Provence from Fayence: Provence Guide

Monte Carlo, the Hindu way

2009-12-12T20:15:23+00:00

I imagined this piece about Monte Carlo would be full of typos and bizarre facts & figures! Actually, the Hindu's description and history of Monte Carlo is succint and readable. Well, it is India's biggest paper @ 14m subscription and with 130+ years of history.

I have to say, I am not sure that it has a 4000km coastline, but still...and I'm not certain about this: "Monte Carlo, which lies in the French Riviera on the Mediterranean sea in Monaco, surrounded by France and close to Italy, is one helluva place. Not for nothing is it known internationally as a favourite haunt of the rich and famous."

Provence paintings from Julian Merrow-Smith

2009-12-08T23:07:56+00:00

I'm very happy to plug this book, available early next spring. I have followed Julian loosely since I started this blog and am happy to see these marvellously evocative paintings in print.

Visit the full website with its daily paintings.

Riviera webcam at Villefranche

2009-12-07T23:00:30+00:00

Heading to the Riviera? Check it out online first here:

BT splashes out at the Four Seasons, Fayence

2009-12-07T22:54:13+00:00

We love the Four Seasons (Terre Blanche) near Fayence in Provence. OK, it's shockingly expensive - especially in the current climate - but sometimes you just have to say; "hey, let's take senior management there on expenses." And that's what BT did - per the Telegraph.

"Just a month after announcing plans to double job cuts to 30,000 and plunging to its second-ever full-year loss, BT took 150 of its sales staff and their partners on a £1m trip to the south of France. The trip to the Four Seasons hotel in Provence came as Ian Livingston, the company's chief executive, apologised to shareholders for the company's "unacceptable" performance which saw the shares drop to an all-time low."

Maybe they could have just had the burgers - they only come in at 28 euros, but the service is impeccable, the views spectacular and the wild boar are kept off the golf course by the tall green metal fences. I am sure the senior executives would have been well rested and looked after - thereby helping them make good, strategic decisions about BT's future.

Plus, the mobile reception sucks round there, so few interruptions - or maybe the telco chiefs are scouting untapped markets?

Photography of Provence in the 50s

2009-12-07T22:41:55+00:00

Can't wait for this to travel. Toni Harting - a photographer from Toronto - is exhibiting is pictures of everyday life in Provence.

You can see some exmples of the show online.

Noel en Provence

2009-12-07T22:33:41+00:00

Planning your Christmas in Provence? Check out this:"This square is cornered by large plane trees, cascading with tiny lights, and centred with a fountain. Above the plane trees strings of fairy lights form a canopy circus style. The square appears brilliant against the night sky as if dressed with diamonds. "

Mont Blanc summit

2009-10-26T22:49:51+00:00

This photograph of the summit of Mont Blanc (not exactly in Provence) was sent to me by the daughter of a client who had climbed to the top. A stunning photograph by any standard.

Haut-Var

2009-07-29T18:51:23+01:00

The Haut-Var - often overlooked by tourists, thankfully - offers many delights. Here picked up by the Telegraph. Bargemon we like, although there is traffic trying to find Beckham's haunted chateau. The general message is that away from the coast (Cannes, St. Tropez, Frejus etc), you get real olde worlde Provence which starts at about 500m of elevation. I like the markets: "Rather than the worst tourist tat, the bustling markets are filled with the best local produce – rough-cut cheeses, misshapen sausages, aromatic herbs and lavender soap, as well as freshly baked baguettes, honey and crisp rosé wine. "

From us to the Gorges and Ste-Croix, it's about a 90 minute drive.

Salade Nicoise

2009-07-15T10:41:49+01:00

The classic Provencal salad - Salade Nicoise) is paid homage by the Chicago Tribune. I like the sound of these olives "Nicoise olives are small, dark and oval-shaped. Their briny meatiness adds a unique and defining signature to this zesty vegetable and tuna mixture."

For those of you who wondered about the nutritional value of Salade Nicoise, here it is: 390 calories, 46% of calories from fat, 20 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 25 g carbohydrates, 28 g protein, 309 mg sodium, 5 g fiber.

Four Seasons Terre Blanche reviewed by Wall Street Journal

2009-07-06T22:57:12+01:00

The Four Seasons Terre-Blanche near Fayence gets a gushing review in the WSJ: "beautifully landscaped with lavender, white and pink oleander, and other flora that make the air intoxicatingly fragrant."

The writer was troubled by the bugs, though: "Many creepy crawlers found their way into our suite (as one manager told me, “It was a forest; they still think it is their home”). To discourage them, I put plastic shower caps over the cookie-and-sweets plates left daily in the suite."

Watch out for the Caesar's Salad: "...with four nuggets of chicken and roughly five romaine leaves for about $40. "

Coastal style Lavender sachets

2009-07-06T22:46:10+01:00

Coastal style? Sea scents, driftwood mirrors etc. Am sorely tempted by these mediterranean sea-style Lavender sachets I came across from a company called Florestine.

Or the Lavender-scented candle to burn on the patio in the evening - our lavender normally does for the wasps, so maybe a replacement for citronella candles? Florestine obviously have an expensive copy-writer: how purple is this:

"Blissfully infused with true lavender essence distilled from organic lavandul officinalis and lavanda vera, the indigenous signature scent of a Mediterranean summer. This fragranced and richly lavender coloured candle is hand-made by small family companies for Ortigia, a boutique Italian scent and accessories company in Sicily."

