DavidandBevTravel.com

October 20, 2008

Today David and I strolled from Place St-Augustin to the Champs and the Arc de Triomphe. We stopped at the George V café and had a café noir before we headed down the George V to Pont d’Alma looking for a place to have lunch. It seems as though we are always looking for a spot to dine. Pont d’Alma is a favorite spot to pick-up the Bateaux-Mouches boats to get a different view of Paris from the River Seine. We did the boat tour with Dawn and Jeff in the spring and it was a lot of fun.

From our hotel, Le Lavoisier, this is quite a walk. We were almost at Pont d’Alma before we found Le Bistrot de Marius, which featured Bouchot Moules. David had been perusing menus up and down the Champs and George V looking for these moules so I could have them once on this trip. For anyone not familiar with Bouchot Moules, they are probably the best-tasting mussels you will ever eat. So, Viola!

Fortunately, Bistro Marius featured them and had a table on their terrace, so we sat outside for lunch on one of the most beautiful Autumn days in October and probably the last day before it started getting cold. I’m saying a ten+! What a special day to spend your last lunch in France or Paris for that matter. It doesn’t get better than this.

Tonight we are off to have dinner at Dominique Bouchet’s restaurant near the hotel. Dominique was a protégé of Joël Robuchon. After working many years as the chef at the Crillon Hotel’s restaurant, and earning two Michelin stars, Dominique opened his own restaurant in the 8^th Arrondissement. Appropriately named, Dominique Bouchet, it is just a 10 minute walk from our hotel, Le Lavoisier. We had a lovely dinner, and met a young couple from North Carolina celebrating their 1^st wedding anniversary. Dominique stopped by our table to say hello, as he apparently recognized our name from previous visits. He was very nice, inquiring about our meal and saying that he looks forward to seeing us again in the spring.

Back to the hotel to pack for our flight in the morning. It has been a great four weeks – perfect weather, plus time in the Loire Valley, Burgundy and the farmhouse in Provence. Tomorrow will be the perfect day to leave, as heavy rain is predicted.

October 20, 2008 facts: Euro €1.33 to the US dollar at 2 p.m. – temperature in Paris high 60s to low 70s.

Hope you have enjoyed our blog – a bientôt! David and Bev

Sunday, October 19, 2008

This morning we said goodbye to Darren and Anne as they headed off to DeGaulle airport for their flight back to the States.

After a leisurely breakfast, we decided to head to Place des Vosges, a perfect square near the Place Bastille that was constructed in the early 1600s. Originally known as ‘Place Royale” it was inaugurated in 1612 to celebrate the wedding of Louis XIII to Anne of Austria.  What was innovative at the time is that all the house fronts were built to the same design. There are plenty of restaurants, art galleries, local artists and usually a few combos or guitarists playing.

We love to stroll around peeking in the galleries, but most of all we love to eat at Ma Bourgogne – a bistro that’s been around for years and years and has all the true traditions of a French bistro, crowded, noisy, bustling, rushed & brusque service. We sat in the outdoor area and toasted our friend, Brett King, who loved to eat Ma Bourgogne’s Steak Tartare. Brett claimed it was the best in Paris and we wouldn’t disagree as David always orders it when we have lunch here.  Brett was a great friend and David misses his chats with him about planes, movies, and most of all, WWII. Brett was a highly decorated WWII fighter pilot before becoming an actor and then building and running a hotel on Harbour Island in the Bahamas.

After lunch we strolled over to the corner of the park where Brett’s ashes were scattered and said hello, then headed to the Place Bastille to get the Metro back to our hotel. There was a political demonstration taking place in the Place, so we grabbed a table at a café to watch and listen. The French have a fondness for demonstrations and protests, and a great way of doing them. As the marchers paraded into the Place, many of them peeled off for a break and sat at tables in the cafés having coffee or wine. They furled up their protest flags and took off their loudly colored vests so as not to disturb others at tables next to them. Once fortified with coffee or whatever, they then rejoined the demonstration shouting slogans and waving their flags. We were told that the demonstration was a small one, but included members of several generations of the unions involved. After watching for a while, we descended into the Metro and headed home to the Lavoisier.

