May is a great month in France

Locals playing petanque under the blossom

There are four public holidays here in May and because of the day they fall that means four long weekends. What a month !

This is my muguets 

First – May Day or Fête du Travail. On this day you may be given a bouquet of muguets, that is ‘lily of the valley’. The custom goes back to Charles IX who was given a bouquet as a good luck gift on 1^st May  1561. He so loved the idea that he decided to give a  bouquet to each of the ladies of his court, and so began a lovely tradition. It is said that, if someone gives you muguets then you are loved.

This is also the day for making omelette à l’aillet. The aillet is a garlic that looks like a spring onion and only appears at this time of year in Aquitaine. At repas and fêtes all over the country giant omelettes are being created for sharing. We are going to a marché de fleurs and vide grenier in a local village where they will be serving omelette à l'aillet for breakfast - with a glass of wine, of course.

enough omelette for everyone

Breakfast !

Second – VE Day or Armistice de 1945. Commemoration ceremonies are held at war memorials in every village and town, usually followed by a glass or two of wine. We must always remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The gardens have been replanted and the flagposts in place at our
 village memorial ready for VE Day.

Third – Ascension Day. As this is a religious holiday many people attend church services and it is usually a quiet day spent with family and friends. As it is a Thursday many will also take Friday  and make un petit vacance.

And finally – Whit Monday or Lundi de Pentecôte. Another religious holiday usually spent at home, or at a marché.

As a day off is always a good excuse for a marché or a vide grenier, these will also pop up in villages everywhere on these holidays. The french adore a marché, so expect crowds. Last year we discovered a wonderful marché in the little village of Colombier near the chateau de Monbazillac overlooking Bergerac. We know it was busy , but the advertising for this year says that there were 8,000 people at this market on the one day. No wonder we had to queue up for a drink.

crowds at Colombier marché

The countryside is looking very different from the dull leafless vistas of winter. There has been lovely white and pink blossom everywhere in the orchards and now leaves are popping up on trees and , most importantly, the vines. We have had some very ordinary weather this spring, lots of cloud and drizzly rain. It may be good for the garden but we are hoping that May brings the sunshine.

Spring in the Dordogne valley

Bon weekend mes amis

La Rochelle and Ile de Ré.....a trip to the Atlantic Coast

emblem of La Rochelle

Haven’t been posting much lately as the weather has been miserable for months. “Unusual” so everyone tells us. We decided to take an overnight break and see a city that gets great reviews but that we hadn’t managed to visit before.

La Tour Saint Nicolas and La Tour de la Chaîne at the entrance to the old harbour and no they are not leaning.

The port is made up of  a series of small 'bassins' 

La Rochelle is on the Atlantic coast in the Bay of Biscay and is an old port town. The romans brought vineyards and harvested salt from the coastal saltpans. This made the area an important trading centre for centuries. It was once a major port for the french navy and the setting off point for journeys to the Americas and beyond. Now La Rochelle and it’s sister port, Rochefort, are well known for yacht building.

Yachts, yachts and more yachts

The Marquis de Lafayette left from here for the American colonies to provide french support for the war of independence against the british. A replica of his ship, the “Hermione”, has been built at Rochefort near La Rochelle and is on exhibition for all to see before it sails for the US in May.

the replica of the Hermione 

The ‘old town’ is built of beautiful white stone and features the usual narrow cobbled streets and colonnades. These days there are many restaurants, clothing and decorator shops to entice tourists to spend – the locals are still trading.

white stone, pale grey shutters and black ironwork - perfect

The town is built of a white stone so, no doubt, very beautiful in the sunshine with the sea as it’s background.

along the harbour front 

 The harbour front is lined with seafood restaurants for every budget.

gatehouse into the 'old town'

the clock tower

The Café de la Paix is in a building constructed in 1793 and is now classified as an historic monument. During it’s life it has been a hospital and a theatre before being reincarnated as a café in 1900 and redecorated in the Belle Epoque style. A more beautiful spot to stop and enjoy a coffee, as we did,  would be hard to find.

Cafe de la Paix

Cafe de la Paix interior

The land around La Rochelle is flat, marshy and scrubby. Over the centuries the locals have dug ditches in an effort to drain the land, but farming isn’t in much evidence. The saltpans, especially on the Ile de Ré are world famous and the local pineau des charentes is an excellent aperitif and well worth trying. But it’s the seafood that the town is probably best known for, especially the oysters.

The bridge to Ile de Ré is 2.9km long and the second longest bridge in France

The Ile de Ré is well known in France as a holiday island. Celebrities have been coming here for generations to enjoy the sea and the seafood and the relaxed lifestyle. There is no high-rise and the scattered villages are made up of white painted cottages behind high walls and narrow lanes leading to the beaches. In the summer the lanes and gardens are filled with flowers, and artists capturing that summer beach atmosphere. 

There are three lighthouses on the most western point of Ile de Ré. One built in 1682 , one in 1854, and another off the shoreline and about which I can’t find any information. When the tide goes out the beach almost reaches this little lighthouse so a very necessary warning to ships.

