An overview and a preview....

So after Nice (where we had spotty wifi, and difficulty loading photos), a long drive to Bonnieux, through the Gorge du Verdun, the French Grand Canyon to a ***** hotel (where we had no wifi, so no nothing to post). Three nights there, while we visited nearby villages and made the trek to Mt. Ventoux. We are now in Aix-en-Provence for two nights, returning to Paris tomorrow, October 2. We have one or two sites to visit there, a birthday party for Pauline, and a much-anticipated evening at the Comedie Francaise where we will see L'Avare (The Miser) by Moliere. There will be details, and there will be photos, but probably not until we get back to the US of A next week.....

Nice and environs

The drive to Nice was long and tiring. It is not a long trip mileage wise but we thought we'd avoid the autoroute and take the local road along the shore. We stopped at St. Tropez to find it a small, very trendy and pretty crowded town awaiting the opeing of a big luxury yacht show. We meant to have a nice lunch, but it was very hot so we opted for sandwiches near the harbor.

We also meant to stop at the Picasso Museum in Antibes, but it was getting late and we knew driving into Nice, a large city, would be challenging, so we used the GPS to get onto the autoroute and sped off to Nice. Little did we know that there are about a million cars in Nice, and about a thousand parking spots. Plus overnight parking is free, so everyone is trolling for parking spaces. No kidding, as soon as someone opened a car door to get in, the next car screeched to a stop to take it. After circling our hotel a couple of times we did the same, and the car was "resting tranquillement" as the concierge said, until morning, with paid parking until after lunch. (We have learned that these quite civilized folk don't charge for parking for two hours or so during lunch -- who would want to hurry back to feed the meter? It wouldn't be right!)

This morning we were on a mission to see the Matisse Museum, which was a lovely building (no photos). In addition to a visiting Rodin show comparing Matisse works to Rodin's, there was a group visit by about 25 little kids getting a museum visit. They were about 4 years old, and got a gruff lecture by the security guard that all hands wee to be behind their backs or in pockets. They made their way around the museum, getting a lecture here and there. I can't imagine such a thing happening with American children.

We hopped back on the bus to return to the car for a trip to La Turbie, a village high above the coast, for a lovely lunch. Tom enjoyed salmon tartare, which sounds weird but was quite good -- minced raw salmon mixed with capers, perhaps a bit if spiced mayo. It will be my choice next time. I had mussels and fries (moules frites), also excellent. We wandered around the village, and looked down at Monaco and Monte Carlo. It looked so busy and frenetic against the countryside around it that we decided not to drive through it, but went instead to Menton, the French city nearest the Italian border. We spent an hour or so walking along the beach promenade, then back to the autoroute and our hotel. Hard to imagine that the Italian border is about 25 minutes away and all the big names of the French Riviera are within about an hour's drive.

Cassis, Calanques and the Route des Cretes

So, now where we we? Oh, yes, on the road to the French Riviera.

After the whirlwind blast through Marseille (thanks, Ginger!), we were off to Cassis, known as the (relatively) poor Frenchman's St. Tropez. It is a charming little town, very welcoming and open, like Carmel, but with personality. There are two things to do in Cassis (not counting the ubiquitous Little Train) -- the boat trip to see the Calanques (bays carved from rock by glaciers) and a drive above the cliffs. We did both. The other thing to do is eat, and we did that, too. Our first night we had filet (Tom), and mussels (me), but the second night was a real stunner. Presqu'ile had been recommended to us (thanks, Richard!), so we made a reservation, and challenged the GPS to get us there. It worked, and we were one of two tables in the restaurant (a group came in as we were about done), and had a delightful meal. Our entree was a duck ragu in a flaky crust and salad, and our main course was merlue, which I think is perch, with spinach and mushrooms and shrimp sauce. Dessert was the real standout, though -- a napoleon type pastry filled with chocolate mouse and fresh raspberries, a raspberry sauce and creme fraiche ice cream. It was a beautiful as it was delicious. The next morning a quick trip into town for coffee and tartines (baguettes with butter and jam) and we were off to Nice.

Blogger is not loading photos right now, so I'll add some later....

Bienvenue, Marseille

We have just arrived in Nice. We left the Vendee on Tuesday, leaving the Gite at 5:30 AM, arriving in Nantes to drop off our rental car at the agency before 7, then at the Ryan Air gate by 7:15. Our 8:15 AM flight was delayed about a half hour -- passengers all cleared for boarding and gathered at the gate itself, and no plane to be seen. But it finally arrived, and we were in Marseille 70 minutes later. Not bad for 12 euros each -- about 17 dollars. (But then there were taxes of about 83 euros, but still cheaper than the train, and saved us two days of traveling to Paris and back).

So we are playing catch-up from Marseille to Nice....

The Vieux Port at Marseille.

Since we were so early in Marseilles, we were able to spend a few hours having lunch, then taking their much-talked about Little Train (we now think every city, village and hamlet worth its salt has a Little Train) around the town and up the magnificent Notre Dame de la Garde, a church high over the city, with spectacular views outside and mosaics inside. It is dedicated to sailors; note the strings of ships dangling from the ceiling, everything from old masted ships to native canoes to modern yachts. We were surprised to see airships included in the strings as well.

We arrived in Marseille just as the daily fish market was shutting down, and this spaniel was ready to go home for lunch.

This lady was busy shooing her snails back in their box -- they had been making a run for it while she was distracted with customers.

The best part of my lunch was the entree (first course) -- a fig and chevre tart and green salad.



The Little Train on a tree-lined street in Marseille.

The view of the Vieux Port from the church.

The exterior.



The interior.

Note the string of boats hanging from the ceiling of the church.

The crypt.

Then we were off in the rental car to Cassis....

