Bouches du Rhône's greatest hit

La Barben and Puyloubier (week 34)

We had 2.5 days to pack after returning from Corsica, so we naturally decided to do one more day trip to a nearby site.  We asked the kids if there was a favourite spot they wanted to see again, and they chose  the zoo at La Barben.  It was considerably busier this time, considering it was warmer and during the school break, but still we were able to see what we wanted.

So we then bid a fond farewell to Puyloubier, our home for the last 7 months.  We managed to get on the road at 11am on check-out day; the Mistral gave us a good send-off (fortunately, we are going east so the wind was at our backs!).  The car is a little over-packed, because we brought some food with us to eat along the road - more than we could easily fit in, as it turned out.  But once we eat our way through that (and can start wearing our warm jackets, also piled up in the back), we'll be able to see out the rear-view mirror with ease.

Spring has sprung

La Dolce Italia on the Rue d'Italie in Aix

Aix-en-Provence and Puyloubier (week 32)

Since the boys are in the cantine on Fridays and Mondays, Yolanda and Craig took advantage for trips to Aix.  Friday we dined at Les Deux Garçons on the Cours Mirabeau as our Valentine's Day outing.  Craig had a traditional Provençal aïoli (a thick garlic white sauce served beside veggies and seafood), while Yolanda opted for the menu (salmon and mashed potatoes, with apple pie for dessert).

The weather was not great on Friday - overcast with sporadic sprinklings - so there was a big contrast to Monday's trip.  The sun was shining warmly and when we got to Aix, the promenaders were out in force and the cafés were bringing their sidewalk tables and chairs out. It was just the most recent sign that spring is here: the birds have been noticeably louder over the last week and the sun is finally high enough in the sky to shine in the 1st-floor windows (we are south-facing, but the combination of 3-story homes and narrow streets means the sun never reaches street level through the short days of winter). 

Monday's trip was precipitated because we have started to plan our trip home and we needed to buy an additional suitcase.  We also did some last-minute clothes shopping along the Cours Mirabeau and up the Rue d'Italie.  Now that's it: no more clothes shopping! (at least, until we get to Milan....)

Jour de neige!

Puyloubier (week 30)

Yes, this is how much snow needs to fall to cause school cancellation in Provence.  To be fair, the écoles maternelle and primaire were open, it was only the collège that was closed, because the high school is a consolidated school that the students have to drive/bus to.

Disappointingly, Craig couldn't interest the boys in a snowball fight.

"Je suis Charlie"

Puyloubier (week 26)

As you might expect, media coverage is dominated by the Charlie Hebdo shooting.  We have a lot of English news stations on our satellite TV: BBC World Service, Sky News, CNN, Al Jazeera, an English version of France 24, and (sadly) Fox News.  Naturally, the library has posted a couple of "Je suis Charlie" signs on the circulation desk.  The local family-owned grocery store also had one on his front door for a couple of days.  The school had a memorial assembly in memory of the victims.

the mairie's tree: decorations are cut plastic bottles

Rousset (week 26)

As a result of the rallies and in the interest of keeping off the roads in case the police had set up checkpoints and snarled traffic, we chose to stick close to home this week.  Wednesday afternoon we took in Rousset, a nearby village described by a local techie as being "The Silicon Valley of France".  According to Wikipedia, it hosts two semiconductor companies, which is a lot for a town of 4500 people.  There is clearly money there: the renovation projects that seem to be occurring all through the Pays d'Aix seem to be complete in Rousset, and the used car dealer (previously mentioned) has 3 Porsches and a Ferrari sitting on the lot.  The church was another interesting site: seemingly alone in town the façade has not been restored; it has two towers, which is unusual, and perhaps uniquely in the area it is not on the highest point in town (that is occupied by a school).

Saint-Marc-Jaumegarde (week 27)

Our weekend trip took us to the Barrage de Bimont, a dam just outside Aix, which has created an artificial lake for use as a reservoir.  Yolanda and Craig had seen the dam looking back at Aix from the path to the prieuré on Mont Ste.-Victoire, so we all drove out on Sunday to stroll across it and along the surrounding hiking paths.  Unfortunately, the mistral was picking up force through the afternoon and the wind could only be described as "bitter" by the time we left.  We were happy to get back to Puyloubier, where we are usually sheltered from the Mistral by lying in the lee of the mountain.

two views of the Barrage de Bimont: l is from the parking lot, r is looking down from the trail 2/3 of the way to the prieuré

Hiking to the Croix de Provence: a step-by-step route guide

Priory entrance

Montagne Sainte-Victoire (week 26)

With the kids in school all day on Monday, including the cantine for lunch, Yolanda and Craig decided to hike up to the Croix de Provence on the western peak of Mt. Ste.-Victoire.  Craig consulted at least a dozen route guides and they were all useless.  So was the guide at one of the information kiosks at the base of the mountain.  So here is a step-by-step route guide for someone wanting to climb to the Croix de Provence and/or the Prieuré.  There are many routes, this is one from the south-west.

1. If you can, find the parking lot for the trail with the blue blazes.  This is the easiest to follow and will take you straight to the top and straight back down.  We have no idea where this starts, except that it is west of where we started.  None of the guides make any mention of blaze colours.  UPDATE: there are blue trail blazes on the east side of the Barrage de Bimont, so that might be the start of that trail.

2. Our route: park at the Roque Hautes parking lot.  This is on the D17 between Aix (Le Tholonet) and Puyloubier.  It is located at the turnoff for Le Bouquet.  There is a little sign in the parking lot that says "Prieuré" and an arrow pointing towards a picnic area.

3. Go over the stream to the picnic area.  Go straight through (don't drift right!) and up to the yellow trail.  You will know you are in the right place if you go up some stairs cut into the rock.  Go up the stairs. The yellow blazes turn to the right - do not follow them!  Instead, make your way left through the bushes, you should very shortly come out on a dirt road.

