Our House in Provence

Gordes, A Jewel In The Luberon

2012-01-31T00:52:00.000-08:00

Gordes is a beautiful old village in the Luberon region of Provence about 1 hour southeast of our home in Sablet. The houses of Gordes rise majestically from the Luberon Valley in tiers which curve around the hill to the top where the château dating from the Renaissance was built on the site of a medieval fortress.

The village's setting is striking and lots of tourists come to visit in the summer. Gordes is classified as one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, literally translated, one of the most beautiful villages of France; Gordes is one of 156 French villages with that classification. It is said to be the #1 tourist attraction in the Luberon.

Cubist painter André Lhote discoverd Gordes in 1938 followed by Marc Chagall, Victor Vasarely and other modern artist who visited and summered in Gordes. More recently the village gained exposure as one of the locations for a movie filmed in the Luberon, "A Good Year" directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe.

If you have not seen the movie, it is based on a novel by Peter Mayle and tells the story of Max Skinner (Russell Crowe) who when he inherits a château and vineyard in Provence from dear Uncle Henry, all Max wants to do is sell it quickly and get back to his regular life being a successful London securities trader and miserable loner.

Instead, stuff intervenes to keep him hanging around the lovely old château and before he knows it he's forgetting how to be lonely and falls for beautiful café owner Fanny Chenal played by the très belle Marion Cotillard. OK guys, I know its not a great movie but I love the setting in the Luberon.

A scene like this picture of Gordes perched on its hill which follows is shown at the beginning of the "A Good Year" movie as Max's plane is on approach to land nearby in the Luberon it seems.

The Renaissance château stands on the highest point in Gordes. It is home to Gordes' town hall and the Pol Mara Museum where the works of contemporary Flemish painter Pol Mara (1920 - 1998) and a citizen of Gordes are on display.

The weekly market in Gordes is held every Tuesday morning at Place du Château.

The main square and memorial to the children of Gordes who died in wars for France which Max Skinner circles several times in his little yellow smart car looking for the notaire in "A Good Year".

Cafés and shops near the main square in Gordes.

A pretty shop located on the main square of Gordes.

The fountain in the square by Hôtel la Renaissance where Max waits for Fanny Chenal to get off work. Hôtel la Renaissance is Fanny Chenal's bistro in the movie, a location seen several times and where Max famously tells an obnoxious American couple dining at the Bistro that "MacDonalds is in Avignon, fish and chips in Marseille. Allez".

This past October, we went with our friends Rick, Deb, Mary and Steve to visit Gordes on a perfect Provencal day and they paused with wife Shirley for a picture at the fountain.

A Gordes shop with a pretty display of colorful market bags.

We enjoy strolling along the maze of narrow street which crisscross Gordes over calades - small paved, sometimes stepped alleyways lined with gutters marked by two rows of stones.

The interior of the Romanesque St.-Firmin Church which was constructed in the 18th century. The church is named after a Bishop of Uzès.

One of the numerous art galleries which can be found throughout Gordes.

Entrance to the church.

An alcove with a statue of a saint over the entrance to the church.

One of the tall stone houses which can be found throughout Gordes.

An excellent example of a street with calades.

An artist studio and gallery.

A pretty window we found as we strolled through Gordes.

A section of the ramparts.

Another one of the many small shops which sells typical Provencal souvenirs.

Another view of Gordes from the Luberon Valley. The strategic defensive possibilities of the location are clearly evident. The town was never taken even during the brutal Wars of Religion.

During World War II, Gordes was an active resistance village and was later awarded a medal, the Croix de Guerre 1939 - 1945. On the 21st of August 1944, just 6 days after the start of Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of Southern France, a German patrol was attacked by members of the Gordes resistance and the day after, the village was subjected to violent reprisals and much of Gordes was destroyed.

It is definitely worthwhile to visit Gordes. Make sure you also leave yourself time to go and visit nearby Sénanque Abbey, a 12th century Cistercian abbey, that is surrounded by lavender fields. We have been quite a few times and I will tell you about our last visit in a future post.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Bastille Day at La Metairie Neuve

2012-01-22T11:59:00.000-08:00

As I told you here, there was nothing planned in Sablet to celebrate Bastille Day, July 14, also known as the French Fête Nationale, so we decided to go to La Metairie Neuve, the small family farm near Viane in the Tarn region in Southern France to say bonjour to the aunts, uncles and cousins.

I love going to La Metairie Neuve; I have such good memories especially from my childhood but from more recent return visits like here and here; we would make the trip more often if it was not three and one-half hours each way from Sablet. The same is true about the memories for niece Leslie who was visiting and had not been back to La Metairie Neuve for many years.

So off we went. It was an absolutely beautiful day and we took off under brilliant blue skies early enough so we would arrive at La Metairie Neuve in time for lunch. Our route took us within sight of the Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world and past the tiny village of Roquefort where the famous sheep's milk blue cheese is created in local caves.

Shortly before arriving at La Metairie Neuve, we drove through Lacaune, famous for its superb charcuterie especially Jambon de Lacaune, ham of Lacaune; the village climate is reportedly perfect for curing ham. We arrived at La Metairie Neuve, the table was set and the aunts and uncles were gathering and cousin Jean Marc was grilling lamb chops on the BBQ grill.

Niece Leslie was happy to be back at La Metairie Neuve and reconnecting with family she had not seen for many years.

After lunch, we went to move some very large rolls of hay into a barn for the horses.

Me resting on the job.

Tonton René wearing his ever present beret hat .

Tonton René and his dog.

At one time, there were 80 - 100 sheep, they were one of the many local farms that supplied sheep's milk for making Roquefort cheese, 12 - 20 cows, a work horse and they raised chickens, ducks and pigeons and grew all their produce. The only live stock which remain are two horses, some chickens, ducks and pigeons. They have a large garden and lots of apple trees, from which they bottle fresh juice each fall.

Cousin Jean Marc with one of his horses.

Tonton René looks out over his garden, actually I should say that its Tata Ida's garden as it is she who plants and takes care of the garden.

Tonton René and tata Ida sit in front of their house; tata Ida is always full of stories. Don't you love the hand made lawn chairs.

One of the barns on the farm with a pretty hydrangea plant.

The family has a long history at La Metairie Neuve. I found out from the aunts that day that they sheltered a Jewish family hiding from the Nazis and their collaborators for several years during WW II, one of several local families who provided shelter and supported the resistance. I hope to find out more about this history and write about it in the future.

Since we were there on the 14th of July, one of the uncles has recently passed away. The other aunts and uncles are aging and La Metairie Neuve will be very different when they are all gone. The future for La Metairie Neuve is uncertain because of French inheritance laws so the cousins are all very anxious. We will be visiting every chance we can.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Dentelles de Montmirail, a Hikers and Rock Climbers Paradise

2012-01-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

The first thing we do in the morning, many times before the bells of the nearby St Nazaire church ring at 7:00 is open the bedroom door and the mint green shutters that lead to the balcony and walk out to check the weather and see if the Mistral is blowing.

Besides getting the scoop on the weather, we are treated to magnificent views over the Sablet rooftops towards the Dentelles de Montmirail in the distance. The Dentelles de Montmirail are short, steep mountains with a distinctive rocky ridge extending west geologically from Mont Ventoux which is located just to the east.

The name Dentelles, the French word for lace, refers to the jagged, rocky tops obtained by erosion, while Montmirail is derived from the Latin mons mirabilis meaning "admirable mountain" though the alternative connection with teeth, "dents" in French is equally good in my opinion.

The Dentelles de Montmirail mountain range is about 8 kms (5 miles) long and runs from Vaison-la-Romaine on the north end to Beaumes-de-Venise on the south. The tallest peak of the Dentelles de Montmirail range is St-Amand, at 734 m (2,400 ft).

After walking around Gigondas and enjoying a wonderful lunch at Oustalet restaurant with wife Shirley and niece Leslie, details to follow in a future post, we decided to take the unsurfaced road up to Col de Cayron to get a closer look at the peaks and see the views of the vineyard covered Rhone valley.

One of the great views from Col de Cayron.

A splendid view of the Rhone valley with Sablet in the foreground on the left and Séguret on the right against the hill. Séguret is classified as a Most Beautiful Village in France.

The Col de Cayron is 396 m (1300 ft) high and in the center of the Dentelles de Montmirail principle peaks.

We hiked up a trail, one of approximately 600 hiking trails in the Dentelles de Montmirail range, to a peak with great views. Leslie hiked up a little farther for a photo shot.

A close up view of the limestone peaks. These peaks have faces that rise 100 m (328 ft) and are favorites of rock climbers.

Vineyards at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail.

Some of the famous Gigondas vineyards at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail.

There are a many trails to hike up to and around the Dentelles de Montmirail. If you do, you will be rewarded with close up views of the peaks and magnificent views out over the Rhone valley. We will return many times I am sure.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Reserved Parking for Mommies to Be

2012-01-08T09:51:00.000-08:00

We do most of our shopping at the weekly markets that take place in Vaison-la-Romaine and Carpentras or at one of the boulangeries, the boucherie or épicerie Vival owned by our friends Alain and Mimi in Sablet.

From time to time, we go to the Intermarché on the Route de Nyons on the north side of Vaison-la-Romaine to pick up staples, paper goods and cleaning supplies for the house. The Intermarché is also a good place to buy gasoline or diesel for our car.

On one of our visits to the Intermarché a few weeks ago, we noticed that there was special parking reserved for pregnant women right by the front door. Since I had my camera, I couldn't resist taking some pictures to share with you.

Now this reserved parking may have been there for a while but we don't remember seeing it before now. What struck me besides the fact I have never seen reserved parking for pregnant women is there is no reserved parking at this Intermarché for other handicapped drivers.

We don't see a lot of handicap parking in France at all. And since the French and us too now, I must admit, park anywhere we find a space including on sidewalks, I am not sure handicap parking would be respected by drivers searching for a spot to squeeze into.

Is there handicap parking designated in the South of France? Is it respected? Tell me what you think.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Orange, Gateway to Provence

2012-01-01T23:25:00.000-08:00

Orange is located at the entrance to Provence for travelers coming down the A7 autoroute from the north; the A7 is also known appropriately, I think, as l'autoroute du Soleil - literally translated the motorway of the Sun.

At Orange, the A7 splits into the A9 autoroute which continues to western Provence and access to the Pont du Gard and Nîmes while the A7 autoroute continues toward Avignon, Marseille and the heart of Provence.

Orange is about 25 minutes from Sablet and best known to wife Shirley and me as the exit off the A7 and A9 to get home to Sablet. Orange is also where our insurance agency is located and the Tresor Public where we pay taxes for our house.

Orange is best known to most people for its Roman ruins, especially the Roman theater and the Triumphal Arch of Orange. Orange was a thriving city in ancient times - situated on the Via Agrippa - which linked the cities of Lyon and Arles.

Built in 20 BC to commemorate the campaigns of the Second Legion over the local tribes, the Arch stands on the north side of Orange on a roundabout on the busy N-7. It has three openings, flanked by columns and decorated with various reliefs of military themes, including naval battles, spoils of war and Romans battling Germanics and Gauls.

The Théâtre Antique d'Orange - literally translated as the Ancient Theatre of Orange is an old Roman theater built in the 1st century under the reign of Augustus in the heart of Orange. It is now owned by the town of Orange and is the home of the summer opera festival, the Chorégies d'Orange.

The exterior facade of the Roman theater is a stone edifice 103 meters or 338 feet long and 36 meters or 118 feet high. Louis XIV is said to have described the facade as “The finest wall in my kingdom”.

The Roman theater of Orange is a wonderful remnant of the Roman Empire. It owes its fame in particular to its magnificent stage wall, amazingly well-preserved and unique in the Western world. It is the only Roman theater to have preserved its stage wall almost entirely in tact.

The Romans built the terraces for the theater seating against the existing Saint-Eutrope hill to make the construction easier and the completed theater more stable.

The theater's stage wall was very important as it helped to properly project sound and comprised the only architectural décor in the theater. The theater's original height of 36 m/118 feet has been entirely preserved. The wall was richly decorated with slabs of multicoloured marble, statues in niches, and columns.

The only remaining authentic statue is the 4 m/13 feet high statue of Augustus in the central niche, used to symbolize the universal presence of the emperor. You can see the new roof built to protect the stage wall.

The stage wall had three doors, each of which had a unique function. The royal door in the center was used by the principal actors for their entrances. The two smaller side doors were for the supporting actors.

A panoramic view out over the town of Orange from the top tier of the Roman theater.

Another view from the top tier of the Roman theater.

Arched walkways which encircle the terraced seating area.

The terrace seating was constructed in a half circle around the stage and could accommodate 8000 to 10000 spectators. Mime, pantomime, poetry readings and the "attelana" (a kind of farce) was the dominant form of entertainment, much of which lasted all day. The entertainment offered was open to all and free of charge.

As the Roman empire declined during the 4th century, the theater was officially closed and remained abandoned until it became a defensive post in the Middle Ages and then a refuge by townspeople during the 16th century wars of religion.

A nearby statue of the troubadour-prince Raimbaut d'Orange in Place de la République.

We drive past Orange frequently but we have not spent a lot of time exploring Orange except to visit the Roman theater and the Triumphal Arch. So we will have to return another day to more fully explore the rest of the town.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Merry Christmas from Us to You

2011-12-25T16:53:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, wherever you are, however you say it, we wish you a Merry Christmas and we hope you have had a wonderful day.

This has been an unusual Christmas for our family. Eldest daughter Tricia and family are spending the holiday with her in-laws in Southern California. Wife Shirley and youngest daughter Stephanie are both working at the hospital today, Shirley on a neurology floor and Stephanie on a neonatal intensive care unit.

To top it off, little Madison is under the weather and parents Stephanie and Earl took her to the Emergency Room this morning to see the doctor. Thankfully, since Stephanie works at the hospital, they didn't have to wait and they were in and out and back home.

We did take a few minutes to sit in front of the tree with Abbi for a Christmas picture before we started opening gifts. Do note the red ribbon in Abbi's hair; she went to the cleaner and got groomed all pretty and sweet for Christmas.

"Santa' was very good to me. I asked for books, especially cookbooks and my wishes were fulfilled. Shirley says giving me cookbooks is like giving the gift that keeps on giving. I look forward to trying out the recipes from each of the books.

Besides cooking brunch this morning and preparing dishes (mushroom leek stuffing) for Stephanie to take to her work potluck and Shirley too (roast beet salad), I fixed a couple of dishes to take to the neighbors house. In between all of the gift opening, eating and cooking, I also found time to call family in Michigan, New Mexico, France and chat with the guests who are staying at our home in Sablet this week.

Our long time neighbors invited me and son-in-law Earl over for Christmas dinner tonight. Not sure if Earl will make it or not as he is taking care of sick children. I am taking a couple of dishes to contribute to the feast.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Gigondas, a Pretty Village and a Must Stop for Red Wine Lovers

2011-12-17T23:00:00.000-08:00

A few nights ago, I was chatting with a diner at Bistro Des Copains about the similarities between Sonoma County where we live in Northern California and the area around Sablet where we live in Provence France and how lucky we are to live in both places.

The similarities include vineyards everywhere, olive trees, although fewer in Sonoma County, more and more olive trees are being planted in Sonoma County every year, both areas are close to the sea so we have a wide variety of fresh seafood, artisan cheese makers, and the regions produce a bounty of fruits and vegetables. There is in fact a formal sister region relationship between Sonoma County and Provence France.

Despite the similarities, wife Shirley and I can't come up with anything we have in Sonoma County besides our family and dear friends that we don't have in Provence. By contrast, there are quite a few things in Provence that you won't find in Sonoma County, which makes Provence unique and special.

Some of the different things about Provence near Sablet include amazing ruins from the Romans like the Pont du Gard and the Arènes - the Roman amphitheater in Nîmes, the Transhumance - the annual migration of sheep between the valleys and mountains where they graze in the summer (the link is to my friend Barbara's post about a Transhumance festival on her beautiful blog Cuisine de Provence.

