would have been to stop once in a while for coffee, but it just never occurred to me.

I decided lunch in Seguret would be nice, but nobody was home in Seguret except a few German tourists on bicycles in search of lunch. In Sablet, there appeared to be lunch, but no parking places.

Finally, in Vacqueyras, I found both a restaurant and a parking place. Rose, of course, salad with chevre chaud, honey and pine nuts. Baked fish with sundried tomatoes, olives and herbes de provence. Roasted fennel, pureed potatoes and thinly sliced carrots cooked until they were almost melting with an herb I couldn’t identify. It was wonderful.

And for entertainment, there was the French father-and-son flirting team of Jacques (70) and Bruno (47) at the next table. They were charming and I had a lot of fun practicing my French while they practiced their English.

It was a beautiful day, and my route ended up taking me on the same loop as the previous day only in the other direction. Now I’m looking at my maps and thinking about striking off in a different direction tomorrow. Maybe through Gorges de Nesque over to Sault. I love Sault.

Comments { 9 }

Soggy market day in Bedoin

By on October 11, 2010 in France, Provence, Travel

I wouldn’t exactly say my much anticipated visit to the Bedoin market was a complete washout, but it was very wet and very cold. I’m sure some vendors stayed home, and those who showed up didn’t look overjoyed to be here. Customers weren’t plentiful either.

I made one complete circuit, shivered over coffee at my cafe, and came home to read my book and take a nap.

Early afternoon the rain stopped, so I decided to venture out for a walk and to buy a few things at the supermarket. First I walked up to the church, which frankly looks better from a distance, then wound my way back down so I could walk the full length of the main street lined with gorgeous leafy plane trees.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one with the idea of a post-market nap, because Bedoin was closed. Shops, restaurants, boulangeries, even BOTH supermarkets!

Just as I was about to give up and go home again, I noticed they were reopening one of the markets, so I picked up a few supplies and came home again.

The 10-day forecast looks like there’s nothing but sunshine ahead, so tomorrow I’ll try that market thing again, this time in Vaison-la-Romaine, a market I’ve read about and wanted to visit for years. I plan to get up early and retrace the beautiful drive I took yesterday via Malaucene in hopes of early morning photos of the fall colors in the vineyards.

(Click any photo to start the slide show.)

Comments { 3 }

Jet lag

By on October 10, 2010 in France, Provence, Travel


View Gigondas loop in a larger map

Damn, I hate jetlag. It feels like I have brain damage.

Last night I managed to stay awake until a little past 8 pm, and with the aid of drugs, slept until 6:30 am.

This morning I felt great, but about the time I got home from my day’s outing, I hit the wall. I’m exhausted, but I need to stay awake for at least another three or four hours if I’m ever going to adjust to this time zone.

Also, my mind is even fuzzier than the photos I took today, which is my explanation for why there’s a google map instead of a photo at the top. Also, the intricacies of managing PhotoShop Elements and its 10000 little menus and boxes on a tiny Netbook screen is completely beyond me right now.

It was a beautiful drive. Most villages were quiet and closed, but I guess I should expect that at lunchtime on a rainy Sunday in October.

Fall color is really showing up in some places, especially between Malaucene and Bedoin. That’s practically in my backyard, so I’ll be going back to try again on the photos.

Oh, one more thing. I’ve chosen “my” cafe in Bedoin, based on the fact that they served me the world’s most perfect croissant this morning.

Tomorrow morning is the Bedoin market!

Comments { 2 }

At home in Bedoin

By on October 9, 2010 in France, Provence, Travel

After an excruciatingly long but problem-free journey, I’m settling in at my little house in Bedoin.

There’s always a little risk when you rent a place based on what you see on the internet, but I’ve never yet had a bad experience, and this may be one of my very best finds. It is spotlessly clean, well-equipped and just as described. The pleasant surprises are how perfectly located and surrounded by village life it is, and the fabulous views from every window.

The photo at the top is of Bedoin’s distinctive Spanish style church taken from my living room window. I had no idea it would be so close.

I’m so happy to be here! The minute I got in my little rental Fiat Punto and started to see the familiar Provence landscape, my mood just soared. Which may explain why I got a little overconfident and toured Carpentras for 45 minutes or so before I found the road to Bedoin. I had the instructions written down, I just didn’t want to stop to look at them.

More later. The jet lag is setting in, and besides I need to climb those stairs to the rooftop terrace again to check on the sunset.

Comments { 10 }

Almost time to go!

By on October 6, 2010 in France, Provence, Travel

It seems like I’ve been waiting forever for this trip, but suddenly there’s just a few days to go! My usual jumble of emotions about being eager and excited to go and reluctant to leave home and cats is much worse since this time Frank will be staying home. If I could have one wish, it would be for him to be able to go.

I’ll spend the next couple of days in a complete dither of errands and packing, then the long, long flight, Sacramento to Philadelphia to Brussels to Marseille and the not-too-long drive to Bedoin. I’ve got a great book on my Kindle for the flight, Louise Penny’s Bury Your Dead. It won’t cancel the discomfort of all that time (in coach — I don’t fly business or first), but it will certainly distract me.

I’ve been obsessively watching the Provence weather forecasts. When I first got within the 10-day forecast range it didn’t look good, with rain for the first several days. Happily, it looks better every time I check it. Now it only says rain for the first day, with just a chance of showers for the few days after that.

I brought a stone Provençal sundial similar to the one pictured at the top home several years ago (back in the days when the airlines paid little or no attention to the weight of your luggage). I didn’t even try to situate mine so that it would tell the time. I just love having it on a garden wall.

Comments { 6 }

Summer’s end in the garden

By on September 27, 2010 in Garden, miscellaneous

All in all, it hasn’t been a bad summer in my vegetable garden. Strangely cool and mostly beautiful weather has given me tomatoes that just keep setting fruit at a nicely measured pace. Only once this summer did I find myself temporarily overwhelmed with tomatoes ripening all at once. That batch went into tomato soup.

I knew ripe carmellos and big beefs had recently begun to outpace what I was using, but I didn’t realize until I made a concerted effort to pick them all this morning that I had another 21 pounds to deal with somehow. The cool summer weather has given way to sizzling hot fall weather (did I mention this was a strange year?), so my usual fallback of slow roasting them in the oven just isn’t going to happen this week. My sunny kitchen is already the warmest room in the house, so I NEVER turn on the oven on hot days.

Instead, I prepped a big jelly roll pan of quartered, seeded tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic cloves, thyme and salt, and let them roast on my Weber gas grill all afternoon, with just the back burner turned on low. They’re looking and smelling great, and the only real disadvantage is that I can only do one pan at a time. Another batch tomorrow will give me four good-sized vacuum packed bags for the freezer.

The only other summer crop still going strong is basil. Most years it flowers and gets tough as soon as it gets really hot, but this year it still looks fresh and tastes great. I’m going to try to make pesto for the freezer this week.

My fall pole bean crop is blooming and beginning to form tiny beans. Sugar snap peas I planted a few weeks ago germinated poorly for some reason, so we replanted this morning. I hope it’s not too late to get a fall crop. And I’ve got half a box full of carrots just beginning to show their first true leaves.

The beast in the photo is Charlotte, who has had an enormous web between my sungold plants and the back fence (a distance of about 8 feet), for the past couple of months. We managed to stay out of each other’s way until yesterday, when I completely forgot and marched right through her web. Now I know how those flies feel.

Comments { 2 }