After our great lunch at Ma Bourgogne, we found that we still weren’t hungry by 8:00, so opted to relax, enjoy a glass of wine, and turn in early, “watching” the NFL results via computer.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Up early and off to return the car, get to the station and back to Paris. We turned the car in promptly at 9:00, before going to the Gare TGV. Millie, our GPS, was quite emotional, and sobbed as she told us which exit to take from each remaining roundabout on the way to the Peugeot agency. As we parted, she told the Bevigator that she was “brilliant!” It was hard not to cry and hug her, but Bev pointed out how ridiculous David looked trying to hug the console… Our train was scheduled to depart at 10:05, arriving Paris 12:45. Like clockwork, the train arrived and we pulled out of the station at exactly 10:05.

During the train ride, David and I had a chance to reflect on our trip.  David drove our Peugeot 407 wagon a total of 3,200 kilometers or 2,000 miles – from Paris to and through the Loire, to Burgundy and through the many small villages, then to Eygalières for our two weeks of touring. Millie navigated maybe half those miles for us, needing only an occasional cup of tea or scone – but the Bevigator did have to jump in and help out more than a few times. The Peugeot wagon was a real treat – comfortable, lots of room for five and luggage, good handling and power, and – best of all – it averaged 42 miles per gallon. The price of our gazole (diesel) fuel was €1.35 per liter or about $6.50 per gallon (the Euro closed at €1.34 on the 17^th.) Other than a few days, we had absolutely almost-perfect weather and temperatures were ideal.

After check-in at Hotel Le Lavoisier, Darren wanted to go to Willi’s Wine Bar to taste some wine. We jumped on the Metro #1 line and in a few minutes we were a short walk away. We tasted several different wines – a Bourgeuil red from the Loire, a Chateauneuf du Pape, a Meursault, and carafe of Montlouis – then walked back to the hotel.

That evening, we were to meet our friends Marc and Catherine for dinner. Unfortunately, Catherine came down with pneumonia and obviously needed to cancel. But Marc made dinner reservations for us at La Table de Joël Robuchon. La Table had three alternatives to choose from: – a la carte petit plates with a long list of entrées; an a la carte menu of entrées and plats; and a degustastion (tasting) menu. We all decided on the petit plate menu, selecting three different entrees to taste. It was a memorable dinner. Easy to see why the restaurant has earned two Michelin stars. For wines, we had a wonderful Meursault from Prieur for our white, and a hearty but smooth Vacqueryas from the Rhone for our red.  

Friday, October 17, 2008

Everyone had one or two things on their to-do list, such as shopping, going to the Eygalieres market, and a visit or return visit to Aigues Mortes, an hour and a half drive away. By the time we got started it was a bit later than planned, so we realized we needed to drop market day in Eygalières and head right into St-Remy so Darren could buy chocolate treats for his co-workers at Joël Durand’s chocolate shop before it closed for the lunch hour. Anne wanted Steak Tartare for dinner, so we made reservations for that evening at Bistrot Decouverte in St. Remy where they serve an excellent one. Once we accomplished those tasks, we programmed Millie to head us in the right direction for Aigues Mortes. Smooth sailing until Millie took us right through downtown Arles on a Friday – traffic and more! Once through, we made good time the rest of the way to Aigues Mortes. Naturally, we arrived in time for lunch, where we picked out a garden restaurant, Le Dit Vin ( www.ditvin.com ) where we had dined in the Spring.

