Saturday evening I spend catching up on emails, some work, washing and watching some television while Sunday is henceforth to be known as Dumb Dumber Dumbest day. I get up at what I thought was 09:15 and it turns out to be 07:15 – no problem I sit on the balcony reading the two newspapers I bought yesterday (yes of course they were in English) drinking my morning coffee. A new experiment for breakfast, bacon and goats cheese on a cracker biscuit – highly recommended. Next I plug the iron into my power board and blow the fuse on my universal plug and of course being Sunday that is problematic – but I carry two so that wasn’t too bad.
At 12:30 I head up to Grasse which is thirty minutes away only to find what I had already known but forgot, that the Tour de France will be passing through in 1½ hours and of course I have forgotten my camera – DUH! Anyway I have some boisson froid in a bar while watching the Tour on TV and go outside when the riders come whizzing by capturing some images on my iPhone. Quite exciting but I have no idea who was leading! An afternoon schmooze around Grasse and back to the hotel to watch the back end of the Wimbledon final - one set all when I arrive. I watch the end of the tennis, losing a small amount betting on it, while eating some food I had accumulated.
Monday morning and I managed to sleep in quite late 09:30. I readied myself and went up to Grasse and La Bastide St Antoine, a Michelin one star restaurant which was simply superb. The Jacque Chibois Restaurant was part of a guesthouse where rooms cost from €300 to €1000 Euros a night. I have discovered, partly in discussions with Adam and Nina, that Michelin Restaurants for lunch are a good proposition. This lunch was €59 set price for four courses while dinner was €120 fixed price or €190 degustation.
The surroundings were superb being set in a garden overlooking the beautiful valleys below. The Amuse Bouche came and it was a big enough portion that I began to wonder how that could be the entrée I had ordered!! But for entrée I chose the crab salad risotto with an amazing bisque sauce. I should say however that my cough which has now lasted for almost four weeks has taken its toll on my sense of taste and smell but I could taste enough to know how simply delightful it was. For mains I went Coquille St Jacques which were very nice but not exceptional and after the three cheese plate with salad I had the most beautiful Soufflé with a lovely texture and taste. The combination of food and surroundings were intoxicating. Of course I forgot my camera but My Iphone camera seems to have captured the moment – even the website has charm.
http://www.jacques-chibois.com/uk/navigation.htm
I didn’t get back to the resort/hotel till 16:00 after which, yes folks, I had a swim – after all I had brought my swimming costume with me and had not yet used it so now was the chance. After a dinner at the local Chinois/Thai it was an early night.
When I booked at Mandelieu I contacted Laurent, the Uni Student I had met a few weeks earlier. I had asked him where I should go. He proposed the same deal – I buy him dinner and he would act as my guide for the day. He probably did better this time as I had booked a Michelin one star restaurant for dinner but it sounded like a reasonable deal – and it sure was.
We went to Grasse to exchange some tablecloths I had previously bought. He then took me to a village called Cabris.
http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit/cabris/cabris.htm
This village sites 550 metres above the Riviera and is described as: perched like an eagles nest the village's ancient houses fan out around the ruins of the feudal château. The view from the esplanade of château over the Var and towards Italy is really worth a detour! Take a walk around it's streets and you'll come across artists and crafts persons specialising in olive wood products, stained glass or Provençal santon decoration.... the village of Cabris is not just an extremely pretty Provençal village, it's also a pleasant meeting place! Interestingly the village lay empty for 150 years after a plague and was then reinhabited.
Then we went to Gourdon a lovely village where we did the tour of the Castle, one of the few in the southern part of France after Louis 14th ordered them all to be destroyed. The Russian tour guide speaking fluent French at the speed of sound made for a tough go but Laurent translated much of it and she did give some commentary in English just for me.
http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit/gourdon/gourdon.htm
We had lunch here at a restaurant perched over the rocks and it was extremely pleasant especially as it was not overflowing with tourists.