Other unique things include the year around weekly markets, ok yes there are weekly markets in Sonoma County but none like Provence, Christmas markets and santons, truffles, one of the largest truffle markets in Europe takes place on Saturday mornings during the season in Richerenches about 30 minutes from Sablet, saffron, Le Mistral - an infamous fierce and cold wind, Cistercian abbeys, and lots of beautiful old medieval villages.

We love exploring the small villages of Provence. No two are alike as each village is seemingly influenced by its geography - Cassis by the Mediterranean Sea, topography - Gordes by its location on a giant rock, geology - Roussillon by the ocher deposits, history - Villedieu by the Knights of Templar or industry - Châteauneuf-du-Pape which is influenced by both its papal history and famous vineyards.

Sablet is located between Séguret, a small beautiful village to the north and Gigondas, a village renown for its wine to the south. We think Gigondas is one of the prettiest of all the Côtes du Rhône wine villages and a must stop for red wine lovers. From afar, Gigondas seems little more than a cluster of stone houses on a hillside with a church below the Dentelles de Montmirail overlooking the vineyard covered valley below.

Turn off the D-7 and follow the road up through the lower village; you will pass a succession of cafés and wine caves - tasting rooms, before you arrive at Place Gabriel Andéol where the Mairie - town hall, and the Caveau du Gigondas - the wine growers cooperative, are located. You can taste most current releases of Gigondas wine at the cooperative and buy bottles to take with you.

Park your car here and take time to explore Gigondas. Time your visit so you can eat lunch on the village square at one of our favorite lunch spots; L'Oustalet, owned by the Perrin family is an outstanding restaurant and one of my favorites in the area or for simpler fare, go to Du Verre a l'Assiette, one of Shirley's favorites. Make reservations so you are not disappointed.

The pictures which follow are some we took this summer during one of our visits to Gigondas. Stroll the pretty narrow streets lined with stone houses up to the parish Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria with its central clock tower flanked by the campanile belfry; the church dates from the beginning of the 17th century.

Some of the rampart ruins - the ancient defensive fortifications around Gigondas.

A view from near the ruins of the castle of the Princes of Orange over the village.

Wife Shirley and niece Leslie walking down the path from the castle to the village along the rampart ruins.

Me and Leslie pausing on the path to enjoy the view.

A view over the vineyard covered valley.

A view from above the village towards Sablet with the parish Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in the foreground.

The Gigondas cemetery with the parish Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in the background.

Some of the renown Gigondas vineyards outside the old ramparts.

The parish Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. A hollow on the front facade shelters a statue of the Virgin Mary. There is a lot of modern sculpture around the village. I must say it looks somewhat odd set among the ancient buildings.

The upper ramparts.

The stairway walk up the hospice which dates from 1678. After the French revolution, the hospice became a girl's school up to the beginning of the 20th century when it was abandoned and fell into ruins.

Some of the Gigondas vineyards with the Dentelles de Montmirail in the background.

The courtyard of the old hospice.

The view from the hospice.

The village ramparts in the background with the top of the parish Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in the foreground.

One of the pretty streets lined with stone houses in Gigondas.

A pretty stone house in Gigondas.

Back on the main street in front of the poterie artisanale - pottery shop, leading to Place Gabriel Andéol and the main commercial area in Gigondas.

An old stone house.

There are many reasons to visit Gigondas, not the least of which is its a charming village with great views. If you like big red wines, save time for tasting at one of the tasting rooms or the wine growers cooperative. If you have time, plan to hike up to the Dentelles de Montmirail, more about that in a future post.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Calanques and Restaurant Bonaparte, Cassis

2011-12-04T15:56:00.000-08:00

Friday morning July 15 was our wedding anniversary -- a perfect day to be in Provence. Shirley and I, along with niece Leslie who was visiting from Florida, were in our car and headed to Cassis. We had decided that it would be wonderful to spend our anniversary in Cassis, eat lunch and go out on a boat to see the calanques.

Cassis is a very picturesque town on a steep hillside with vineyards and pastel-colored houses which tumble down to the tiny seaside port lined with more pastel-colored houses and shops about 1 and 1/2 hour drive from our house in Sablet.

We have been to Cassis many times but had never taken a boat ride out to the Massif des Calangues which stretch for nearly 20 kms between Cassis and Marseille. Nature lovers have been attracted to the Massif des Calanque's solid limestone, whiteness and weather-worn peaks for a long time.

But the unique charm and beauty of the Massif des Calanques stem from the deep walled, narrow inlets --the famous calanques, chiseled out along the coastline creating a beautiful trilogy of sea, sky and rocks.

Boat tours operate from the Cassis port, the tourism office there sells tickets for trips that take you to 3, 7 or 13 calangues. We opted for the 45-minute boat tour of 3 calanques.

The following are pictures of Cassis from the Bois D'Amour II --our boat for the trip, and tour along the coast out to the calanques and back. Leslie and me soak up the sunshine while we wait on the boat for departure to the calanques.

A seagull enjoys a swim in the still water of the Cassis port.

A boat returning from a tour of the calanques.

We are underway!

A shot back to Cassis and a beach full of sunbathers.

The coast line with the blue sky backdrop.

More coastline with the magnificent blue sky backdrop.

A few of the calanques are accessible on foot and rocks along the way provide the perfect spot for sunbathing.

Limestone rock formations.

The calanque de Port-Miou, the calanque closest to Cassis.

As I said earlier, you can access a few of the calanques on footpaths along the sea.

More coastline with the white limestone rock formations with the backdrop of the magnificent blue sky.

Flat limestone walls.

The large calanque of Port-Pin with its sandy beach surrounded by pine trees.

The tree appears to grow right out of the limestone rock formation.

The entrance to the calanque d'En-Vau.

The pretty calanque d'En-Vau, the best known of the calanques with its white cliffs, emerald water and stony beach.

Headed back to Cassis.

The western beach of Cassis.

Meanwhile back in Cassis, the sandy Plage de la Grande Mer, on the seaside of the breakwater.

We arrived in Cassis late-morning and after wandering through the Friday morning Marché Provençal and in and out of shops decided that we would have lunch before we went on our boat excursion. I have complained in several previous posts that we have not found a really good restaurant alongside the port.

And several times, Sara over at Sara in Le Petit Village, one of my favorite blogs, has suggested we try Le Bonaparte Restaurant. The restaurant is located on a side street several blocks off the port. There is a small dining room and seating on the street.

Shirley and Leslie smile for yet another picture.

We chose a bottle of the 2009 Clos Sainte Magdeleine made of a blend of Marsanne, Ugni, Clairette and Bourboulenc. We have visited this domaine and I can't imagine a more beautiful wine estate in Cassis.

The Le Bonaparte Restaurant is owned by the chef Jean-Marie who has been in business 23 years. I asked about the grilled fish of the day on the menu and a few minutes later chef Jean-Marie came to our table with a hotel pan with whole large (meant to be shared by two people) and smaller sized Loup de Mer and Daurade.

Our entrée -- starters, included Moules Marinières -- mussels steamed in white wine and

Moules Gratinées -- a saucy mussel gratin and

an off the menu salad made for Shirley with greens and tomatoes.

Our plats -- main courses included the whole grilled Daurade I chose from chef Jean-Marie; it was served and filleted table side with mashed potatoes.

Other main courses included grilled salmon served over pasta with a taragon cream sauce and

pan roasted white fish from the cod family served over pasta with a red cream sauce.

Our dessert choices included a chocolate brownie with a sabayon sauce and

apple tart with vanilla ice cream and

a delicious chocolate mousse.

To finish our meal, chef Jean-Marie sent out two glasses of crème de cassis for the ladies and a glass of cognac for me. A very nice touch and most pleasant way to end our wonderful meal at Le Bonaparte

Thank you Sara for your recommendation. We will return many times I am sure to this restaurant and recommend it to anyone willing to fore go a view for great food. I would make that choice any day based upon our previous experiences at port side restaurants.

If you are not familiar with Sara's blog, I would encourage you to go check out her entertaining blog, she is a most interesting writer, at Sara in Le Petit Village.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Côté Sud Restaurant, a very good choice in Uchaux

2011-11-20T13:37:00.000-08:00

This past summer was without a doubt one of our best times in Sablet, the small village we call home in Provence. We visited new villages, went to some festivals, something we had not done in Provence, dined at several restaurants we had not tried before, but the best thing we did was celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary.

Before I tell you what we did on our anniversary, or at least most of it, let me tell you a little about the amazing woman who has put up with me all these years. Shirley was born in Musoma on the shores of Lake Victoria in Northern Tanzania very near the border of Kenya to missionary parents.

She lived in Kenya for the first six years of her life and has fond memories of the wild animals in the parks before the family moved to Washington State. Later the family went to Ceylon, now called Sri Lanka. If you don't know, Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, in the vicinity of India and the Maldives.

Ceylon was home for three years before they moved to Karachi in what was then West Pakistan. For her 8th, 9th, and 10th grades, Shirley attended Vincent Hill School in Mussoorie in northern India about 290 km - 180 miles north of the capital city of New Delhi. Mussoorie sits in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains at 1876 meters - 6,155 feet elevation.

The school was closed at the end of 10th grade so she went to Singapore to attend Far Eastern Academy for 11th and 12th grades. Singapore is a city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 km - 85 miles north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to the north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to the south.

We met during freshmen registration at Andrews University in southwestern Michigan where I grew up. Shortly after, I asked her out for the following Saturday night. Believe it or not, I couldn't remember her last name by the time Saturday rolled around and was too embarrassed to go to the girls dormitory and ask for her so I stood her up on our first date. Not good!

Actually, when I asked her out during registration, I invited Shirley to go with me to two different events, obviously I was quite attracted to this cute girl. Well our paths crossed on campus early the next week and after she greeted me with "should I bother to get ready for our next date," she sweetly forgave me and we went out on our date.

Shirley has been a fabulous mother for our two daughters and now GG (greatest grandma) to our four grandchildren. She did accounting work for many years before going back to nursing school at age 50 where she graduated and now works as a registered nurse in a local hospital.

Shirley has a sense of humor and adventure, quickly got behind moves to Colorado, Maryland and California, encouraged me to start new business ventures and take the plunge to buy our house in Sablet. I know my life would have been very different without Shirley.

The morning of our anniversary, we headed out early to Cassis, it was a beautiful day and we figured it would be fun to go there, eat lunch and go out on a boat to see the calangues, the steep-walled inlets found along the nearby Mediterranean coast (I will share more about our visit to Cassis and the calanques in a later post).

That night we made reservations for dinner at Côté Sud Restaurant in Uchaux, a village located about 1/2 hour from Sablet. Uchaux is comprised of several hamlets scattered among the forests and vineyards with La Galle the busiest with it's school, restaurant and a few stores.

We have dined at Le Temps de Vivre in Uchaux several times but had never dined at Côté Sud Restaurant despite the fact that it is designated by the Guide Michelin as a "Meilleures Adresses à Petit Prix," literally translated as a best place for small price. As you know, I am a list guy and generally choose restaurants that have good ratings from Yelp, Zagat, Michelin and regional magazines and newspapers.

Côté Sud Restaurant is owned by the chef Jean-Michel Besnard, originally from Brittany and his wife Florence and is located at the entrance to Uchaux in an old stone farm house. The restaurant opened in March 2000.

There are two dining rooms and a terrace for dining on nice days.

Shirley and me on our 38th anniversary.

As it was the middle of July and a gorgeous evening, we chose to sit outside on the terrace. The tables were set with nice glass stemware, something we don't find all that often in the south of France.

Shortly after being seated, we were brought an amuse bouche plate which included olives from Nyon, tuna and fresh white cheese, carrots, cauliflower, sesame bread sticks and bread.

We chose a bottle of 2007 Domaine Piaugier Côtes du Rhône Villages Sablet. A really tasty wine made from a blend of Grenache (80%) and Syrah (20%) grown on soils of clay with limestone and sand typical of wines from Sablet. The wine was bottled without filtration.

The Côté Sud menu is thoughtfully written in French and English, the translation is better than most. We chose the four-course Menu Garrigue for 38 Euros. Our first course was a mirror of tomato coulis topped with tomato confit and yellow squash stuffed with sheep's cheese and diced cucumbers.

I chose grilled beef set on potatoes, accompanied by chanterelle mushrooms and puffed pastry stuffed with braised beef cheeks.

Shirley chose fillet of St. Pierre, also known as John Dory served with rice and tomato confit with a creamy tarragon sauce.

We thoroughly enjoyed our main courses and moved on to the cheese course which was warm goat cheese on toasts with mixed greens dressed in a tangy vinaigrette.

For desserts, we chose apricots with red fruit sorbet and

a chocolate bomb with white chocolate cream and szechuan pepper ice cream.

To finish our wonderful meal, Florence brought us a plate of mignardises, tiny bite-sized desserts to nibble on. Côté Sud makes everything in house including breads and ice creams.

If you live or are visiting the northern Vaucluse region of Provence, don't hesitate to go dine at Côté Sud restaurant. The food and service were excellent and the terrace is really nice for dining.

Bon appétit mes amis et à bientôt.

L'Aube Safran, a saffron farm in Provence

2011-11-13T12:38:00.000-08:00

For the last 20 years, we have lived in Northern California where we can easily find locally produced wines, cheese, fruits, mushrooms, vegetables and proteins including lamb, poultry, rabbit, and beef. We are very close to the Pacific Ocean and its bounty of fresh fish and shellfish.

One of my favorite things about owning Bistro Des Copains, the small French bistro I co-own in Occidental California with my friend Cluney, has been the opportunity to meet some of the men and women who are behind those products. Men and women like Jennifer Bice, Burt Williams, Eva Dehlinger, Nikolai Stez, Daniel Schoenfeld, Rick Moshin, Kurt Beitler, Bob Appleby and Eric Sussman to name just a few.

I tell you, you have a better appreciation for the wines and cheese and other products they make when you meet them and learn their backgrounds and how they got into business and hear stories about their struggles with weather, fires, the economy and even movies like Sideways which killed the market for Merlot wines.

The same is true for Sablet, a small medieval village in the Vaucluse where we live part of the year. Sablet is surrounded by vineyards from which the local vignerons make world renown wines. Besides wine, we find local cheeses, a bounty of fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, olives and olive oil. We are only a little over one hour from the Mediterranean Sea so there is a plentiful supply of fresh fish and shellfish.

Before we started coming to Sablet, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Tavel and Cassis were just names on labels of wine bottles. Oh I knew these names meant the wines were probably very good but I didn't know anything about their location, history or terroir - special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate gives the grapes and in turn you smell and taste when you drink wine.

Now that we have visited these villages and met some of the wine making families, those names on labels immediately paint a picture in my mind of where the wines were made. I promise you that going to the source adds a layer of enjoyment to wine and food that you can't get unless you have been there.

There are products we can find in Sablet that we can't find in Northern California. As you probably know, the Vaucluse region is a major producer of black truffles and the largest truffle market in France takes place in nearby Richerenches every Saturday from November to March.

But did you know that saffron is produced in small quantities in the Vaucluse? A few weeks ago, we went to Le Barroux, a small village about 1/2 hour from Sablet known for its château perched on top of the village.

From Le Barroux, you have great views of Mont Ventoux.

We came to Le Barroux to visit L'Aube Safran, a small bed and breakfast near the village owned by Francois Pillet and his wife Marie, he's an architect and designed their home and she's an interior decorator.

In 1992, the Pillet's left Paris for Carcassonne to learn about growing grapes and making wine. Diplomas in hand, their search for land to start up a winery led them to Provence where they learned about organic farming and discovered that saffron had been produced in the area between the 14th and 19th centuries.

The Pillets have planted crocus flowers, the source for the stigmas that become saffron in terraced fields of 200 to 300 square meters - 2000 to 3000 square feet around the house. They keep the fields small to prevent the spread of disease. They use no chemical products for growing the crocus.

Lucky for us, the purple crocus flowers were coming up and the harvest was just getting started. The harvest normally occurs between early October and the first part of November.

The Pillets have about 200,000 crocus planted on terraced fields around their property. The crocus flower and leaves appear at the same time during the fall. The leaves remain throughout the winter, dry in the spring and then disappear.

