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Published: September 1st 2007
Chicken for Dinner
We had already bought the ratatouille and now we were looking for something to complement it. - Up bright and early for a full day in Arles. I had read that there was the local market held on Saturday and as well as a Provencal fabric shop, and lots of Roman ruins, which, among other things, is what Arles is famous for. It also turned out that they were having a “Roman Week” that ended on Sunday so we could catch a couple of items there. First the market. I just LOVE the French (cross out - fresh) markets. I could smell the freshly baked bread two stalls down. I haven’t seen that many types of olives in one place together in my life! And just all the other stuff. I got some retail therapy in, and we bought up large. We had the cooler (Chilly bin) with us, so we were prepared. We RAN the stuff back to the car, since we found out that there were mock chariot races and hand-to-hand combats being staged in the outdoor arena, which was on the other side of the “Centre Ville”. It can’t be said that we aren’t getting enough walking in. This sure beats the strolls around Russell in the AMs. So, we saw
Sausage Vendor
You can buy all kinds of sausage at the markets from pepper to duck and this guy certainly enjoys his product. that - it turned out to be a dress rehearsal for a program that night - and took a walk around the arena. It was about that time Kevin decided he had had enough of the visor (never mind the sweater…) and so my job was to find a hat. Not just any hat, mind you, but one that I didn’t look like Mother in. This was no easy feat, but judge for yourselves. It hasn’t come off my head since. And as for the sweater, well it’s so hot here that we don’t need sweaters, or anything that has any sort of sleeve. So, yes, that IS me in the sleeveless tops. I found the fabric shop. Beautiful fabrics - yes - but I will NOT pay 27 Euros for a meter of fabric. I was able to walk away without whimpering. After that, we thought we would go to Le Baux, and then St Remy, the birthplace of Nostradamus. On our way out of town we spied the Museum, which had more Romanesque demos going on, so of course we had to stop. We spent a lot of time in the museum, since admission was free that day
A slow day
I thought that she seemed pretty laid back. and it was air-conditioned. They had some beautiful tiles. I am getting a lot of ideas, but I am having to draw most of them, since I can’t even find a POSTCARD! The chariot races were actually pretty interesting to watch, and there certainly is a lot of skill involved.
So. There we were, off to Le Baux and St Remy. And, again, we got lost. We spent a lot of time passing the same guy on a bicycle (three times) and going by places we had seen before. And then just managed to catch St. Remy as we drove through. As for Le Baux - well, we were unable to find a parking spot anywhere close to the town and figured we would catch both towns Monday on our way back from Avignon. So, we headed back home with our cooked chicken and ratatouille from the market for dinner. Now, this is MY idea of fast food! And a salad. It was great!
Sunday, August 26, 2007 - Since it is Sunday and France pretty much closes up we decided to head up to the lavender country, though based on a website I checked out, the season could
Late for work
Pretty exciting stuff and it's certainly harder than it looks. be finished. We had to go to the other side of the Luberon, a national park interspersed with villages. It took us two hours to get there, only to find out the lavender season was finis! but we might see a couple of fields still in bloom. Well, that put a damper on our spirits and so, with all the places recommended shut, we decided to go tiki-touring around the general area instead. But what a surprise when we found towns open! There was a book fair in one, and marche aux puces in another. Ad nauseum. It was fun. And this one road we took south on the way home was just like a VERY LONG Topanga Canyon in LA. The topography here reminds us very much of southern California. And the same summer temperatures. We stopped in one town, Roussillion, which had some great shops. But, alas, I am limited to 20 kg. I will find a way around this dilemma. And they had a bell-ringer in the church. That was great - wonderful music, only to go behind the curtain and find the Wizard of Oz hard at work on the keyboard! We came home to have
Grapes for breakfast
How about being able to lean out of your window to pick these. the two fresh raviolis bought at the fresh market yesterday. Cepes and artichoke. Wonderful flavors. Ah, food with flavor. The good news is the scales here seem to be weighted in our favor!
Monday, August 27, 2007 - The day I have been looking forward to - going to Avignon for the fabric warehouse. Let’s just suffice it to say that I was able to do damage there in spite of the language barrier. And Kevin, bless his heart, was okay to sit in the car, though in the shade and in the morning. I didn’t take long though. Bear in mind, I AM a professional. With that done, we could go off to Avignon, home of the Popes for a couple of centuries. We were really looking forward to the city but ended up disappointed. There was way too much graffiti, all over. There were a lot of homeless men AND women sitting around drinking on the street and using back streets as public toilets. We started to do the walking tour mentioned in the Michelin guide, but it was so hot and the walking tour wasn’t that easy to follow or very interesting, so we just decided
French Biker Gang
It seems that everyone is training for the Tour-de-France. to have lunch instead. And - yep it happened. We found a place where the meal was on a par with our benchmark standard (set weeks earlier when eating with Ed and Wen). It was bound to happen. We have been traveling for 5 weeks. We were destined to have a BAD meal. And Kevin said even the wine was bad. After that, we went off to the Palais des Papes, so the day wasn’t a complete loss. Now, the Palais des Papes was the seat of the Popes for around 100 years after they left Rome in the 1300’s. We were able to get audio tours and it was well worth the visit. A definite thumbs up for the Palais de Papes. The tiles found were tremendous, and I sat and drew a few, since pictures couldn’t be taken (but, once again, no cards to be had….)
