Month: November 2016

Thanksgiving in France is just another day.  And, though there is plenty of fowl (chicken, pintade, duck, goose) in the markets, we haven’t seen any turkey.  We celebrated by taking a day trip to Perpignan and eating out at a little Italian restaurant around the corner from our apartment in Narbonne.  We gave thanks, even without the traditional meal, for our families and friends who’ve supported us as we pursue this (crazy?) adventure.

We are now settled into our second long-stay Airbnb in Narbonne, France on the rue des 3 Pigeons. We’ll be here for 3 weeks.

Narbonne is a medium sized city (huge by comparison to where we’ve been the last few weeks!) that is near the Mediterranean coast in southern France. Our apartment is ideally located within walking distance of everything, including a wonderful indoor market that is open every day (but only until 1:00).

If you’re lucky enough to snag a stool, you can even have lunch inside the market – charcuterie, shrimp, baguette, and, wine (of course!) – but only on a day when you haven’t had much breakfast!

The apartment is bigger than where we stayed in Paris, but not as well-equipped. We improved the kitchen by buying a small skillet and sharpening the knives with this handy tool that we bought on our Spring trip to Japan.  It doesn’t take up too much room and I knew it would come in handy!!

We enjoyed returning to Perpignan.  The drive from Narbonne is less than an hour and mostly highway.  This town (as I mentioned in an earlier post) is close to the Spanish border and evidences a lot of Catalan influence.  It is also home to the most enthusiastic Tourist Information office we’ve found, and has extremely helpful signs that not only tell you what direction to go but how long a walk it is to the next sight.

The most important sight in Perpignan is the Palais des Rois de Majorque – Palace of the Kings of Majorca. This part of France was once part of Spain and the center of the Kingdom of Majorca.  The castle is impressive and the history is so interesting.

On the way back to Narbonne, we stopped at the Fortress de Salses built by the Spanish king Ferdinand to protect what was then the northern Spanish border. (Roussillon was part of Spain until 1659.) This impressive structure was built in less than 10 years and housed 1500 soldiers and 100 horses.

Another day trip took us to Collioure, even farther south and right on the coast.  It is a beautiful town, that must be bustling during the summer. The foundation of the church is actually in the sea and its belfry doubles as a lighthouse.

The homes are colorful and the flowers are abundant.  I had to take a picture of a lavender ceramic drainpipe that has a face with an open mouth at the bottom!!

In the last few days the winds have been strong and mostly from the south. I don’t know if that accounts for the dramatic skies we’ve been seeing, but they are remarkable.  I had a hard time choosing among the many pictures because they are all so beautiful!
 

 

We have been busy as we continue to explore Languedoc-Roussillon.  The people we’ve met here are fond of the place they have chosen to live and they describe it as “the REAL South of France.” Most people outside of France think first of Provence when they conjure up the South of France. Languedoc is less fashionable but more authentic than Provence, according to the locals, as well as Rick Steves.  Once we’ve had a chance to do our own comparison, we’ll decide if we agree.  But I will say that we’ve been so impressed with the friendliness and hospitality of those we have met.

Our explorations in the last week or so included a 2 hour drive northwest to Albi, located on the river Tarn.  It is a lively city where most of the structures are built of brick, rather than the stone we have seen so often.  The cathedral, which looks rather like a fortress, is the largest brick church in the world(!) and has a remarkable interior that is best appreciated through the use of an audioguide. Next door, in what was once the bishop’s residence, is the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec that contains the world’s largest collection of works by the artist – from his early paintings of horses to the more familiar posters of Parisian chorus girls. It took us a few hours to see it all.

Between the museum and cathedral is a lovely formal garden and a beautiful view over the river.

Our host, Harry, has taken us on several drives through the countryside to places we appreciate so much more because he is with us. He is an excellent driver on these narrow twisty roads.  Rick, too, has become quite skilled at negotiating the roads (despite occasional gasps and squeals from his terrified wife in the passenger seat).
One of our recent forays into the countryside with Harry took us to Rennes-le-Chateau where, some say, there is treasure – and maybe even the Holy Grail – hidden.  This place consists of a church and residence where a legendary priest named Bérenger Saunièr lived.  He and the legend figured in Dan Brown’s book, The DaVinci Code.