The purple flowers grow from bulbs planted when they are 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter to a little over 1 inch tall. In addition to saffron, the Pillets sell crocus bulbs and say that crocus thrives in areas where vineyards and olive trees do well. I told wife Shirley that we should plant our yard in crocus and start producing saffron. She didn't seem all that excited about this idea.

Saffron is the red stigma of the purple crocus flower and must be picked from the flower by hand. The stigmas are then dried.

Every crocus flower has 3 stigmas and it takes 200 flowers to make 1 gram or 0.3 ounces of dried saffron.

The entire yield of dried saffron from the crocus they have planted is 1 kilogram. In addition to selling bulbs and dried saffron, they also sell a variety of chutneys and tapenade made with saffron.

We didn't exactly load up on saffron at L'Aube Safran, its the most expensive spice in the world and a little goes a long way, but we did buy some small bottles for gifts and to use at home. This 2 gram - 0.6 ounce bottle of dried saffron cost 49 Euros or $65.00.

As I said earlier, going to the source, in this case L'Aube Safran, and seeing what it takes to produce the dried saffron we add almost without thinking to dishes like Paella, Bouillabaisse, and Risotto Milanese will make those dishes taste even better the next time.

I think we sometimes take for granted what it takes for a farmer or other artisan to get those fresh fruits and vegetables, olives, olive oil, spices and other foods we enjoy to your favorite market in Provence or where you live; I know I do.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Lacoste, a contrarian village in the Luberon

2011-11-04T19:27:00.000-07:00

When we are in Sablet we usually take a day trip to Gordes and Roussillon, two of our favorite villages in the Luberon. Sometimes we go to Bonnieux and other times to Lourmarin especially on market days. Slowly, we are making our away around the Luberon to visit the villages where we have not been before.

This summer we finally made it to Lacoste, a picturesque old village perched on a hill with great views to the east across the valley towards Bonnieux and the Grand Luberon Mountains about one hour from Sablet. Sparsely populated (less than 500 people live here), the architecture of the buildings and cobblestone streets give the impression of a village where time stood still.

Lacoste has had a tumultuous history. During the Wars of Religion in the 16th century, the Parliament of Aix ordered the destruction of certain villages in the Luberon including Lacoste because the inhabitants were not considered sufficiently Catholic. The Baron de Oppède, Jean Maynier, slaughtered the entire village population in 1545.

The ruins of the Marquis de Sade castle crown the top of the village. Unless you have a kinky side, mind you I'm not making any judgments here, you may not know that the Marquis de Sade was an aristocrat, politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle who lived in the family castle during the 1770s.

He is best known for his writings which combined philosophy with erotic images depicting sexual fantasies with an emphasis on violence, criminality, and blasphemy against the Catholic Church. He was a proponent of extreme freedom, unrestrained by morality, religion, or law. His writings gave rise to the term sadism – enjoyment of cruelty.

After World War II, Lacoste - which has nothing to do with the tennis player and his crocodile shirts - was nearly empty, with fewer than 30 people on the electoral rolls. It was a base for the French resistance, and many of the structures were in ruins.

In 2001, the Italian-born French designer Pierre Cardin bought the ruins of the castle along with an attached quarry. He renovated the quarry into a performance area and stage and established a summer music festival. It is said that today Pierre Cardin owns more than 40 buildings in Lacoste.

Here are a few pictures from Lacoste. There are few shops and cafés.

The entrance to the church.

The Church of Saint Trophime.

Sea shells in the stone on the church walls.

Rue de Basse, known amongst locals as the “Cardin Champs Elysées” leading down to the arched entryway.

An ornate old fountain.

Portail de la Garde, a fortified entrance into Lacoste.

One of the many cobblestone streets of Lacoste.

The old boulangerie - bakery - in Lacoste and cobblestone street which leads to the castle ruins.

A vaulted doorway we passed as we walked through Lacoste.

A passageway beneath the bell tower in Lacoste.

The ruins of the Marquis de Sade castle.

As I said before, Pierre Cardin has been renovating the ruins of the castle since 2001. He brings various art exhibits to Lacoste as part of his goal to turn the village into a “cultural St-Tropez". This was a piece on exhibit when we visited.

More castle ruins.

Another view of the castle ruins.

Wife Shirley and me smooching in the window of the castle ruins.

One more view of the castle ruins.

A window in the castle with magnificent views of the farmlands in the valley below.

The ruins with views of Bonnieux in the distance.

A cobblestone street winds its way down to the vaulted passageway and bell tower.

Artwork tucked in the courtyard of a home in Lacoste.

Portail des Chèvres, literally translated the goat's door - opens to the south.

An old stone planter in Lacoste.

A tree-shaded cobblestone street.

A pretty garden we passed as we wandered around Lacoste.

An old house with vaulted passageway.

In 1958, an American painter named Bernard Pfriem came to Lacoste and fell in love with the village. He bought a house then bought a few more and began to restore them. In 1970 he started the Lacoste School of Arts which was taken over in 2002 by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), based in Georgia.

SCAD facilities include a library, gallery, dining hall and housing as well as teaching studios dedicated to painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography and digital imaging.

The town hall - Mairie with sundial on the wall.

Locals are called “Lacostois” and they have been a contrary bunch. A Protestant village set among mostly Catholic villages, the base for the resistance during World War II and a communist mayor for 50 years. You probably won't be surprised to know that locals are not happy with Pierre Cardin's plans for turning Lacoste into a glamourous place. Oh well!

If you find yourself in the Luberon, go to Lacoste and walk through the village up to the castle ruins. The village is beautiful and you will be rewarded with fabulous views. Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

We love Cheese

2011-10-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

I know that I have told you before that we love cheese! We love warm goat cheese on a bed of butter lettuce lightly dressed with tangy vinaigrette, yummy macaroni and cheese, raclette cheese with warm boiled potatoes, and fondue made with a blend of Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois.

We also love to finish meals with cheese especially when the cheese selections include Saint-Félicien, Cantal, Roquefort or Gruyère. Our favorite cheese from Provence is Banon, a tasty disk of goat cheese wrapped in grape leaves made in the region around the town of Banon.

One of the first things we do upon arriving in Sablet is to head to Vaison-la-Romaine to pick up an assortment of cheese from Josiane Deal at Lou Canesteou, the wonderful cheese shop located on Rue Raspail off Place Montfort, the town's main square.

As you can see on the front of the store, Josiane Deal has been named a Meilleur Ouvrier de France - literally translated as best worker of France, for her cheese knowledge and skill in aging cheese. In addition to her many cheese choices, the store also has a good selection of gourmet products such as wines, locally produced saffron, honey, risotto, pasta, dried mushrooms, locally produced jams and olive oil.

Step through the beaded curtain into Lou Canesteou and you will immediately smell a wonderful aroma from the ripe cheese displayed in the refrigerated cases and on shelves along the back wall. By now, Madame Deal recognizes us and we get a very warm 'bonjour". I always ask her to recommend a variety of cheeses and without fail, she makes selections that we love.

It is not unusual to see on the menus of area restaurants that "fromage sélectionner" - cheese chosen by Josiane Deal. The association with Josiane Deal is obviously an indication of high quality. I once mentioned to her that we had a cheese plate the night before at a local restaurant where this was written on the menu and she told me she didn't think she supplied any cheese to that restaurant. So be aware.

We also love quiches with cheese and tarte au fromage - cheese pie. I must admit that I am intimidated at the thought of making my own pastry dough, especially rolling it out. So although I do most of the cooking when I am around, wife Shirley is a pro with pastry dough and always makes our pies and tartes.

In addition to the fondue and raclette we made while we were in Sablet a few weeks ago, we also enjoyed a tasty cheese pie that Shirley made for us. Here is the recipe, just a few ingredients and easy to make (except for me since I don't do crusts).

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Ingredients

8 ounces grated Gruyère cheese
2 tablespoons flour
1 3/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
2-3 cloves minced garlic depending upon size and taste
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Make your favorite savory pastry dough or buy a good quality store bought crust.
2. Place your crust in a glass pie pan or in a tart pan with a removable bottom. Crimp the dough around the edge of the pie dish or tart pan so that the crust stays at the top of the dish.
3. Take a fork and pierce the dough on the bottom of the unbaked pie evenly over the bottom of the dish.
4. Prebake the crust in the middle of the oven until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
6. Dredge the flour with the grated cheese and spread evenly in the pie dish or tart pan.
7. Whisk the milk, eggs, minced garlic and salt together.
8. Pour your milk and egg mixture over the cheese, making sure it is evenly spread out and cheese is covered.
9. Bake the cheese pie for 40 minutes. The pie should be golden brown on top and should be pretty set when lightly shaken.
10. Upon removable from the oven, let the baked cheese pie sit for 10 minutes before you slice and serve.

Bon appétit et à bientôt mes amis.

Rasteau and Domaine la Soumade

2011-10-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

As you know, our house is in Sablet, a pretty village built on top of a mound at the foot of the Dentelles de Montmirail. Surrounded by vineyards, we are a short distance from well known wine producing villages such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Tavel and Beaumes de Venise.

One of the villages we see across the vineyards to the northwest is Rasteau, a small village of wine-makers built on a hill 200 meters high or about 650 feet. Houses and wineries spread out across the flank of the hill at the foot of the 12th century Romanesque church of St Didier. There are about 750 people who reside in Rasteau; people who live in Rasteau are called Rastellains.

Here are a few pictures from Rasteau. This memorial to the children of Rasteau who died in wars for France is located in the center of the colorful Place de l'Apparent, the main square in Rasteau around which life in the village revolves.

The pretty l'Apparent Fountain in the same square, one of four fountains in the village.

The clock tower topped by the campanile.

The 12th century Romanesque church of St Didier.

A statue near the church.

Rasteau is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) for wine in the southern Rhône wine region. The AOC designation applies to both the sweet fortified wines (Vin Doux Naturel) which can be red, rosé or white and since 2010, effective with the 2009 vintage, the unfortified red wines produced in Rasteau.

The Rasteau AOC covers mostly the commune of Rasteau but also includes some vineyards within the communes of Cairanne and Sablet. The primary grapes in the Rasteau AOC are Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre.

We didn't know anything about Rasteau wines until this past summer when we kept seeing 2007 Domaine la Soumade Rasteau on wine lists in the area. We ordered bottles of this wine several times and really liked it so we decided to go visit the Domaine and déguster - taste their wines.

Domaine la Soumade is owned by André Roméro and has been owned by the Roméro family for more than 200 years. Son Frédéric Roméro is learning and will take over from his father when he retires.

Domaine la Soumade owns 28 hectares or about 69 acres of vineyards. A new wine making facility and tasting room were built a few years ago just off the D-975 on the road from Cairanne to Rasteau.

Part of the tasting room with a display of empty bottles of wine from different parts of the world.

The Domaine la Soumade wine making facility.

Wife Shirley at the entrance to the Domaine la Soumade facility.

The view from the terrace at Domaine la Soumade across the wide expanse of vineyards towards Sablet.

Rasteau is now part of an elite group of Southern Rhône AOC's. So if you are like me and don't know anything about this new AOC, I recommend you go try the wines. At the present time, Domaine la Soumade is among the best and well worth a visit. If you see the wine on a wine list, don't hesitate to choose this wine.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Back to Sablet

2011-10-03T21:11:00.000-07:00

I am so excited because we are headed to Provence and to our village in the Vaucluse in a few days. I can't wait to be back in our house in the center of Sablet within earshot of the Church of St Nazaire bells and a few steps from the fountain at Place Yvan Audouard.

As you know, we usually have family members or friends visit and this time is no exception; we are meeting up with dear friends from Michigan who are making their first trip to Provence. We are looking forward to showing off our favorite villages, going to the markets, tasting wine and of course we plan to eats lots of good food.

My favorite thing about our Sablet House is the large Provencal yellow kitchen with all the counter space for prepping food and cabinets for storage with the adjoining terrace where we eat on nice days. As you can imagine, my being a foodie and all, and loving to cook and entertain, the kitchen is fully equipped with everything I need for cooking and baking.

At one end of the kitchen, there is a cozy seating area in front of a fireplace where we have aperitifs, read, do puzzles, nap, watch videos, and play on our computers. Although we have a large living room or parlor (depending upon where you come from) with a large fireplace and TV, we spend more time in the kitchen than anywhere else.

In addition to the kitchen, I really like our cozy bedroom with the walk-in closet that looks like it might originally have been designed to be a bathroom. For those of you who have been to our house, you will notice we have added a few things to the bedroom.

I love the light and airy feeling of the bedroom, especially in the morning when we fling open the doors and shutters and the morning sun and fresh air stream in. With 9 hours time difference between Sablet and Northern California, early morning in Sablet is late evening in California, so we lay in bed and talk to our kids and catch up on the grand kids latest accomplishments and mischief.

Shirley works hard to keep the backyard beautiful at home in Northern California. Its nice to look out the bedroom window and see the hot tub and flowers throughout the year and carefully cultivated raised garden beds. I should mention that she has harvested a bumper crop of tomatoes, beets, salad greens, squash and soon pumpkins and broccoli from her garden; but I digress.

No matter how much work she does, the view from our bedroom window in Northern California over the backyard and back of our neighbor's house can't compare to the beautiful scenery from our bedroom terrace in Sablet towards the Dentelles de Montmirail.

We love our house and the village of Sablet and feel so blessed to be able to come several times a year. We feel good knowing that the guests who go there fall in love with the house, beautiful village and Sabletains (residents of Sablet are called Sabletains).

If you are interested in finding out how to make our house your home for a short or long séjour (stay) in Provence, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

She's Just Too Cute!

2011-09-28T23:59:00.000-07:00

I love being a grandfather or "papa" as I am known to our four adorable mischievous grandchildren. However, I was sure I would not like being a grandfather nor did I think I was ready or nearly old enough to become a grandfather when my daughter Tricia and son-in-law Alvin announced that was exactly what was going to happen one night at a family dinner about 6 years ago.

Tricia didn't even get the big announcement out of her mouth when I had a horrible premonition about what she was going to say and shouted "Please God, don't tell me you're pregnant". I didn't think she was old enough to be a mother, although she was thirty years old, and I didn't think that she and Alvin were settled enough either, and I hated the thought of being called "grandpa".

Somehow, magically that all changed when I held first granddaughter Avery in my arms shortly after her birth some five plus years ago. Since Avery's arrival, daughter Stephanie and husband Earl gave us grandson Dylan. That was followed by Tricia's second child, a boy named Caedon and last but not least, baby Madison, joined the family via Stephanie and Earl a little over 10 months ago.

There is nothing better than walking into the house and having someone yell "papa" and come running at break neck speed with arms out stretcched for me to pick up and give a hug. I love the fact that its my job to spoil them. I love it when Dylan whispers conspiratorially into my ear "papa, can I come over and watch something with you and have a cookie (TV and cookies are limited at his house)"? I love it.

Grandma, or "GiGi" as she is known to the grand kids, took the picture below of baby Madison a few days ago. Madison is just so cute; I had to share the picture with all of you who read my blog about Provence. She stands wobbly and has taken a few steps and is fast becoming quite the independent little lady. I think she will give brother Dylan a run for his money.

Now this is generally a blog about our experiences in Provence and I am proud to say that Madison's first airplane trip was to Provence when she was six weeks old. So thank you for indulging grandfatherly bragging about my grandchildren.

People we meet frequently ask us if we are going to ever live full time in Sablet. While we love Sablet, we both agree we will never live there full time away from our children and especially Avery, Dylan, Caedon and Madison.

They are full of energy and keep us running to keep up with their activities. Avery started kindergarten this year, she is going to a Spanish immersion school and is quickly learning some basic Spanish. We wish there was a French immersion school but the closest one is in San Francisco and too far away for daily commuting.

Dylan loves all things sports and outdoors, takes after his father Earl who is a high school physical education teacher. Maybe this is grandfatherly pride, but I am convinced that Dylan is going to be a star athlete some day. He is remarkably gifted for a little boy less than four years of age.

Caedon is just figuring out the world, learning to use the potty, trying to keep up with cousin Dylan. Caedon and Dylan started pre-school this year and I can imagine they are quite the handful for their teachers. We will see how this all turns out.