Finally we went to Tourrettes Sur Loup which was recommended to me by Vivien.
http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit/tourtlou/tourtlou.htm
In the historic centre of the village, there are more than 30 artists' workshops, galleries and crafts workshops. There are painting, sculptures, fabrics, jewellery and pottery and much more. It is another one of these towns where your mind casts itself back to what life must have been like centuries ago with the narrow streets, invaders and other threats etc.
We have a break at the hotel and head off to dinner around 19:30. Well Le Bacon, a speciality seafood restaurant proved to be the most expensive restaurant I have ever been to and was also a somewhat disappointing restaurant. Situated on the Cap d’Antibes the ambiance, outlook over the entire Riviera and service were, as one would expect, exceptional. The prices were even more exceptional – fish from $A120-$A160 a dish which was 500gms while Bouillabaisse Started at $A160 and went up to $A220 if you wanted Langoustines (crayfish in it). Laurent was a little embarrassed and ordered an entrée of seafood Ravioli which looked great while I had a fish soup with rouille which was excellent and quite filling. The rouille were a series of small crackers onto which one rubbed fresh garlic cloves and then added a type of aioli and put into the soup. Laurent pointed out this is normally eaten with grated cheese which he asked for and which certainly added flavour. We then shared a fresh foigras which was supposed to come with a glass of Pinot Gris which they forgot and which they kindly credited me with €4 – I can only imagine how much it would have cost if I ordered another glass – I am guessing not €4. Anyway the experience was excellent.
We moved on to Juan Les Pins where Laurent took me to a café where he previously worked called Pam Pam which had Brazilian music, singers and dancers which were very entertaining and added an incredible buzz to a simple dessert. Juan Les Pins is a lovely place in a glitzy type of way. Lots of nicely appointed shops open till very late in the evening, lots of restaurants and cafes on palm lined street but without the artificial glamour of Cannes. I drop Laurent off at Cannes station where he has left his motor scooter and get back to the hotel about 01:00 feeling awesomely tired.
I must say it was enjoyable spending a day with a local, there is so much to be learned and which one would not understand without some explanation. Apart from that he was very articulate and exceptionally well read on world events – we even had a debate on Burkha or no Burkha, a raging debate in France where the government wants to ban the full Burkha. He very much favours it while I do not but we won’t go there in this forum.
Next morning I gather up my last load of washing which is now dry and finish packing – of course I didn’t leave it to the last minute. Instead of checking out at 12:00 and heading for the airport I decide to leave at 09:30, spend the next four hours mooching and then go to the airport. Good move as there were huge traffic problems all the way to Nice. I went to a small village called Biot in which there are many glass artists. There I went into a number of galleries and under different circumstances I may have bought something but was too into getting home to think about schlepping something made of glass. I wind up in Nice around 12:30 where I have lunch, fill up and return the car and arrive at the airport. Damn – I get the bus from T2 to T1 only to find there are no trolleys. I schlep my luggage to the check-in counter and find nobody waiting so I check in with my 35 kgs (nothing said) and head through immigration and security to sit at a bar and relax for the 90 minutes before the flight.
All in all I had a great time. I managed to visit a large number of small villages, all of which seem to have their own identities. Spending two weeks at the bridge catching up with some good (and some not so good) friends and spending a week with Michael and Vivien all added to the pleasure.
My French is certainly not bad and I can manage in most situations. I can generally understand 60%-80% of the menus except at the more technical Michelin establishments.
I have a plan in my mind for next year but not having arrived home from this trip, that will have to wait for another time. BUT…..if anybody is interested in sharing a house in Provence for two weeks next year with an agenda of some fine dining, lots of village and market visits and some excellent home cooked meals with the freshest produce imaginable then please contact me – a clue there somewhere I guess.
I managed four seats between Nice and Dubai and slept a little. I took a room in the airport hotel for six hours and slept for five of those, the result of which I was awake for most of the 14 hours in a packed A380 between Dubai and Sydney.
