Category: France

France: Hills of Provence

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STAYING NEAR LE BARROUX

Back of house with dining room

Our current B&B, Ferme des Belugues, is a gorgeous property nestled in the hills outside the village of Le Barroux with views toward the Dentelle Mountains.

Note the cypress trees

It’s formerly a farm, and the house exists on two levels with an addition on the upper level that has private entrance accommodations for guests.  There’s also a separate common sitting and kitchen area for guests with spaces earmarked for each room.  

Addition with guest entrances

 Our hosts, Karen and Spencer, are British.  They left their jobs in the corporate world in London in 2015 and created a new life here in Provence.  They both like to hike and cycle and often their B&B guests are groups of cyclists. 

The setting is very quiet and peaceful, and our room airy with a most comfortable bed and two big upholstered chairs. Outside each room is a round metal table and chairs. Breakfast each morning has included croissants of our choice, French bread, juice, and a plate of ham, salami, and cheese.  We are Karen and Spencer’s last guests this year, but this has not diminished in any way the welcome or the hospitality they have shown us! With her lilting voice, Karen reminds us fondly of our friend Rebecca.

DINING IN CAROMB

Based on the recommendations of France Just for You and Karen, we had dinner at two very different restaurants in Caromb.  This nearby town of 3,000 residents has a pleasant main shopping street with a small produce market (source of several clementines), tabac, pharmacy, wine bar, butcher, and the aforementioned restaurants.  The first night we dined at Le 6 a Table, an upscale gourmet restaurant whose chef has received some attention from Michelin.  The dining area near the bar is industrial style in shades of gray and white.  Our meal was excellent.  The Chief Penguin had a scallop starter while I had a zucchini blossom stuffed with cod.  Our main dishes were the lamb confit topped with squash for CP and red mullet over veggies.  The lamb was sweet and tender and the fish delicate. Desserts were grapefruit and sorbet for me and the cheese plate for him.

Scallops with blini
Zucchini blossom on tomato

Last night we opted for the casual, family run bistro called 156.  The son, who said he is a singer first of all, let us into the restaurant a few minutes early where we ordered glasses of wine.  He told us the cook would arrive at seven—his mother.  Meanwhile, his father was scurrying around getting things in order.  Quickly, the small space filled with locals. From the blackboard menu, we ordered  prosciutto to share and then each had the gnocchi a la Gorgonzola. (We’re now in a part of France where the Italian influence is evident, both in pizzerias and Italian dishes.) 

 Simple comfort food followed by the brioche dessert, pain perdu (lost bread aka French toast) topped with ice cream for the Chief Penguin.  This meal was as satisfying and good as the one the night before.

Bowl of gnocchi with prosciutto

Note: Photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

France: A Wine Tasting in Provence

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WINE TASTING 

Through the years, the Chief Penguin and I have visited a number of vineyards and done tastings.  Some of our earliest ones were in the Finger Lakes wine region in upstate New York; others were in the Loire and Rhône Valleys in France and in Chile and New Zealand.  While living in San Francisco, we would drive north to Sonoma and Napa Valleys and sometimes Mendocino and stop in at those California wineries.  On one trip to Mendocino, we tasted pinot noirs in the Anderson Valley.  At Toulouse Vineyards, we sat on wine barrels in their makeshift tasting room.  

Amateur wine tasters

Probably the most memorable tasting experience before today was one that took place in Hammondsport, NY in the early 1970’s.  The Chief Penguin and I spent part of a day driving around Cayuga and Keuka Lakes stopping in at a few wineries.  We had read about Dr. Konstantin Frank, Ukrainian émigré, who came to the United States in the early 1950’s and began experimenting with growing vinifera vines from Europe for wine making in the Finger Lakes.  His pioneering and successful efforts led to the expansion of winemaking in this region and to award-winning vintages.

Back then, Dr. Frank’s small winery did not have a tasting room, and it appeared from the road as if they had no interest in wooing prospective buyers.  As I recall, we went up to a nondescript building with an open door and went in.  A bare lightbulb hung from the ceiling, and a few cartons of wine were scattered around the room.  We waited a bit and an old man (or so he seemed to young us) came and greeted us.  It was Dr. Frank himself.  We mostly listened as he talked about wine and why American wines were preferable to European ones.  