After a nice lunch, Darren and Anne climbed one of the towers then walked the promenade for a bit. I turned over my camera to Darren to take some photos on my behalf. Aigues Mortes was where the 7^th Crusade was launched in the 13^th century. At that time, the Rhone and its delta were clear for ships to set sail. Today, it is silted over and there are salt refineries where once ships docked. We met up, hopped back in the car for the trip home. We had one stop to make on our way back, to say our goodbyes to our friends, Christine, Philippe and Jean-Pierre; we then headed to the farmhouse to pack.

Once packed, we drove back into St-Remy, had an early dinner. Our two weeks at the farmhouse were up and in the morning we were taking the train to Paris.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

We took a drive south to the coast as Darren had a craving for Moules Frites (mussels with fries) and had never been to the Mediterranean coast in his previous travels. So off we go for the hour-and-a-half drive, exiting near Bandol and winding our way down the coast to Sanary-sur-Mer. Sanary is a picturesque seaside village with its own protected harbor and pastel-colored buildings. Years ago, this is where Jacques Cousteau experimented with and developed the modern-day aqualung. After taking some photos, we took a table at the Café Lyon where we had eaten before in May with Jeff and Dawn, and had lunch, featuring Moules Frites for Darren and a refreshing chilled bottle of rosé.  After lunch, we decided to drive up to the ancient fortified hilltop village of Castellet for more photo ops. After exploring the old narrow streets and taking in the views, we hopped back into the car, drove back to Eygalières, changed for dinner and drove over the Alpilles to Riboto.

Chef Jean-Pierre outdid himself with buchot moules and oysters in an herbed fish sauce for our first course. Darren and I had that for our appetizer, while David and Anne chose the salade with lapin (rabbit) for the starter course. Anne’s second course was a delectable sea bream, while David joined Darren and myself in choosing an incredible pork. Delicious!

Afternoon of Wednesday, October 15, 2008 Check back in for the story of the harvest and crushing of the grapes that grow on the property at Mas de la Rasclaouse.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

We got off early and headed north to Avignon to the La Mirande Hotel where our friend Jean-Pierre is teaching a class on Farcis (stuffed vegetables, such as cabbage, zucchini, tomato, eggplant, onion, zucchini flowers and mushrooms.) Jean-Pierre’s cooking style is Provençal. In fact, he is such a great chef, Iron Chef Sakai invited Jean-Pierre to teach his protégés how to prepare and cook Provençal dishes in Japan. He has gone to Japan a few times armed with his recipes.

The class was held in a beautiful old kitchen in not quite the cellar-level but one floor above. There were seven in the class, five Americans and two French. The best thing about the class was that we all participated in the prep work, i.e. we became Jean-Pierre’s collective Sous chef for the morning. We all had cutting boards, paring knife and veggie peeler.

Chef Jean-Pierre was an informative teacher as he relayed his thoughts on his cooking-style, recipes and why each one has particular herbs and spices. The Chef gave a task to each student; we serendipitously eyed each other to see what talent everyone possessed. I was especially impressed with one young gentleman with fantastic knife skills – the Chef said “julienne this”, and whoosh, slash, stacked, and done beautifully. Wow, the competition is stiff.

Fortunately for David and me, we got most of the “stuff this” vegetable. Which was fine because as you can see from the photo, they turned out beautifully? We stuffed the eggplant, tomato, and zucchini and made the stuffed cabbage.

Everything went into the oven and we sat down with some wine to eat the finished product for lunch. Viola! The Chef’s course is great because you learn that you can accomplish a tasty vegetable dish.

That evening, our friends from Riboto-de-Taven came over for dinner. I prepared a mixed salad, pork ragu over pettole abbruzzi pasta and garlic bread. We all spent a lovely evening together. We found out from Jean-Pierre that the gentleman in the cooking class, who had fabulous knife skills, is a butcher. Philippe has already made dinner reservations at Chez Beverly when we return in the spring, quite a compliment.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

We travelled to a small hilltop village, Roussillon, population 1,200 including cats and dogs. The day started out with heavy mist with no panoramic or skyline views. Basically it stayed that way the entire day. We were hoping it would burn off as the last two days were awful for photography. Oh well, close-ups are the order of the day.