Well, that’s all for this blog so Abientot and kisses on both cheeks French style
XXXD
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Une Semaine au Provence
Monday morning and I do what I do best – off to the supermarket to stock up. I make a breakfast of mushroom and camembert cheese omelette, rockmelon and strawberries – pretty darn good if I do say so. We head off for a drive to Grambois but it’s Monday and toute ferme au Lundi so we have a coffee at Bastide des Jourdan and then drive to the golf course to check it out for Michael. There is a lovely terrace restaurant which warrants a second coffee and fruit salad and then back to the maison for a schmooze around the pool and relax. At 16:30 I go to the supermarket for some final supplies for dinner which I cook.
Chorizo and crab dip for appetizer at 18:30 and at 21:00 a fillet of beef with lovely taste but slightly tough, mashed potatoes, salad, corn and mushrooms and a dessert of strawberries and cream in honour of Wimbledon.
Technology is an awesome thing. A friend of mine in Phoenix has a “Slingbox” attached to his “Foxtel” box and the internet and this allows him, or in this case me, to log in and watch his cable television, any station, change channels etc., so Michael and I do watch a bit of Wimbledon during the course of the afternoon.
Next morning we rise relatively early and leave around 09:00 for Cucuron and its markets a 25 minute drive away. This is a very pretty town and the market takes place around a larg pond in the town centre. We have a coffee in a lovely tea house and then buy a cooked chicken, some flat beans and other goodies for dinner. I notice the Iberian ham which looks good and reasonably priced at €13.50 until I realise that this is per 100gms. We buy 75 grams to have with our rockmelon for an appetizer.
We then go through Bonnieux, one of the nicest places around here and which Danielle and I went to last year and head for L’isle-Sur-La-Sorgue http://tinyurl.com/yzlsxs a very picturesque town rather than a village built around the Sorgue river. We had lunch by the river which was great even though the food wasn’t so great but as everything was closed for lunch and it was fiercely hot we headed back to the house arriving at 16:00.
Meanwhile Michael went to play nine holes while at 18:00 I drove down to Manosque (10km) to get some last minute supplies for dinner and diesel for the car and then back to the house. Nice dinner followed by a relaxing evening.
Next morning I cooked pancakes for breakfast with cream cheese topping I made from Crème Fraishe lemon and sugar, strawberries, bananas and lemon and sugar – pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Michael had Hong Kong races so we basically spent the morning mooching around the house. I ended up sleeping for three hours in the afternoon while M and V enjoyed the pool. The temperature has been in the high thirties but without humidity it is quite acceptable.
That evening we drive to La Petite Maison a one star Michelin Restaurant. They have been open two years and got their star five months ago. Disappointingly we had booked a garden table but they had not noted this and we were placed on the first floor. Our disappointment was soon appeased by the outstanding, food, service, champagne apology and Armagnac after the meal. It is hard to describe just how good the meal was. There were two menus one for €40 and one for €60 – Viv took the first Michael and I the second. The beauty of this was that there were no choices to be made and how great that turned out to be.
http://www.lapetitemaisondecucuron.fr/fileadmin/Menus/Menu_de_la_Saison_01_au_juillet.pdf
Amuse bouche
Green and red tomatoes in a lovely vinaigrette
Brandade douce de colin, velouté d’artichaut et une râpée de truffes d’été A découvrir, les ormeaux breton de pleine mer cuit meuniere purée de chou fleur et garniture grenobloise
This was a seafood mix with black truffles and pureed cauliflower
Filet de veau clouté de lard de « colonata » puis doré dans ses sucs fricassée de giroles
A sensational piece of veal with a slight but not overpowering scent of aniseed
Le fromage sélectionné par Josiane Déal Bouquet de salades « fatiguées » à l’huile d’olive de Pays
An outstanding goat cheese called Banon which we then bought the next day together with a salad the waiter described as tired.