4.  Go right (up) the road.  This is an access road for the olive grove.  You may see a red bar blaze (sometimes horizontal, sometimes vertical).  Walk up the road, keeping an eye open for the red bar trail that will leave the road on the right.  There are stairs and a single worn blaze.

5.  At this point the trail goes through the woods, and up wooden-log stairs.  You will come to a Y junction that looks like a road.  There are no indications which way to go.  Go left.  A hundred metres on you'll start to pick up the blazes again.  Follow to the Cezanne Refuge.

red circle blaze at lower-right

6. At the Cezanne Refuge (a ruin, a modern building, a well, picnic tables, etc.), you'll see a signpost (on the left when looking at the mountain, on the road, separated from the buildings).  There are 5 signs pointing to two different trails on the post.  Follow the left trail.  You'll pick up the red blazes again.

7.  This is the most challenging part of the trail, more of an easy scramble than a hike.  There are lots of blazes, and at one point you'll see a sign that says "facile" (easy) to the left and "illegible" (difficult) to the right.  Even the "easy" trail is a scramble.  At this point the blazes change to red circles.

8.  At the top of the rocks you'll hit a T-junction with the blue trail.  MAKE NOTE OF WHERE YOU ARE! There is no indication where the red trail turns off the blue on the way down.  There is a stone pyramid here, but there are a few on the blue route so you'll have to look carefully on the descent to pick up the red blazes.

9. From here, turn right (up) to follow the blue to the summit, it's pretty well marked.  If you go off the trail, it's pretty obvious because you'll very shortly be staring down a 100 m drop.

The white-tipped Alps in the distance

Good luck - you'll need it!  We got lost twice - once at the base following the yellow blazes (20 minute detour), and once coming down (we missed where the red path splits off and went 35 minutes out of our way).  We also asked for help at least 4 times.  The views are spectacular, though!  And the Priory and the Cross make the destination interesting.  The day we were there we could see white snowcaps on the Alps (NE), more on the Pyrenees (W), and we could see the Mediterranean (S).  And, of course, the Meyreuil power plant and Aix's reservoir dam.  It took us about 1h40 to the Prieuré, maybe another 10 minutes to the Croix.

Bonne Année!

Puyloubier (week 26)

clearly Craig isn't good at selfies

Yolanda asked the head of the Puyloubier Tennis Club for a suggestion for New Year's Eve, and he told us about the annual fête held (appropriately enough) in the village's Salle des fêtes.  It isn't formally hosted by the town, but the mayor attended and served as master of ceremonies - which included welcoming us to the party ("The first Canadiens to attend our New Year's party!") and choosing the karaoke selections.  They were mostly French songs that we didn't recognize, except a French version of "Old Time Rock and Roll" (called, as you might expect, "Le bon vieux temps du Rock 'n' Roll") as sung by Johnny Hallyday.

Dinner and drinks were included, and consisted of a variety of things the boys didn't want to try - lox, pâté en croûte de canard (head-cheese and duck pâté baked into a loaf of bread), and various other unidentifiable (but good!) Provençal foods.  And, of course, foie gras.  Unfortunately, the boys' late night driving back from Spain took its toll, and Andrew was asleep on Yolanda's lap by 11:20, so we didn't get to see the Puyloubier equivalent of the ball drop or hear the French equivalent of "Auld Lang Syne".

Christmas Day

Not exactly spontaneous Christmas picture

Puyloubier (week 25)

Joyeux Noël!

Christmas Day saw the boys hard at work on their respective Lego sets: David's that he bought at the JouéClub and Andrew's that he got from "Aunt" Jacki.  As was the tradition in Craig's household, the boys were allowed to choose one present to open Christmas Eve.  The great thing about Lego is that it will keep them busy for hours - allowing their parents to sleep in if they so choose.  We eventually all got ourselves moving and got our Christmas presents opened.  We had a very small tree, but a real one (and it was big enough to fit all our presents under).  Yolanda and Craig agreed not to get anything that wasn't consumable, so we wouldn't have to ship back even more stuff.

Miscellaneous: Turkey is expensive here, as is most meat (except pork), so we're having chicken instead; the small size of European ovens limits the size of bird that can be easily cooked anyways.   The English-language movie channel did not show any Christmas films.  The boulangeries in town were open this morning (closed tomorrow) because the thing to have for dessert is bûche de Noël - a Yule log - that you buy fresh that morning; everything else is closed but open tomorrow (they don't have Boxing Day).  The French equivalent of the Pot of Gold box of chocolates is the Lindt Champs-Élysées box, which we saw leaving the grocery store in pretty much every basket in the weeks before Christmas.

1993 Ferrari 456GT

 
P.S. If anyone wants to get Craig a last-minute gift, the used car dealer down the road in Rousset has this car for sale for a mere €38,500.

Andrew the Artiste

Puyloubier (week 23)

Andrew has taken up the mantle of creativity in the family.  One of his favourite activities is creating new lands, both in Minecraft and on paper.  This is a picture of one of his maps, about 3/4 done.  He makes up city and country names, and sometimes even has competitions between their soccer teams.  This particular land is his favourite world, Diyoza.

His most recent creation is this frozen dessert, which he has named "Micullanium".  It's basically a frozen pudding-pop with Oreos in the middle.  However, he came up with the concept and most of the recipe by himself.  As you can see, the result was a little messy, but very tasty!

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"

Puyloubier and Rians (week 20)

Just as in North America, the Christmas season gets underway in earnest right after Armistice Day.  This past weekend was the Marché de Noël Artisanal, featuring food and Christmas crafts.  Unlike the Christmas Bazaars that we're familiar with - such as those hosted as fundraisers for churches - the vendors were mostly professionals.  On our visit to Rians (below), the tourist bureau had a neat display of Advent calendars, e.g. made of wood with little drawers to pull out (candy not included)).