Don't worry Tricia and Stephanie, I promise I will show off pictures of Avery, Dylan and Caedon whenever GiGi takes some new cute pictures for me to post on this blog. We are headed to Sablet next week and we can't wait. But you can be certain we will miss the daily hugs and good times with Avery, Dylan, Caedon and Madison.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Les Abeilles Restaurant, Sablet

2011-09-26T23:32:00.000-07:00

After a fun day wandering around Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape (more about that in later posts), we returned home to Sablet and sat down on the terrace for aperitifs and to figure out what we were going to do for dinner that night.

I didn't feel like cooking, not an infrequent occurrence with good restaurants close by, so we (wife Shirley and niece Leslie) decided that we would see if we could get reservations for dinner at Les Abeilles restaurant, right there in Sablet.

Successful, we walked the short distance down the hill to the restaurant which is located at the entrance to the village. Note, the picture below is the entrance to the village coming from Gigondas, not the entrance where Les Abeilles is located.

Les Abeilles literally translated the bees restaurant, is owned by Marlies and Johannes Sailer who prior to opening Les Abeilles Restaurant owned L'Oustalet in neighboring Gigondas for quite a few years.

There is a wonderful terrace at Les Abeilles Restaurant that is perfect for dining alfresco on warm sunny days and evenings and a cozy dining room for cooler or inclement weather. Although this was July, it was not that warm so guests were being seated in the dining room.

As soon as we sat down at our table, Madame Sailer brought us menus and a plate of toasts and various flavored bread sticks to dip in a small bowl of pistou which accompanied the toasts. While we nibbled on the Chef's amuse bouche, we studied "la carte" which offered a variety of multi-course menus to fit appetites and diner's wallets.

We chose the 44.50 € 4-course menu consisting of an avant propos (a foreword to a meal like a foreword to a book or story) chosen by the chef, an appetizer, entrée and choice of either dessert or cheese selections from the cheese cart.

After looking over the wine list, we selected a bottle of 2010 Chateau La Couranconne Séguret Rosé, a delicious crisp, chilled blend of cinsault (60%), grenache (25%) and syrah (15%) to accompany our meal.

Shortly after we were seated, 4 diners sat down at a nearby table and hearing English being spoken, we asked where they were from. Turns out that Frank and Ellie were from Calistoga which is close to where we live in Northern California.

Shirley being always the good marketer for our Bistro Des Copains, gave them a business card and extended an invitation to come dine at the Bistro which they did a few days ago.

Wife Shirley enjoying herself at Les Abeilles.

That night, Chef Sailer served plates of tuna rillettes for the avant propos to start the meal.

Shirley was in the mood for a simple salad and Chef Sailer prepared her a composed salad of mixed greens and raw vegetables dressed with vinaigrette; she was very happy with her salad.

One of the starters included a simple plate of melon with jambon from Noire de Bigorre pig, the most ancient breed of pig known in France. Similar to the Spanish Iberico, this breed is deep black in color and originated in the foothills of the French Pyrenees.

Our other starter was a beautiful plate of roast lobster over an haricots verts and peach salad.

Main courses included local lamb chops roasted perfectly medium rare as requested,

a pan-roasted fillet of Lieu Jaune, commonly known in English as Pollock,

accompanied by a side dish of seasoned steamed rice and carrots.

I had the roast pigeon, generally called squab in English, from Comtat with lemon confit

with a side dish of roast potatoes, carrots and other summer vegetables.

Shirley and I had the mille-feuillles also known as Napoleon with raspberries and vanilla ice cream.

Leslie chose an assortment of cheese from the cheese board, opting for something more savory than our sweet dessert.

As we finished our meal, Chef Sailer came out of the kitchen to say hello and chat for a few minutes. Another great meal from Chef Sailer at Les Abeilles. If you are in the area, don't hesitate to go to Les Abeilles, you won't regret it. We will be back soon.

Bon appétit mes amis et à bientôt.

A little bragging on our Bistro Des Copains

2011-09-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

As those of you who have been reading my ramblings over the past few years know, I am co-owner with my good friend Cluney of a small bistro in Occidental, California called Bistro Des Copains.

We opened the bistro a little more than five years ago. For those of you who own or may have owned restaurants know, it is not easy to make a go of a restaurant especially the last few years with the bad economy. That certainly holds true for us.

However, despite the ups and downs of the economy and associated challenges that brings to the restaurant business, we have always tried to make sure we are serving up great food and good time for our guests who come to the bistro, many so frequently, they are now dear friends.

Every year, in major cities in the United States and some foreign countries, Zagat, who was just bought by Google, publishes an annual dining guide with ratings and lists based upon feedback they get from restaurant diners.

We have a very hard working and loyal staff and we are very proud to say that the just published 2012 dining guide for the San Francisco Bay Area included our little bistro in its list of Top Spots in the San Francisco Bay Area.

We don't do super refined cuisine like the other Top Spots. We just try to deliver fabulous bistro cuisine using the best ingredients we can find with a generous welcoming spirit.

So you can imagine, it is very gratifying to get formal recognition that diners appreciate what we do at Bistro Des Copains. Here's my wish to you that all of your dining experiences are great ones. Bon appétit et à bientôt mes amis.

Fun times at the 98th Tour de France, Stage 16, Saint Paul Trois Châteaux to Gap

2011-09-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

We made our decision to be in Sablet during July on the day the route for the 2011 Tour de France was unveiled. Although the exact route wouldn't be announced till much later, we were excited to see that based upon the start town and finish town for Stage 16, the route would have to pass not too far from Sablet.

As readers of Our House in Provence know, we live in Sonoma County, about 60 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge and wife Shirley and me have become fans of pro-cycling as interest in cycling and professional cycling have exploded here in Northern California.

Levi Leipheimer, one of the sport's premier cyclist lives in Sonoma County and in a few days on October 1, 7,500 cyclist will ride in Levi's King Ridge GranFondo, a huge charity event that raises money for local worthy causes.

The 2011 Tour de France was won by Australian Cadel Evans, whose BMC Racing Team is based in Sonoma County and in May 2012, the start for the Tour of California will be hosted by Santa Rosa, which is the largest town in Sonoma County. So as you can see, cycling is huge in Sonoma County.

Sure enough, when the exact route for Stage 16 was revealed, the map showed that the peloton - group of cyclists, would start in Saint Paul Trois Châteaux and ride through Suze-la-Rousse to the D 94 and pedal northeast along the Aigues River to Nyons before finishing Stage 16 in the mountain town of Gap.

We would have to cross the Aigues River to watch the Tour de France and looking at the map we saw our best options were at Buisson about 12 kms from Sablet and Nyons which was about 28 kms from Sablet. After chatting with friend Bruce who lives in Villedieu and knows the area well, we decided to go to Nyons.

The schedule for Stage 16 showed the publicity caravan would arrive in Nyons at 12:20 and the first riders in the peloton would arrive around 14:05. Since Stage 16 was on Tuesday, the day our favorite weekly market takes place in Vaison-la-Romaine, we decided we would go to the market and buy picnic food to eat while we watched the caravan and waited for the riders to arrive.

The clouds were dark gray and rain poured down as we shopped at the market for lunch. We ducked into doorways and paused under vendor's tents hoping the rain would stop. I was not very excited about watching the race in the rain. However, while the clouds were still ominously dark, the rain stopped by the time we park near the bridge over the Aigues River where we were going to watch the peloton race by.

The peloton would ride 162.5 kms or about 101 miles from the start in Saint Paul Trois Châteaux climbing up to 1,268 meters elevation or 4,160 feet at the Col de Manse before dropping down to the mountain town of Gap at 744 meters elevation or 2,441 feet. Stage 16 was classified as a medium mountain stage.

The first vehicle in the publicity caravan arrives at our vantage point on the bridge.

The publicity caravan has been part of the Tour de France since 1930. One of the rolling gift boutiques that stop periodically along the route selling identical bright yellow bags with 10 souvenirs including a hat and t-shirt for 20 Euros.

The publicity caravan is a parade of vehicles which are decorated to advertise their sponsor's "wares" to the race fans who line the route. Some create additional interest and excitement by throwing out little gifts.

According to the Tour de France, the publicity caravan stretched for 20 kms or about 12 1/2 miles in length from start to finish.

There was a continuous stream of decorated vehicles, team cars, medical vehicles, official Tour de France vehicles and police vehicles which passed our vantage point from the time the first vehicle arrived until just before the arrival of the peloton.

The following are pictures of some of the decorated sponsor vehicles which drove past our post on the bridge. There would be a big scramble every time gifts or newspapers were thrown from the vehicle's occupants towards the spectators that lined the bridge.

Wife Shirley and niece Leslie modeling hats they grabbed from one of the sponsor vehicles that passed by our spot on the bridge over the Aigues River.

Spectators on the bridge looking for the first rider to come into view.

The view from our vantage point down the bridge to the north in the direction the peloton would arrive around the corner to the left along the Aigues River.

The view from our vantage point south in the direction the peloton would ride towards a roundabout and then make an immediate sharp turn to the left along the Aigues River.

One of Team RadioShack's cars loaded with extra bikes. As I said before, Levi Leipheimer of Sonoma County rides for Team RadioShack.

A mobile gift shop stops just before the roundabout at the end of the bridge to sell official Tour de France souvenirs.

Another team car loaded with spare bikes.

Police on motorcycles lead the way for the peloton to make sure the road is clear for the riders when they reach the area.

The first rider in a little breakaway reaches our spot on the bridge. We could follow the progress of the peloton as they rode along the Aigues River by watching the helicopters overhead who were filming the peloton for television.

A second small breakaway group from the peloton arrives.

The main peloton approaches.

Thomas Voeckler of France who rides for Team Europcar started Stage 16 in first place and wore the yellow jersey who you can see on the right hand side of the peloton.

The following are pictures of the peloton as they rode past us on the bridge. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them; maybe you will spot one of your favorite riders.

The last riders in the main peloton arrive.

A lone rider brings up the rear.

He was followed by a caravan of team cars loaded with spare bikes.

A team car for BMC Racing Team based in Sonoma County whose Cadel Evans won the Tour de France.

Thor Hushovd of Austria who rides for Team Garmin-Cervelo won Stage 16 that day. We watched the publicity caravan and other team and official vehicles drive past our spot on the bridge for at least 1 1/2 hours but it only took a couple of minutes for the entire peloton to pedal past our vantage point.

Never the less, it was great fun and we will go see the Tour de France every chance we get. Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Marché Artisanale Nocturne et Fête des Belges in Sablet

2011-09-14T00:13:00.000-07:00

As I told you in an earlier post, there were no festivities planned to celebrate Bastille Day in our village this year so we took off for the Tarn to see the elderly aunts and uncles and some of the cousins who were spending the holiday at the family farm near Lacaune.

On the way there, we stopped to take pictures of sunflowers in a field we came upon, a picture which won me a prestigious award from Keith at Taste of Garlic blog for The Photo of The Prettiest Girlies Standing in a Field of Sunflowers. I have to admit that wife Shirley and niece Leslie looked very cute in the picture.

After the next weekend which was the Journée du Livre, the annual book fair held in Sablet the third weekend of July every year, flyer's started appearing on parked cars in the village announcing a Marché Artisanale Nocturne - night craft market on the next Thursday night.

That Thursday night, July 21, was also the Fête Nationale des Belges - Belgium National Day which commemorates the day the first king of Belgium took his oath of office in 1831. For some reason I still don't know, our friend Bruno who owns Café des Sports in Sablet didn't do anything special for Bastille Day but he was having a special mussels and fries feast and had hired a band to celebrate the Belgium National Day.

The pictures which follow will give you a small taste of the Marché Artisanale Nocturne et Fête des Belges in Sablet. Early in the afternoon, long tables and chairs were set up near Café des Sports for the diners who would be coming to eat Bruno's mussels and fries.

There were arts and crafts of all kinds on display at booths on the street and square near Café des Sports.

An artist painted while he waited for villagers and tourists to come by and check out his paintings. Guess what, we liked them a lot and we bought three of them. Can you guess which ones?

More crafts on display for sale for use in the home.

There were hand made clothes for sale.

Villagers and tourists wander around the square checking out the items on display.

There was handcrafted food items for sale.

The art and crafts fair was scheduled for 17 00 hours to 22 00 hours. The crowds were somewhat sparse early on but got busier as the evening wore on.

There were soaps and other skin products.

There was a display of items made for the home and garden from slate. We bought a number of stakes that were pre-painted with the name of herbs for our terrace in Sablet. We forgot to buy one for the thyme growing on the terrace so I was happy to see the seller the next morning at the weekly Friday market and got one then.

Still more crafts for sale.

Provencal tablecloths and other items made from Provencal fabrics.

Hand made picture frames.

Meanwhile, the band was warming up for the Fête des Belges mussels and fries feast.

The early arrivals grabbed the best seats.

By the time the sun was set, all the seats at the tables were full of hungry people, eager to eat Bruno's mussels and fries.

A fun evening in Sablet, one of the many festivals we got to experience during our visit to Sablet. I think everyone had a great time. I was happy we got some pretty things for our house from Provence.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Yummy Baked Macaroni with Cheese

2011-09-12T00:47:00.000-07:00

As frequent readers of Our House in Provence blog know, I am co-owner of Bistro Des Copains, a small French bistro in Occidental, California located about 60 miles north of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. One of the items on the menu since the day we opened a little over 5 years ago is a yummy baked macaroni with cheese.

The Bistro's baked macaroni and cheese is a favorite of guests, for young diners who enjoy the dish as a main course as well as for adult diners who order the dish as a side to share with table mates to accompany their main course.

At the end of the night, when I am in a mood for something simple and delish, I often order the baked macaroni with cheese with a side of veggies usually haricots verts amandine. The latter dish lets me say I ate something healthful.

Wife Shirley is a registered nurse and works in a local acute care hospital. On Sundays, the nurses who work from 3 PM to 11:30 PM often bring in dishes to share for a pot luck meal. Shirley asked me this morning if I would be willing to make a big dish of baked macaroni with cheese for her to take for pot luck.

I would guess for most people in the US, when you say macaroni and cheese, they immediately think of the macaroni and cheese dish which comes in a blue box from Kraft, a favorite childhood dish for many. Preparing a delicious homemade version of baked macaroni with cheese is easy so I decided to share my recipe along with pictures of the various steps.

Ingredients

1 16-oz box of elbow macaroni
5 cups whole milk (you can substitute 2 % low fat milk), brought to light boil,then reduce to simmer.
2 ounces butter
1/2 cup flour
3 cups grated Gruyère cheese
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated white pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

My version of baked macaroni with cheese is not exactly the same as the Bistro's but it is equally delicious. Start by gathering all of the ingredients together for your "mise en place" a French term which literally means "putting in place" everything you will need to make the baked macaroni with cheese.

A close up of my mise en place for the baked macaroni with cheese with a large green heirloom tomato, vase of basil and Roma tomatoes I got this morning at the market.

Start by melting the butter in a sauce pan.

When the butter is melted and bubbles subside,

add the flour and begin to whisk, a flat whisk works best for stirring food in the corners of the pan, until a pale smooth roux is formed. I take the pan off the heat while I whisk the flour into the melted butter.

Either before you melt your butter or while you are making the roux, you should bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil and cook the elbow macaroni until it is done to taste. Drain well! Sprinkle with a little olive oil (2 tablespoons will do) and stir to keep the macaroni from sticking together while you finish your béchamel sauce.

Pour one ladle full of warm milk into your roux and stir till smooth then add the next ladle of milk and stir. Keep repeating this process until all of the milk is incorporated into the roux; continue whisking until the sauce thickens and bubbles gently.

Add all the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 2 cups of grated Gruyère cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir until the cheese is completely incorporated into the béchamel sauce.

Pour the béchamel sauce with the grated cheese over the macaroni.

Mix thoroughly.

Butter a 10 x 14 inch baking dish.

Pour the macaroni mixture into the buttered dish.

Place the baking dish into an oven preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake the macaroni for 12 minutes and remove from the oven; cover the surface of the macaroni with the remaining 1 cup of grated Gruyère cheese. Return to oven.

Bake the macaroni until golden brown on the surface, approximately 12 minutes.

