The Chateau de Vougeot in Burgundy, France

We spent five wonderful days in Dijon, and took our time driving around to some of the vineyards and wineries of the burgundy area.  There were so many places to visit, and so many things to do that of course five days wasn’t enough, and we’re going to “have” to go back.  This is an incredibly beautiful area (although there was a bit of culture shock in some places… For example, there was an area where we went to see an old medieval castle – and the vineyard – and it’s located right in the center of a modern part of the city – urban blight – full of car lots, and grafitti and factories – and tenement buildings… so you’ve got the grace, beauty and heritage of something very old and lovely, right next to cement and asphalt and… well, ugliness.

I couldn’t help wondering what archeologists are going to think in a couple of hundred years from now of the things we’re leaving behind us.  What will they make of our squat cement buildings, the trash left on the side of the roads, the grafiti that seems to be everywhere these days?  Will they find any of it charming, or think it’s beautiful?  Or will they be appalled?

One of my favorite things about this trip, besides getting to see some fabulous castles, “discover” some new

Guilhen, Nadie and Alain at Le Savauge in Dijon

wines and get to review some new restaurants, was also getting to spend some time with Guilhen, Alain’s oldest son.  He’s got a wicked sense of humor, and he’s funny and really a nice guy.  Sadly we didn’t get to spend as much time with Nadie, as she’s incredibly busy at the hospital, and was working on a paper as well.  But I enjoyed the time we did get to spend with her. She’s working very hard, and is under a lot of stress.  I think she’s really amazing.  This restaurant, by the way, is one I highly recommend if you’re in Dijon.  It’s reasonably priced – they have great lunch and dinner specials during the week – things are a little more expensive on the weekends or holidays, of course, like most restaurants in France – and the food is fabulous!  I had the best steak I’ve eaten since leaving the states!  It’s called Le Sauvage, and it’s one of those secret places that you wouldn’t expect to see from the outside. To get to it, you have to walk through a big door, down an archway, and out into a hidden courtyard.  We ate on the terrace, under the shade of plane trees, and there was a lovely stone well in the center of the courtyard, with stone buildings all around – as you can see in the photo. It’s also a hotel, and some of the rooms are reached by climbing steps made of the same stones, and going into private entrances.  It’s one of those places that instantly charms and relaxes.

Oldest working wine press from Chenove, Burgundy area

Now here’s an interesting photo.  This is from one of those places that is surrounded by all things modern, and yet it’s history is absolutely fascinating. (In fact, look for an article soon about this one, because it’s a story worth telling.)

What you’re looking at is one of the oldest working wine presses in France.  And as I said, it has a fascinating history – there are two of them (the other one doesn’t work any longer), but they were both stolen by the French government in the 1700s!  Just look at how huge this thing is.

And every year after harvest (le vendage), the entire village gets involved in a wine making and tasting festival.  They make the wine the old fashioned way (including using bare feet to mash the grapes…) and then they are put into this huge press… There is a circular cavern underneath the main part of the press, and the grape juice goes down there.  Although they don’t make a huge number of bottles, we bought a couple, because it will make such an interesting story when we open them and share it with friends and family in a few years from now, don’t you think?

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An endless sea of vines near Bandol on the French Riviera.

get it all posted), we took a drive to see if we could see la vendage – the harvest season for all the vineyards.

We have a friend who used to own a really fabulous restaurant here, and so he contacted one of his friends who owns a lovely vineyard up by the Paul Ricard Formula 21 racing track, and left them a message that we’d be calling.  We did, and got their answering machine too, so we left a message that we’d be in their area on Saturday morning, and would stop in to see about doing an interview and takig some photos then.  So bright and early Saturday morning, I grabbed my “reporter gear” – and off we went.

On the way, we say some grape pickers in a small field near Bandol, and we decided to stop there. (I’m so glad we did, because when we got to the big vineyard, they were closed.) But the woman who owned this smaller vineyard was very sweet, and she answered lots of my questions and the workers did their best to ignore us while I snapped their photos.