Bustling about the Vendee

Jeanne's sister-in-law Chantal invited us all -- all six of us -- for lunch, so we set off through the countryside for about an hour's drive north and west. Chantall's surname through her husband is a very big noise in that part of the world, having sided with the royalists in a sort of insurrection way back when. Her house is large, and just across the way from the village church. The front is somewhat unassuming, but beyond are acres and acres of land. After a lovely lunch of various first courses (deviled eggs, ratatouille, tomatoes, beets, potatoes, tuna salad, prosciutto and melon) followed by ham quiche and green salad, and then a lemon tart supplied by Marie, we took about a twenty minute walk through the property -- and we could have gone farther. They have a sizable pond filled with ducks and geese, meadows with sheep and two horses, and cages of doves and other birds. Happily, as one of Jeanne's sisters noted, the family property included many buildings, so that each of the children has his or her own, and all can share the land.

One wing of the house with the church beyond.

The other wing of the house.
Chantall beckoning us in for lunch.

A spectacular spread.
A view of the pond above, a part of the walk through the forest below.


And consider sheep as lawn mowers, their only purpose on this property.

That night Bertrand's brother Herve and wife Beatrice joined us for dinner, and we had lively conversation on all manner of topics -- Tom and Herve discovering that they are -- or were -- mountain climbers with stories to tell.



The following day, our last, Jeanne hosted a lunch for friends visiting from the north. We had a lovely garden party with roast pork with all the trimmings, the usual cheese course and fruit for dessert. We made a mad dash for the local depot vente (consignment shop), the site of previous happy bargains, but found nothing that was both enchanting and could fit in the overhead compartment. Dinner was a quiche with just "the family", the six of us, ending with a teary goodnight, since were were due to leave long before dawn.








A bientot, Vendee!

La Vendee

We arrived in the Vendee Thursday afternoon. The train arrived at 1, but Avis was clsoed for lunch until 2. Tom walked into the town to get our francophone charged up, while I guarded the bgas at the station. The car rental opened, we got our car and were on our way. Jeanne was out when we arrived, having left to pick up Marie at the train station at 3 -- had we only known. So we visited with Jeanne's sisters Ann and Claire for a bit, then greeted Jeanne and Marie. We were about to leave for a walk to pick figs, when Herve and Beatrice arrived; we walked with them to their house (stopping for the figs), and enjoyed drinks in their lovely home (and a hesitant nuzzle from Penelope and Calypso the donkey mother and daughter).

Friday we visited Odile at her manor house for tea and coffee, and met Chantal, another sister of Bertrand. It was a lovely long afternoon that one reads about -- the weather was a bit heavy and warm, but cloudy. We talked for hours and enjoyed a lovely peach cake with our drinks, and finally said goodby about 4. Just as we got to the car, the clouds opened up and drenched the countryside with rain as we made our way back to the Gite.

Today we had an excellent lunch of baked chicken with a green salad and a beet salad, and a wonderful selections of cheese -- the most colorful figuratively and literally is a red cone of spiced cheese called the Devil's Suppository. We wondered what the folks at our local California cheese shop would say if we asked for it by name.

This aftrernoon we visited an old abbey, usually closed, but today is the Patromoine, when public sites are free, and many private sites are open. Tom and I could not follow the guide's talk since the crowd was so large, and her manner of speaking was not clear enough for us, but we enjoyed seeing the buildings. They also arranged a viewing of some massive paintings, possibly since they have decided to make the place a painter's haven. Now for a light dinner and another excellent night's sleep -- it is astonishing how quiet it is here....

En France

We arrived in Paris Tuesday, having left our house at 5:30 Monday morning, and having successfully stayed awake for the five hour layover in Toronto. We have been asked a number of times why we took such a circuitous route -- as Tom says, when the tickets are free.... In fact we have flattened our United Airlines miles account, and that is worth a lot. So now.... We arrived about 10 AM Tuesday, grabbed our bags, and decided to take the bus into Paris and a cab to the Jeanne's apartment, saving about half the 100 euros it cost to take a cab the entire way last time. We got into the apartment without any problems, and Tom went out for some bread and cheese and the Herald Tribune, and I tried valiantly to stay awake until evening. But 4 PM it was hopeless, so we both crashed, and pretty much stayed that way until the next morning. I did emerge a couple of times to read for an hour or two, and Tom did the same, but we were exhausted. As much as we do not like Air France, the food is good and it is non-stop, making it a lot easier to adjust to the local time -- about 8 hours less travel time and leaving at 4 PM instead of 5:30 AM.

Tuesday afternoon we took a walk to Citroen Park near the apartment, where there was once a car factory. That evening we met Anne and Pauline for dinner at the Cafe de la Butte in Montmartre. Lovely. Then back to the apartment, a spate of packing, and the set the clock for our Thursday train trip to La Roche sur Yon.

Mailbox Series III (Bay Area Division)

Turns out that Bay Area postal customers are almost (but not quite) as creative as those in Maui....
Some have stuffed kangaroos holding them up;

others must be for very short people;

some really ring their own bells;

and some are just like the old family cabin in the big piney woods.

Pillar Point

By popular demand, we move on from the blackberries (which have long since ripened and been consumed, probably by yours truly on subsequent walks)to our most recent outing, a spur of the moment trip to Pillar Point, near Half Moon Bay. What promised to be a lovely warm, cloudless day turned gray and breezy, but not very cold. We, together with my mother, devoured a lunch of crab sandwich, chowder and crab-stuffed avocado, then took a walk around the refurbished marina area. There is a fancy new mall, almost entirely vacant, crowding out the old fish markets and chowder shops. We dropped in on friends, who were more than polite inviting us in with no warning at all, then made our way down highway 1 to Santa Cruz, then back to the south bay via highway 17. Not bad for a day without a plan!

PS -- live crab were $2 a pound.....