The drive to Rennes was beautiful, with some spectacular views (those windy roads get you to some high places!).

On our way back from Rennes, we stopped in Termes, another of these small, beautiful villages that seem to be everywhere.  In this one, there was water flowing through channels on the roadside, apparently from a mountain spring.

One interesting note related to all this driving up and down mountains…  My tendency to get carsick (and need to premeditate with Dramamine) seems to be gone!! I’ve even been riding in the back seat (when Harry was driving) and haven’t had a problem.  Now, that would be a great condition to ‘grow out of,’ wouldn’t it?

On November 11, Veteran’s Day, it seemed that every village we drove through was gathered at the local war memorial to honor the citizens of that village who had ‘mort pour France.’ In one village, they were flying not only the French flag, but the British and American flags, too.

On many monuments, the names of the fallen soldiers are carved, and there is often a Sabatier among them…

We experienced the first problem with our car this week – a flat tire! Fortunately we discovered it just as we were leaving our Chambre d’Hôte (Bed & Breakfast) for a day’s excursion.  Rick and Harry changed the tire in the driveway while I called the Peugeot emergency assistance number.  They instructed us to take the car (and the bad tire) to the closest Peugeot dealer, which happened to be about 10 miles away.  There we were given an estimate to replace the unrepairable tire and Peugeot paid the whole tab!

As you would expect, we are drinking and enjoying the local wines.  Two are worth noting. Blanquette de Limoux is a sparkling wine made around the city of Limoux.  The story we were told was that Dom Perignon was  a monk an abbey near there and noted the methods they were using to produce this wine.  And, the locals say, he stole the idea and carried it with him when he moved to Champagne.  The wine is very good…with more fruit than many sparkling wines, but not quite a Champagne, in our opinion.

The other wine is a red blend – Messaline Rouge – that we enjoyed for its taste AND for its racy label!  Apparently, the winemaker was forbidden from exporting it to the US unless he agreed to make a different label (aren’t we such prudes…)

I’ll end here with two beautiful pictures – of the recent full moon and a sunset the next day. Ahhhhhhh…..

Our current location is the small village of Paraza, on the banks of the Canal du Midi that connects the Atlantic and Mediterranean Oceans across the south of France. Much of this area was once part of Spain and contains walled cities and castles that were strongholds during the 11th & 12 centuries during the Crusades and the conflicts between the locals, the Pope and king of France.  As in other parts of the region, the vegetation is surprisingly tropical and colorful, especially for November!

Our exploration of the area has taken us to two remarkable medieval cities, Minerve and Carcassonne.  Both have been well-restored and are remarkable building feats when you consider both their location and the time in which they were constructed.  Minerve is carved out of a canyon that can be reached on foot and the leads to a cave through which the river runs in the Spring.

There are no cars (and, on the day we visited, very few people, either). But we’re told that, in warmer weather, the town is teeming with both locals and tourists who come to walk the ramparts, explore the cave, and enjoy the loveliness of the village.

Carcassonne is more well-known, and larger, than Minerve.  Since we are here in the off-season, we haven’t had to wade through the hordes of tourists who visit here in warmer months.  As we walked the ramparts and rooftops, we understood why there were so few of us there.  The wind is so strong that it blew our hats off onto a nearby rooftop! (And, over Rick’s protests, I climbed over a railing onto the roof and retrieved them…)

The WIND has a name. It is called la tramontane, (the Languedoc equivalent of the Mistral in Provence) and it comes from the Atlantic to the Med through this valley between two mountain ranges, the Pyrenees and the Montagne Noire. It has been quite strong for several days (some gusts are enough to make you hold tight as you climb the stairs or walk up the street).  We are breaking out our layers as we try to figure out what will keep us warm enough to keep on exploring.  One thing we did not bring, and don’t need here, is an umbrella!!