Côtes de Provence

2009-04-27T20:30:50+01:00

Interesting observations from Jim Budd about Provence rosé. One - that most Provence rosé growers are "completely stupid" for not using screw caps - only 4 out of 80 used them. Jim's argument is that it's just a a darn sight easier. Two, that the same Provence rosé growers are being silly about getting upset over the mix up red and white to get rosé debate.

Still, Jim does prefer wines from the Loire region.

Provence by Lonely Planet

2009-04-24T09:41:22+01:00

Engaging images and commentary about Provence from Lonely Planet - maker of the guides. Holly the Australienne creates a pleaseant, warm feeling about the place, featuring roman ruins, French markets with heaps of garlic, lunches in vineyards, Plane-tree lined avenues and lots of sunshine - enjoy!

Romance of Provence

2009-04-22T09:05:34+01:00

It's amazing the lure that Provence has for non-residents or distant watchers. I am not undermining its charm and splendours, but some of the notions folk concoct about life in Provence are amazing.

In Evansville, USA, they imagine this: "Wouldn't it be nice to live somewhere romantic such as Provence or Tuscany, where all you have to do is step out your back door to find tasty wild greens and herbs growing on the hillsides?"

In Canada, it's this: "The roots of the Roman Empire run deep throughout southern France, no more so than in rural Provence. With its sunny scrublands, Riviera, vineyards, olive trees and Mediterranean cuisine, parts of Provence could pass for northern Italy. But Francophiles will find Provence also offers the best of la belle France -- Sunday markets, sleepy towns where locals play petanque, fields of lavender and salade Nicoise."

Maybe I shall compile a guide book of journalistic expressiveness about Provence.

Books about Provence

2009-04-03T21:12:26+01:00

Have updated the page about books set in or about Provence. Check out books in Provence.

Birds of Provence

2009-04-03T16:56:01+01:00

I have been asked about birds of Provence. The feathered variety, not the St-Tropez species. Not being an ornithologist, I reached for Google, fearing the worst. The search "Birds of Provence" brings up little of immediate value and, to be honest, the internet offers very little on Provence's apparent wealth of birds.

So I made a reference page of the best I could find, called Birds of Provence. The pink flamingoes of Camargue are the main attraction.

Headline of the week from Provence

2009-03-30T09:08:47+01:00

"Sir Sean Connery has won a multi-million-pound court battle over a business deal involving diamonds, villas and property on the French Riviera. "

The winner is the Telegraph.

Rosé debate rumbles on

2009-03-30T09:04:55+01:00

More grumblings regarding rosé production - this time from Anjou. "The debate threatens to re-ignite a much wider, and more explosive, argument on the nature of wine itself. Is wine a mysterious product of soil, soul, weather, grapes, sweat and tradition? Or is it an industrial product for mass-consumption like any other?"

The answer - label real rosé as "traditional": "when news of the decision began to circulate, pink grapes of wrath fermented in Provence and Anjou. "Real" rosé wines could be marketed under a new label: "traditional rosé". Blended or "fake", rose wines would have to be labelled "rosé coupé" or "rosé de coupage." But, claim producers, "it should not be for us to have to rename our wine. If the others want to label their bottles 'rosé made from jumbling up red and white', that's fine."

The debate threatens to re-ignite a much wider, and more explosive, argument on the nature of wine itself. Is wine a mysterious product of soil, soul, weather, grapes, sweat and tradition? Or is it an industrial product for mass-consumption like any other?

Provence rose makers apoplectic

2009-03-11T07:34:36+00:00

There's an extraordinary proposal that the EU would allow any wine producer in Europe to blend white and red wine to produce rosé. "Pink plonk can be made by simply mixing red and white."Naturally, Provence rosé producers are up in arms.

The uproar has generated some fantastic rhetoric:

"The battle for rosé's nobility risks being lost with a wave of Europe's magic wand. When you go home tonight, try mixing white wine with a few drops of red wine. It comes out orange and doesn't taste good It's nothing like rosé."

"It's as if the ferryboat was sinking and there was only one lifeboat – rosé. The new rules will allow everyone to jump in the boat and the result will be that everyone will drown. All our efforts have borne fruit and have permitted French rosé to be the world market leader. Now they want to saw off the branch which we have nurtured and are sitting on."

Producers say it is sacrilegious to simply throw together different coloured wine rather than following the "nobler" tradition of macerating red grapes for a few hours and bleeding off the rose-tinted liquid.

Cycling in Provence

2009-03-08T19:55:01+00:00

I am constantly reminding folk what a great place Provence is for cycling holidays - not that I would do it myself. Guests to our house at Mons do the 4km to the local village (with 300m of elevation) with gusto, and David our neighbour punishes his body with a 60-80km road trip every Saturday, dreaming of Lance Armstrong.

Here's Nicholas Roe of the Daily Mail trying to enjoy 3 days on the saddle. "If you're going to try a biking holiday, Provence is a wonderful place to start. Sure, it's hilly - my own 75-mile, three-day circuit had many climbs on the first two days, although it was almost entirely downhill on day three. But distracting you from the pain of effort is an almost constant parade of scenery...And when you get tired? Well, there are beautiful villages to welcome you with cries of 'Bonjour Monsieur!' and coffee, wine and cakes. "