Biscuit moelleux aux framboises, sorbet aux fruits rouges
A biscuit with raspberries, raspberry sorbet and red fruits
We finished our meal in the garden talking to the chef who spoke excellent English. We asked him where he sources his food from and how he comes up with ideas etc. Simply outstanding and memorable meal – recommended deviation if necessary.
Home to bed around midnight.
Next morning we head for Aix en Provence, one of my favourite towns. We have the usual hassle there finding a parking place but opt for the car park near the shops/markets. We have our morning coffee and split up for a time and meet back at 13:00. The only thing I bought was some of the Banon goats cheese and some items for dinner. Michael happily noted that the €40 wine of last night was in fact €23 in the wine shop – something he is more than sensitive to after having paid €48 for a 500ml bottle in a restaurant and seeing a full 750ml bottle the next day for €6.50 in the supermarket.
We head for Cassis which is a lovely but not memorable quaint seaside fishing town where we had lunch – another humourless French waiter but the lunch was quite acceptable. There was a ‘sea of humanity’ as Vivien described it. It seems that the holiday season has started in earnest as there were also plenty of people in Aix.
After a short look around the town which I had been to before but M and V had not we head back to the house for rests, swims and a dinner comprising all our leftovers.
Friday morning, another fresh pancake breakfast, and we leave around 09:30. When Vivien looked up the Petite Maison de CuCuron website she noticed a beautiful garden being advertised. It turns out that this is a reception centre and B&B with the most beautiful gardens and we have arranged for an inspection of the gardens which are exceptionally beautiful. Do take a look at the website.
http://www.pavillondegalon.com/en/htm/home.htm
The hedge and many of the trees in the gardens of this former hunting pavilion (show me the main house!!!) are 250 years old. Bibi, the owner is so passionate about the gardens and this shows through as she shows us around accompanied by her Weimeraner dog, Paloma.
We move on to probably the most beautiful village in Provence, Lourmarin.
http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/vaucluse/lourmari/lourmari.htm
Vivien returns a bathmat she had bought last year which had run when washed and this was remarkably easy as the owner of the shop says ‘pas problem’ and simply changes it over. After a morning coffee we split up and go through the markets which I must say are superb – lovely food, clothes, manchester, homewares and much more. Well worth a stop if you are in these parts.
We head back to the house for a lunch comprising the leftovers and some extras I had bought at the markets. A restful afternoon and dinner back at Auberge Cheval Blanc. Apart from the many flies the meal is as good as the first time. I have opted for a tomato tartar with avocado which is excellent but too large and actually quite rich/filling. For mains I relent and order the foiegras with figs and a rich jus – no cholesterol tests for me for a few weeks. I was going to pass on dessert but the peach soup and red fruits of the forrest soup entices me to temptation.
Back to the house and a final pack – I had done some during the day and not that I had unpacked too much.
Next morning up early as Mr Perrin will be there at 10:00 to inspect the house and release us. Dead on the appointed time he arrives commenting on how clean we had left the house – looked normal to me so don’t want to see what others do. M & V leave for Torino while I head for Mandelieu and four days in a resort. The two hour drive was punctuated by a few stops at sports stores, cake shops and a supermarket.
I arrive around 14:00 and I need to say that check-in time at hotels, airports, car rentals etc. does not see me at my best and this was no exception. I am waiting very patiently in queue as somebody from behind is asked by the receptionist if she could help him. Then I find out that the onsite parking is €8 a day in a 2.5 hectare resort – guess what – for $A15 a day I can walk to my car when I need it. Then I get to the room and go to hook up to the internet to find the 1.8 metre network cable will allow you to plug in your computer and stand next to the television to use it. A 4-5 metre cable would reach the table where one would expect most people would want to use their computers. I go to reception to explain my situation and ask if a longer cable was possible. No guesses for the response – ‘ah sorry no’ accompanied by a shrug of the shoulder. When I ask to speak with the manager and she came I don’t think I could have received a more disinterested reaction but again accompanied by the French shoulder shrug. Oh well I simply rearrange the furniture in the room.