The grapes will be used for three different types of wine.  The first two are for the AOC Bandol wines.  The third is a table wine. (People here use their own wine jugs – which can be either plastic or wooden – they look like small kegs – and go directly to their favorite wineries and have their jugs filled.  Then we put them into a bottle or carafe and drink them for everyday occasions.  If you don’t have a jug, you can buy table wine boxed – in either 5 or 10 liters.)  There are several really good Bandol rose wines that I enjoy, and of course, we have several bottles down in the wine cellar.

Oaken Wine Cask on wheels

This particular vineyard is only 14 hectares (34.59 acres), of Mourvedre grapes, and they own several others.  They are part of the local cooperative, so many of the smaller wine growers all take their grapes to the same place, where a special process must be followed as far as pressing, storing and fermenting the grapes.

The photo you see to the left is an old oaken barrel, but it’s relatively small – the ones used to store wine are much, much taller.  This one might have been used in a bar, or for storing table wines to be sold to the public. But I do love the look of it, don’t you?

If you’d like to read more, check out my article in the examiner about le vendage and let me know what you think of the other photos we took?  (By the way, we were really lucky to get these – because not only was le vendage nearly over with, but a few days later our rainy season started.  And while I love the rain, it’s not a good thing for the grapes!

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Instead we took a trip to Sanary-sur-Mer, a lovely little seaside village about 8 km from Toulon.

And by the way, Sanary is next on my list to create a city page for, so I’ll let you know when I get it finished.

The Port of Sanary

Here’s a photo Alain took from on top of a 13th century Romanesque tower, giving you a glimpse of the harbor and village.

We went to see the Frédéric Dumas International Diving Museum – http://www.scuba-museum.com/ – which used to be inside the tower, but the collection got so big that they had to open a new building. (The collection hasn’t quite grown into its new location yet), but you’ll find some of the first underwater cameras, as well as an old scuba diving suit made completely of leather, as well as some great photos of Frédéric Dumas, Phillipe Thailliez and Jacques Cousteau, who were really the pioneers of scuba diving.

During WWII, sanary became a place of sanctuary for intellectuals, artists and writers who fled here from

Alain on a narrow street in Sanary

Germany to escape Nazism.  Some of the houses are still standing – you can take a walking tour and find the plaques that show their homes or favorite places to gather, debate and drink at a group of little cafes on the harbor.  The exiles included Aldous Huxley, Thomas Mann, Sybille Bedford, Wilhelm Herzog and others.

While we wandered around we sipped on the French version of a slurpee called ‘Granitas” (pronounced granitay), which helps to take away the slap of the sun.  All in all, it was a very lovely way to while away a few hours in the afternoon!

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President and Madame Sarkozy

We were a little worried on Sunday when we heard that French President Nicolas Sarkozy had collapsed after fainting while jogging near the palace of Versailles. (Of course being the age we are – and him being the age he is – and with our views on jogging – [hate it] – we worried he’d had a stroke.)

So we were delighted and relieved when his doctors said it was a non-serious nerve condition called a “minor lipotropic episiode” (although really what does that MEAN?  It’s Doctor-speak and I hate that too, don’t you?) We were also happy to hear his doctors say that he’d be out of the Val-de-Grace military hospital on Monday.

And yep, sure enough, he left the hospital on his own two feet on Monday morning.

According to the news reports, Sarkozy cancelled his Monday and Tuesday appointments to rest at his

Carla Bruni's family's French Riviera Villa

retreat house in La Lanterne.

He’s apparently scheduled to attend a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, before heading down here, where he’ll recuperate on the French Riviera in his wife’s family’s second home located in Le Lavandou.

And honestly, he couldn’t have a better place to recuperate than down here where he’s got access to the sea, the sun and the air that’s known for being therapeutic!

Best wishes and have a nice vacation, Mr. President…

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Fresh fruits and vegetables in Toulon

As you know, one of my favorite things about living here is the lifestyle… And more than the almost obligatory nap in the afternoon, mornings spent at one of the gorgeous French Riviera beaches (the ones frequented by locals, not tourists), the fabulous parties, the fascinating people and conversations or the 309 days of sunshine a year…

I also love the food, and getting to go shopping for fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and fish in the open air market!  Toulon’s market is one of the best-kept secrets on the French Riviera – again, it’s something known by the locals – not necessarily by the tourist and people come from miles away to shop here because it’s almost 2 miles of vendors, so even without tourists it’s almost always crowded – which just adds to the fun and excitement of shopping here… and there’s a little something for everyone!  Our fruits have been particularly spectacular this year – the weather this spring was perfect, so, for example, we started being able to enjoy cherries in May, and the season is just finishing now! (Cherries are one of my favorite fruits and I’m always a little sad when the season ends.  This year I didn’t every get enough extra to freeze – we just kept eating them before I could!  And the melons, nectarines, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, mures (blueberries) and mangos are plump, sweet and

Cherries and Melons in Toulon

absolutely delicious!

