"Woofing" During the Mistral in Provence

The field from which we removed a truckload of young grape vines, to make room for a new field of asparagus. The tractor is digging up the rows so we can pull out the vines. This was not a small field!

After spending two months, over two years, working on our French in classes near Nice, we wanted to put it to use and see how we could do in the real world. So we signed up to be "Woofers," [World-side Opportunities in Organic Farming] on a farm in Provence. We lived for 4 days with a family whose son, Mario, was intent on becoming a self-sustaining organic farmer. We traded our work for a place to stay, all our meals, and a chance to get to know the family, their way of life, and to  practice our French (no one in the family spoke English). We emailed back a forth a bit before we left for France, but really had little idea what we were getting into. It turned out to be a truly wonderful experience.

In addition to farming, Mario and his family ran a bed & breakfast (a "chambre d'hote" in France) so we thought we'd fit right in -- help cook breakfast, clean rooms, work in the garden a bit. Except that he had no guests in March, and a great need for help in his fields. So we spent four amazing days working as farm hands, living with his family, and speaking French. The only bad part was that we arrived at the same time as a major windstorm -- a Mistral. This legendary wind blows straight from the Artic; it is fierce and very cold. For the first three days, the wind blew constantly at 40 - 50 miles per hour, with gusts well over 60!  And the temperature was in the 30's and low 40's. The only saving grace was the brilliant sunshine.

You might think that with these climactic conditions, no one would work outside. Not so! We spent 3 1/2 frigid days pulling out grape vines, planting some of the vines in another vineyard, weeding a newly planted vegetable garden, pruning back a sizable vineyard that had gone without care or pruning for several years, and trying to stay warm. Fortunately, the wind stopped for our last day of work so we got a sense of what the Provencal weather is usually like this time of year. But the four days we spent ":woofing" were unforgettable -- we laughed a lot, drank a lot of wine, ate very well, took a lot of Motrin, found out that we could understand and make ourselves understood pretty well in French, and got acquainted with a truly delightful family which we will probably visit again. Here are some pictures of our adventure. They include trying to light a fire to make coffee in 60 mph winds, the load of vines we removed, Tom weeding, Carolyn trying to stay warm, a work break from pruning during our one warmish day, the vineyard we pruned (note its size, and the difference between the pruned and unpruned rows), the B&B, and Carolyn with Mario's wonderful family.

Cathar Castles

A side trip from Carcassonne took us to a beautiful region in the foothills of the Pyrenees where there are several incredible cliff-top fortresses built by the Cathars in the 14th century. It looks totally inaccessible, but a hair-raising drive followed by a 20 minute hike/climb takes you to the top.  The castle in the picture above is Peyrepertuse. Some pics:

A neighboring castle, Queribus, looks from a distance like a cathedral built on top of a cliff.  We didn't have time to climb up, but it presents an amazing prospect:

Carcassonne

So, after four lovely days in Rome, we flew back to Nice, picked up our rental car and left luggage at the airport, and drove 4 hours around to Carcassonne -- an amazing medieval walled city in the Southwest of France, not far from the Spanish border. During the summer, the town is mobbed with tourists, but in late winter/early spring, it was just pleasantly busy. We stayed in an apartment in the "new" (i.e. 15th century) town outside the city walls. The old city dates back to the 10th century (and before: it was originally a Roman fort), and was a stronghold of the Cathairs, a Christian sect that was wiped out by the Pope, in league with the French king, in the 15th century. Several thousand people still inhabit the old city, within the walls, but most of the population is now in the lower town. A beautiful spot.   Some pics of the walls and one of the interior:

A food tour of Rome

After our four-week French course in Villefranche-Sur-Mer was over, we spent four days in Rome, visiting old friends who were in Rome for the month of March. On the first day they booked a fabulous Rome food tour with Elizabeth Minchilli, an acclaimed cookbook writer and blogger. She is an American who has lived in Rome for many years. Her blog, Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome, is one of our two most favorite food blogs (the other is David Libovitz' "Living the Sweet Life in Paris.")

