A DOG’S REFLECTIONS ON PROVENCE

Posted on July 14, 2013November 27, 2015 by Susan Manfull

I had a village house in Lourmarin, at the foot of the Luberon Mountains. Okay, I took some liberties with Karen Blixen’s opening sentence of her famous book, “Out of Africa.” My apologies, but like the young Ms. Blixen who moved from Denmark to Kenya, I, a beagle just barely past my first birthday, made a major move from the United States to France. Like Ms. Blixen, I left a piece of my heart in another country and, like Ms. Blixen, my view of life was forever altered. For different reasons,...

LE QUARTORZE JUILLET: CELEBRATING BASTILLE DAY

Posted on July 6, 2013January 4, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Le Quartorze Juillet, also known as La Fête Nationale or, especially in English-speaking countries, simply Bastille Day, is next Sunday. July 14th is a French national holiday that marks the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille (prison) in 1789 and the symbolic birth of modern France. To learn more about the history of this fête nationale, please see an earlier TMT post. If you are lucky enough to be in France as you read this post, it will not be difficult to find a place to celebrate ...

TUESDAYS IN PROVENCE : OH THE STRESS OF WHICH MARKET TO VISIT

Posted on June 23, 2013January 23, 2016 by Susan Manfull

It’s Tuesday morning in Lourmarin and, as I drink my grand crème at Café Gaby, soaking up the morning sun and watching the passers-by, I feel pressure mounting. Our empty baskets rest on the chairs next to us and our shopping list—loosely composed so that what I find at the market can guide my ultimate selections—sits on the table. Which market shall we head toward this morning? There are so many markets from which to choose. Stress in Provence? Yup….but, oh to have such stress. Every day is ...

SIPPING CHÂTEAU ROUBINE ROSÉ, THINKING OF KNIGHTS TEMPLAR (AND, OKAY, DAN BROWN)

Posted on June 16, 2013January 4, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Château Roubine, from whence the rosé I am drinking comes, is built atop Knights Templar property. In the center of Provence, in the heart of the department of the Var, in the town of Lorgues, lie these vineyards on land once owned by the (in) famous medieval order of the Knights Templar. More on Château Roubine’s refreshing rosé to come, but right now I want to pursue the Knights Templar. This once powerful military order, formed in 1119 and sanctioned by the Catholic church in 1129, is back i...

THE CITROËN 2CV: I LOVE THAT TIN SNAIL

Posted on June 9, 2013January 4, 2016 by Susan Manfull

I always wanted a Deux Chevaux. I first saw that much beloved French car when I first visited Paris in 1972. I remember thinking that something that funny looking must have been a model car project gone terribly awry. A sardine tin on wheels. But there were so many...partout. My grandfather, with whom I was traveling, along with my grandmother, had a certain fondness for the car, an affinity that should not have surprised me since he and my grandmother had owned one of the first Corvairs and...

TO GASCONY AND LES VINS DU SUD-OUEST: LA DOUCEUR DE VIVRE

Posted on June 1, 2013January 15, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Today I co-posted with David who writes the food blog entitled Cocoa & Lavender. See his blog for one of the recipes mentioned in this post! We always harbor the hope that we will discover a good wine at a really reasonable (read: cheap) price. Who doesn’t? We’ve had some real duds in this quest—wines that wouldn't even qualify as marinades and went straight down the kitchen sink—and we’ve made some terrific discoveries. The wines from Gascony and its neighboring appellations defin...

CAVAILLON MELONS HERALD THE START OF SUMMER IN PROVENCE

Posted on May 26, 2013January 15, 2016 by Susan Manfull

For years I thought I didn’t like melon. However inviting those deep orange slices of juicy cantaloupe appeared, I knew they tasted like cardboard and had the texture of baby food. One of my most vivid memories of melon encounters goes back to adolescence: I was staying with a best friend’s family in their cabin in Shaver Lake, a small community nestled in the Sierra Nevada’s of California. I came to the breakfast table and, to my horror, found half of a cantaloupe waiting for me. Panic set in:...

TAKING THE KIDS TO PROVENCE: WAXING NOSTALGIA AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A MEMORABLE FAMILY VACATION

Posted on May 20, 2013January 23, 2016 by Susan Manfull

I offer my thoughts about taking the kids to the Luberon area of Provence, where we have many years of vacation-with-kids experience, but I do so with the caveat that what worked for us—a family of three with many child guests--may not match the temperament and spirit of your family. Chart your own course—and let us know about your adventures. It’s nearing that time of year again: the annual family vacation. For us, summers have long been associated with packing up the family and heading to Pro...

CHÂTEAU MIRAVAL: A CELEBRITY LONG BEFORE BRAD AND ANGELINA MOVED IN

Posted on May 12, 2013January 15, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Château Miraval, summer home of the uber famous Brangelina family, was celebrated among rosé lovers and baby boomer rock and rollers long before the renowned family moved in. Pink Floyd anyone? Readers of a certain age may be able to dust off an old album that was recorded, in part, in this château: Pink Floyd’s legendary The Wall. French jazz pianist Jacques Loussier, who owned the property from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, installed a recording studio in the chateau. Loussier initially...

DOMAINE DES VAUDOIS: WINE, OLIVE OIL, AND A LOT OF HISTORY

Posted on May 6, 2013January 15, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Cabrières d’Aigues, home of the Domaine de Vaudois, is not on the typical traveler’s itinerary. It lacks the visible charm of other Luberon villages such as those featured prominently in a Rick Steves’ tour guide or a Peter Mayle novel. In fact, a quick google search for information about this village reveals little more than “a tranquil village in the Luberon” and the distance to neighboring villages, like Cucuron and Ansouis. But, don’t underestimate what you might discover in a morning in thi...