Our intention had been to buy just one bottle, maybe two.  Unexpectedly, we found ourselves agreeing to buy a mixed case!  One bottle in particular, he made us pledge to not open and drink until our 10th wedding anniversary.  “Drink no wine, until its time,” he said.  For seven or eight years, that “special” bottle of wine sat in a shoebox on a shelf in the Chief Penguin’s closet.  When we opened it in 1980, It was past its prime—beyond its time, you’d say!

DOMAINE LE CHENE BLEU

Vineyards with the Dentelles mountains in the background

Today we drove a short distance to the small village of Crestet for a tour, tasting, and picnic lunch arranged by our trip organizers.  The distance was short, but the roads, narrow lanes really, were the most challenging we’ve been on.  Domaine Le Chene Bleu is high at about 1,500 feet and the road twists and turns and winds on a tortuous path that only got smaller, narrower and higher the farther we went.  I simultaneously held my breath on some of the hairpin turns while wondering why we were going here at all.  Ultimately, we arrived at the gate, early since it took less time despite the twists, and were admitted to a beautiful mountain property.  

Tasting room in background

The original house called La Verriere (after the glass blower who first came here) was a medieval priory that felt into ruin.  The current owners restored the house which is now a B&B, and the old barn houses staff.  They also revived some 70 year old vines and are now producing organic and biodynamic wines. This required building a wine production facility with a tasting room. In addition to the vineyards, there are beehives, olive trees, and a vegetable garden.  

Layered stone walls and olive trees

Julie, one of the newer staff members, gave us a comprehensive guided tour of the vineyards and the actual processing and storing facilities.  It was fascinating, and we learned a lot about this natural way of making wine.  

Then we adjourned to a tasting table where we sampled several whites and several reds.  These wines are complex and quite different from others we’ve had on this trip. If you know French, the name of the wine means ”blue oak;” there’s a story behind that, but I’ll save it for another time.

Lined up for tasting!

Nicole, one of the owners, happened by during the tasting.  She’s American and her husband French.  We had a most engaging chat with her about her trips around the world and to the U.S. marketing their wine.  (She was supposed to be in Tampa on the day Hurricane Ian hit.)  Between her and Julie, we now know where we can buy these wines back home!

PICNIC

French picnic table
Lunch from a basket

You know I like to write about food, and part of this winery tour was a picnic lunch.  We thought it might be with a large group, but it was a basket of local fare prepared just for us with a bottle of rose’.  We trotted down the path to a covered table next to the vegetable garden and enjoyed lunch al fresco.  Given the winding roads back, we agreed to defer the rose’ and savor it later.

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

France: Carcassonne to Provence

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STOPPING IN NARBONNE

Colorful shutters in Narbonne
River walk

Today we spent about five hours in the car getting from Carcassone to our latest B&B near Avignon.  We made the usual gas and lunch stops, but the most interesting part of the trip was the hour we spent in Narbonne.  Narbonne is the first Roman colony established outside Italy and was founded in 118 BC. Today it has a population of about 50,000.   Entering the city, I definitely felt that we were in a different part of France.  The architecture resembled some of that in Paris and there was a bit of a feel of Spain, as in Barcelona or Madrid.

Les Halles

 Les Halles, Narbonne’s classic covered market, dates back to 1900. It is open every morning and is a food lover’s delight.  I love visiting local markets.  We did this in Mexico City and also in Valencia, Spain.  Here are some of what we saw and salivated over. 

French radishes
Mostly blues in this case!
Fish or scallops?

Stand after stand of fresh produce, meats, cheeses, fish, and more plus lots of cafes and tables for eating on the premises. 

Awaiting the lunchtime crowds
Ready for Halloween!
Encouraged by the Chief Penguin

Narbonne was a fun stop.

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

France: Onward to Carcassonne

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SPECIAL DINNER AT LA BELLE DEMEURE

On our last night with Richard and Philippe, they served us a marvelous dinner on the terrace.  We began with Philippe’s homemade walnut wine as an aperitif.  First course was a delicate medallion of foie gras terrine with some homemade onion jam. 