Over the years, chefs at the Bistro have tried different combination of cheeses and topped the macaroni with bread crumbs or small croutons to give the macaroni more crunch. However, I like this way the best.

I have seen versions of baked macaroni with cheese in other restaurants with bacon, others with mustard, and of course different cheese combinations but I have not found a version that I like better.

What variations do you like with your baked macaroni with cheese? Let me know. I have shown you exactly how to make my version so I know this will turn out great for you. I hope you enjoy.

Bon appétit mes amis et à bientôt.

Côteaux et Fourchettes Restaurant, Cairanne

2011-09-03T06:32:00.000-07:00

The restaurants we try for the first time are usually on a list of good restaurants in a publication I respect, highly regarded by the Michelin inspectors, have received high marks in Zagat or more recently on Yelp or the restaurant was recommended by friends. Like most foodies, I hesitate to try restaurants I don't know anything about.

I don't remember how we heard about Côteaux et Fourchettes restaurant but one Monday evening we decided to try it out. Côteaux et Fourchettes restaurant is located just a few kms - miles west of Sablet at Croisement de la Courançonne near Cairanne.

This restaurant and wine cellar was opened in September 2010 by Cyril Glémot, former chef at L’Oustalet restaurant in Gigondas. Côteaux et Fourchettes restaurant is set along the road with vineyards all around with views of the Dentelles de Montmirail.

Wife Shirley and niece Leslie doing their best Vanna White (of Jeopardy fame) impressions in front of Côteaux et Fourchettes restaurant.

The restaurant dining room is simply decorated and opens out onto an outdoor dining area where tables are set under a large trellis and among the trees and shrubs.

After being seated under the shady trellis, we were brought a mise en bouche plate consisting of goat cheese on a tooth pick with tomato confit, some black olives and little savory pastry balls to munch on while we perused the menu options.

We selected a bottle of the 2009 Domaine la Soumade Côtes du Rhône Villages Rasteau to accompany our meal, a wonderful wine we drank in several restaurants during our time in Provence.

After we placed our order, we were brought an amuse bouche of chilled tomato soup with sheep cheese topped with a sprig of chervil.

The view towards the Dentelles de Montmirail from our seats.

A nice touch is the selection of different house baked rolls.

Shirley started with a plate of arugula simply dressed with vinaigrette.

I started with duck foie gras with a delicious fig jam. I rarely have foie gras in the US and in fact in 2012, it will be illegal to produce or sell foie gras in California compliments of the animal rights people who got the law pushed through the California legislature.

Leslie chose the marinated trout stuffed with arugula and tiny dices of carrots, celery and radish for her starter.

Our main courses included a delicious plate of roast squab - pigeon over red cabbage with carrots,

perfectly cooked magret de canard - duck breast over polenta cake and Chinese cabbage,

and pan roasted cod served over pistou for Shirley who does not eat meat.

Leslie ordered the cheese plate consisting of 2 goat cheeses, 2 sheep cheeses and 2 made from cows milk, one from Switzerland.

Desserts were a tasty slice of chocolate apricot cream cake

and a tarte fine of apple and fig with vanilla ice cream.

Chef Glémot is doing very refined cooking using seasonal ingredients. I think prices are reasonable given the high quality of the food and cooking. Our menu Côteaux with cheese was 35 Euros and without the cheese plate was 29 Euros.

If you are in the area, we definitely recommend that you try Côteaux et Fourchettes restaurant. We will return often I am sure.

Côteaux et Fourchettes
Croisement de la Courançonne
84290 Cairanne
Tel: 04 90 66 35 99
info@coteauxetfourchettes.com

Bon appétit mes amis et à bientôt.

Journée du Livre in Sablet

2011-08-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

Wife Shirley and I have repeatedly said that our visit to Sablet in July was our favorite time in the village so far. The weather for the most part was perfect and we saw and experienced a lot of new things, many of which you will read about in future posts.

One of the highlights of our time in Provence was the Journée du Livre in Sablet, the book fair held in the village the third weekend of July every year. On July 16 and 17, 120 writers and poets along with hundreds of readers and curiosity seekers descended upon Sablet for the 24th edition of the Journée du Livre.

Earlier in the week, we would find a notice on our windshield every time we got in our car saying that it was forbidden to park in the main part of the village because of the book fair as of Thursday midnight. On Friday, crews started assembling the various tents for the book fair.

Following are scenes from the Journée du Livre in Sablet. Anyone you recognize?

The book fair hours were from 16 h to 20 h (4 to 8 PM) on Saturday and from 10 h to 13 h (10 AM to 1 PM) and 15 h to 18 h (3 to 6 PM) on Sunday.

Unfortunately, early in the day, it was gray and raining but by the time the book fair began, the rain had stopped so we could stroll around without getting wet.

There were tents set up throughout the main part of the village.

One of the main tents with many writers. Authors were signing books for their readers.

Author's works included literature, travel, regional histories, cooking and wine, children's books, poetry and fiction.

Authors read excerpts and talked about their writings at readings that were scheduled in the various gardens throughout Sablet.

Another group of writers.

You can't have a festival in Provence without wine. The vignerons - wine makers of Sablet put together a special blend of wine to celebrate the book fair.

Another big tent.

As the day passed, more and more people arrived for the book fair.

Of course, you know there has to be a few dogs at a festival in France.

Sylvie Reboul is a wine writer and oenologue who was chosen as the Marraine - godmother of the special wine for the book fair and in consultation with the Sablet wine makers chose the special cuvée - blend for the book fair. I bought one of her books about the wines of the Rhone valley which she happily signed for me.

Cousins Christine and Jean-Marc who came over to eat lunch with us and then stayed to enjoy the Journée du Livre.

Readers buy books and get them autographed by their favorite authors in one of the main tents.

Our friend Bruno was a doing a booming business at the Café des Sports.

More of the crowds at the Journée du Livre.

Tents were set up for authors in front of the boulangerie.

A crowd gathers for the awards ceremony near the fountain a few steps from our house.

The prize winning poet reads one of his poems for the crowd at the award ceremony.

By the end of the weekend, I was feeling quite French as I found a way to park in places that I would never have considered if I was in the United States. Of course, in the US, me and many others would have been towed away by the roving tow trucks. Vive la France.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Beautiful Sunflowers in a Field

2011-08-24T22:56:00.000-07:00

Bastille Day, July 14, the French Fête Nationale, was a beautiful day in the Vaucluse. We checked with Bruno the congenial proprietor of Café des Sports and my go-to-source for information about Sablet and surprising to us, no celebration was planned for our village.

So we decided it would be a perfect day to drive to the Metairie Neuve, the small family farm near Viane in the Tarn region in Southern France. On the way to the freeway, we came upon a large field of sunflowers. Now you know there is nothing that wife Shirley likes more than a field of sunflowers, except maybe a field of purple lavender or red poppies, so we had to stop and take pictures.

You may not be aware that despite the fact that you find postcards, photos and paintings of sunflowers all over Provence, they are actually native to the Americas. Sunflowers seeds were brought to Europe by Spaniards in the 16th century where sunflower oil became a widespread cooking ingredient.

Sunflowers, tournesol in French, have rough, hairy stems, and what most people call the flower on a mature sunflower is a flower head of numerous small flowers crowded together. The outer flowers are sterile and the flowers inside the circular head mature into seeds from which oil is extracted.

Sunflowers generally grow to between 5 and 12 feet tall and bloom from late June to the end of July with harvest occurring at the beginning of August.

A common misconception is that sunflowers track the sun. In fact, mature sunflowers typically face east and do not move. The leaves and buds of young sunflowers do change their orientation from east to west during the course of a day; once mature the movements stop.

Wife Shirley and niece Leslie face the morning sunshine from the east along with the sunflowers that surround them.

Most of you have probably seen one or more of the paintings of sunflowers by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh or other photos or paintings by lesser known artists. None of these paintings can compare to the beauty of a field of sunflowers, faces to the sun, along side the road.

You will have to come to Provence to see for yourself. Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

The Castle of Les Baux de Provence

2011-08-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, I wrote about visiting the hilltop fortress town of Les Baux de Provence. As I said in my post, the village sits on a rocky outcrop with a ruined castle on top of the village overlooking the plains to the south. It is classified as one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France - most beautiful villages of France.

We have been to the beautifully restored village quite a few times but don't often walk up to the castle because we don't feel like paying the entrance fee and it can be very windy and cold when the mistral is blowing. For those who have not experienced the mistral, it is a cold and dry, strong wind that blows from the north through the Rhone River valley to the Mediterranean Sea.

On our last visit to Les Baux, it was a sunny day with brilliant blue sky so we decided to visit the castle. The entrance to the castle is at the top of the village, strategically placed so that visitors have to walk past the restored homes, churches, galleries, tourist shops, and cafés including the workshop of Santonnier J. Peyron.

We have bought several pretty santons, small hand painted and clothed terracotta figurines, from Monsieur Peyron. I stopped in to say hello because he always seems to remember his customers but he was not there and his son told me he was retired and the son had taken over the workshop. But I digress.

Access to the castle is through the Musée d'Histoire des Baux, a small museum which recounts the history of Les Baux from ancient times to today. Upon exiting the museum, you will spot perched on the rock, a cemetery that overlooks the valleys of Enfer (meaning "Hell") and Fontaine. There is also a memorial to the children who have died for the defense of liberty for France in world wars.

The plateau on which the castle of Les Baux de Provence sits covers 7 hectares or 17.3 acres. The castle contains an exhibition of siege machines including a trebuchet, a couillard (a form of trebuchet with split counterweights and a rotating beam), a bricole (a rotating-beam stone-throwing device), and a battering ram.

The machines are full-sized replicas and the catapults can fire to distances in excess of 200 meters or 650 feet. Firing demonstrations of the siege machines take place daily from April to September.

The breath-taking views from the castle are worth the entrance fee alone. Its hard to believe that 4000 people one time lived on this desolate plateau.

Charloun Rieu was a farmer from Paradou, a Provençal poet nicknamed "Charloun dou Paradou". He is considered one of Provence's most authentic popular poetic voices, he did much to revive Provençal language and culture.

His best known collection is the Chants du Terroir - Songs of the Land, published in 1897.

This monument by the Marseillais sculptor Botinelly was erected in 1930 to commemorate the man who immortalised Les Baux de Provence in verse.

A windmill was a feudal privilege, built and maintained by the Lords of Les Baux, it was accessible to all. In return for a small payment, farmers would come with their donkeys loaded with wheat, chat with the local folks and leave with their freshly ground flour.

The present day windmill was built on this windy hillside after the Maréchal de Vitry pulled down every windmill in the castle and village in 1632 and faithfully mirrors the image of Provence in the writings of Frédéric Mistral and Alphonse Daudet.

The castle of Les Baux de Provence sits on top of a rocky outcrop.

The ruined castle dominates the plateau, its fragments of towers and walls sticking out of the bare rock.

Another view from the castle, this one overlooking renown L'Oustau de Baumanière, a luxury Relais and Chateaux hotel and 2 Michelin stars gastronomic restaurant with spa. I have not eaten at L'Oustau de Baumanière but its definitely on my list.

St. Blaise's Chapel, once used by the guild of wool combers and weavers as a meeting place, now visitors can watch a free film entitled "A Bird's-Eye View of Provence" which runs non-stop.

A visit to the chateau at Les Baux is worthwhile for the view alone if the mistral is not blowing. One of the coldest experiences of my life was visiting the chateau on a sunny clear day in January while the mistral was blowing so hard we could hardly stand up.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Sault, Beautiful Land of Lavender

2011-08-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

On Monday, August 15, the mountain village of Sault will welcome visitors for a grand Lavender Festival, an annual event held in the village on the same date each year.

Activities will include a lavender cutting competition, a parade of villagers dressed in traditional Provençal costumes, a horse show and a Provençal concert. Of course there will be lots of lavender and lavender products for sale.

At noon, a Repas Champêtre - country meal will be served up on tables shaded by Oak trees featuring foods made from local products. This year's 3-course menu includes salads and vegetables, roast pork, goat cheese and fruit tarts, all for 20 Euros.

We can't be there for the lavender festival but a few weeks ago we went to visit Sault and see the lavender fields that surround the village. If you can't go, these pictures will give you a sense of the village and the beautiful area around Sault.

Sault is an old fortified village that sits on a ridge overlooking a large valley dotted with lavender fields about one hour from Sablet. The name Sault comes from "Saltus" referring to the forests that covered the area.

Probably no other scent says Provence better than the pungent aroma of lavender or scene than fields of lavender growing in mounded rows under a brilliant blue summer sky.

Three species of lavender grow in Provence: true lavender (lavande) is found high up in dry, rocky soil. Aspic which grows lower down is similar to lavande except it has broader leaves and its branches hold a number of stems. And less refined, lavandin is a hybrid of lavande and aspic.

Lavande is most highly regarded by perfume makers for its sweet essential oils, though aspic and especially lavandin are more productive and therefore more common - ending up in laundry and household products.

As you can see, lavender flowers are on spikes that rise up above the foliage. Lavender flowers may be blue, violet or lilac.

One of the many fields of lavender near Sault.

There are lavender fields everywhere you look.

The lavender fields are absolutely beautiful.

The lavender harvest takes place during July and August.

One of the lavender farms in the area.

More lavender.

You can't believe how many fields of lavender there are around Sault.

Wife Shirley and niece Leslie pose for the mandatory photograph surrounded by lavender.

A view of the lavender fields that dot the valley from the road up to Sault.

Another view of the valley with Mont Ventoux in the background.

Sault village center; there has been a weekly market held in Sault on Wednesdays since 1515.

View over the valley from the terrace of the cafe where we ate lunch.

Terrace of the cafe where we ate lunch in Sault.

A pretty house in Sault.

Church of Notre Dame de la Tour in Sault.

Alfresco dining in a pretty Sault square.

A pretty street in Sault.

Bronze statue of Miss Liberty on the Sault fountain.

Sault street corner.

A Sault house with brightly colored shutters and store front.

A pretty Sault window with lace curtains and red geraniums on the window sill.

I am sure that Sault will be bustling with people enjoying all the festivities at the Sault lavender festival. The surrounding area, while still beautiful will look different without all the lavender in the fields as most of the lavender will have already been harvested.

I am certain that we will visit Sault whenever we are in Provence during Lavender season as the lavender fields are incredibly beautiful and well worth a visit.

Bonne journée mes amis et à très bientôt.

Return to the Pont du Gard

2011-08-10T23:18:00.000-07:00

I have not kept track of how many days we have lived in France since we bought our home but I am certain we have never stayed in the house or in the village of Sablet for the whole day. We are always on the go.

I confess we don't go to many museums or at least not where you buy a ticket and wander through a building admiring paintings on the wall or other artwork. I am sure we have missed out on some amazing art and culture but its just not our thing.

As regular readers of Our House in Provence blog know, we love going to the markets, walking through quaint villages, tasting wine, seeing fields of lavender and sunflowers and visiting the Roman and Medieval ruins near Sablet.

Our favorite Roman ruin in the South of France is the Pont du Gard, the aqueduct bridge located in the Gard Department of Languedoc-Roussillon about 60 km (37 miles) from our home in Sablet, between Remoulins and Uzès.

The Pont du Gard is part of the 50 km (31 mile) Nîmes aqueduct constructed by the Romans in the 1st century between 41 and 54 AD to bring water from a spring near Uzès, the Fontaine d'Eure, to the Roman city of Nîmes where it was distributed to fountains, baths and private homes around the city.

On our most recent visit with wife Shirley and niece Leslie, we parked in the lot on the Rive Droite - Right Bank, there is a small charge for parking but access to the bridge is free, and strolled along the path until the Pont du Gard came into view.

The 900 foot long Pont du Gard has three levels of arches: six crossing the Gard River, 11 in the middle tier and 35 smaller arches which support the water channel. The Pont du Gard is 161 feet high above the river.

You can walk across the bottom tier which has been used as a thoroughfare for centuries - in 1285 the bishop of Uzès ordered that a toll be collected from all travelers crossing the bridge.

