JACQUELINE BRICARD’S “REGARD NAÏF EUROPÉEN” EXHIBITION EXTENDED THROUGH DECEMBER

Posted on October 24, 2017October 24, 2017 by Susan Manfull

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 count...

HOLLYWOOD – AUBAGNE – PARIS: A TRIANGULAR JOURNEY

Posted on February 19, 2017February 20, 2017 by Susan Manfull

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 tha...

A TRIBUTE TO PAL, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL MODERN TROBADORS

Posted on October 7, 2016October 9, 2016 by Susan Manfull

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 liv...

STOMP SOME GRAPES IN PROVENCE

Posted on September 25, 2016September 26, 2016 by Susan Manfull

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 Lu...

MARC CHAGALL AT THE CARRIÈRES DE LUMIÈRES: EXTRAORDINARY

Posted on July 24, 2016October 4, 2016 by Susan Manfull

The Carrières de Lumières defy description. One could say (aptly) that it is a multi-media extravaganza—about 100 projectors casting 3,000 images on walls as high as 14 meters, spilling onto the ceiling and the floor, and choreographed perfectly with music ringing out from about 25 speakers strategically placed within the 5,000 square meters of a former limestone quarry certainly qualifies as fantastic spectacle. However, until you step through the door into the cavernous quarries where lime...

ESCAPE THE GLITZ OF CANNES WITH A VISIT TO ÎLE SAINT HONORAT

Posted on April 4, 2016April 4, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Cannes is the quintessential French Riviera resort, renowned for its glamour and bling year-round. Come May and the internationally acclaimed Cannes Film Festival, the Promenade de la Croisette that wraps around the waterfront, passing the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès where the festival is held, will swell with even more rich and famous folks who have flocked to Cannes to rub shoulders with celebrities and, oh yes, see a few film premieres. It’s hard to imagine Cannes as an unassuming...

MAPPING THE MARKETS OF PETER MAYLE’S PROVENCE

Posted on March 20, 2016March 20, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Twenty years ago, my husband, daughter, and I rolled into Marseille on the high-speed train from Paris. If I recall correctly, the Aix-en-Provence TGV station had not yet been built. We rented a car and drove to Aix-en-Provence, where we would spend several nights before moving to Lourmarin, the small village at the base of the Luberon Mountains. Peter Mayle country. Peter Mayle, the British-born advertising executive and author of children’s books turned internationally-renowned author of bo...

2015 IN PROVENCE: LOOKING BACK THROUGH THE LENS

Posted on January 2, 2016January 2, 2016 by Susan Manfull

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...

MEET MARCO, LE PROPRIÉTAIRE DE CAFÉ GABY

Posted on October 15, 2015November 27, 2015 by Susan Manfull

If you have been to Lourmarin, you know Café Gaby. Located in the center of the village on Place de l'Ormeau, where main street Rue Henri de Savornin meets Rue du Temple, Café Gaby is the hub of this charming Luberon village. Men meet at the bar when the sun first rises, parents gather for coffee after dropping their children at school, vacationers come for lunch, young folks come for wifi to text, locals take their pastis as the day comes to a close, and regulars rendezvous for dinner. Deals a...

THE MUSÉE EXTRAORDINAIRE CELEBRATES ITS 40TH ANNIVERSARY

Posted on July 5, 2015December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Forty years ago, Georges Mazoyer (1925 - 1996) opened his Musée Extraordinaire in the tiny Luberon village of Ansouis. Deep-sea diver, artist, and world-wide traveler, this extraordinarily unusual man spent ten years refurbishing the small space--a former stable--adjacent to his studio and filling it with the souvenirs of his adventures. Encouraged by friends to share his passion for underwater life, the museum was a labor of love that today is carried on by his daughter, Nicole, and her husband...