10 MARKETS IN PROVENCE: #1 IS LOURMARIN (OKAY, WE’RE BIASED!)

Posted on April 18, 2011January 23, 2016 by Susan Manfull

This post will be the first in a series that will feature each of the ten markets that The Modern Trobadors always visit when in Provence. (If you'd like to guess the other nine markets, you may win a cool Absinthe tote bag and a booklet on wine tasting. See end of article for details.) The markets were selected primarily on the basis of the quality of the offerings of the vendors and the ambiance of the venue although practicality was also considered to some extent (e.g., distance from our hom...

THE SCENT OF A CRÊPE

Posted on April 10, 2011December 29, 2015 by Susan Manfull

I have been known to follow the scent of a crêpe into the depths of an unfamiliar Parisian neighborhood thereby compromising our timely arrival for dinner with friends; into the longest line in Saint-Malo—in August around the French holiday, Assomption—at one of Brittany’s oldest and clearly busiest crêperies; and into the intricate maze of the Tuesday market on a very blustery November day in Vaison-la-Romaine. I adore those thin French pancakes and when the scent of a crêpe wafts past my nose,...

FRANCE PREPARES TO BAN THE BURQA AS CONSTRUCTION OF NATION’S BIGGEST MOSQUE IS LAUDED

Posted on March 13, 2011November 24, 2015 by Susan Manfull

France is poised to implement its controversial yet very popular law that bans the full Islamic veil in all public places. On April 11th, it will take effect. At the same time, Muslim leaders in Marseille, with the support of local and national politicians, are overseeing the construction of the nation’s largest mosque. Perhaps ironically, work began the day after the French government put its stamp of approval on the burqa ban bill, back in May 2010. On the very north side of Marseille’s famous...

MONTE DOLACK: RETRACING FAMOUS ARTISTS’ FOOTSTEPS IN PROVENCE

Posted on January 16, 2011November 24, 2015 by Susan Manfull

If world-famous artists like Paul Cezanne and Vincent Van Gogh fell in love with Provence, Montana wildlife painter Monte Dolack says it's got something to do with the luminous landscape and the culture he too found so captivating during recent trips there. “There's a sense of wildness, but almost no natural forest. It's shaped because of people planting things, so it has a different look that's kind of intriguing,” said Dolack (who has stayed twice in our rental apartment in Lourmarin). “The...

OUR BRIEF FORAY INTO THE WORLD OF TRUFFLE HUNTING

Posted on November 29, 2010February 17, 2016 by Susan Manfull

This week’s posting is written conjunction with David Scott Allen, Editor of Cocoa & Lavender, who is posting a two-part series on truffles entitled, “Life in Black and White.” This past Wednesday (11/24/10), he discussed black truffles and featured his wonderful recipe for Fettuccine with Truffle Butter. Next Wednesday (12/1/10), he will focus on white truffles with an accompanying recipe. Towny and I have had the pleasure of enjoying many meals with David and Mark—I assure you that you w...

DON’T FORGET PROVENCE IN THE WINTER

Posted on November 8, 2010December 23, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Chapelle St-Sixte As one drives toward Les Alpilles, along the D24 between the tiny villages of Orgon and Eygalières, about 30 minutes from Lourmarin, there’s a very tiny chapel. Framed by lovely cypress trees van Gogh surely would have painted had he ventured a little further from the hospital in St Remy, the 12th century chapel stands atop a stony knoll now dotted with olive and almond trees and an occasional patch of grass. Chapelle St-Sixte was erected on the s...

ALBERT CAMUS– A LOURMARIN ICON OF STILL-EMERGING IDENTITIES

Posted on October 24, 2010December 28, 2015 by Susan Manfull

One of Lourmarin's most celebrated residents was French writer-philosopher Albert Camus. But 50 years after his tragic death in a car crash at only 46, questions linger about his still-emerging multiple identities as doomed Resistance hero, compulsive womanizer and consumptive Algiers slum boy turned advocate for the underdog. Born in French Algeria in 1913, Camus first came to Lourmarin in the wake of his philosophy mentor Jean Grenier, a writer who had taught Camus in Algeria and whose ties...

IT’S ALL ABOUT FOOD: FRENCH IDIOMS INSPIRED BY FOOD

Posted on October 3, 2010November 13, 2017 by Susan Manfull

“Elle travaille de la cafetière!” “Ah, occupe-toi de tes oignons.” “Mais, elle pédale dans la choucroute….ça tourne au vinaigre.” “Oh, purée, mon petit chou. Quelle salade!” “Bien, bien...les carottes sont cuites.” You may wonder if I am working from my coffee pot or pedaling in sauerkraut….another post on food? You thought this blog was about France. Ah, mais oui, it is about France; but, in France, mes canards, it’s all about food! Let’s face it: The French are obsessed with food. De...

HERBES DE PROVENCE REVEALED

Posted on September 27, 2010December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

“What are Herbes de Provence?” I was asked. Lori, who has had the unenviable task of cleaning chez Manfull for nearly twenty years, raised the bag of herbs to her nose again, waved it back and forth, and inhaled deeply. The small bag of fragrant herbs that we had just purchased a few days earlier from the Lourmarin market reminded Lori that she really wanted to know which herbs defined herbes de Provence. She also wondered why she had never heard of them until we gave her a similar bag about te...

THE ART OF MAKING ICE CREAM IS ALIVE AND EXCEEDINGLY WELL (DONE) IN ANSOUIS

Posted on September 13, 2010December 28, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Over the hill, past the Château d’Ansouis, and through the vineyards and sunflower fields, you will find not the house of Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother, but the home of La Famille Perrière, where over sixty flavors of ice cream and sorbet are regularly offered to their very happy patrons. Nestled into the Luberon hillside, about 5 km past Ansouis (and about 20 minutes from La Bonbonnière in Lourmarin), is L’Art Glacier. Customers who make the trek to this most unlikely location for an ...