Foie gras plate

 This was followed by a beef daube along with panfried broccoli finished with sesame oil.  Dessert was a piece of walnut cake and a slice of walnut ice cream, both homemade, of course. 

Dessert

 The food was all delicious, but even better, we had a wide-ranging conversation with our hosts.  So much so, we felt like we had made new friends.

GETTING TO CARCASSONNE

The drive to Carcassonne was projected to take around 3 hours with most of the trip on the super highway.  The first hour was typical French countryside over, around, and up on narrow one-lane roads.  Pretty, but the Chief Penguin was glad we were the only car around.  Ultimately, we joined A20 and began to concentrate on keeping the gas tank filled.  Today was a General Strike day all over France, so some businesses were closed and no trains or mass transit were running.  

On the plus side, service areas on French highways are numerous and fairly closely spaced. There are “aires” that are what we in the U.S. would call rest areas with parking and usually restrooms.  Interspersed with those are other aires which have a gas station and coffee shop and sometimes also a restaurant.  On the negative side, a few aires were totally closed (there was messaging ahead on the electronic signboard), and many were under construction.  

The roads in these aires loop around like spaghetti, and the signage is not always clear.  The first time we stopped for gas, there was so much construction we couldn’t easily get to the pumps, another time we missed the internal turn for the restaurant and didn’t like the food offered at the gas station. Finally we settled on an aire where we surrendered to a small salad bar with quite a choice of ingredients. We ate outside at a high tables with stools.  Lunch accomplished.

CARCASSONNE

Several miles before you reach the old city of Carcassonne (La Cite’), it looms up looking perfectly put together, yet out of place.  A bit like something you’d expect in Dungeons and Dragons.  We parked just outside the walls and began our exploration.  I first heard about Carcassonne, this famous medieval city, in one of my high school French classes.  It was part of a sentence we learned for vocabulary, and ever since, I’ve wanted to visit it.

Entrance to La Cite’
Outer wall of Carcassonne seen from inside

The height of the outer walls, the bridge over the empty moat, and the large, now open, gate are almost overwhelming in their size.  Inside, the streets are narrow and wind around, with stores, restaurants, and an uncountable number of ice cream parlors.  Normally, you can pay to enter the chateau and access the ramparts, but it was closed due to the strike. 

Love the series or arches

 The chateau and the cathedral dominate the city.  Churches never close, though, and we were able to go into the cathedral, Basilique Saint-Nazaire.  I was impressed by its height and very much liked the rich purples and reds of the stained glass.  

Rose window in the cathedral

DINNER IN CARCASSONNE

Quiet streets in the evening

Carcassonne in the evening was quiet except for the open restaurants and cafes.  The tour groups and the lively students had all retreated.  We debated where to have dinner and compromised on Le Jardin de la Tour.   The Chief Penguin was very enthusiastic about his panfried cepes (it’s the season for these mushrooms), and equally pleased with the cassoulet he ordered. Cassoulet, a stew of white beans cooked with duck and pork, is the dish in this region and appears on almost every menu. 

Traditional cassoulet

I ordered cold salmon crumble with avocado which was a mound of raw salmon on avocado purée topped with crumbs and served with a green salad.  A different taste experience.  For my main, I had a pasta dish heavy on the Parmesan cheese with some small shrimps on it.  I had been craving pasta or something different from all the fish I’ve consumed. 

Pasta with zucchini

The excuse was we’ll never be in Carcassonne again, so dessert was a plate of profiteroles for the CP and some strawberry and citron sorbet for me.  A good dinner in a medieval dining hall.

OUR B&B

This B&B, Le Jardin de la Cite, has a prime location just a short distance beyond Caracassone’s walls.  We left the car here and walked into old Carcassone in the evening.  That took all of about 5-7 minutes.  

Our host, Daniele’s property is lovely with a single story house, pool and nice lawn, and a casita with two rooms where we stayed.  She  is retiring the end of the week to spend more time with family in Spain and do other things. We are some of her last guests. 

 For breakfast, she provided an attractive buffet of croissants, muffins, some sliced ham, cheese, and dishes of fresh fruit. The Chief Penguin thought the coffee was especially good.  During the summer when the B&B was full, she had 12 guests.  

Note: Photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved.) Header image is Carcassone at night from outside the walls.