The Pont du Gard was built of limestone from a nearby quarry and assembled largely without mortar or clamps. The stones, some of which weigh up to 6 tons, were cut to perfectly fit together eliminating the need for mortar. The cut stone was lifted into place with a human-powered treadmill providing the power for the winch.

Shirley and I always look at the arches and admire the skill it took to design the Pont du Gard without computers and imagine the thankless labor of soldiers, craftsmen and slaves who built the bridge almost 2000 years ago without cranes or other equipment.

The Aqueduct of Nîmes had a capacity to carry 35,000 cubic meters of water a day that took nearly 27 hours to flow from the spring to Nîmes. The aqueduct descends in height by only 17 m (56 feet) over its entire 50 km (31 mile) length, an indication of the precision the Roman engineers were able to achieve using rudimentary technology.

The channel at the top of the Pont du Gard that carried water across the Gard River.

Bringing water from the spring near Uzès to Nîmes was easier said than done. Although the distance between the spring and the city is only 20 km (12 miles) in a straight line, the Romans had to build the aqueduct 50 km (31 miles) to cross or circle the natural obstacles of the countryside.

The northern exit of the Pont du Gard - Roman conduit for carrying water.

The view from the Pont du Gard north over the Gard River.

The view from the Pont du Gard south over the Gard River.

Make sure to go see the ancient olive tree on the Rive Gauche - Left Bank on the path to the Pont du Gard from the Visitor Center. The sign by the tree says it was born in 908 and lived in Spain till 1985 when the Counsel General of the Gard adopted the tree and planted it here in 1988.

As you leave the Pont du Gard area to return to the A-9 toll road, you will drive down a road lined with beautifully manicured plane trees which create the impression of a grand boulevard. Provence plane trees are a hybrid of the American sycamore tree.

It is said that Napoleon planted plane trees throughout Southern France to keep his marching army cool under the green canopies of the plane trees.

I wonder what the Romans would think if they knew their aqueduct bridge would be preserved in such good condition for 2000 years. The Pont du Gard was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1985.

Bonne journée mes amis et à bientôt.

Blogger Meet-up and Sablet à la Belle Epoche

2011-07-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

We have just returned from a wonderful time in Sablet. Niece Leslie was with us and we were on the go day and night. We took day trips, watched the Tour de France, visited with French family, went to festivals, shopped the markets, caught up with friends and enjoyed great food and wine; and I took lots of pictures.

We also had a blogger meet-up at our house in Sablet. Back in January, we were graciously invited for aperitifs to Barbara and Robert's beautiful home in nearby Vaison-la-Romaine, Barbara is the author of the wonderful Cuisine de Provence where she writes about food and life in Provence.

We really enjoyed our visit with Barbara and Robert and we decided that when we returned to Sablet that we would have them over to our house for aperitifs. Happily, we were able to find time to get together. As you might guess, our conversation covered food, restaurants, and summer festivals.

I prepared some food for us to nibble on while we sat on the terrace including eggplant caviar, bruschetta with diced tomatoes and basil I bought at the Vaison market that morning. We sipped on white and rosé Cassis wine from Domaine du Paternel. We had a great time, laughing and telling stories, probably aided by the refreshingly chilled wine on the warm summer evening.

Shirley, Robert, Barbara, and me on the terrace of our house in Sablet.

I should also mention that Barbara gives cooking classes in her fabulous kitchen at their home in Vaison-la-Romaine. If you are coming to the area and would like to take classes to learn how to prepare classical dishes from Provence, check out her Cuisine de Provence web site. I can attest to the fact, she is a wonderful cook.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, we had a chance to experience a number of summer events, most we had never been there for until this visit. Unfortunately, the very special "Sablet à la Belle Epoche" took place on Sunday after we left for our return to California.

Barbara and Robert came to Sablet that Sunday and took in this unique event and shot some great pictures which she posted and you can read about on her Cuisine de Provence.

Barbara said, the theme was "Sablet à la Belle Epoche" and started with a mass in Provençal at the village church, followed by the blessing of a winestock by Father Pierre Granier and Provençal dancing. All through the village there were demonstrations of old arts and crafts and the villagers strolled about in their traditional Sunday finery. I wish we could have been there.

Here are Barbara's pictures.

Thank you so much Barbara for the pictures and for yours and Robert's friendship. We look forward to our next meet-up in the Vaucluse.

Bonne journée et à bientôt mes amis!

An Expensive Lesson ... and Camera

2011-07-17T00:59:00.000-07:00

Wife Shirley always starts to pack for trips to France or anywhere else for that matter one or two nights before we leave. She makes detailed lists so she won't forget anything that she wants to take. Not me, I pack for a trip to France like I do for all trips - 30 minutes before I am supposed to walk out of the house and head for the airport.

On the day we were leaving for France, I got up at 4:00 AM (we had a 7:48 AM flight), showered and dressed and started packing, pulling out clothes, passports, electronic ticket confirmation, car rental reservatrion, maps, books, French cell phone, and miscellaneous items we were taking for our house in Sablet.

Daughter Tricia had sweetly offered to drive us to San Francisco airport despite having worked the evening before till 11:30 PM - she is a registered nurse. As we were approaching the Golden Gate Bridge, I suddenly remembered I had forgotten my camera.

As those of you who are regular readers of this blog know, I love shooting pictures and usually include quite a few with every post. I was really upset at my self for not bringing my camera. As you probably guessed, wife Shirley was sympathetic but she couldn't resist telling me that is the risk of packing at the last minute.

It was clearly too late to turn around and go back home to get the camera. Shirley said she had her little Nikon Cool Pix camera and that I would have to settle for using it. I kept stewing and we decided that Tricia would send the camera overnight to my cousin Jean Marc's house in Clapier France.

Our route to Sablet this time took us through Washington Dulles airport then on to Geneva where we rented a car and drove to Sablet. Geneva was much less expensive when I went to buy tickets this time than Marseille or Lyon. It normally takes us 3 1/4 hours from Geneva to Sablet when I follow directions from Via Michelin.

This time it took us close to 5 hours which is another whole story but suffice it to say that the rental car had a GPS which I set up for the drive to Sablet. Well the "voice" insisted on taking me on every back road to avoid paying tolls it seems. A free plug for Via Michelin - in the future I stick with your recommendations.

I am really digressing from my expensive camera story. When we got to Washington DC, I had a text message from Tricia saying she dropped the camera off at UPS and it would be delivered either Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. The bad news was that it cost $260.00 USD to ship it. I knew it would be expensive but didn't think it would be that much.

I was very happy when I got a call from Jean Marc on Monday evening saying the camera had been delivered that afternoon. We made plans to go to Clapier and meet them for dinner (more about dinner later) and pick up the camera. If you are interested in knowing, UPS packed the camera great so there was no chance it would be damaged.

On Thursday, Bastille Day, July 14, we drove to the Metairie Neuve, the small family farm in the Tarn. After doing la bise - exchanging kisses on alternating cheeks with all of the family members, Jean Marc handed me a bill and told me that UPS had returned the day before to collect import taxes for my camera in the amount of 230,15 Euros or approximately $325.00.

Vive la France! The next day I called UPS and argued with them. They said that since we had put a value for insurance on the camera, that entitled France to collect an import tax based upon the value. I asked what if I can prove it was bought several years ago and will leaving the Country. He said that UPS charges import taxes even for déménagement - moving to France if there is a value on the items.

My now expensive camera safely with me in Sablet.

So lessons learned - don't forget your camera or other electronic items as it will be expensive to ship them to France and France will collect a big import tax. I should add that I don't expect to change the way I pack. It has always worked well for me before and no reason to change now.

I will need to make sure I take a lot of fabulous pictures to make this expense worthwhile. You be the judge.

Bonne journée et à bientôt.

L'Oustalet Restaurant, Gigondas

2011-07-13T02:02:00.000-07:00

In Sablet, there is a wonderful restaurant called Les Abeilles which is owned by Marlies et Johannes Sailer. Prior to opening Les Abeilles, for many years, they were the owners of L'Oustalet Restaurant in Gigondas. We didn't get a chance to eat there while they owned the restaurant but we dine at L'Oustalet Restaurant now every time we are in Sablet.

I was at home in Sablet about eight weeks ago with friends Susan and Steven and we wined and dined our way around the area including lunch at L'Oustalet. L'Oustalet Restaurant is located in a historical house in the center of Gigondas at Place de la Marie.

The restaurant is now owned by the Perrin family who make wine at world-renown Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and at Tablas Creek in Paso Robles California. The chef is Aurélien Laget who was previously sous-chef at Michelin-star Maison Bru in Eygalières.

We arrived for lunch at L'Oustalet and were seated in the dining room; it was April and the weather was not warm enough that day to sit outside on the terrace.

Friends Susan and Steven in the small dining room at L'Oustalet.

We chose a bottle of 2007 Domaine du Clos des Tourelles Gigondas to accompany our lunch. Incidentally, this domaine was bought by the Perrin family several years ago.

For an amuse-bouche, the waiter brought a platter with a selection of small appetisers to prepare us for our meal and give us a taste of the chef's cooking style. They included: chive butter mousse, bread sticks, prosciutto, almonds, tapenade and olives.

Our entrées - starters included grilled calimari (seches) and greens

and a salad of arugula, serrano ham and artichokes.

For our main courses, we chose grilled rascasse, a fish commonly part of a traditional Provençal bouillabaisse, with zuccchini

and grilled pork fillet mignon with spinach, potatoes, porcini mushrooms and sauce.

To finish our delicious meal, we chose the cheese course of marinated St. Marcellin cheese with greens

and pineapple beignets with a pina colada sauce accompanied by chantilly cream.

L'Oustalet is definitely one of our favorite restaurants and one of the best in this part of Provence. If you are fortunate enough to be in this area, I definitely recommend that you reserve a table for a meal at L'Oustalet. We are back in Sablet and we will be doing just that.

Bon appétit mes amis et à bientôt.

Oppède-le-Vieux, a Magnificent Old Village in the Luberon.

2011-07-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

When friends come to visit us in Sablet, some who may be there for their first and maybe only time in their life, we plan our time together so they see and experience what we think are the best parts of our beautiful corner of Provence.

It is really hard to decide where to go when they are there for just a week even if we say we are not going to go farther than one hour away by car. That distance includes almost all our favorite places except for Cassis which is more like one and one-half hours away; but its our favorite seaside village so we make an exception.

My list of places not to miss include the Tuesday morning market in Vaison-la-Romaine, Crestet, Séguret, Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape for wine lovers, Roussillon and Gordes in the Luberon, Sénanque Abbey especially during lavender season, Pont du Gard although not technically in Provence and the aforementioned Cassis.

We also love Aix-en-Provence, Bonnieux, Lourmarin, Villedieu, Les Baux de Provence and the surrounding Alpilles where the best olive oils in France are produced, the Dentelles de Montmirail and Mont Ventoux. Its hard to whittle our list to make everything fit let alone get to new places where we have not been before.

So it was a little unusual a few weeks back when friends Steven and Susan were visiting that we decided to go to Oppède-le-Vieux where we had not been before. Oppède-le-Vieux is generally not very well known, little is written about the village in the various guide books about Provence but I had it in my head that I wanted to go.

So off we went. Oppède-le-Vieux is a beautiful village with many ruins perched on the northern face of the Luberon mountains about one hour's drive from Sablet.

If you go visit Oppède-le-Vieux, you will have to leave your car in the parking lot at the base of the village; from there, follow the path up the hill. There is a small fee for the parking lot.

It was beautiful and sunny, late April, the day we went and the trees were in full bloom as we walked up the path through the terrace garden into the old village.

Oppède is in fact two villages: Oppède-le-Vieux ("the old" in French), built against the Petit Luberon and dating back 1000 years, and Oppède-les-Poulivets ("nice view" in Provençal), today known as "le village", down in the valley.

There is a terrace café and a few shops in the center of the old village below the church and ruined castle. This is a good place to rest and soak up the atmosphere after your walk from the parking lot.

Cross in the old village square. I love that blue sky.

The walled village and arched passage.

A beautifully restored home.

Chapel of White Penitents in the old village.

A 15 to 20 minute walk up hill on cobblestones through the trees past ruins of ancient dwellings will bring you to the summit and the 16th century Church of Notre Dame d'Alidon.

As you hike up to the village, look back as you have magnificent views out towards Mont Ventoux; Gordes is in the foreground.

Church of Notre Dame d'Alidon is being restored by the commune.

Church of Notre Dame d'Alidon.

The ruins which remain of the castle. Pay attention when you are up on the summit as there are drop offs and no rails.

The view out of a window of the castle ruins.

Besides the church and castle ruins, a climb to the summit from the old village below will be rewarded with fantastic views of the countryside.

More of the castle ruins.

As we walked back to the old village below, we passed more flowering trees.

More restored homes in the old village.

Boutiques.

A pretty house. I like the blue shutters with flowering tree.

Towards the end of the 19th century, a post office and school were opened down in the valley in Poulivets and the residents of the old village slowly moved out of Oppède-le-Vieux. In 1909, the city hall officially moved to Oppède-les-Poulivets and consequently the old village became deserted.

After World War II, attracted by Oppède's beauty and history, some people returned and refurbished some of the houses beyond the ramparts and little by little the old village came back to life. I really like this beautiful place and Oppède-le-Vieux is now on my list of places not to miss.

Bonne journée mes amis et à bientôt

Les Florets Restaurant, Gigondas

2011-06-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

We think we are incredibly lucky to have a house in Sablet and live there part of the year. We love the location at the base of the Dentelles de Montmirail with vineyards all around as far as you can see. Nearby are small villages, some of them renown for their beauty and others for the wine produced by the local vintners.

The nearest village to the south of Sablet in the direction of Carpentras is Gigondas, a small village well known for the robust red wines that are produced there.

We first came to Gigondas to taste wines with our friends from our Bistro Des Copains several years before we ever thought about buying a home in Provence.

That first time was on a cold day in late January and much of the village except for the Caveau du Gigondas - the wine growers cooperative at Place Gabriel Andéol and tasting rooms were closed for the season. When we asked about a place to eat lunch, we were directed to a forgettable café in nearby Vacqueyras.

We have since found there are several very good restaurants in Gigondas including Les Florets. Les Florets is a small hotel with a wonderful restaurant located on Route des Dentelles above Gigondas. The hotel and restaurant are owned by the Bernard family who also own Domaine La Garrrigue winery in Vacqueyras.

I was in Sablet a few weeks ago with friends Steven and Susan and after we wandered all around Crestet we decided to go eat lunch at Les Florets. Les Florets has a large dining room and terrace for dining on nice days. Although it was early spring, the day was sunny and warm and we were happy to be seated under the trees on the terrace.

The waiter brought us the menu and wine list, actually a book, as thick as a telephone directory for a good size city. There were many selections from Gigondas, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and elsewhere in the Côtes du Rhône as well as other notable wine regions of France.

At the waiter's suggestion, we chose a bottle of Domaine du Cayron Gigondas from the great 2007 vintage, a perfect blend of Grenache (70%), Cinsault (15%), Syrah (14%), and Mourvèdre (1%).

Friends Steven and Susan enjoying the Les Florets terrace.

For an amuse-bouche, the waiter brought a platter with a selection of small appetisers to prepare us for our meal and give us a taste of the chef's cooking style. They included: a cold zucchini cumin soup, olive tapenade on toasts and grilled shrimp.

For entrées - starters, we chose soft poached egg over bone marrow on toasts with a red wine reduction

and a crumble of cod topped with toasty bread crumbs accompanied by creamy garlic soup and a bread stick.

For plats - main courses, we chose perfectly grilled duck breast with polenta and what tasted like a berry reduction sauce

and a white fish roulade stuffed with herbs topped by pesto. The fish roll sat on a bed of finely diced carrots and fennel. It was delicious.

To finish on a sweet note, we thoroughly enjoyed a strawberry cake and a white chocolate mousse with a spoonful of candied fennel.

Another part of the terrace at Les Florets, this one covered with a leafy arbor.

We have had a number of meals at Les Florets, some in the dining room when the weather was not so nice, at night and others on the patio, all very good. If you are near Gigondas, especially when the weather is conducive to dining on the terrace, I suggest you try Les Florets.