The village has also put up and turned on its Christmas lights (note to the Downtown Halifax Business Commission - they waited until after Nov. 11!).   Of course, the weather isn't very Christmassy compared to home: the daytime highs still hover around the +15C mark.  The days are short, though - sunset is officially just after 5pm, but the sun goes behind the mountains sooner than that.  So the cheery white lights are welcome, even if there isn't snow on the ground.  All things considered, we're happy enough for it to be +15C.

the 12th-century tower is on the left

Our weekend trip did not take us far, just to the village of Rians, around the corner of Mont Ste-Victoire (in Var).  Its church has two steeples (perhaps more accurately: bell towers), neither of which is directly attached to the church.  I gather it was not uncommon to have the bell tower separated from the sanctuary, but this is the first in-use church we've seen with this configuration.  As for Rians specifically one tower is actually used as the church bell, the other is the restored 12th-century town's tower.

It must be an election year

Puyloubier (week 19)

Over the course of 2 days, the town became covered with construction signs.  They are reminiscent of the "Canada's Action Plan" signs (although without the same level of graphic design), announcing how much is being funded by the government.  As you can see from the pictures, they are doing work on the church, the school, the library, and paving some roads.  They are also upgrading the fresh water pipes along several streets, improving the slope (drainage) on the soccer field, paving some of the common parking lots, working on restoration of the medieval church ruins, and building several ramps (I assume for accessibility - they say "rampes pour PMR" on the signs).

It might be hard to tell from the pictures, but these are large signs - the big ones are over four feet square.  When all these signs suddenly appeared, I assumed 2014 must be an election year - and it is.  However, I read on Wikipedia that the municipal elections were in March, and the Senate elections were in September, so I'm not sure what has spawned this outpouring of tax-dollar spending.

Happy birthday, Andrew!

Puyloubier (week 17)

Andrew has started a diary (on the computer, Doogie Howser-style).  Here is an excerpt describing his birthday:

novembre  3^rd  2014, 

my  birthday

We go to school on weeks, not on weekends though. I had music today, then i came home and had lunch and that’s all you need to know. It was really raining about 10 minutes ago. Mom’s going to go get some presents. Dad was using the computer and then he let me use it. 12:28  PM. I just love cold pizza and that’s what we had for lunch. AND I JUST LOVE PIZZA!,PAIN AU CHOCOLATS AND ORANGE!!!.........what did i  say?, forget  it. We come home for lunch, ok.

I can’t believe that mom isn’t home yet, and i can’t believe that David is in a bunch of islands with sheep on it. Gray sheep. David spawned on an island, he called a cave a tave, and there’s 2 zombies that he cannot find, DUNGEON!!! 5%  ZOMBIE!!!!!!! MOMMY I  HATE  IT!!!!!!! 100%  FULL!!!!!!  Right now the clouds look VERY like creepers in armour.

I have to stay at school for 3h and in the afternoon i have to stay there for an hour and a half! My birthday cake was epic. I got lots of Minecraft presents for some  reason. We’re making a Minecraft movie with them. So weird. I SAID SO WEIRD!!! It was really raining again but now it’s just drissaling, so weird. I mean literally so weird, now drissaling, do you believe  me?, i geuss so. Do you?, please answer some time else. Like in 10 minutes or so. 12:55  PM. Has that been 10 minutes? David is playing NHL 2K11 he likes playing that and he made a new trade. He is just addicted to that game, also me but not as much as him, because my favourite game on there is Minecraft.

Ifo hyugtole boregtyo marplez dite vek? that’s danzanish, a language from danzana, and that is a country from my made up planet, diyoza. FINALLY, THE END OF THIS CHAPTER!!!!!!!!

"It's the little differences"

Puyloubier (week 14)

As Vincent Vega so memorably observed, "You know what's the funniest thing about Europe?  It's the little differences."  Here is my example.

Pictured is our current cereal selection.  As you can see, the All Bran and Weetabix are identical.  The Corn Flakes are, oddly enought, not translated to "Flaçons de Mais" or whatever.  The Frosted Flakes are renamed, and the Honey-Nut Cheerios box is different but the cereal is the same.

However, this is a picture of what they call Life Cereal in France.  As you can see, it bears no vestige of similarity to the Life you get in North America.

And yes, quarter pounders are still called "Royale with cheese" (you can't get one without the cheese - another little difference).

Two cars

Marignane (week 12)

The Peugeot at our place in Puyloubier (l) and the new Renault (r)

We bid a fond farewell to our Peugeot 308SW.  It took us across France and kept us supplied with food and entertained us since we arrived in July.  Due to the short-term lease system they have in France (a tax situation), we have to lease one car in Craig's name and another later in Yolanda's to cover the time we were here.  Therefore, the switch, made at the Marseille-Provence Airport.

It was a painless transition, the bulk of the time being spent by the Renault clerk explaining the features of the car (h spoke excellent English and provided what is rare in France - what we would call actual customer service!). Now we have a Renault Grand Scenic.  It is a little bigger and a little more upscale than the Peugeot, which means we'll have to get used to the new size in these small roads and parking spots (although, to be fair, it's only a few centimetres wider, much of the increased size it in its height).

The Fountains of Puyloubier

Puyloubier

One of the things we've noticed is the large number of fountains even in the small towns.  They seem to be along every few blocks.  Of course, there are famous fountain boulevards, like the Cours Mirabeau in Aix, but each little square and intersection seems to have some sort of fountain, even if just a block away from a major fountain.

By Craig's count, there are four fountains in Puyloubier, not including the various community taps (these are treated potable water taps where anyone can fill up a water bottle).  We thought doing a blog post on the fountains in town would also give a chance to give more information about the town in which we're living.

Starting from the west end of town (a few houses west of our place):

1. Place du Mairie.  This is the fountain in front of the mairie - the town hall.  The term hôtel de ville is also used in France, it seems to be regional which term is used.  Our mairie has a square in front of it with plane trees, as you can see in the picture.  In the afternoon (and evening in the summer), people play boules (lawn bowling) in this area.  There's enough room for 3 or 4 simultaneous games.  It's usually the retired men of the town, although I've seen young men and women also playing - it seems very democratic, with mixed-gender and mixed-age games commonly occurring.  The mairie building contains the town administration offices, as well as the poste and a common room where the town holds its pilates and aerobics classes.  This square is also where they set up the beer garden when the exhibition is in town, and similar social events.

