History

PROVENCE CHRISTMAS MARKETS: LOURMARIN’S MARCHÉ DE NOËL IS DELIGHTFUL

Posted on by Susan Manfull
Although lavender, poppies, and leisurely lunches with rosé at poolside tables are the typical draw to Provence, Christmas Markets—Les Marchés de Noël—are another wonderful reason to visit this region. Okay, it is cold but the sun is bright, the relaxed pace prevails, and the spirit of Christmas warms your heart. The Christmas markets of Alsace are the most famous in France and probably the most authentic since that region neighbors Germany where such markets are thought to have originated wa...
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THE PONT DU GARD, A MUST-SEE SITE, IS MY PICK FOR A SUMMER’S LAST HURRAH!

Posted on by Susan Manfull
Over the valley, from side to side, and ever so high in the air, stretch the three tiers of the tremendous bridge. They are unspeakably imposing, and nothing could well be more Roman. The hugeness, the solidity, the unexpectedness, the monumental rectitude of the whole thing leave you nothing to say at the time and make you stand gazing. You simply feel that it is noble and perfect, that it has the quality of greatness. From A Little Tour in France by Henry James (1884) People often write and a...
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SIPPING CHÂTEAU ROUBINE ROSÉ, THINKING OF KNIGHTS TEMPLAR (AND, OKAY, DAN BROWN)

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

Posted on 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...
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LE PONT JULIEN: ANOTHER ROMAN BRIDGE TO ADMIRE

Posted on by Susan Manfull
The Romans left a lot behind in Provence: temples, aqueducts, baths, theaters, forums, arches, and whole cities, to mention just a few of the larger structures we find in this region. Some of the best preserved Roman architecture in the world stands in Provence. Even the ruins left standing alone in desolate fields are pretty amazing. Arles and Vaison-la-Romaine are thriving cities today, whose residents indifferently file past Roman remains that are so interesting and beautiful, the ...
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LE CHÂTEAU DE LOURMARIN TO HOST RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL IN APRIL

Posted on by Susan Manfull
As we roll in to our favorite village in Provence, I always feel good when I see Lourmarin's charming profile--the one that graces the masthead of The Modern Trobadors--and I know that when we round a few more corners, we will see its majestic château. This (mainly) Renaissance château, the first of this period in Provence, sits atop a hill, dominating the western view of the village, as it has--more or less--for at least 600 years. Today, this majestic building draws visitors from around...
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FRENCH POSTCARDS FROM THE PAST: BEYOND PROVENCE

Posted on by Susan Manfull
Part Two of Two Parts This is the second of two posts inspired by Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts exhibition entitled “The Postcard Age: Selections from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection,” on view through April 14, 2013. Showcasing around 700 postcards from Mr. Lauder’s massive collection—which he recently gifted to the MFA—it is an immensely interesting and fun exhibition. The first post, last week, entitled “Postcards from France: Provence and the Côte d’Azur,” focused on the postcard craze tha...
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POSTCARDS FROM FRANCE: PROVENCE AND THE CÔTE D’AZUR

Posted on by Susan Manfull
Today's Café Gaby lies where rue de Henri Savournin appears to end, on the left.
Part One of Two Parts   “Postcards from France” was inspired by the current exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston entitled “The Postcard Age: Selections from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection,” featuring over 700 miniature pieces of art from his very sizable collection of postcards. Today’s post focuses on postcards of Provence and the Côte d’Azur and what I learned from the curator of this MFA exhibit about the history of postcards. Next week’s post will feature postcards f...
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FRANCE’S FABLED FOREIGN LEGION DEPLOYED TO MALI FROM PROVENCE

Posted on by Susan Manfull
The complicated and factious situation in West Africa, now centered in the former French colony Mali, has been difficult to fully understand without a background in the long history and politics of West and North Africa, its people (especially the Tuareg) and the emerging network of terrorist groups, some of which are connected to al-Qaeda. Having a good map is helpful, too. Beyond a recent acquaintance with the Tuareg, a vague notion of the location of Mali’s famous Timbuktu, a mental imag...
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THE STEINS COLLECT: AN EXHIBITION OF MATISSE, PICASSO, AND CEZANNE

Posted on by Susan Manfull
Blue Nude: Memory of Biskra by Henri MatisseThis post coincides with David Scott Allen’s current post (5/26/12) on Cocoa & Lavender.  Entitled “When A Brownie Isn’t A Brownie,” David writes about two desserts that may well have been served on Saturday evenings at 27 rue de Fleurus in Paris in the early years of the last century.We had dinner with friends in Manhattan a few weeks ago.  The discussion naturally gravitated to what we were doing for the weekend.  Somewhere between...
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