Bon appétit mes amis. À bientôt.

Great Deal for August Rentals in Provence Village

2011-06-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

Where are you spending les vacances - your vacation this year? If you have been fantasizing about "living" in a small Provencal village during the month of August so you can experience the music, art, wine and food festivals on tap this year, shop the weekly markets, you can do that every day and eat delicious Provencal food, than fantasize no more. We have the perfect offer for you.

Unfortunately, we can't spend all of our time in Sablet as we have careers, children and grandchildren we can't live without so we rent our house in Sablet when we are not there. Our house has been pretty much fully reserved from March to the 1st of November for months. That is except for the month of August. August is available and we have a special offer for anyone who is interested in spending a week or more in Sablet.

The house is a beautiful stone village house located in the heart of the medieval village of Sablet in Vaucluse Department of Provence France. Dating from the 17th century, the house has been beautifully renovated with all of the comforts of a modern home while retaining its authentic Provençal character and charm.

Located on a narrow street inside the walls of this quaint village, it is only a few steps from the house to the Church of St. Nazaire and the shops and restaurants of this Côtes du Rhône wine village.

The house is large (168 square meters/1808 square feet) and can comfortably accommodate seven people. It is an ideal gathering place for family and friends for vacation, anniversaries, birthdays and reunions as well as an idyllic retreat for foodies, wine lovers, hikers, climbers, cyclists, artists and writers.

The house is three stories and has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The windows are covered with shutters and original beams can be seen throughout. The house is tastefully decorated for comfort and convenience, and is centrally heated. Provençal artwork and hand painted pottery can be seen throughout the house.

Sablet is a small village (pop 1,200) located at the base of the jagged Dentelles de Montmirail west of Mont Ventoux in Vaucluse region of Provence France. The village sits on a hill bordering the rich alluvial plain of the Ouvèze River. You can find lots of pictures of the house and village on our web site and this blog.

I just received this messsage on facebook from Linda from New Jersey at the end of their just concluded four-week stay:

"Michel, we had a wonderful time and decided that Sablet is the perfect village. It's picturesque, has all the shops one could need, is filled with delightful people and is so close to so many other wonderful places. Your house is perfect. Thanks for letting us rent it for 4 weeks. What precious memories we will have for many years."

I also received the followin message from Nan from Wisconsin at the end of their rental in May:

"I wanted to let you know what a great time we had in Provence and how much we enjoyed your home. You have a very beautiful place and the accommodations were very comfortable. Sablet was in a good central location and we took many day trips. When we get organized, we will send you a couple of our pics and more tales of our adventures – particularly the running of the sheep festival we had an opportunity to experience. I have already had people start asking about your property with an interest in a future rental!"

So if you or anyone you know would like to come and experience Provence for yourself, we think our house and village are the perfect place to do so. Our normal rental rate during the summer is $1600 per week, Saturday to Saturday. We are offering one week during August for $1400 and two weeks or more for $1200 per week, a very big savings. If you want to rent the whole month of August, we will rent for $1000 per week.

Bonne journée et bonne vacances!

Domaine de la Charbonnière, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

2011-06-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

One of many things that attracted us to Sablet was its location in the Côtes du Rhône and proximity to world-renown wine villages such as Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. We like all the wines from this area but our favorites are Châteauneuf-du-Papes and we go there most often.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a medieval village on the side of a hill topped by the ruins of a castle near the Rhone River about 30 minutes southwest of our house in Sablet. The village is surrounded by its well tended vineyards. Châteauneuf-du-Pape is pretty to see but there is not a lot to do or reason to go except for the wine; but that's more enough reason to go.

The original name of the village was Castrum Novum, then Châteauneuf-Calcernier (after the many lime kilns in the area) and finally Châteauneuf-du-Pape, adopting the wine's name for the village. The history of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is interwoven with the history of the papacy.

In 1308, Pope Clement V relocated the papacy from Rome to Avignon, 12 miles south of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Clement V was succeeded by John XXII who reportedly drank wines from the vineyards to the north in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and did much to improve viticultural practices there.

Under John XXII, the wines of this area came to be known as "Vin du Pape" and later Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Pope John XXII built the castle that stands overlooking Châteauneuf-du-Pape (literally the Pope's new castle) as a summer residence for the popes.

The Route de Courthézon into Châteauneuf-du-Pape with the Pope's castle on the horizon.

The tower of the Pope's castle with the back drop of blue sky.

The back side of the tower of the Pope's castle, only ruins remain. The castle was sacked by Routiers (mercenaries who terrorized the French countryside during the 100 year war) when Jean XXII died and destroyed for the final time by the retreating Germans in 1944.

The view from the Pope's castle towards the Rhone River.

A sign panel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape with the names of many of the domaines.

Son-in-law Earl sitting on the fountain in Place du Portail which is the commercial center of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

The buildings are old, but everything is nicely restored.

The village is full of shops and tasting rooms where you can sample and buy the wonderful wines crafted in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC. As you know food and restaurants are very important to me; as of now, we have not found a really good restaurant in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

The village streets and alleys curve around the hillside and climb up to the castle.

Domaine de la Charbonnière is located just outside the village on the Route de Courthézon. We first got acquainted with this domaine and their red wines when we were trying wines for our first wine list for Bistro Des Copains and have been fans ever since.

The domaine is owned by the Maret family; Michel, wife Mireille and daughters Caroline and Veronique and has been overseen by the Maret family since 1912 when Michel's grandfather Eugene bought the domaine as a gift for his wife who was the daughter of a local winegrower. Michel is the third generation of Maret's to oversee the domaine.

The entrance to Domaine de la Charbonnière off Route de Courthézon.

There are a lot of very good wineries in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC and we have only been to a handful. Despite this, we return to Domaine de la Charbonnière almost every time we are back in Sablet. We really like their wines, they are reasonably priced but most importantly, we love the Maret family; they are very welcoming and generous with their time.

The entrance to the Domaine de la Charbonnière tasting room marked by olive tree.

Fermentation tanks at Domaine de la Charbonnière.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC rules allow up to thirteen grape varieties to be blended into the wine. The primary grape used by the Marets in blending red wines is Grenache; they also use Syrah and Mourvedre. For their white wine they use Grenache blanc, Roussanne, and Clairette.

Caroline Maret shows us how they make their wines.

Domaine de la Charbonnière makes 4 red wines and 1 white wine from Châteauneuf-du-Pape and 1 red wine from Vacqueyras.

Barrel room for aging wine.

Domaine de la Charbonnière exports wine to quite a few different countries. Each country has their own regulations about what information has to be included on the label affixed to the bottle. So wine is bottled and stored without labels until orders are received at which time they print and affix labels to the bottles.

Domaine de la Charbonnière has 3 parcels totaling 17.5 hectares/43.25 acres of vineyards within the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC and 4 hectares/9.88 acres within the Vacqueyras AOC. The Maret's also own a few hectares of land that is classified as Côtes du Rhône.

Mireille Maret and Veronique took us out to see their Châteauneuf-du-Pape parcels. They also showed us how they pull leaves in the spring.

Vines are shaped as gobelets - bush vines.

The Châteauneuf-du-Pape terroir comes from a layer of stones called galets. The stones retain heat during the day and release it at night which can hasten the ripening of grapes. The stones also serve as a protective layer to help retain moisture in the soil during the dry summer months

A Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyard near one of the Maret's parcels with the Dentelles de Montmirail and Sablet on the far horizon.

As I said, we have been to Domaine de la Charbonnière and Châteauneuf-du-Pape many times. Astute readers may notice that pictures are from different visits; actually four in all.

Regretfully, we no longer carry Domaine de la Charbonnière wine on our list at Bistro Des Copains because importer Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants stopped importing the wine. I think if truth be told, it was probably because of pressure from the Brunier family who own Châteauneuf-du-Pape's famous Vieux Telegraphe and with whom Kermit Lynch has many business interests.

If you love wine and you are going to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, I recommend you go visit the Marets at Domaine de la Charbonnière. You will have a great time.

Shameless bragging about our Bistro Des Copains

2011-06-09T05:41:00.000-07:00

If you have been following Our House in Provence blog, you know that I am co-owner with friend Cluney of a small French bistro in Occidental, California called Bistro Des Copains.

We have been fortunate to have many excellent reviews about the Bistro posted by diners on web sites such as Yelp, Zagat, and Trip Advisor and great reviews by critics such as Jeff Cox for the Press Democrat. But no videos to my knowledge.

That changed a a few weeks back when Kaye Cloutman who writes a wonderful blog called Clout and About came to visit the Bistro with two friends. She posted a charming cute video about their visit on You Tube which I have to share with you.

I should mention that last weekend, we celebrated the fifth anniversay of Bistro Des Copains being in business. We owe so much to our employees for their hard work and support during the past five years. especially to Ty, Julia, Allison, Debbie and Earl who have been there for us the entire five years.

We have made many for ever friends among our frequent diners. I hope that you will come to visit us at Bistro Des Copains if your travels bring you to our little part of the world in Northern California.

Bon Appétit et à bien·tôt.

Le Bateleur Restaurant, Vaison la Romaine

2011-06-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

From the moment we signed the papers to buy our house in Sablet we have been planning for the time when we could spend New Years in Sablet with our daughters, their husbands and children all at one time. As readers of Our House in Provence blog know, we did that this year.

We knew from the beginning that with such a large group including grandchildren Avery age 4 years, Dylan 3 years, Caedon 2 years and newly arrived Madison 1 month old, that we would have to eat most meals at home. We are somewhat realistic and figured it was unlikely we could do that every meal, after all, we are co-owners of Bistro Des Copains, and we all love to eat in restaurants.

New Year's day, having welcomed in New Years with cousins Jean Marc and Christine and a Galette des Rois - King's Cake with fève - a sort of lucky charm that bestows privileges on the person who gets the piece with the fève, the kids decided they wanted to go out to eat in a restaurant.

They really wanted a break from their kids so GG (greatest grandma) kindly offered to stay home with them. Papa was needed to pay the bill so I got to go along on this outing. I called around to find a restaurant, this being a Saturday, lunch, New Year's day, there were not a lot of options, but Le Bateleur Restaurant in Vaison la Romaine was open and not fully reserved.

Le Bateleur Restaurant is located at Place Théodore Aubanel just across the Roman bridge in Vaison la Romaine's lower city, site of the ancient Roman colony and the modern town.

Baby Madison joined us on this outing since she is still nursing; shown here at Le Bateleur Restaurant with her auntie Tricia. I should mention that when I tried to take pictures on my camera, the battery was dead so the pictures on this post were taken by Tricia's husband Alvin, a professional photographer.

After examining the menu and considering the various options, we all chose the three course menu Le Géant de Provence. To accompany our meal, we selected the 2007 Domaine Jean David Séguret Rouge, a delicious blend of Grenache (67%), Mourvèdre (12%), Carignan (10%), Syrah (4%), Cinsault (4%) and Counoise (3%).

Our entrées - starters included Millefeuille de champignon et salades et les herbes - mushrooms in puff pastry with salad of greens and fresh herbs and

a tasty Soupe au Gambas - shrimp bisque.

Our plats - main courses included sauteed Dorade Grise - Black Sea Bream wrapped around roasted squash and

oven roasted Poulet - chicken over diced vegetables and

grilled Boeuf Charolais et épeautre comme risotto - beef from Charolais with spelt cooked risotto style. All of our main courses were garnished with rosemary.

Some chose to finish with a selection of cheeses aged to perfection by Josiane Deal at Lou Canesteou in Vaison la Romaine.

Others chose to finish with something sweet off of the dessert menu. Unfortunately, I failed to make note of what they were so I can't tell you. Maybe you can tell me.

Here is the other dessert.

Le Bateleur Restaurant is under the same ownership with Le Mesclun in Séguret where we have eaten several times. We love the terrace at Le Mesclun and we have enjoyed our meals there, but I think our meal New Year's Day at Le Bateleur was the best we have had in these two restaurants.

I hope all your meals are wonderful. Bonne appétit et à bientôt.

Crestet, a village perched on the edge of the Dentelles de Montmirail

2011-05-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

Our village of Sablet sits at the base of the Dentelles de Montmirail. Covered with oak, pine and vineyards, the Dentelles are foothills of Mont Ventoux. Reaching an altitude of 734m/2409ft, they owe their name (dentelle means lace) to the appearance of the peaks.

One of the things we do with visitors and in our opinion the best way to see the Dentelles de Montmirail is drive all the way around. The trip from Sablet around the Dentelles and back to Sablet is about 60km/37 miles.

Along the way around the Dentelles, we pass a number of towns and villages that are worth visiting for the beauty and charm of the village, fabulous views or wonderful wines that are produced there.

One of the villages we pass as we make the circle around the Dentelles is Crestet. It is tiny, not well known, and perched on a crest at the edge of the Dentelles de Montmirail, visible from far away, facing Mont Ventoux.

We have driven the narrow winding road, in some places it seems more like a path, up to the medieval castle sitting atop Crestet quite a few times to see the spectacular view towards Mont Ventoux.

The castle is one of the oldest castles in Provence. It was renovated and enlarged in the 14th century and for a while the bishops of Vaison la Romaine resided there. What remained of the castle was restored in 1984. It is now privately owned and not open to the public.

As I said, we have been up the castle quite a few times but we never explored the village which can only be done on foot. So when I was there with friends Steven and Susan a few weeks ago, we decided to walk down into Crestet.

It was a beautiful day in April, sunshine, warm, blue sky and trees were in full bloom. The paths of the village are made of cobble stones.

As I said, the village is tiny, with only 479 inhabitants. The residents of Crestet are called Crestelains (males) and Crestelaines (females).

Friends Susan and Steven in front of one of the many stone structures seen throughout Crestet.

A statue along the path.

Another tree in bloom against the backdrop of the blue Provençal sky.

Saint-Sauveur et Saint-Sixte church with its bell tower and clock. Built in the 11th century, it was restored in 1844.

A fountain from the 16th century.

The interior of Saint-Sauveur et Saint-Sixte church.

In between the stone houses, you will see magnificent views over the valley.

One of the stone houses we came upon; Crestet is truly a stone village.

Stone house and stone wall.

Monument with its cross and a stone house and beautiful blue sky as backdrop.

Stone house, sun dial and blue sky; what's not to love.

The steeple of Saint-Sauveur et Saint-Sixte church with view out to the valley.

Crestet is definitely worth visiting. Drive up to the castle and park in the lot there. There is an orientation table which will help you identify the different peaks and villages you can see.

There is almost no commercial activity in the village; a restaurant at the top which we have never tried and poterie de crestet, a pottery maker at the entrance to the village.

Bonne journée et à bientot.

Ou Ravi Prouvençau, Mausanne les Alpilles

2011-05-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

I don't believe there is better olive oil produced in France than the wonderful oil from the Vallée des Baux de Provence. As I said in my previous post, we make regular trips to this area to buy olive oil, wine and riz de Camargue - red rice produced in the Camargue region.

In addition to olive oil, there are two other olive-based products that are entitled to the same Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (A.O.C.) Vallée des Baux de Provence label: cracked green olives and black olives. The A.O.C. area covers 1,700 hectares (about 4,250 acres) in the north-east portion of the Bouches du Rhône department, in the heart of Les Alpilles.

According to the decree that recognized the A.O.C., olive oil in this area must be produced from certain varieties of olives; the principal ones are Salonenque, Beruguette, Grossane and Verdale des Bouches-du-Rhône, and the secondary ones of Picholine and others.

Our favorite olive oil is produced at Moulin Jean Marie Cornille in the village of Mausanne les Alpilles about five minutes south of Les Baux de Provence. Maussane and its neighbour Mouriès, are two of the most significant olive oil producing areas in France.

By the time I finished buying olive oil and meandering through the fortress town of Les Baux de Provence, I was getting hungry and as it was close to dinner time, I drove back to Mausanne les Alpilles to eat at a restaurant I had driven by multiple times but never tried.

Mausanne sits at the foot of the Alpilles mountain range surrounded by vast olive groves. Restaurant Ou Ravi Prouvençau is located on Avenue de la Vallée des Baux near the center of Mausanne les Alpilles. The restaurant has been operated by three generations of the Daura family since 1964.