Places de la Republique (l) and Damase Malet (r)

2. Place de la République.  Moving east up the Ave. Pierre Jacquemet (the road our home is on), we come to the Café Sainte Victoire.  This is the local eatery, with plats (what we would call entrees) ranging in the €8-15 range.  It has limited inside seating, so it has taken over the Place de la Republique as its outdoor seating area. In the centre of that is this fountain, which you can see is used by the café to hold up its sunshades.

3. Place Damase Malet.  Continuing east on what might be considered the same street, but with a new name (Grand Rue), we come to this fountain in a tiny square that consists of one tree and a couple of benches (and the fountain, of course).  Just a few homes downhill from here is the Festival des Pains, our usual patisserie (we go in maybe 5 times a week, which is very irregular relative to the natives, who might visit twice each day).  It is a relatively busy intersection, being a T-intersection at the end of the road to Trets.

4. Place Henri Verlaque.  Again changing its name as we move eastward (to rue Jean Jaurès), we come to the local library, which is also a museum located in a former olive oil-production facility (the moulin à huile).  As is befitting such a pedigree, there are two olive trees in the place along with this fountain against the far wall (the entrance to the bibliotheque is on the right just out of the picture).  This building and square also hosts various events such as exhibitions by local artists and, I think, can be hired for wine-and-cheese parties by local organizations.  You may be able to tell from the picture that there is no water flowing in this fountain.  Although not uncommon, far more fountains in Provence have water flowing than are dry like this one, which seems strange since it is quite an arid climate and pumping in the water might seem to be a superfluous expense, especially in a small community like Puyloubier.

Festy Weekend

Puyloubier, Trets, and Pourrières (week 9)

Craig and Yolanda with their tasting glasses

According to the caretaker for our place, this is the last weekend before the grape harvest (he warned us to be on the lookout for tractors "everywhere").  Because of this, it's festival weekend throughout the region.  On Saturday we stumbled on Pourrières's club days, with judo and wrestling demonstrations (and probably others we didn't see), booths set up to recruit for the film club, model plane flying club, etc.

On Sunday, Trets had a food fair, with booths selling food and local wineries plying their fares.  For €3 you could buy a tasting glass, and go booth-to-booth for samples.  The food was from various restaurants in the area, including a few from Marseille and several from Aix, so it was higher quality than "fast food" (sort of like Fox-on-the-Run, for you Thunder Bay people). 

Craig's first bumpercar ride in 20-ish years

Meanwhile, starting Friday afternoon and continuing into the next week is the Puyloubier Fête.  It is basically what we would call an exhibition - with carnival rides, concerts each night, fireworks, and various vendors.  There are pétanque competitions (a type of lawn bowling - for those of you who've played Assassin's Creed III, it's that type); the entry fee is €450 per team of three, so you can see they take their boules seriously!  We went out Sunday night for the kids to play on the midway - we all played foosball, David tried his hand at the video arcade, David and Andrew played air hockey, and everyone but Andrew went on the bumpercars.  Unfortunately, the town is so small that the bumpercars only ran when a group of kids arrived together to use the ride.  Otherwise, we had to wait around until enough people arrived and go in with them.  We eventually got tired of waiting for the adult cars (David went on the kids cars with group of local kids) so Yolanda, Craig, and David went just the 3 of them.

Fireworks as seen from our terrace

On Saturday morning, the grand opening was a ceremony called "Awakening the Wolf".  It was never clear to us why someone would want to do this, but the kids sang the waking song louder and louder, and eventually the wolf mascot awakens and comes out of his cage, holding the key to the town (which was then given to one of the lucky singers).  The song was an old Provençal folk tune, in the Provençal (Occitan) language, so the kids had to be taught the words on the spot.  They also all got bandanas with the local town crest on them.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the noise bylaws are quite a bit less stringent in France - so the rock concert went blasting away until 2 am both Friday and Saturday nights .... then the workers clanked away another 2 hours tearing down the stage gear to prepare for the next day.  Luckily David and Andrew can sleep through anything, 2 am is Yolanda's normal bedtime, and Craig learned how to sleep through any volume of music having once lived on the 3rd floor of Cameron House.

1st day of school

Puyloubier (week 8)

Today is the first day of school.  Here is a picture of the school.  If you look carefully, you'll see it's vintage from a time when boys and girls were educated separately.  It has a nice fenced-in courtyard with a couple of plane trees in the front.  Oddly, you have to go outside to use the toilets (and the sinks are just open to the air) - it reminded me of some places in Hawai'i, actually.

Andrew's teacher was wearing orange shorts and a T-shirt that read "Dean and Joe's Garage".  I guess dress code is a little less formal here, although to be fair, the colour of the shorts did perfectly match the colour of the writing on the T-shirt.  The École Primaire schools have 5 grades, what we would call grades 1-5, or what are here called CP, CM-1, CM-2, CE-1, and CE-2.  What we call the primary or kindergarten grade(s) are at a separate school called the Maternelle.  Our school only has 4 classrooms, so there is an annex containing the 5th classroom and the administrative office.  As I mentioned before, class sizes are ~25.

Today marks the first day of the new French school week, which is:
M, Tu, Th 8:30-11:30, 13:30-16:00
W 8:30-11:30
F 8:30-11:30, 1:30-3:00
Lunch is €3 at the school cantine, otherwise they come home for lunch.  Since we need a medical certificate documenting David's allergy, we're foregoing lunch at school until we've got that.