But, when we come back at the end of a day, we are happy to return to our lovely dwelling at the Domaine Mediterranée, where our hosts, Marie-José and Harry welcome us and prepare fabulous dinners, with well chosen local wines, of course. In addition to being good cooks, they are excellent tour guides – providing us with maps, directions and advice for touring around the area and, sometimes, even going with us! (That’s Harry in the long coat in the pictures from Minerve…)

When we visited our friends, Tori & Ray, in Chicago last July, they put us in touch with a friend of theirs, Joanne Hurley, who now lives in Durban-des-Corbiers, in the heart of the Languedoc region of France.  We have been amazed by her generosity in offering, not only to share advice about exploring the region, but to host us in her home for a week!  Joanne and Apolo live in an old stone home in this small village.

We arrived here on Halloween and even had some trick-or-treaters come to the door. The house is cozy and warm and a lovely place to take things a little easier after our week on the road.

Apolo is a talented painter, who works all day long in the cave/studio below their home. We were able to see a few of his paintings on display at a local restaurant where we had Sunday lunch. These are two of our favorites.

We explored the village, the oldest part of which is built into the hillside leading up to the ruins of an old castle and a church. We visited the local market that, while smaller than the urban markets we’ve seen, had wonderful produce, a poissoniere, a fromager, and a purveyor of local honeys and essential oils.

We spent half a day in Perpignan, which we reached over a VERY narrow and winding road. I was glad that Rick was driving (!), but sometimes wished that his inner race car driver would slow down just a little bit… Perpignan is an interesting city rather near the Spanish border where the Caltalan influence is evident. The trees lining the streets include date palms and orange trees along with the chestnuts and other deciduous trees we expect to see. The canal that runs through the city is very picturesque as are the buildings dating back to the 13th century. We plan to return there in a few weeks when we’ll be staying in Narbonne, which is closer and eliminates the need to drive over the mountains.

We’re enjoying the wines of the Corbiéres region. Most reds are a blend (in varying proportions) of Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault. Heartier and more robust than the Cab Francs of Chinon, enjoyable and inexpensive. The whites are primarily Vermintino, Grenache, Marsanne & Roussane. As we drive through the countryside, the fall colors become evident, especially in the vines, in contrast with the evergreen hillsides.

Next we’ll head about an hour north to Paraza in the Minervois region of Languedoc.  More wines to try, more places to explore…

 

Our time in Paris is over and we’ve headed out to see more of the country.

We picked up our leased car and drove out of Paris on Monday.  I think I talked about the arrangements we’d made for the car in an earlier post, but it’s worth repeating.  Three French car companies – Peugeot, Renault & Citroën – have similar lease/buy-back programs designed for foreign travelers.  You can choose the model that works best for you and get a brand new car (our Peugeot 308 Diesel- standard transmission with cruise control and GPS – had 1.1km on it when we picked it up!).  You can lease for between 21 and 170 days; the first 21 days cost us $65/day and every day thereafter is $15/day.  Our 4 month rental (Oct 24-Feb 20) averages out at about $25/day. At the end, you just return the car and there is no obligation to buy.  All 4 of our small suitcases fit into the trunk and we’re motoring on…

Our first stop was Chinon, a medieval town in the Loire Vally.  We love the cabernet franc wines produced here and are having fun drinking the local product and exploring the nearby chateaux. We began at La Cave Voltaire (13 rue Voltaire), where Patrice, the proprietor and sommelier, shared five of his favorite Chinons.  He knows all the winemakers and talks proudly about the wines of the region. This is a place where all the locals seem to congregate in the evening. From what we could tell on the two nights we stopped there for wine & cheese before dinner, rue Voltaire is the busiest (walking) street in sleepy Chinon, at least this time of year.

We continued down the street for dinner to a quirky place called Restaurant-Musée Animé du Vin et de la Tonnellerie (12 rue Voltaire), run by an equally quirky fellow named Dédé.  There is no menu here.  He pours you wine, all you can drink – two glasses at a time from his specially designed pitcher, and serves you food – rillettes, and delicious bread called fouée that comes from his wood-fired oven along with white beans, salad and dessert, all for 19 euros!