You can also find green and black olives, tapinade (olive paste) fresh olive oil – which are Provencal speacialties. And if you like seafood, you can get fish, mussels, oysters and octopus that’s been freshly caught – and buy them from the fishermen themselves, or one of the local fishmongers.

And of course we get our beef from the butcher.  I’m sure everyone along the French Riviera has their favorite butcher, or at least a local butcher shop – I know we do.  We rarely buy meat from the supermarket, because our butcher is fabulous and we always get the “back room” special meat, which is the same as he takes home to his family!

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The motto of the French Navy is Honneur, Patrie, Valeur, Discipline (”Honour, Fatherland, Valour, Discipline”). These words are found on the deck of every ship of the Navy – which I think is very cool.

The Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier

So, here’s a little more about the Charles de Gaulle first – from the wikipedia… (Don’t you just LOVE wikipedia?)

The Charles de Gaulle is France’s only serving French aircraft carrier and is the flagship of theFrench Navy (Marine Nationale). She is the tenth French aircraft carrier, the first Frenchnuclear-powered surface vessel, and the first and only nuclear-powered carrier built outside of the United States Navy. She is named after French statesman and general Charles de Gaulle.

The ship carries a complement of Dassault Rafale M and E-2C Hawkeye aircraft, as well as modern electronics and Aster missiles. She is the second largest European carrier, after theAdmiral Kuznetsov. It is a CATOBAR-type carrier that uses a shorter version of the catapult system as that installed on the US Nimitz class carriers, the 75 m C13-3 steam catapult.

The party was elegant, the drinks were plentiful and the food was gorgeous and delicious!  I love French cocktail parties with the variety of appetizers that are always so beautifully presented and taste so good. Two of my favorites this time was the crawfish in the guacamole and the foie gras on toast.

And I admit it – I used to think foie gras (which means “fat liver” – and is specially prepared goose liver pate) was completely gross.  However, now it’s one of my favorite things to eat on special occasions!  I’m sorry I didn’t get any photos of the food itself – I promise to take some the next time we go to such a party!

However, I did talk to a lot of people.  That’s one of the best things about being a writer – you get to talk to

The head chef on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier

people you normally might not, and ask questions that you normally wouldn’t ask!  (And what’s even more fun is that people talk back!)

For example, I got to talk to the head chef of the Charles de Gaulle, because I was absolutely amazed that the food was prepared onboard the ship – and not catered.  (These guys can cater for me ANY DAY because it was absolutely as delicious as any I’ve had before!)  Here’s what I found fascinating:

They go through about 700 pounds of flour every single day.  The 30 cooks, 25 wait staff and 25 stock people serve between 1600 and 2000 people three meals onboard the Charles de Gaulle every single day!

They buy from local markets and use fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and fish whenever possible rather than canned. The menus are planned months in advance, but once a month there is a meeting and the service men and women get a chance to say what they like, what they didn’t – and to make suggestions for upcoming menus.

Appetizers onboard the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier

During the cocktail party, part of the navy band was playing for us.  I love these guys – they practice sometimes five and six hours a day, and the French navy symphony can be broken up into the jazz band, the orchestra, and other smaller bands as needed. (I’m still looking for info on this, but Alain is reading to me about Tarzan and Cheeta right now, so I guess that’s going to be another post!)

We started with drinks and the cold appetizers – which were set on trays – some in their own little glasses, on little plates or spoons and served by very happy, friendly service men and women.  The same with the drinks – there was a delicious punch, as well as a variety of other drinks, which were served often enough that you never needed to be without food or drinks! It was very well organized.

After the cold appetizers, several stations opened up which served a variety of hot dishes – a little bit of everything – from Turkish gyros to curry chicken to Asian potstickers.  Absolutely to die for! (Did I mention that these guys can come and live with us and cook for me anytime they want to???)