On the way back we decided to have another go at St Remy and Les Baux. St. Remy was delightful, small, and the birthplace of Nostradamus (who was born on my birthday, by the way). We stopped and had ice cream, to recover from the heat. Le Baux, again, was crowded, but
Wishing and Hoping
Thinking and praying, anyway I think those were the lines to a Dusty Springfield song. Here I am outside of the Palais-du-Papes in Avignon. not as bad as the first day, the town is perched on a cliff face and very photogenic. Supposedly, it gets over one million visitors a year and they all come in August. Lots of tourist shops selling the same stuff that you can buy in the market for ½ the price.. We were going to visit the Chateau on the top of the hill but the guide book said it isn’t recommended if you suffer from vertigo, and Kevin didn’t want to go alone. I think he was just afraid to leave me alone with the shops. The bags aren’t big enough any more….
Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - Marseille. Oh bliss. Two Consulates in one day. We decided to take on the US Consulate first, since we would need to relinquish our passports to the Chinese. I had called the Consulate to make an appointment to pick up my new credit card (long story there - credit card fraud in England) which had been sent there. They were only open for appts on Tuesday and Wed. I hadn’t heard from them so decided to take a chance since we had to do the Chinese Consulate for our
Interesting tour
Here's Caroline at the Palais-du-Papes listening to the tour in English for a change. visas anyway. The Consulate didn’t fail to live down to my expectations, and got pissy because I had the card sent there, as they couldn’t take responsibility for it. What CAN they take responsibility for? And I had been told it was okay by one of the interns. It just ticked me off, they way they treat US Citizens. After all, THEY ARE THERE TO HELP U.S. TRAVELERS. We asked for directions to the Chinese Consulate, and, although they could give us the address, which I already had, they couldn’t tell us where it was. No map of Marseille has the street where the Consulate is. Hmm….. We went to the general area and found a Chinese national who was able to help us. So, we turned our stuff in and will have to go back on Tuesday to pick our passports with our visas up. Lunch was at a waterfront restaurant. Kevin was smacking his lips for boulliabaise and the menu had salmon so I was looking forward to that. Well, no salmon that day, so I ordered something that I didn’t know about. Out came this fish, head and all, and it was not smiling. And neither was
Nostradamus
The plaque commemorating that Nostradamus was born in St-Remy in Provence. It also happens to be Caroline's birthday even though only 449 years later. Some significance? I after tasting it. Kevie was equally disappointed with his, and said he could do a better job, and I think he could, looking at the color of the broth. So, there was another restaurant that didn’t reach the benchmark. “Le Marseillais” gets a big thumbs down for quality and service. In fact, this one slipped into negative figures and was definitely a benchmark minus. Provence was having a heatwave and the afternoon was SO hot, we decided walking was out of the question and that it was time for a double-decker bus tour of the city (1-1/2 hours). A good way to see it. All I could think of was Gene Hackman in the French Connection. We think we drove on the road where they shot the chase scene.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - As we were leaving Aix-en-Provence today we were lucky to be able to meet and have lunch with our hostess, Estelle and her friend Isabelle. It was up early, and we had packed and cleaned the house by the time they arrived at noon. Lunch was at a very nice Provencal restaurant in town, and as an added bonus, the building housed a secret
Le Baux in Provence
Perched on the side of a cliff, this is dominated by the ruins of another old castle. well that was used by Jews while they were in hiding during various persecutions through the centuries. We were invited down to see it by the owner, after we had finished a wonderful meal that made our two previous meals seem like something from “Revenge of the Chefs.” After getting back to Estelle’s house and checking the mail we had tickets for the All Blacks-Italy game on the 8th (Thank YOU Jean-Clement and your friend at Adidas!!!), we got on the road and made a beeline to St. Cyr and a town called Port Alon, which seems to be more of a private community. We are staying at a house offered to us by family members of our Miradoux family and just generally detoxing for a couple of days before heading off to Nice. The house is very large, and beautiful, with great sea views of the Mediterranean and La Ciotat across the bay. A very nice location to veg.
SOME MORE OBSERVATIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE CUSTOMS AND OUR LIKES AND DISLIKES…. 1. We love the French people, they are very accepting of our baby French and will make the effort to speak Anglais when we get
The fun couple
Check out Caroline's new hat. We could be in for a ceremonial burning of the visor. stuck. Everyone that we have met has been absolutely wonderful!
2. We do NOT like “Merde de Chien” or “dog shit” to the uninitiated, on the sidewalks, and we don’t like the gum either, especially in hot weather. But we REALLY don’t like the dog shit. One should be looking up at the sights, not having to watch where one is stepping all the time.
3. We do not like having to deal with American Consulates. If I thought another letter might work, I would consider writing to my good friend, Condie Rice. God help us if something “serious” happened while we were abroad.
4. We love the French street markets, and think that these would be really neat to have, at least in Russell.
5. We don’t like graffiti, even though it is a world-wide phenomonum, there is too much of it here in the South of France.
6. We love the French motorways, however we don't like the very high tolls that you pay to use them.
7. We love the cult of "Homeexchange.com" as it is referred to by Jean-Clement: everywhere that we have stayed and the people that we have met have been fantastic.
Caroline and the cow
She'd seen these in Houston on her last visit and now they had turned up in Marseille. It must have been hell of a stampede.
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Vicky Swan Tak.
non-member comment
Les Baux
Hi! Having fun, I see. Back in 1970, during the summer before i started college, i was with a drama troup and we put on a Greek drama and a Greek comedy in Les Baux, in an amphitheatre, bien sur! Amusez-vous encore!! Vicky