As you can see, they have Wednesday morning class now (there was no school at all on Wed until this year), and a shortened Friday afternoon.  Overall instruction time is increased by 2 hours (3 more hours on Wed, one fewer hour on Fri).  So we'll still be able to travel on Wednesdays: in our August travels we rarely left before 10:30 anyways, and now that the tourists are gone, there will be fewer people to slow us down.

End of day update: They don't mess around here - Andrew had math and reading homework, and David had multiplication tables to work on.

School and Salon

Puyloubier and Salon-de-Provence (week 8)

Much to their chagrin, the boys are registered for school.  We met with the directrice (and grade 3 teacher) and everything seems to be in order.   We now have the list of school supplies (not as long as we were led to believe), and the boys each met their teachers.  Craig had a flashback of working for the Lunenburg County District School Board, because there were workers all over the school painting, putting in drywall, and generally renovating.  Yes, school starts in 5 days....  The boys also met their teachers; Andrew has a male teacher, which is a first for our children.  The class sizes are ~25, which seems large for a town of only 1500 people!

St.-Michel bell tower (l) and Nostradamus's tomb (r)

In the afternoon we went back to Salon-de-Provence.  We had previously visited, but made the mistake of going on Monday when many things were closed, and at 11am, when everything (else) was shutting down for lunch.  So we did the exterior touring two weeks ago, and have now returned to do the interior touring.  Salon's two main claims to fame are: (1) It used to be the border of the Holy Roman Empire, so there is a (partially restored) former imperial palace that now houses a museum and (2) It is the hometown of Nostradamus.  For the latter, I give him no particular credence: if you make enough predictions, and don't date them, you're bound to make a lot of correct guesses.  Nevertheless, if you're interested, there is a Nostradamus museum in town, which we didn't visit, and his tomb is in the Collégiale Saint-Laurent (in spite of its name, it is a church).  We also dropped into the Eglise St-Michel, which has nifty exposed bells (not surrounded by towers so you can clearly see them from the street).

Musée de l'Armée en Province in the Château de l'Empéri

The main thing we visited was the Château de l'Empéri's museum, which is a vast collection of military small arms (rifles, swords, etc.) and uniforms from the start of the Gunpowder Age to the end of WWI.  The sheer number of muskets and rifles is huge, and they are all immaculately restored.  Of course, to a child one musket looks much like another, so David and Andrew might not have appreciated it quite so much.

Salon's "Mossy Fountain"

As for the tour about town, Salon is lovely and the residents take great care to keep the houses in good repair and the flower boxes fresh.  There are a number of little fountains in the squares that have some sort of drooping plant in the middle, so that the water trickles down through vegetation into the basin - it's a neat effect.  Unfortunately, not all French dog owners are fastidious about cleaning up after their pets (this is true throughout the country), so in 30C heat the air was somewhat malodorous in the narrow streets.

Puyloubier - more mundane "living" stuff

Our house is marked with the arrow

Puyloubier (week 7)

We are settling into a routine, which will be totally disrupted when school starts in a week, but that can be the subject of a future blog post, I suppose.  We are still going on excursions, bt generally one beach day and one or two long excursions (>1hr drive) per week.  It's pretty much pointless to go to a small town on Monday because most things are closed (even at the peak of tourist season!).  So we spend more time in Puyloubier and environs than elsewhere.  So here are some more things from around the town.

Pizza is supplied by Coco Pizza, located in truck that would not look out of place on a Canadian street (except that it would be selling poutine and hot dogs in Canada).  The pizza is pretty good - certainly it is better pizza than many places we've tried (although they don't have a duck topping).

The patisserie we frequent the most is called "Festival des Pains", and they have excellent bread and croissants.  Andrew has adopted the French way of just eating such things plain.  David will eat the bread sometimes as well, although he still prefers "sandwich-style" for his sandwiches.  We often get desserts and quiches from there as well.

The weather has been warm all of the time, the lowest afternoon temperature I've seen was 26C.  However, the wind can blow quite cold.  Also, it's a "dry heat" so as long as you aren't walking around in the full sun (which we do a lot on our excursions), it's not too bad.  We have an air conditioner in the TV room, which is on the top floor with a large south-facing window, so it's welcome in there.  For most of the other rooms, keeping the shutters closed is effective.

The house is a townhouse, 3 levels.  The first floor is the sejours, in our case a kitchen/dining area.  The second floor contains two bedrooms and an in-between room that is set up like an office.  The top floor is the TV room, with French doors opening onto a patio (the patio is shared with the house next door, owned by the same people).  There are two bathrooms (1st and 2nd floors) and a big storage area underneath that is only accessible through an outside door.

Puyloubier - more early impressions

Puyloubier (weeks 4-5)

Some more impressions of Puyloubier now that we've spent a week here:

There are a lot of cyclists in this area, and the roads are at best 1.5 lanes with ditches on either side (to prevent road runoff from getting into the vineyards, presumably), so you really have to be on your toes.  It is not too busy, but there is steady traffic through the roads.  Neighbourhood kids have a few places to play including, literally, in the street.  Just like in Canada, the first to see one shouts "voiture!" and the kids jump onto the sidewalk, and resume playing after the car has passed.

Fortunately, there are also a couple of other places to play - such as the school playgrounds and especially the Parc des Sports.  The area has an enclosed basketball/something court (indoor soccer? handball?) - as you can see from the picture, it has a fabric surface which makes dribbling tricky.  It also has a very well-cared for soccer pitch, etc.  Andrew has invented a game called "lineball", where the boys try to get the ball past each other but must stick to the court lines (this is what they are doing in the picture).  David also shoots hoops, and the previous tenants left behind a couple junior tennis rackets and a big bag of balls, so Yolanda has been practicing with them.

The church bell keeps track of time on the hour every hour, even through the night.  Luckily it is not that loud!  There is a second, ruined church up the hill, which we gather is medieval.  All that's left is a couple walls, about 10-12 feet high.  They have also restored part of the medieval (?) wall, which is lit up at night with floodlights (we can see it from our patio).

