There were just a few paintings still to hang when I left Lourmarin in late September. Before departing—and two days before the opening–I popped by to see Jacqueline Bricard, proprietor of the naïf art gallery bearing her name and curator of the “Regard Naïf Européen” exhibition. She was in the midst of the usual frenzy entailed in the preparations for a large exhibition.  This exhibition includes the works of twenty-eight painters and three sculptors, representing 13 European countries. In total, about 60 paintings and a couple dozen sculptures comprise the show.  The majority of pieces are in the gallery and a dozen or so paintings…

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Last year, about this time, my daughter and I were on our way from Lourmarin to Château d’Esclans in La Motte, about 150 kilometers away in the département of the Var. There, we were to meet with Tom Schreckinger, Communications Director for the Château, and Patrick Léon, chief oenologist for the château, for a tasting and conversation at the harvest lunch. It was the middle of the vendange in that part of Provence and, per the custom at that estate, they were serving a leisurely, multi-course meal for the grape pickers and assorted guests. It is about a one-and-a-half hour drive due east, mostly along…

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It’s Academy Award season, and as it was with me a year ago when I wrote of Marcel Pagnol, I am drawn back to Provence, in fact to his hometown of Aubagne. On this occasion it began last fall when I was discussing with my wife Benedicte, who is French, about the genre films that Hollywood is known for which might appeal to her. In the past couple of years she has become a fan of American westerns, so I thought Foreign Legion fare could be of interest. What I quickly ran up against though was that while the western has survived successfully since the…

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What is a Modern Trobador if not one who detects the scent of a story and, with nose to the ground, follows it through to the end?  Like a dog with a bone, you might say.  That was our Pal, our 15-year-old ever-faithful beagle who was with us on our sojourn to Lourmarin fourteen years ago and who has sat at my feet as I have written almost every story since the inception of this blog in 2008.  She passed away today, I report with immense sadness. Pal was an exceptional dog who touched the lives of many people.  Pal, I think, was very proud…

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If you follow what’s happening in Lourmarin, the charming village at the southern base of the Luberon where the Manfull family has been hanging their hats for many years, you’ve no doubt seen something about “Lourmarin, Lourmarin.”  Have you wondered what “Lourmarin, Lourmarin” is?  Earlier this year, it started popping up on FaceBook and Instagram and I, for one, wondered what it was. It is the new name for the Association des Commerçants et Artisans, explained Richard Dufay, current president of the association and proprietor of Faces, an avant garde boutique for women that he opened about three years ago in Lourmarin.  I spoke with…

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If you are in Provence and looking for something different to do—in between touring Roman ruins and visiting hilltop villages—I’ve got the answer:  Kick off your shoes, climb into a huge oak barrel filled with grapes, and start stomping.  That’s what Provence WineZine photographer Pamela O’Neill and I did earlier this month when we visited Les Pastras, an organic farm, located in the southern part of the Luberon, most known for their truffles.  We had a ball, not to mention felt a little like Lucille Ball in her iconic I Love Lucy episode about her adventure stomping grapes. I’ve written about Les Pastras in previous…

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When the weather gets hot, our mortar and pestle becomes a fixture on the kitchen table. The familiar rhythmic sound of pestle-striking-mortar fills the air and the pungent aroma of garlic wafts through the house. Aïoli. It’s aïoli time. The word, aïoli, comes from the French word for garlic–ail–and the Occitan word for oil—òli—the two primary ingredients in this deliciously simple Provençal dish. So ubiquitous is this sauce on tables in Provence that it is also known as “the butter of Provence.” Aïoli is often a key ingredient in an array of appetizers or it can be found alongside a pork roast or fish, or…

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Those of you who travel to Provence or fancy a trip sometime soon–or who are lucky enough to live here–no doubt are acquainted with the Provence Guru. The Guru–aka, Jamie Ivey–and wife Tanya traded their London lives for adventures in Provence that spawned four books, a glossy magazine about Provence, a market stall where they sold rosé, a pop-up rosé bar, and a blog. I caught up with Ivey at Café Gaby in Lourmarin last week to find out what was keeping him busy these days. And, I got some scoop…read on! Ivey–former London Commercial Attorney and current writer, blogger, husband and fully-engaged father of…

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The Academy Awards, which I look forward to each year, will be telecast Sunday evening, February 28, and this presents me with a confliction, for February 28 is also the birth date of legendary French filmmaker Marcel Pagnol. Seven years ago, on his anniversary, we had a party in his honor at our home with a group of French friends, all admirers of his work. (Could there be a Frenchman who is not?) Since then, each year on this date, we watch one of his films following dinner. Usually we select Manon des Sources (1986) though last year because Daniel Auteuil took it upon himself…

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2016 whooshed in like the infamous Mistral wind tears through the Rhône Valley.  So fast, I’ve barely had time to take stock of the wonders of 2015.  The Modern Trobadors covered a lot of ground in 2015, accompanied by, for the first time, a tour group–affectionately named after this blog–of eight engaging and adventurous people. It was exciting to share our love for this area of France with them, as we strive to do for all our readers with each post.  The photos below capture a wee bit of the spirit of this part of Provence.  If you want to experience first-hand what you see…

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