I walked into a cozy, but empty dining room, I was the first diner for the evening. The small room was inviting, warmed by a flickering fire in the fire place, walls were covered with pictures, tables of various sizes and shapes filled the small room. There was a crèche - nativity scene set up in the front window.

I was greeted by daughter Nathalie and seated at a small table where I could observe what was taking place in the open kitchen.

Another view of the dining room.

I sat and observed the activity in the kitchen while I read over the menu and nibbled on the almonds and local black olives that were set on the table for a simple amuse bouche. I chose the three-course menu for 35 Euros and a small pitcher of a locally produced rosé.

For entrée - starter for my meal, I chose Velouté de Potiron - pumpkin soup with toasted pumpkin seeds. It was very good after the addition of salt which was lacking.

From my vantage point, I could see the chef cutting the rabbit and hear the sizzle and smell of thyme as the pieces were placed in a saute pan for the Lapin sauté au Thym, à l'aïl et aux petits lardons, petit jus au vin blanc - rabbit cooked with thyme and garlic and little bacon lardons with white wine that I ordered for my plat - main course.

The rabbit was accompanied by gratin crèmeux de macaronis - macaroni and cheese. Both dishes were perfectly cooked and delicious, especially on a cold evening where you crave something comforting and familiar.

To finish off my meal, I chose Le brisé chocolat-café et sa crème anglaise - a chocolate-coffee cake sitting on a rich crème anglaise sauce. There was nothing wrong with the cake, but I can't say I was wild about it.

While I probably wouldn't make a special trip to Mausanne les Alpilles to dine at Ou Ravi Prouvençau, I would certainly eat there again when we are in the area as it is by far the best of the three restaurants I have tried there.

Bon appétit et à bientôt mes amis.

Les Baux de Provence, a gem in the Alpilles

2011-05-16T23:03:00.000-07:00

We usually go to Mausanne or Mouries to buy bottles of the delicious olive oil that is produced in the Vallée des Baux and to buy wine and riz de Camargue - red rice produced in the Camargue region, at Mas de Gourgonnier every time we are in Sablet.

Our route to the Alpilles and Vallée des Baux where this wonderful olive oil is produced usually takes us past Les Baux de Provence, an ancient fortress town that can be seen from far away; the defensive possibilities of the site are clearly evident.

One morning a few months back, my family having left for California, I went to Mausanne to pick up tins of olive oil pressed from the 2010 harvest just a few weeks earlier. When I finished, I headed for Les Baux de Provence, figuring there wouldn't be too many visitors at that time of year and I could find parking close to the entrance to the village.

Les Baux de Provence is a very picturesque village about 75 kms southwest of our house in Sablet. The village sits in a spectacular site on a rocky outcrop with ancient houses and a ruined castle perched on top of the village overlooking the plains to the south. The road to Les Baux from the south takes you past olive groves and vineyards.

The village is officially classified as one of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France - one of the most beautiful villages of France. The beauty of the village and surrounding Alpilles, a small range of mountains, makes Les Baux de Provence a very popular place for visitors all year long.

The name Les Baux refers to its site - in Provençal, a baou is a rocky spur. Aluminum ore bauxite was first discovered near Les Baux in 1822 and named after the village of Les Baux de Provence. Bauxite was mined extensively in the area but by the end of the 20th century, the bauxite had been completely removed.

You have to pay to park your car near the village but parking is allowed for free along the road leading up to the village. Just inside, is the Maison du Roy - King's House, built in 1499. The King's House is now the home of the Office de Tourisme - Tourist Office.

As I mentioned earlier, the village of Les Baux de Provence sits on a rocky outcrop overlooking the plains to the south. The view is fabulous and it looks like it would have been very difficult for enemies to sneak up on the villagers.

The Musée des Santons - the museum of santons (santons are plaster-moulded, kiln-fired nativity figurines dressed in traditional Provençal costumes) contains a large number of exhibits including some figurines made in Naples, scenes illustrating the traditions of Provence and Les Baux linked to the Nativity and a documentary film on the manufacture of these figurines.

You can't drive through Les Baux de Provence as cars are prohibited so the village must be visited on foot.

As I walked around, I discovered that Les Baux de Provence is crisscrossed by narrow cobblestone streets lined with art galleries, cafés and shops selling souvenirs and products made in Provence.

One of the many narrow cobblestone streets.

I came across some beautiful old houses and facades.

Another narrow street and tourist shop.

The 12th-century L'église Saint-Vincent building is typical of construction in Les Baux with the church's southern section built half into the rock.

La Chapelle des Penitents Blancs on Place de l'église, was built in the mid-17th century by the Brotherhood of White Penitents. The chapel stands on the edge of the cliff overlooking the Fontaine Valley.

This graceful stone campanile, so-called lantern of the dead, flanks the north side of L'église Saint-Vincent.

A shop selling souvenirs from Provence; the streets were mostly deserted early in January except for a dog keeping watch. It was very different when I returned with friends in April.

One more cobblestone street to explore as I headed back to the parking lot and my car.

The day was overcast and cool the day I visited so I didn't walk to the castle ruins as I remembered going there in January several years before when the Mistral (strong cold wind) was blowing and it was bitter cold; so I decided to take a pass that day.

I did go to Les Baux de Provence and up to the castle ruins a few weeks ago with friends which I will tell you about in a future post. Bonne journée et à bientot.

Campagne Vignes et Gourmandises, Sainte Cécile les Vignes

2011-05-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite restaurants in the Vaucluse is located not very far from Sablet just outside of Sainte Cécile les Vignes along the road to Suze-la-Rousse. The restaurant Campagne, Vignes et Gourmandises, is owned by Sylvain who oversees the kitchen and wife Sylvia who graciously cares for guests in the dining room.

My first meal at the restaurant was with friends Allison and Adam when they visited last spring. Shirley had returned to California and Allison and Adam were leaving the next morning and they took me out to eat as a thank you for staying with us. We had a wonderful meal and I made a mental note to return with Shirley.

We went to Campagne Vignes et Gourmandises last fall on our first evening back in Sablet. We sat on the terrace and the food was wonderful but Shirley couldn't enjoy her meal as she was struggling to stay awake due to jet lag. It must have been pretty obvious because Sylvia came by and said "its too bad madame is not enjoying her meal".

I was in Sablet a few weeks ago with friends Steven and Susan and we decided to go to Campagne Vignes et Gourmandises. As I said, there is a terrace for dining outdoors during good weather and a small very pretty dining room. As the weather was still cool, we were seated in the dining room.

We enjoyed some olives while we considered the options for dinner in the printed menu and on the blackboard which detailed the Retour du Marché menu for 21 Euros. All three of us chose the 3-course Campagne menu for 32 Euros.

We selected a bottle of 2007 Côtes du Rhône-Villages Rasteau from Domaine Beaurenard from the large wine list, a delicious blend of Grenache (80%) and Syrah (20%) to enjoy with our dinner.

Our entrées - starters included Des Ravioles, des petits Gris dans un bouillon aux herbes - ravioles with little escargots in an herb bouillon

and dans une cocotte, un velouté d’Asperges, un Œuf poché, quelques Morilles et crème fouettée - asparagus soup with a poached egg, some morilles mushrooms and whipped cream.

For our plat - main courses, we chose un filet de bœuf, réduction de vin de pays du Vaucluse et Morilles - fillet of beef with a red wine reduction and morille mushrooms and

un filet de Sar, Poivrons et Ail nouveau confit à l’huile d’Olive de Pays - fillet of sea bream, roasted red pepper with garlic confit in local olive oil.

Our dessserts included Des Sacristains, une sauce Araguani, Coriandre et Ananas - sweet puff pastry on a bittersweet chocolate sauce made from a blend of Criollo and Trinitario cocoa beans from Venezuela, coriander and pineapple and

des Fraises de Pays et de Rhubarbe, mousse légère au Lait de Brebis - local strawberries and rhubarb with a light sheep's milk mousse

We also shared a selection of cheeses aged by our favorite cheese lady Josianne from Lou Canestéou in Vaison-la-Romaine.

This was a wonderful meal and I can't wait to go back. Don't hesitate to go to Campagne Vignes et Gourmandises if you are going to be in the Northern Vaucluse.

Bon appétit et à bientôt mes amis.

La Farigoule, Sainte Cécile les Vignes

2011-04-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, we knew Sainte Cécile les Vignes for two of the restaurants in the village. As you know by now, good food is one of my passions in life so we are always looking for good places to eat.

We had tried many times to go eat at La Farigoule, a restaurant located on the main street of Sainte Cécile les Vignes but never succeeded because it was either closed for fermeture annuelle - annual closing, fermeture hebdomadaire - weekly closing or complet - fully reserved.

So after tasting wine at several domaines in Rasteau one morning, it was getting close to noon and time for déjeuner - lunch, I decided I would try again to eat at La Farigoule. This time I was successful; they were open and they were not full.

As I said, La Farigoule is located on the main street of Sainte Cécile les Vignes and there is small terrace for outdoor dining along the street. La Farigoule is a hotel and restaurant.

The day was very gray and cool and it was way too early in the season for outdoor dining so I entered the front door into the pretty dining room with adjoining bar.

I was seated at a linen covered table along the wall with a view of the entire dining room. In addition to the printed menu, there was a menu ardoise - blackboard menu, with the chef's lunch menu for that day.

I chose the four course Sélection du Terroir from the printed menu for 29,00 Euros and a glass of local rosé wine. Very unusual from our experience in the South of France, there was no amuse bouche brought to the table to nibble on while I waited for my entrée - starter.

For my entrée - starter, I chose gratinéed moules with velouté de légumes -gratinéed mussels with vegetable soup.

For my plat - main course, I chose braised chicken with a herb flan and balsamic braised fennel and mashed potatoes.

After my plat, I was brought a plate with greens dressed with vinaigrette and a round of fresh goat cheese.

For dessert, I decided on molten chocolate cake with a little pot of crème anglaise accompanied by a scoop of honey milk ice cream.

The food was simply prepared but very tasty and service was warm and attentive. I will definitely return with Shirley on one of our future visits to Sablet.

Bon appétit et à bientôt.

Sainte Cécile les Vignes

2011-04-28T06:42:00.000-07:00

Sainte Cécile les Vignes is a small village located 15 kms northwest of Sablet on the border of the Vaucluse and the Department of the Drôme. As the name suggests (les "vignes" means the vines), Sainte Cécile les Vignes is an agricultural village devoted to making wine.

Sainte Cécile les Vignes is one of 95 communes in the Côtes du Rhône Villages area making red, white and rosé wine. Red and rosé wines must be at least 50% Grenache along with at least 20% Syrah and/or Mourvèdre with a minimum 12% alcohol. White wines must be made of 80% Grenache, Clairette, Marsanne, Roussanne, Bourboulenc or Viognier with a minimum of 12% alcohol.

We knew Sainte Cécile les Vignes as a village with two very good restaurants (more about the restaurants in future posts), but didn't know anything else as we had never explored the village. So one day after lunch at one of the aforementioned restaurants, I decided to take a walk around the village.

As you wander the streets around the village, you will find the clock tower topped by its wrought iron campanile with a small bell.

The Mairie festooned with flags.

In olden times (from 1370 onwards) the village was surrounded by ramparts, traces of which can be seen to this day. There are pretty old mansions throughout Sainte Cécile les Vignes.

The Sainte Cécile church.

Memorial in front of the Sainte Cécile church honoring the Ceciliens who have died for France in wars.

The Sainte Cécile chapel which was built in the 12th century and restored in the 17th century.

On the road at the entrance to Sainte Cécile les Vignes sits this pretty, old church, surrounded by the vineyards for which the village is known.

Enjoy your visit to Sainte Cécile les Vignes. Bonne journée et à bientot.

Le Tourne au Verre, Cairanne

2011-04-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

If you are a regular reader of Our House in Provence blog, you know that wife Shirley and I eat in restaurants often when we are in Provence. Some of that is because we don't get to eat out in restaurants in California much because I am usually at Bistro Des Copains, the French country bistro that I co-own in Occidental California.

We usually go to restaurants that have been recommended to us, I have read about on one of the blogs I follow or the restaurant is in a restaurant guide such as Bonnes Petites Tables du guide MICHELIN, a guide to 600 restaurants throughout France that offer a great three-course meal for less than €29 Euros.

Some time back Julie Mautner at The Provence Post wrote "Where Would Patrica Wells Eat." Patricia is a cookbook author and cooking teacher who lives near Sablet in Vaison la Romaine. For 25 years, Patricia was the restaurant critic for the International Herald Tribune. I have a very large collection of cookbooks and among my favorites are seven of Patricia Wells books.

So when I saw that one of the restaurants on Patricia Well's list was in nearby Cairanne, we decided to go try it out. Cairanne sits on a hill with a view east towards Sablet and the vineyards between the village and the Dentelles de Montmirail. Wines produced in the commune are designated Côtes du Rhône-Villages.

We found restaurant Le Tourne au Verre in the center of Cairanne on Route de Sainte Cécile.

Le Tourne au Verre is a restaurant wine bar with a terrace for dining outdoors in nice weather and a large bar and adjoining dining room. We went in the evening and it was sort of cool outside so we chose to sit in the dining room.

Now when we got to the restaurant we discovered that the Le Tourne au Verre offers a four-course menu with amuse-bouche, entrée, plat, and dessert for 25,00 Euros. A great value, only trouble is you have to be an adventuresome diner with no dietary restrictions to fully enjoy it as they only list one choice for each part of the menu.

The wine list is large with 580 selections; we chose a bottle of 2006 Domaine de Mourchon Séguret Grande Réserve. Made from grapes of 60 year old vines, the wine is a blend of Grenache (65%) and Syrah (35%).

For entrée - starter, that night, the restaurant was serving encornets farcis a la brandade haddock, sauce aux poivrons - squid stuffed with haddock brandade sitting on a red pepper sauce.

As I said, Le Tourne au Verre is best suited for adventuresome diners and those with no dietary restrictions. Shirley eats fish but not seafood so the chef prepared her a simple green salad.

For plat - main course, the chef was serving foie de veau, sauce aux raisins, purée de rutabaga et brocolis - braised calf liver with raisin sauce, mashed rutabagas and broccoli.

Again, the chef came through for Shirley with roast salmon with the same raisin sauce and mashed rutabagas and broccoli.

For dessert,we were served cappuccino maison - coffee gelatin pudding, milk chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream.

All the dishes were very well prepared. However, I am not a lover myself of squid or calf liver so I can't say it was a memorable meal. However, I am sure I will return again. The menu changes daily and they have a large well priced wine list.

Bon appétit et a bientôt.

A Car for Sablet

2011-04-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

As gasoline prices in the US race up towards the prices we pay in the South of France, I think there will be greater interest for small fuel efficient cars like we see all the time in France. This really came home to me a few weeks ago, when I rented a car in Los Angeles and I was given a silver hatchback to drive just like I rent at the Marseille Provence Airport. I thought its happening.

As we have traveled around the Vaucluse, I have snapped a few pictures of cars and trucks which caught my eye. I won't venture to tell you what kind of car or truck they all are since I don't know. I took auto mechanics in high school but it was my least favorite subject. Wife Shirley will tell you that while I am very good in the kitchen I am useless when it comes to mechanical things. Thankfully, we have a very good mechanic to take care of our cars. But I digress.

Anyway, this "truck" in Sablet caught my eye since it was three-wheeled and I love the collection of colors.

I spotted this Citroën 2CV “deux chevaux" literally two horses in Eygalières, an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple bodywork, that belied the sheer quality of its underlying engineering. It was designed to move the French peasantry on from horses and carts.

Another Citroën 2CV, this one in Bonnieux.

This truck in Ménerbes caught my eye.

One more Citroën 2CV spotted in Ménerbes.

I saw this cute, tiny, fuel efficient car on the street in Sablet. Who knows, maybe that will be the kind of car I get to drive someday. I think that car will fit into our garage in Sablet, perfect for squeezing into one of those tiny parking spots you find when you are circling around looking for a place to park on market day or to make your way down one of those super narrow streets all over the South of France.

Happy travels. Bonne journée et à bientot.