Andrew has befriended a local cat.  Her name is Dexey, and is the pet of the local handyman (he also cares for our place in the absence of the landlords, who are Canadian).  People have a very laissez-faire attitude to pets here - they seem to be more like co-habitants rather than beloved family members.  Small dogs and cats wander at random through town, but they seem to have the same laid-back attitude as everyone else.  It's too hot to bite or scratch anyone! 

The Wine Blog!

Here is a list of the various (mostly in the local Mont Ste. Victoire sub-appellation) wineries that we've tried.  The distance is from our house in Puyloubier (as calculated by Googlemaps).  Many of the local wineries have on-site sales, but it can be a challenge to find them open.  Of course, many of them operate on "Provençal time", and everyone including vintners take month-long summer vacations, so your best bet is to drive around until you find something that is open.  (Also, some will post a telephone number on the door and a message that says something like "I'll come down right away".)

20. Sainte Lucie & Les Diables (1.7 km)

Ste. Lucie corks

On the D17 just outside Puyloubier, this is the most popular of the local wineries - they had a rupture de stock (out of stock) sign out until the wines were ready for 2015 sales (they re-opened just the last week or so).  Mostly specializing in rosés and whites, we tried the €32 2011 L'hydropathe Rouge at the winery.  It was nice, but I'm not sure it's worth the price, as there are other reds I've liked better for much less.  The other wines we tried were more in the normal range of €7-12.  Their economical rosés are among the most highly rated in the Côtes de Provence appellation, all three made with varying amounts of syrah, grenache, and cinsault.  Yolanda's favorite was the 2014 Bonbon Rosé, which, true to its name, is a fruity wine.  Craig preferred the 2014 L'hydropathe Rosé, which is milder with a distinct flavour of pomelos (for some reason, the Spanish word for grapefruit is used in the Pays d'Aix).  Finally, the whites are 100% rolle; we chose the MiP (for "Made in Provence"), their low-end white, but it was the one we preferred of those we tried.

19. Château de la Galinière (11 km)
On the D7N just past Chateauneuf-la-Rouge if you are coming from Aix, north (left) side of the road.  There are a couple of enormous signs, so it's hard to miss!  They have a couple whites, a couple reds, and a couple rosés.  We tried three.  The basic 2012 Château de la Galinière Rouge is a full-bodied mix of syrah and grenache while the more expensive 2012 Cuvée Jean-Baptiste Badetty mixes in some cabernet as well to result in a much smoother and lighter taste.  The 2013 Château de la Galinière Blanc has the typical fruity-flowery attack common to the whites of this area, but in this case it has a lighter finish than some of the Cassis wines we've tried.

18. Les Vignerons de Baou (14 km)
Located in the village of Pourcieux, if coming from Aix/Puyloubier on the DN7, you take the exit one past the D6 (where the Air de Sud is).  You turn left onto D423 and just as you enter the village the winery is on your right.  We tried the 2014 Sainte Victoire Rosé, which has a distinct grapefruit taste - very nice!  In addition, we had the 2012 Sainte Victoire Rouge, which has a spicy/smokey attack and a fruitier/velvety finish.  Finally, the 2012 Chateau des Tilleuls is a smooth, well-blended wine with a smokey flavour.

winter fields

17. Château Ferry Lacombe (9.9 km)
This is the other winery at the Air de Sud shop.  The winery itself is on the D6 between the Air and Trets.  (It's actually a nice little spot, with a long driveway that goes under the rail line and a pleasant setting.)  The wines vary from €7-20, we tried a few of the mid-range ones.  We served the 2013 Naos Rosé to our landlords (who are, obviously, rosé connoisseurs) and they thought it was good; it was light and not too fruity, good with meals rather than an apéritif.  The 2011 Naos Rouge is a grenache-syrah-cabernet blend that stands up well to salty food; Yolanda thought it was a little spicey.  The 2011 Cascaï Rouge was the most expensive, a blend of the same grapes but with syrah as the predominant varietal; it tasted quite syrah-y, smooth and well-blended.

16. Château des Ferrages (12 km)
This cave is just before the "leaving the MSV" appelation sign, on the DN7 a little bit before Saint-Maximine-la-Sainte-Baume.  They have a limited selection (one of each red, white, and rosé), we tried the rosé and the red, each of which was €7.  They were both described as "fruity" by the proprietress, which is true.  The 2013 Cuvée Roumery red goes well with mild cheese and dessert because the light fruitiness matches well.  Craig wasn't crazy about it with more savory fare, such as tomato sauce.  The 2013 rosé is also called Cuvée Roumery, and is quite light while maintaining a nice fruitiness.  It has a gold medal from one of the big Paris trade shows.

15. Clos la Neuve (9.9 km)
At the junction of the DN7 and the D6, just east of the Var/Bouches-du-Rhône border.  The shop is called "Air de Sud"; there is also a small blue Vignerons du Mont Sainte Victoire sign with the domaine name on it.  We tried 4 of the wines, all within the €7-10 range, three of them are the Mont Ste-Victoire appelation, the other was a Côtes du Rhône.  The 2012 Blanc tentation is made with the Rolle (Vermentino) was mild; we didn't really like it paired with the salty-savoury dinner we tried it with, but it was much nicer with the cheeses and dessert.  The 2013 Rosé seduction is a syrah/grenache that tasted quite white-like; Yolanda liked it better than me, and described it as having a distinct pear taste.  The 2010 Rouge désir is a grenache/syrah/cabernet that was Craig's favourite from this winery; it was a fruity/fresh flavour but still with a mild and dry finish.  Finally, the 2009 Rouge suave is a grenache/syrah, which was less fruity than the other red.  Both the reds were described by the salesperson as being "tannic", which explains the dry finish even in the fruity red.