The Loire Valley is well-know for its beautiful chateaux.  We had time to visit two – Villandry and Azay-le-Rideau. The latter was undergoing a major renovation so we were somewhat limited in what we could see, but Villandry was spectacular!! The gardens are amazing, arguably the best in France, but the inside of the chateau is worth a visit, also. It is still privately owned and they maintain it beautifully.

We followed with lunch, accompanied by a local sparkling rosé, at l’Etape Gourmande, a lovely stone farmhouse about 1km out of the town of Villandry.

Venturing south from Chinon, we stopped at Oradour-sur-Glane, a town that was obliterated by the Nazis with all 642 people killed on June 10, 1944, just four days after the Normandy invasion by the Allies and two months before the liberation of Paris. The French government has preserved the ruins as they found them as a memorial to the martyrs.   It is very moving to walk through and learn the story of what happened here.  The buildings are marked to indicate what they were before the destruction (like the ‘Sabotier’…the shoe maker’s shop).

We drove another hour or so through beautiful countryside – rolling hills and ancient towns, one more charming than the next. Our destination was Moulin du Roc, a lovely hotel in the peaceful village of Champagnac-de-Belair. Rick quotes our friend Robert Parker saying that this is “the most romantic place he has stayed in France.”  We agree!

We then ventured out through the Dordogne, home of foie gras!  We hope to spend some concentrated time here next year but, for now, it was a pass-through.  We stopped for lunch in Sarlat-la-Canáde, a really charming old town where there are foie gras shops on every corner. and we drove through Les Ezyies-de-Tayac, a narrow, but beautiful town that seemed to be carved out of the stone faces of the surrounding mountains. The afternoon’s drive was just beautiful…rolling farmland interrupted by ancient villages nestled into the hillsides and small towns with impossibly narrow streets. It was a beautifully clear sunny day for appreciating the countryside.

Our next four nights were spent in the Bordeaux area, two in Saint-Emilion and two in Paullliac. Rick has fond memories of a trip that he made here in 1990 with a group organized by Bob Schindler of Pinehurst Liquors including friends from the Baltimore Wine & Food Society.  Thirty-five chateaux in eight days…yes, really(!).  In all my travels, I’ve never been to Bordeaux, so I was looking forward to reliving those heady days of 1990.  Well…it was not to be.  I’m convinced that the best (and maybe the only) way to experience this region is the way those guys did it back in the day – with all the chateau visits pre-arranged and a driver to get you home at the end of the day.  We find that we are here on a weekend with a bank holiday on Monday, and most of the chateaux are closed! But we took pictures from the outside…Beychevelle, Lafite, and Latour…plus the lovely wild flowers that appear randomly as you drive through endless miles of vines.

Our only full day in Saint Emilion was foggy until 3pm, so even the ‘route panonramique’ was a disappointment.  But, our little hotel is well located in the middle of the town and we did have a wonderful dinner at Logis de la Cadène, so it wasn’t a total loss. The town itself is charming with VERY narrow streets and a wine merchant on every corner!

On to Pauillac…although, in hindsight, it might have been better to book a hotel in Bordeaux and venture out to Pauillac.  Again, we faced the weekend closure of most of the chateaux. Pauillac itself is a kind of seedy town…not much to recommend it except the location.  We spend more time in the city of Bordeaux…at the Sunday Market on the Quai des Chartrons (great produce, meats and prepared foods, including oysters on the half shell), the Miroir d’Eau (a shallow pool of water that reflects the Place de la Bourse), and La Cité du Vin, a new museum devoted to the culture of wine that is striking in its architecture and in the breadth of interactive displays inside. The bar on the top floor, where everyone is served a glass of wine at the end of the visit, has a ceiling chandelier made of wine bottles!  We later learned, on a visit to Cordeillan-Bages, that Silvie, sister of Jean-Michel Cazes was instrumental in the planning of the museum.

We’ll soon arrive in the Languedoc where we expect the pace to be slower. More from there…