In any case, it was a fantastic party and I enjoyed it very much!  I can’t wait for the next one!

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Happy 86th Birthday Beau-Dad!

Beau-Dad has his 86th birthday recently and we all went to Annie and Bruno’s for the party… (Their dog is getting older and it’s too hard for them to leave him alone for any length of time, so we’re doing most of the family parties at their place these days.)

Anyway, for someone who’s 86, I think he’s pretty fantastic!  He’s got a wicked sense of humor and he’s as smart as a whip, and he’s just a big ole sweetie!

Here he is all decked-out in his tie and vest with a pile of prezzies to open!

Alexander came and so did Jon. (Tony wasn’t feeling well and Josette was in Corsica taking care of her mom.)

I think he’s pretty handsome, don’t you?

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I

Alain at the Handicapped Fair

A couple of weeks ago (see? I told you I was behind…) there was a kind of Handicapped Fair in one of the parks here in Toulon.  All the different agencies that provide services to the handicapped showed up and had booths where they could share information about who they are and what they provide.

Alain also had a booth and passed out brochures for Le Relais Peiresc, especially the summer activities next month for adults and children.

I took him a picnic basket so he could eat, because he was covering the booth for lunch. (Tapenade with crusty French bread, rose wine, stuffed mushrooms, fresh vegetable salad with homemade vinagrette dressing, roasted chicken and melon slices for dessert.)

Mayor Falco Cares about the Handicapped

Local artist, author and council woman Christine Manavella organized the event, and I’m always amazed by her organizational skills (as well as her beauty and grace and talent.  I sometimes think I’d like to be here when I grow up!)  

Anyway, while I was there, I was surprised and very pleased to see the mayor, Hubert Falco, came to meet and greet with people.  (Surprised because M. Falco is a very busy man, and receives literally hundreds of invitations a month, and pleased, because I think he’s doing an excellent job as mayor, and this, to me is just one more time he’s proven that he really does care about the citizens in Toulon – all of them.)

So kudos to the mayor… and Thanks for caring about what’s going on in the lives of your citizens!

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Bruno and His Mom and Beau-Dad... Happy Birthday Bruno!

And again, this is a little late! (Although we wished him Happy Birthday on the day)…

But my brother-in-law’s birthday was a few weeks ago, and we went to his family birthday party.  I got to meet his mother, her husband and Bruno’s nephew for the first time.

Bruno’s nephew has recently joined the marines and he’s been assigned here in Toulon. (Which I’m sure must make Bruno very proud.)  He’s a nice young man who seems to have a good head on his shoulders.

Bruno’s mother clearly dotes on him, and he was equally as happy to have her and her husband joining us to help celebrate his birthday.

And Annie went all out to provide a delicious and healthy lunch for us!  She’s pretty amazing when it comes to preparing the meals for all of us.  All in all, it was a lovely day, and I hope Bruno enjoyed his presents.  (We got him a bottle of the wine that comes from the property that Brad Pitt has purchased.  Brad hasn’t bought the vineyard yet, but he does have an option to do so… And if he does, I suppose he could change the name, or the label on the bottle.

We drank the wine, and it was delicious.  I’ll enjoy drinking our bottles later…

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The Tourist Train at the Carnoules-les-Platanes is coming!

Lets start with the wonderful train ride we took a couple of weeks ago…

       A friend of ours invited us to go on a special tourist train, enjoy a picnic and then attend a concert in the park to hear a new gospel choir that’s just starting up.

I love trains and gospel music, so I was thrilled to add this to our social calendar…

The train is a three-car tourist train called “Le Train du Centre Var” is owned and run by its members… of which there are over 50.

The train picked us up in Carnoules-les-Platanes (approx. 1 km north of the center of Carnoules) and we went as far Brignoles in the northwest.  

One of the things I loved about this trip is that there are no railroad crossings on the streets where cars

A human railroad crossing guard!

go, so two of the people who work on the train jump out at each stop and, using red and white streamers, create the barriers themselves!  There were about 7 stops, and each time, the employees would go and grab their streamer, hop out and create a road barrier to stop traffic and prevent anyone from getting injured!

