The rest of the French Riviera...or all the other thiings

As the second annual visit to this region comes to an end.....a theme is beginning to evolve.  People, our people, really love the French Riviera!  The top ten list provides a snapshot of addresses to visit, fantastic markets,  historic villages, beautiful majestic natural geography.

Some places I didn't really dive into much, such as: Les Gorges du Verdon.  The grand canyon of Europe.  Breathtaking views without a single village in sight.  A place of extreme nature, hiking, kayaking, camping are the focus in this area.  A group of us took the time to travel to this marvelous switchback riddled road, to capture a part of France you would not expect.

At the end of the road, a medieval village called Moustiers Sainte Marie.  Hugged by ancient walls, divided by a narrow fast running river, this village is best known for earthenware tiles, with over 14 workshops sprinkled throughout the village.

  Handmade plates adorn many of the walls and doors, creating an artful invitation to each small street as you wander up toward the centre of town.  Two rocky mountains stand above and to each side of the village, casting a welcoming shadow on the town in the heat of the summer.  If you look closely you will see a chain that connects the two rocky crests, supporting a star hung there by a knight of the Crusades.  The food is amazing here too!  We found a little bistro tucked into a small street.  Da Vinci's had 20 seats all but two full when we arrived..... lucky for us.  

The menu sounded perfect, the taste was even better.....

Hungry yet?  We also enjoyed a nice Rose, from Provence of course.  I can still smell the foie gras.....

Speaking of food, in October, we Canadians celebrate food and coming together..... of course I am referring to Thanksgiving.  Well we have 60-70 Canadians here in the Riviera, they like turkey, we like turkey, so we must have it.  Johanne and I made a mad tour throughout the town of Cannes, in search of a restaurateur capable of serving up a Thanksgiving dinner that would equal the taste and appetite of the group.  There is an art to arranging such an undertaking.  First, every single restaurant owner will say no!  You must start with the obligatory, Bonjour.  Then gently approach the foreign concept of turkey for dinner when it is not Christmas.  If you got that far in the discussion then the second roadblock would be presented.  The chef would say, "I can do it, but there are no turkeys at this time of year."   followed by the question "How about big chickens"?  To which we... correction, Johanne would reply, "we just left the Marche Forville, where no less then 5 Boucheries had turkey proudly displayed in their coolers"  In the end we found a fantastic venue.  

Turkey dinner with all the fixings!  Everyone came.... had a huge 3 course feast including unlimited wine for 20 euros each!   I should point out, this is our second French Riviera Thanksgiving dinner.  Last year's event was held in St. Laurent du Var with equally impressive results.  For the record, I did offer to join the chef's in their kitchen to teach them my world famous turkey stuffing recipe.  That resulted in the third NO of the negotiation.  

I wrote about attending the Auto show last year.  Well, a few of the guys from this year wanted to go.  I figured it would be a piece of cake this year.  I knew the route, the venue, basically like riding a bike.  Once you know how, you never forget.  So on the fateful day, three of us headed out.  Shuttle to Cannes, board the 200 bus to Nice, ride until we get to the stop after the St. Laurent du Var train station.  Walk to the venue.  Check on all of the above.  Everything worked according to plan...well almost everything.  The auto show changed venues.  Crap!!!  In bad French we managed to find out that the new venue was at the stadium 10KMs away.  We made arrangements for a taxi, arriving without further incident.  The show was considerably larger then last year.  We had a great day.  Except for the return!!!!!! This stadium is home to the Nice football team, seats 20-30 thousand people on a regular basis, and most importantly has absolutely no transit service.  No Taxi stand.  No hope.  We wandered into the Museum of Sport, where we found a nice young woman who spoke much better English then our French.  She directed us to a bus stop not to far away.  We walked, and walked, and walked.  No bus.  10,000 steps later, thanks to some fitness monitoring technology, we found ourselves back at the stadium.  I approached a traffic security officer, not a real cop, more like a venue security type, to ask further directions.  He asked, "Do you want a ride to "La Promenade des Anglais?"  "oui" I responded.  Within minutes, we are shuffled into an Audi following a Mercedes full of lost tourists like us, for an F1 style race through the city streets of Nice.  Our driver paddle-shifting his way between obstacles in an effort to stay exactly two inches from the bumper of his friend in the Mercedes.  30 euros later we were happily deposited directly in front of the station where our #200 bus back to Cannes was boarding.  What a day.  Cool cars, racing in the streets and we will make it back in time for happy hour with a new story to tell, grinning from ear to ear.  

We have discovered so many things visiting the Riviera, it is regretful that I can not record all the details here.  One of the activities we most often receive comments on is the Happy Hour.  

While traveling with our groups we always arrange for a meeting from 5-7 each night.  This allows everyone to swap stories on places they have visited,  catch up on the news from us regarding things to do, and of course have a glass of wine, beer, water etc.  The happy hour in France has a twist.  We managed to corner a space off the pool deck, with a view to the Med no less,  where we are able to bring our own choice of beverage and a snack to share among the group.  Well, needless to say this activity became the place to see and be seen.   The food on offer became more glamorous as the days passed.  The more people explored the markets and the bistro's of the region, the better the appetizers got.   With a view like this....good food and wine, how can one go wrong.

 There is so much to like about this place, we can't wait to go back.  Our guest felt the same.  The feedback from so many was simply wonderful.  Our last happy hour included every single guest on the tour.  We even had a musical performance from three of our guests!!!!  Many songs were enjoyed...they even wrote one for the group. 

An amazing place.... come join us next year to feel the magic.

Be well

Sante

Grasse, Gourdon and St Paul du Vence or Heaven

Before I talk about the green heart of the French Riviera,  I thought you might want some details regarding the flood in Cannes.  To put the torrent of rain in perspective, we received the equivalent of an Olympic swimming pool every 8 seconds for almost two hours!!! There was as much rain in 2 hours than the whole 3 months average.  That helps to understand why trains didn't run for several days, buses stopped in some areas, Internet and phone services were non-existent, banks and their instant teller machines remained closed, stores and restaurants  could only accept cash....which no one could get.  To add to the tragedy, many Boulangeries and Patisseries did not and could not offer the one item that would make all the problems smaller.  No Baguettes!!!!  For almost two full days the village of La Bocca was  without their morning addiction.  The humanity,  panic,  flour withdrawal, emergency measures called for.  In the end calm was restored, Baguette Gate was solved. 

Now it is time to get up the hill to Grasse.

  

Grasse, the green heart of the French Riviera, is the perfume capital of the world.   

Mimosa, Jasmine, Honeysuckle surround the village and fill the air with a pleasant freshness.   These flowers, hand picked each morning, help contributing to the 2 tons of flowers required to produce 1 kilo of perfume essence.   Which serves to explain why perfume  is so expensive.  A bottle of Perfume contains 20% essence, eau parfume contains 15%, eau de toilette contains 10%, cologne contains 2-5%.  By the way, men are winners in the perfume department.  It seems that the male skin is rough and more oily which is a perfect place for fragrance..  Hence cologne, Cheap and long lasting on men........no need for expensive stuff!  Women's skin, being more delicate requires regular application of perfume.  Is it science or marketing?  "Science" says Fragonard, the perfumery we visited.   

Blending scents is an art, below is the office of the "Noses" at Fragonard.  The title given to those specialists that have achieved the distinction  of being one of only 50 in the world.  They take their station at the organ to create the unique combination of scents for each perfume.

Grasse, while famous for perfume, used to be known for something else.  Something that created an entirely different smell.  In the 12th century, the region was noted as an excellent tannery, utilizing the small canal that runs through the town centre.  This is not an environmentally friendly pursuit.  It also stinks.... however, one has to make a living.  The industry flourished.  At the height of the Renaissance, the tannery started making gloves, handbags and belts, at the same time the perfume industry was developing.  To expand, local merchants started making perfumed gloves.  When the Queen of Italy, Catherine de Medici, started wearing them at the Italian court, a fashion boom began.  The gloves died off (like Catherine De Medicis and her wicked ways) but perfume prevailed and Grasse started to smell a lot better.. no more tannery.

Grasse is not just perfume, there are many small streets to explore, a beautiful Romanesque church, art and food.  The main square is filled with local foods. The air is perfumed with fresh baked bread, roasted chickens, garlic, fruits... well I think you get the picture.  After all it is France.  Interesting side story, one of France's most famous singers, known as the National diva of France, died in Grasse.  I found this to be extremely interesting simply because there is no mention of her, anywhere that I could see.  Who do you think it was? I will give you a hint.   La vie en Rose.

Ring a bell?  If you said; Edith Piaf, you are correct.  Legend has it that a friend secretly drove her back to Paris so her fans would think she died in her birth city.  It must have been a long drive with only a dead person for company.  Crazy!

Now, Johanne and I vividly remember Grasse for something completely different....we were robbed there 15 years ago and we met "Inspector Clouzot". We had stopped in Grasse for an overnight and we parked on the street bringing only our overnight bag. The next morning, our luggage was GONE from the trunk with most of our clothes along with our airline tickets (yes they still had paper tickets back then!). First time it ever happened! So we go to the commissariat and meet this very pleasant policemen who, after numerous plaisanteries with Johanne, claims that he will get our luggage back !
Our instructions are to call him before we leave for Italy to see if he was successful. Can you imagine our surprise when he tells us the next day that it was found? When does that ever happen? So Inspector Clouzot spied on who was opening trunks the very next night and caught our robber!!!!!
When we came back to the police station to marvel at his prowess, he presents us with our luggage with all my clothes intact and all of Johanne's GONE...........conclusion being that frenchmen are much smaller than I and they don't like golf clothes much or we were robbed by a crossdresser........

Today's trip is all about the mountain villages of the French Riviera.  Less than 25 km from the sea, we arrive at Gourdon.   Often referred to as the balcony of the French Riviera, perched on the pinnacle of the mountain, this 16th century centre was established for the protection and security of the Feudal community which it towered over.  

With only one entrance to the village, it was a very safe place.  Many of our group fell in love with this village.  One commented: "it makes me want to be French!".  If you were a fan of the movie "Les Miserables" filmed in 2012, you might recognise this place as it was used for parts of the filming of this historic story.

Last stop for the day, and my personal favourite was St. Paul de Vence.  We visited here many times last year and still. I just love this place.  It has everything one would want in a medieval town,  walled village, narrow streets, interesting history, views, food, art, wine.  Did I miss something?

 Well, as you approach the southern gate of the village you will be met by a group of elders playing the French national pastime.  No it is not drinking wine, complaining or football..... it is Boules.  The game is also popular in Italy, Malta and Croatia, but it is almost a religion in France.

They even have a bread made in France called Boule, a round ball like item, that is claimed to be the reason a baker is called a Boulanger, and the bakery is called a Boulangerie. The thing is, one is pronounced bul, which sounds like ball.  The other means "ball."  I think there is some kind of "ball" worship thing going on here...

Johanne can be seen walking across the Boules playing field, with the Cafe de la Place in the background.  The Cafe to Place is important to the game.  If you were to get tricked into a game of Boules with the local sharks, and you should happen to get Fanny'd  (that is you do not score a single point) then you are required to enter the bar, buy the victor a drink and kiss fanny in the appropriate spot.  Fanny is positioned at the exact spot in the bar so everyone can watch.  I did not play Boules!

When you are there, tour the magnificant art studio's and stop here for lunch.  They serve many different typically provencial dishes.  Each one will make you wish you could come back every day.


 

Next time I will fill in the blanks for the rest of our visit to the Riviera before departing for Portugal.

Be Well

Sante