I am feeling like a lunch of a different type and I noticed a Thai/Chinese restaurant just down the road so I head there for a very good lunch and back to the hotel to watch Serena Williams beat her sister in the Wimbledon final.
Best to all
XD
Chorizo and crab dip for appetizer at 18:30 and at 21:00 a fillet of beef with lovely taste but slightly tough, mashed potatoes, salad, corn and mushrooms and a dessert of strawberries and cream in honour of Wimbledon.
Technology is an awesome thing. A friend of mine in Phoenix has a “Slingbox” attached to his “Foxtel” box and the internet and this allows him, or in this case me, to log in and watch his cable television, any station, change channels etc., so Michael and I do watch a bit of Wimbledon during the course of the afternoon.
Next morning we rise relatively early and leave around 09:00 for Cucuron and its markets a 25 minute drive away. This is a very pretty town and the market takes place around a larg pond in the town centre. We have a coffee in a lovely tea house and then buy a cooked chicken, some flat beans and other goodies for dinner. I notice the Iberian ham which looks good and reasonably priced at €13.50 until I realise that this is per 100gms. We buy 75 grams to have with our rockmelon for an appetizer.
We then go through Bonnieux, one of the nicest places around here and which Danielle and I went to last year and head for L’isle-Sur-La-Sorgue http://tinyurl.com/yzlsxs a very picturesque town rather than a village built around the Sorgue river. We had lunch by the river which was great even though the food wasn’t so great but as everything was closed for lunch and it was fiercely hot we headed back to the house arriving at 16:00.
Meanwhile Michael went to play nine holes while at 18:00 I drove down to Manosque (10km) to get some last minute supplies for dinner and diesel for the car and then back to the house. Nice dinner followed by a relaxing evening.
Next morning I cooked pancakes for breakfast with cream cheese topping I made from Crème Fraishe lemon and sugar, strawberries, bananas and lemon and sugar – pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Michael had Hong Kong races so we basically spent the morning mooching around the house. I ended up sleeping for three hours in the afternoon while M and V enjoyed the pool. The temperature has been in the high thirties but without humidity it is quite acceptable.
That evening we drive to La Petite Maison a one star Michelin Restaurant. They have been open two years and got their star five months ago. Disappointingly we had booked a garden table but they had not noted this and we were placed on the first floor. Our disappointment was soon appeased by the outstanding, food, service, champagne apology and Armagnac after the meal. It is hard to describe just how good the meal was. There were two menus one for €40 and one for €60 – Viv took the first Michael and I the second. The beauty of this was that there were no choices to be made and how great that turned out to be.
http://www.lapetitemaisondecucuron.fr/fileadmin/Menus/Menu_de_la_Saison_01_au_juillet.pdf
Amuse bouche
Green and red tomatoes in a lovely vinaigrette
Brandade douce de colin, velouté d’artichaut et une râpée de truffes d’été A découvrir, les ormeaux breton de pleine mer cuit meuniere purée de chou fleur et garniture grenobloise
This was a seafood mix with black truffles and pureed cauliflower
Filet de veau clouté de lard de « colonata » puis doré dans ses sucs fricassée de giroles
A sensational piece of veal with a slight but not overpowering scent of aniseed
Le fromage sélectionné par Josiane Déal Bouquet de salades « fatiguées » à l’huile d’olive de Pays
An outstanding goat cheese called Banon which we then bought the next day together with a salad the waiter described as tired.
Biscuit moelleux aux framboises, sorbet aux fruits rouges
A biscuit with raspberries, raspberry sorbet and red fruits
We finished our meal in the garden talking to the chef who spoke excellent English. We asked him where he sources his food from and how he comes up with ideas etc. Simply outstanding and memorable meal – recommended deviation if necessary.
Home to bed around midnight.