One of the other things I loved about this train ride is that it’s not really fast – so you’ve got time to look at the countryside, and the employees are happy to answer questions and also give a great guided tour about the history of the area and some of the more interesting – and mostly unknown – happenings.

Le Train Touristique du Centre Var at the Brignoles Station

Our ride took us to Brignoles in the northwest to the Brignoles train station, which has just been purchased by the state and is scheduled for renovation starting at the end of this year.  

The club – called the ATTCV -(which stands for: l’Association du Train Touristique du Centre Var) – was established in 1994.

The club has more than 50 members and around half of them are active and participate in the club and the train on a regular basis.

When the club started, members (who love all things having to do with trains, and particularly this train) spent several years collecting equipment, information and trying to get official permission to run their train on the tracks.  (Believe it or not, that took them 7 years before permission was granted!)  The Train Touristique du Centre Var had it’s inaugural run in August 2001.  

The train’s diesel engine railcar is named “Picasso”.  As its fame spread, more people have begun booking passage on the little train, and during the 2007-2008 April-October season, they had more than 5000 passengers!  That’s pretty impressive… I think it should be the little engine that could…

If you have a special occasion or want to book a group event – like the gospel concert we attended, it’s entirely possible.

The tourist train is reported to have carried more than 5000 passengers during the 2007 April-October traffic season.

Our Aperitif at the Carnoules-les-Plantanes (the Plane Trees)

When we got back to the Carnoules-les-Platanes station, the employees had put together a lovely surprise for us – a wonderful aperitif under the trees.  There were several things to drink and a really impressive selection of finger foods – including homemade pizzas, savory, homemade olive bread, garden-fresh cherry tomatoes and radishes (with a delicious dip) and then the usual assortment of chips, several kinds of crackers, an assortment of nuts, etc.  Everything was delicious, and eating under the huge plane trees meant we weren’t too hot.

After the aperitif, everyone walked over to the little park, where they found their “perfect” picnic spot and had a really lovely picnic.  (Of course, after the picnic, it was time for a nap!)  But since Alain fell asleep on our bench, I decided to take a walk, and do a little exploring until it was time for the concert.

The club had apparently put flyers out all around the village of Carnoules and Carnoules-les-Plantanes and maybe other surrounding towns, because cars started showing up, and little old ladies carrying lawn chairs shuffled into the large open court, in front of the stage where they were guaranteed to have a good seat!

A lovely lady at the Gospel Var concert

As it got closer to the concert, city employees came and began setting up white metal chairs, and more cars with more local people began piling out.  There was a lot of name calling, and story telling and laughter as friends who hadn’t seen each other perhaps since the last such free concert – began catching up on the latest goings on.  I met one such lovely lady, and she and I sat on the sidelines for half an hour or so, while she told me wonderful tales of how her husband used to be the gardener for French singing sensation Johnny Haliday, and about the people he knew and the visitors to his lovely property… She was absolutely fascinating, and I enjoyed meeting her very much!

As happens everywhere in the south of France, many people brought their dogs, who behaved with the utmost politeness, and correct doggy behavior… They’d move face to face, look each other in the eye and touch noses – then take and turns smelling… well, lets just say it probably wasn’t rosy… (One thing I’ve always been amazed by is the way dogs here don’t bark, they don’t get all excited and they have excellent manners when out in public.  Tourist dogs are seldom so well-behaved, and if there is an incident of barking or jumping or other impoliteness, it’s usually started by the doggy visitor.)

Gospel Var giving their first concert

At long last, it was time for the concert.  Gospel Var is the brainchild of its conductor, (himself a singer). He spent two years in the states – in Louisiana – New Orleans, and traveled to other places along the east coast where he fell in love with gospel music.

Not being able to find what he was looking for in a gospel choir in the area, he decided to start his own, and singers travel for several miles in order to participate in the practices, which are held weekly. This was the group’s first concert, and they gave me goosebumps several times!

We bought their CD too – it’s not been produced yet, so it was a purchase “en avance” – and they’re using the money they got from pre-selling their cd to pay to have it produced! That’s a very smart move, especially in today’s economy, and something more entrepreneurs would do well to think about, when they’re looking for funding!

All in all, it was a day to remember, and I’m so glad I got to participate!  

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