We spent an hour or so in the Campo de' Fiore, one of Rome's best known vegetable markets. Artichoke season had just begun and the bounty of artichokes was amazing. The variety of artichokes is different than those available in the US; when the outside leaves are trimmed, it's possible to eat the entire thing, chokes and all.  And then there's the other vegetables, the flowers, spices, etc. And then we visited food shops in the neighborhood. A feast for the senses!  If you are in Rome, we highly recommend Elizabeth's food tour, which includes visits to pastry, cheese, wine, bread, and sausage shops -- with tasting -- and a lovely lunch at a traditional Roman restaurant. Some pictures of the bounty:

Sea Battle of the Flowers in Villefranche

 A bit like an American small-town 4th of July parade, Villefranche holds an annual sea "battle" of traditional fishing boats decked out in flowers (yes, the daffodils are blooming here).  The event comes complete with a marching band, dancing flowers, carnival creatures, kids in costumes, and general joviality. The event this year was held on a particularly chilly day, but the sun was shining and a fine time was had by all. We played hooky from school for a couple of hours this afternoon to watch the festivities.  Some pictures:

Only in France: The Menton Lemon Festival

We had a day off today and took the train to Menton, a lovely resort town on the Italian border, to check out the annual Lemon Festival. They create a park full of huge displays made entirely of oranges, lemons, and flowers (as well as parades with floats made of fruit, night-time displays, and other events). The theme this year was Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days and the amazing citrus displays depicted various places in the world visited by Phileas Fogg on his voyage. The fruit are attached to the huge display frames with elastic bands.  This year the displays consumed 120 tons (!) of citrus and a million elastic bands. Click on the thumbnails below to see larger images. Only in France!

Note the fruit and flower mosaics on the ground

English trains; note Big Ben in the background

Phileas Fogg’s balloon, made entirely of citrus, flowers, and foilage.

Lady Liberty, in oranges and lemons!

Japan in fruit

Pagodas in citrus

Oranges attached by elastic band

Oysters and - gulp! - sea urchins

A beautiful day on the Côte d'Azur! We took the train into Nice (6 minutes from Villefranche), did some shopping at the market, found a fabulous cheese shop and bought some fromage, and then went to lunch at Nice's most famous seafood temple - Cafe de Turin. Looked like a movie set with white tablecloths, tin ceiling, tile floor etc. About the only thing on the menu is shellfish, most of it raw. We had a dozen oysters and decided to be brave and try sea urchins -- also raw. (They are the dark things at the top of the plate in the photo) The oysters were excellent: cold, briny, super fresh. The urchins were okay but I'd probably not order them again. Not much to eat and not much taste.
We're off to Antibes tomorrow for a hike along the sea, lunch, and perhaps a visit to the Picasso museum. Best to avoid Nice since it's Carnival and the town is a zoo.
School is going fine. It's hard to believe we're half over!

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The Truffle Market in Puget-Theniers

Last Saturday, we took a great trip on a little train that goes from Nice into the mountains. Looks more like a tram than a train. But the views are amazing and the mountain valleys beautiful.  Our destination was Puget-Theniers, a little village about an hour's trip above Nice. It was the site of the annual truffle market, complete with a marching band, sellers of wine, cheese, baskets, sausage and -- of course -- truffles.  We were the only tourists within miles. The fresh truffles were for sale at 120 euros for 100 grams, about $160 for 4 ounces.  A walnut-sized truffle costs about $40. A lot, but one truffle goes a long way, and the taste and aroma are amazing! We took one home and had an very special meal of truffled pasta with enough left over for a truffle sauce for our filet on St. Valentin (yes, Hallmark has convinced the French to celebrate Valentine's Day)

The marche

The truffles -- black gold!

The couple we bought our truffle from. They are holding a 300 gram truffle worth almost $500!

Truffle dog demonstration; smaller than a pig!

Is this France, or what?

We got snow, too!

So, all those folks in Maine are complaining about the snow. Well, we got snow, too, right here in Villefranche.
Here's a picture. You need to look carefully to see the snowflakes in front of the orange trees, but they are there. Several profs had to leave early because they were worried about getting home to their homes in the hills. There couldn't have been more than an inch up there. Nothing stayed on the ground here. Context is everything!




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Location:Quai de l'Amiral Ponchardier,Nice,France

Scenes of Villefranche

Villefranche is a ancient fishing village, now a trendy summer resort. But in the winter, it retains the charm of what it must have looked like 50 years ago. We're staying in the old town and here are some pictures of the streets and alleys in our neighborhood. No cars, for obvious reasons. (You can click on the picture for a larger view).

French Washerwoman

We have a European washing machine in our apartment, but no dryer. Here's how one dries the clothes a la francais: