Having entered the season in which we all eat, drink and endeavor to be merry, I would like to introduce you to verrines, a culinary concept that, in its own right is simply captivating but one that may be especially welcome during our annual holidays of overindulgence.  (Forgive me, those of you who already know verrines!) I made my first acquaintance with verrines in the summer of 2008. At least, I think I did, but Towny insists we enjoyed them as early as 2001 in Édouard Loubet’s Michelin-starred Moulin de Lourmarin (sadly, now closed).  This time around, we were in Roussillon, the Provençal city best…

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Department stores in the United States ring in the Christmas season the day after Halloween—with the possible exception of those states that mark the Day of the Dead—and the rest of us fall into place when we toss out the turkey carcass at the end of November, depending on where Thanksgiving lands. In Provence, December 4th marks the start of the Christmas season.  It’s a long season—we all know the French like their holidays and I say that in the most commendable even covetous manner.  But, the holiday season does span over eight weeks, ending on February 2 with Candlemas (or Chandeleur)! December 4th—today!—is the…

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Should Woody Allen and Owen Wilson decide to follow Picasso to the South of France, surely Les Deux Garçons would feature prominently. Like Les Deux Magots, the famous café hang-out of Gertrude Stein’s Lost Generation in 1920s, Les Deux Garçons has long been a magnet for artists and writers in Aix-en-Provence. Les Deux Garçons’ roots reach back to 1792, but 53 cours Mirabeau had a long history before it became a café. The 17th century mansion is first mentioned in the historic accounts of Aix (that I read) as being the 1660s home of Francois de Gantès, lawyer in the court of the King Louis…

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Naïf art is that which takes inspiration from the soul. The artists who produce this style of work are generally self-taught or at least not academically trained. Their work is therefore free from any prescribed convention. Their work is usually characterized by very bright and bold colors, distortions in perspective and size, and a seemingly childlike or simplistic style (although a closer examination reveals that the work is neither although it certainly appeals to the child in each of us!). If you are a fan of Naïf–naive–artwork or if you are at all curious about it, Lourmarin is the place to be now through November…

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We are grateful to David Scott Allen of Cocoa & Lavender for developing an original menu and to Win Rhoades (proprietor of South Street and Vine) for his knowledgeable recommendations on wine and cheese.  We are indebted to Mark Sammons for his erudite synopsis of the history of Bastille Day. I was lucky enough to be in Paris on Bastille Day in 1974.  I saw tanks and military troops parade down the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, hundreds of French flags flying everywhere, and huge numbers of proud citizens lining the famous avenue from the Place de La Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, all waiting to view…

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On June 17th, some 2,000 years after its construction, the Theatre Antique in Orange, will lift the curtain for its 142nd annual Les Chorégies d’Orange festival, the oldest festival in France.  If you are traveling in Provence, don’t miss the opportunity to attend one of the lyrical and musical performances in this extraordinary venue:  the performers world renown, the acoustics considered perfect, and the venue extraordinary.  You are guaranteed to be transported to another world. If you know Provence, you know that the Romans, who hailed over the region from the 2nd century BC to 5th century AD, left much behind.  Besides its name–Provence comes…

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France is poised to implement its controversial yet very popular law that bans the full Islamic veil in all public places. On April 11th, it will take effect. At the same time, Muslim leaders in Marseille, with the support of local and national politicians, are overseeing the construction of the nation’s largest mosque. Perhaps ironically, work began the day after the French government put its stamp of approval on the burqa ban bill, back in May 2010. On the very north side of Marseille’s famous Old Port district the €22 million Grand Mosque of Marseille will soon complement Notre Dame de la Garde, the Roman…

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This week’s posting is written conjunction with David Scott Allen, Editor of Cocoa & Lavender, who is posting a two-part series on truffles entitled, “Life in Black and White.” This past Wednesday (11/24/10), he discussed black truffles and featured his wonderful recipe for Fettuccine with Truffle Butter. Next Wednesday (12/1/10), he will focus on white truffles with an accompanying recipe. Towny and I have had the pleasure of enjoying many meals with David and Mark—I assure you that you will not be disappointed with any meal one or the other might suggest. Enjoy The Trobador’s posting on our truffle adventures in Provence, including how to…

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  Chapelle St-Sixte As one drives toward Les Alpilles, along the D24 between the tiny villages of Orgon and Eygalières, about 30 minutes from Lourmarin, there’s a very tiny chapel. Framed by lovely cypress trees van Gogh surely would have painted had he ventured a little further from the hospital in St Remy, the 12th century chapel stands atop a stony knoll now dotted with olive and almond trees and an occasional patch of grass. Chapelle St-Sixte was erected on the site of a pagan temple that was built in reverence to a nearby spring. Rituals involving that spring still exist today: a couple must…

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One of Lourmarin’s most celebrated residents was French writer-philosopher Albert Camus. But 50 years after his tragic death in a car crash at only 46, questions linger about his still-emerging multiple identities as doomed Resistance hero, compulsive womanizer and consumptive Algiers slum boy turned advocate for the underdog. Born in French Algeria in 1913, Camus first came to Lourmarin in the wake of his philosophy mentor Jean Grenier, a writer who had taught Camus in Algeria and whose ties to the quaint Provence village (where La Bonbonnière is located) dated back to the 1920s. Captivated by Lourmarin’s “bewildering” beauty and village life, Camus bought a…

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