14. Cellier Lou Bassaquet (9.7 km)

grape harvester

This is Trets's cooperative, coming south on the D12 from the D7N it is at the roundabout just as you come into town.   They have a variety of wines, including a series of single-grape varieties for very little (~€3).  We tried the more traditional blends, 3 reds and a rosé.  The reds are all grenache-syrah-cabernet sauvignon blends, but aged in oak for different lengths of time.  In order of increasing length in the oak barrels, we tried: Cuvée Speciale (2012), a light wine without much body but with a smooth finish; Rascailles (2011), much fuller bodied with a taste of licorice; and Sainte Victoire (2013), with a lingering finish and hints of plum.  The rosé was the 2013 Sainte Victoire, which was a light wine meant to be paired with food as it is not too fruity.  Per-bottle prices range in the €5-7 range.

13. Domaine Terre de Mistral (8.6 km)
Outside Rousset (south) on the D56C between the D7N and the D6.  A very large cave with an attached café.  One of the highlights of touring the facility is that you get the chance to make your own blend from a selection of wines they have on tap.  The domaine has on the order of 10 different grape varietals and they make reds, whites, and rosés.  All the wines are named after someone in the family and includes the personal touch of posting bios of the person beside the wine on the shelf.  They have five wines with the Mont Ste.-Victoire appellation, and we tried them all (there are another dozen or so of various other types in addition to the five we tried).  The prices ranged from €7.50-20. (i) Cuvée Rosalie 2013 (syrah-cinsault-grenache-rolle): a fresh rosé with a strong attack and sweetish finish, we thought it went well with mild cheeses. (ii) Cuvée Nadia Rosé 2013 (grenache-syrah): a fruitier attack with a short finish, with a distinct grapefruit flavour (incidentally, in this area they use the Spanish word pomelo instead of pamplemousse). (iii) Cuvée Nadia Blanc 2013 (rolle): this is one of the few single-grape wines we've seen here, and as we've never had this grape type before, we were intrigued.  Rolle is the French name for the Italian grape vermentino, which has only recently been planted in this area.  This light wine had a very interesting mild candy taste (Craig thought caramel, Yolanda thought honey). (iv) Cuvée Nadia Rouge 2013 (syrah-carignan): a fresh or young-tasting red, with a fruity attack and a short/dry finish; this is the first time we've seen carignan in this area. (v) Cuvée Zaéllo 2012 (syrah-grenache): this is about as typical as you can get in a red in the Pays d'Aix - a syrah-grenache blend with nothing else; this wine was much mellower and well-blended than the Nadia, a very pleasant wine to drink.

12. La Grande Bauquière (5.2 km)

Entrance to the Domaine la Grande Bauquière

This winery has a full selection of wines with multiple reds, whites, and rosés, ranging in price from €8.50 to €40.  It's easy to find if you know what you're looking for - on the D12 between Puyloubier and the D7N, there is a small side road (heading east) with 4 or 5 little markers, one of which is the sign for the winery.  Once on the little road it's obvious, because they have a typical cedar-lined winery driveway.  We tried the two 2012 reds, which the vintner says was a good year.  They were both based on syrah, with grenache and others added in.  The main difference is that the "B" Rouge is only lightly oaked, while the Rouge Moment Suspendu spends a long time in oak barrels.  We enjoyed both reds, but the difference in the oaking is marked: the heavier oaking makes a much smoother taste.  It also doubles the price!  We also bought one of the rosés, the 2013 Rosé Moment Inattendu, which the vintner chose as the best rosé to have with food (it also has a cool-looking curvy bottle).

11. Mas de Cadenet (6.4 km)
On the D57, just south of the D7N.  Founded in 1813 (so they can now say "over 200 years old"!), in the same family for many generations.  They have a wide variety of wines, whites, reds, and rosés, in three different families - a Cote de Provence, a Mont. Ste. Victoire, and "the good stuff".  The three rosés are very different.  The Arbaude is the Cote de Provence, containing grenache and cinsault; it has a fruity attack but a light finish.  The Mas de Cadenet is Ste. Victoire appelation so it has syrah along with the grenache and cinsault; it is lighter on the attack but with a longer, stronger finish.  Both are very nice and easy to drink!  The Mas Negrel Cadenet is the house specialty rosé, distinguished from the others because it is aged in oak for 8 months, which is very unusual for a rosé, and makes the taste quite a bit less fruity.  Craig wasn't crazy about it by itself, but it will be better with food.  Finally, we also got one of the reds (the Ste. Victoire), made from syrah, grenache, and cabernet sauvignon.  It was dry but very nice.  Nana and Craig also tried their signature red, but the vintner suggests aging it for up to 20 years (they sell the 2010 vintage), which is a little longer than our timeline for staying in France!  Prices ranged from €10-22.

10. Domaine Jacourette (7.3 km)
On the D23, between the DN7 and Pourrières village.  Coming from Aix, it is the exit to Pourrières that has the roundabout (although it's faster to take the back roads if coming from Puyloubier).  A much more economical option than the last few, prices are under €10 for all the wines I tried, which was the three rosés and one of the reds.  The rosés were all light summer wines - very pleasant, although without being able to taste them side-by-side I wouldn't be able to remember details.  The wines are different, coming from different grapes: l'Ange et Luce is a mix of syrah and cinsault,   Les ailes d'un Ange is merlot, and Sainte Victoire is syrah and grenache.  The red we tried - a mix of syrah and cabernet sauvignon called Cuvée Tradition - was interesting.  It didn't have a great taste if drunk alone (Craig thought it was a little vinegary), but paired with a salty roast chicken from the Trets market it was excellent.  It was Craig's first experience in conducting a tasting entirely in French - either because his French is improving enough that they didn't automatically switch to English (unlikely) or because the proprietress didn't speak English.

grapes mid-October (just before harvest)

9. Domaine de Mauvan (5.0 km)
On the D7N between the D57 (Peynier road) and the D12 (Trets road).  Another place with no real tasting area, just a bar/counter in the wine-making facility.  The owner was very accommodating, considering it is now harvest time (he'd been up since 3am because he says rosés have to be made at night when it's coolest).  He also brought out samples of all the stages in the rosé process - some of the freshly-pressed juice (very sweet), some freshly-fermented "wine" (a little tasteless and very cloudy), then finally we tasted some of the final products.  They have one white (sold out), two rosés, and three reds.  Although all the grapes are grown at the same domaine, only two are specifically classified as Ste. Victoire (the others are simply Côtes de Provence).  We bought both rosés (Craig liked the non-Ste. Victoire better).  The reds were defined by their dominant grape - mainly grenache, mainly syrrah, and we can't remember the third (cabernet sauvignon?).  Craig liked the 2011 grenache best - called Cuvée Vielles Vignes.  It was light and quite dry.  Prices ranged from €7.50 to 13.50.