Next morning we head for Aix en Provence, one of my favourite towns. We have the usual hassle there finding a parking place but opt for the car park near the shops/markets. We have our morning coffee and split up for a time and meet back at 13:00. The only thing I bought was some of the Banon goats cheese and some items for dinner. Michael happily noted that the €40 wine of last night was in fact €23 in the wine shop – something he is more than sensitive to after having paid €48 for a 500ml bottle in a restaurant and seeing a full 750ml bottle the next day for €6.50 in the supermarket.
We head for Cassis which is a lovely but not memorable quaint seaside fishing town where we had lunch – another humourless French waiter but the lunch was quite acceptable. There was a ‘sea of humanity’ as Vivien described it. It seems that the holiday season has started in earnest as there were also plenty of people in Aix.
After a short look around the town which I had been to before but M and V had not we head back to the house for rests, swims and a dinner comprising all our leftovers.
Friday morning, another fresh pancake breakfast, and we leave around 09:30. When Vivien looked up the Petite Maison de CuCuron website she noticed a beautiful garden being advertised. It turns out that this is a reception centre and B&B with the most beautiful gardens and we have arranged for an inspection of the gardens which are exceptionally beautiful. Do take a look at the website.
http://www.pavillondegalon.com/en/htm/home.htm
The hedge and many of the trees in the gardens of this former hunting pavilion (show me the main house!!!) are 250 years old. Bibi, the owner is so passionate about the gardens and this shows through as she shows us around accompanied by her Weimeraner dog, Paloma.
We move on to probably the most beautiful village in Provence, Lourmarin.
http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/vaucluse/lourmari/lourmari.htm
Vivien returns a bathmat she had bought last year which had run when washed and this was remarkably easy as the owner of the shop says ‘pas problem’ and simply changes it over. After a morning coffee we split up and go through the markets which I must say are superb – lovely food, clothes, manchester, homewares and much more. Well worth a stop if you are in these parts.
We head back to the house for a lunch comprising the leftovers and some extras I had bought at the markets. A restful afternoon and dinner back at Auberge Cheval Blanc. Apart from the many flies the meal is as good as the first time. I have opted for a tomato tartar with avocado which is excellent but too large and actually quite rich/filling. For mains I relent and order the foiegras with figs and a rich jus – no cholesterol tests for me for a few weeks. I was going to pass on dessert but the peach soup and red fruits of the forrest soup entices me to temptation.
Back to the house and a final pack – I had done some during the day and not that I had unpacked too much.
Next morning up early as Mr Perrin will be there at 10:00 to inspect the house and release us. Dead on the appointed time he arrives commenting on how clean we had left the house – looked normal to me so don’t want to see what others do. M & V leave for Torino while I head for Mandelieu and four days in a resort. The two hour drive was punctuated by a few stops at sports stores, cake shops and a supermarket.
I arrive around 14:00 and I need to say that check-in time at hotels, airports, car rentals etc. does not see me at my best and this was no exception. I am waiting very patiently in queue as somebody from behind is asked by the receptionist if she could help him. Then I find out that the onsite parking is €8 a day in a 2.5 hectare resort – guess what – for $A15 a day I can walk to my car when I need it. Then I get to the room and go to hook up to the internet to find the 1.8 metre network cable will allow you to plug in your computer and stand next to the television to use it. A 4-5 metre cable would reach the table where one would expect most people would want to use their computers. I go to reception to explain my situation and ask if a longer cable was possible. No guesses for the response – ‘ah sorry no’ accompanied by a shrug of the shoulder. When I ask to speak with the manager and she came I don’t think I could have received a more disinterested reaction but again accompanied by the French shoulder shrug. Oh well I simply rearrange the furniture in the room.
I am feeling like a lunch of a different type and I noticed a Thai/Chinese restaurant just down the road so I head there for a very good lunch and back to the hotel to watch Serena Williams beat her sister in the Wimbledon final.
Best to all
XD
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