Roussillon is a sleepy little town, but because of the color of land; deep ochre’s that prevail in a multitude of shades and colors, this village is very popular with the tourists. Today Anne stayed behind fighting off a cold, so David, Darren, and I went on the road trip. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a line of tour buses invading the village, so we just pulled up and parked in a primo space in the middle of town.

We walked around and up and down through the village. The buildings are all very warm colors, different from other small towns. Darren continued to the top of the town and David and I were content with finding a spot to have lunch. That’s our m.o. We found a shady table at the Brasserie de Castrum and enjoyed the beautiful weather and simple lunch. After, we left for the car to head back, but before doing so, we took a quick side trip to another hilltop village, Bonnieux. A pleasant little village with wonderful views but there was too much haze to really appreciate or photograph the scenery.

Back at the farmhouse, Chez Darren, our master chef for the evening prepared dinner of grilled sirloin tips, potato planks, and cherry tomatoes skewered on a sprig of fresh rosemary from the garden. The sauce he prepared from scratch was wonderful, the perfect accent to the beef. There was a small mishap when the cast iron grill went smoking. At least the fire truck didn’t arrive and the smoke inhalation was minor. I didn’t know smoke could burn your eyes that much. Ha-Ha!

With all the excitement we all retired early as Wednesday we had an early wake-up for a cooking class in Avignon at the Hotel La Mirande with our friend, Jean-Pierre Novi from Riboto de Taven.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Again today we woke to an overcast day and rain was threatening. Yesterday and today were terrible days for photography. Despite the forecast, we drove to Arles to poke around the old city. At one time Arles was the capital of the three Gauls — Spain, Britain and France. Originally Arles was a Greek site that the Romans expanded into a “little Rome”. Its location on the banks of the Rhône River made it a strategic port with its shipyards, baths, racetrack, amphitheatre, and arena (which is the location for a gun battle in the movie Ronin, which David has watched roughly 30,000 times.) Arles has one of the most impressive surviving Roman monuments, the arena (coliseum) which could seat 20,000. At present, it is undergoing a massive renovation and restoration, and still features bull fights and other festival events.

After a quick spin around Arles, we looked for a spot to dine in the Place du Forum. This square has the yellow-walled restaurant that Van Gogh made famous in one of his paintings, Café de Soir. We didn’t choose to have lunch at the Van Gogh Café, as we were not enticed by specials such as the “ear burger,” but dined right next to it at Restaurant L’Ardoise. After a delightful lunch, we strolled around a bit more, headed for the car which was parked outside the walls of the city, and went back to Eygalières.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

We woke with very overcast clouds and little hope for sun. Today we visited the old citadel of Les Baux which is always enjoyable. The views are spectacular and their shops and galleries always fun to browse. We stopped in at the always popular candy store, then onto the Musée des Santons. “Santon” in Provençal means “a little saint”. These wooden statues first appeared in the 13^th century in the churches of Rome. The Santons are statuettes used for making of the manger, and the nativity. When the French Revolution and the period of Terror banned all religious symbols in public places, the church mangers were all destroyed.  The first Santons were made in Marseille where Provencal families could express their devotion more discretely in their homes.

Almost time to have lunch but Darren and Anne continued the climb up to see the Château, while David and I picked a spot to dine. We found a casual little courtyard restaurant and waited for an hour or so until they were finished, and then had a pleasant lunch. As we were finishing up, the skies finally turned blue.

After lunch, we walked down through the old village of Les Baux, got our car, and stopped in for a quick visit with our friends, Christine and Philippe at Riboto-de-Taven. We had a lively conversation, laughs and a great cup of coffee.

Once home, I roasted chicken, vegetables and potatoes and made a mixed green salad. Everyone turned in early.