8. Domaine Richeaume (3.0 km)
On the D57B just west of Puyloubier village.  Coming from Aix it's easy to find with a large sign, but the sign is totally obscured by a tree when coming from the east.  This winery is very businesslike, with no real tasting area.  There is a sign on the door to the cave with a phone number to call when you arrive.  Having said that, the man who came down in response to the call was very friendly and helpful, and spoke some English (about as well as I speak French, so between the two of us we were fine).  The wines are quite expensive, the "cheapest" being the blended red and white at €20 a bottle.  The prices for the single-varietal reds are €30-40 a bottle.  Oddly for the Côtes de Provence, they produce one white and several reds - but no rosés.  We tried the 2012 white, which was nice.  The equivalent (blended) 2011 red was very robust (but good!), probably the most robust red we've had here.  It would be an excellent pairing with a strong cheese; unfortunately we didn't have any strong cheese, but it was still good with the Comté and Rouy that we had on hand.

grapes early August (Mt Ste Victoire behind)

7. Château Gassier (4.9 km)
On the D7N, between two of the roads up to Puyloubier (D57 and D56C).  This winery actually has two vineyards, both in the Côtes de Provence appellation, but one is in the La Londe sub-appellation, while the other is in Montagne Sainte-Victoire.  We tried two rosés, one from each sub-appellation, which were very different.  The Cuvée Loubiero (the La Londe rosé) was sweeter but ultimately lighter, more of an apéritif; it has many grape varietals (6 or 7 - it was a long list!).  Le Pas du Moine (the MSV rosé) was more like a white; it contained mainly grenache and syrrah, which the wine stewardess explained was required by the AOC in order for it to be labelled as an MSV sub-appellation.  It had a stronger finish.  We also bought the brand-new red, which they just started selling last week.  It is a 2011 from their MSV vineyard, called Esprit Gassier.  It is a good dinner wine, not too heavy.  The prices per bottle ranged €8-12.

6. Domaine de l'Anticaille (6.7 km)
Located in Trets, on the D57.  Again, this is a wine we happened to find in the grocery store (this time at the Carrefours in Trets).  It's good to see national chain grocery stores supporting their local businesses - something we see very little of in Thunder Bay.  The wine we found was a 2013 Rosé, simply labelled with the domaine name.  It was very white-tasting (i.e. tasted more like a white wine than a rosé to us).  UPDATE: At the Trets food fair, Craig decided to sample the local whites.  This winery's Cuvée Mazurka was the clear winner - a light-tasting and mild wine.  Yolanda wasn't as enamored with it, but it was by far Craig's favourite.

St. Ser bottles

5. Domaine de Saint Ser (2.0 km)
Located on the D17 just outside Puyloubier.  They grow three grapes (Granache, Syrah, and Cabernet-Sauvignon) and mix-and-match to make their wines.  They have one white, three rosés, and three reds - we tried the reds.  One is unoaked, the other two are oaked and vary by the primary grape (one is mostly Syrah, the other is mostly Cabernet).  All were very good, although the unoaked wine is not as smooth as the others.  At the domaine they sell 2008 vintage for the oaked and 2010 for the unoaked, and they are not cheap.  My favourite was the Cabernet-dominant wine, which was €20.  However, you get what you pay for, and these wines are very good.

4. Cellier de Marius Caius (6.2 km)
Surely the best-named winery in the area!  The cave is right in Pourrières, right in front of you if you come into town on the D23.  When we drove past it was closed, but we found some in the Hyper U in St.-Maximin.  It was called "Grand Reserve" (2013) and was fairly typical of the local rosés - a little fruity but not overwhelmingly so.  I suspect we can get better and more interesting wines at the cave if we can find it open.

3. Château Grand Boise (6.0 km to store, 12 km to vineyard)
This winery has a boutique on the D7N (which is the same road as the DN7, its name changes from Bouches-de-Rhone to Var), between the Trets and Rousset exits.  The vineyard itself is just south of Trets.  They make pricier wines (something like 8-10 different wines), and the boutique has a selection of fine wines from other regions of France.  We tried the Jadis 2012 Rosé, which was €14.  It is a mixture of Grenache and Syrrah, the latter aged in barrels before blending.  It had an interesting taste - a bit smokier and drier than a typical rosé.

the red dirt of Puyloubier

2. Domaine Sacaron (10 km)
On the DN7 at Pourrières (Var), there is a boutique for the winery and also a fruit stand out front in the parking lot (not sure if they are related).  They have 5 wines, 2 red, 2 rosés, and 1 white.  We tried the pinker rosé (called Atout Coeur), which Yolanda thought was a little fruitier than some of the others we've tried.  I thought it was fairly mild, but it still stood up with the fajitas we had for dinner (probably on account of the fruitiness).

1. Les Vignerons du Mont Sainte Victoire (250 m)
This is a local winery co-op, that has several producers contributing.  Several of its rosés have won awards at national wine shows.  We are in the process of trying several of them, and to our inexperienced palettes, they are fine.  We have been told by the locals that rosés are to be served ice cold.  They also have "table wines" (one each of red, white, and rosé) that can be bought by the 5 or 10L box, or you can bring your own container and fill from the cask.  We have not tried these yet - the price for bringing your own container is ~€2/L.