Graham's thoughts on our local dining experience :

Well it is true that the countryside is flat and a little marshy, but the same cannot be said about the food!

As a coastal town, seafood is high on the agenda of many of the local restaurants and of course we felt inclined to go with the majority and try the local seafood at Les Flots.

While Kerrie is allergic to oysters (huitre) the same does not apply to myself and I love them. I have tried the fabulous degustation of oysters at the “Boatshed” at Glebe and thoroughly enjoyed the variety.

However,  this night I tried 9 of the size No 3 oysters from the Ile D’Oleron (just off the coast)  and I have to say that they were the best oysters I have ever tried. Same flavour and texture as a Sydney Rock oyster, but twice the size. Absolutely wonderful, but I was left thinking that maybe I should only have had 6 of them.

Main courses consisted of oven roasted Sea Bass with a cuttlefish and crab ravioli and a celeriac mousseline for me and lightly seared scallops with a black truffle risotto for madam. Both were exclaimed as excellent.

The Fromage chariot and dessert (for Madam) followed.

This was all washed down with a pleasant 2005 Alsace Riesling which really complimented the meal. The service and knowledge from the staff provided a not unpleasant experience compared to many of our local restaurants.

If for nothing else, the trip was worthwhile just for the food.

The weather wasn't so good last week, but on Sunday the sun came out ! Perhaps spring has arrived at last 

Bonne semaine mes amis

Salon des Vignerons Independents à Bordeaux

the crowd gathers

Spent an interesting morning in Bordeaux at the Parc des Expositions . Every year at this time they hold the Salon des Vignerons Independents for small independent producers from all over France.  It’s a three day event over the weekend but we decided , based on the advice of our experienced friends who came along to join in the buying spree, that first thing Friday morning is the least crowded time to go.  

pick your producer

The carpark was filling fast around us as we arrived. Many had the forethought to bring along their own foldup trolleys. We’ve seen these for sale at the Brico and wondered how much use one would get out of them. Now we know why they are so popular – wine sales !

Is your favourite here ?

There were around 280 vignerons from all over France, including even producers of Armagnac and Calvados. 

pick a region - any region...they're all here

When you arrive and pay your entrance fee ( in our case we had free passes thanks to our kind and generous friends)  you are presented with your own wine glass to use for all your tasting – not a plastic picnic cup here but a proper wine glass ! Then you either start at Aisle A, stand 1, and work your way around the hall, or , you show that you are serious and go through your catalogue marking the producers from the regions that interest you and plan your attack. They are not grouped by region so that means you pretty much have to cover the entire hall. Once you have made your choices and paid the exhibitor for your purchases he puts them aside so you can continue on your way unencumbered, and tasting and buying as you go.

Naturally, there are places to rest and recuperate with a little food and drink  ( as if you need more)  including a restaurant, an oyster bar, a sandwich bar, boulanger, charcuterer, fromager, and a lovely man generously sharing samples of his handmade chocolate and nougat.

a little jambon or saucisse anyone ?

small sample from the chocolate and nougat man

brebis, chevre or vache ?

Of course we had to try a few things and made up a nice little bag of goodies to take home for the weekend to go with the wine.

not quite like the supermarket trolley

When you think you have done enough damage to your card, you arrange to borrow a large chariot ( first hour free) and go around collecting your purchases. This is not as easy as it sounds given the crowd now collecting around each stand and filling the aisles in your way. It's becoming more like a party . It was such a relief to be back in the car, boot fully loaded, and heading home in the sunshine.

our little haul

The Salon moves on to Lyon and then Paris at the end of the month so, if you are planning a visit to France, don’t have much time and want to try lots of wines, consider the Salon des Vignerons Independents in March in one of these wonderful cities.

looking forward to this sight later in the year

Bon weekend mes amis

Cadillac and the Garonne valley

Château de Cadillac

No, not the car, but the town on the Garonne river. The sun came out for just one day this week so we took the hint and hit the road. We did a loop through the Entre Deux Mers region (" between two waters" ) and followed the Garonne from Bordeaux down to Cadillac.  We hadn’t visited this town for many years but remembered that it had an attractive château overlooking the centre ville.

one of the old gateways into the centre ville

We parked outside the château entrance, but the place is undergoing  some restauration and is surrounded by cyclone fencing so we couldn’t re-visit.

the second gateway

We strolled down the hill into town.

the church of Saint Blaise is opposite the château on top of the hill

Cadillac is a bastide town founded in 1280. That means it is built on a grid with the market hall at the centre. It is a pleasant village on the riverbank surrounding a traditional open market hall made of the local stone with commune offices above.

The open market hall with it's high arches 

Across the river is the town of Sauternes and Château d’Yquem where they produce a Premier Cru Supérieur wine, one of the finest white wines in the world. It is said that, with proper  care, a bottle of Château d’Yquem can keep for a hundred years.

Château d'Yquem

Nearby is the Château Malromé. This was the home of Toulouse Lautrec’s mother and the place where he died in 1901. You can visit and see some of the public rooms in the house. It’s in a beautiful setting in the countryside and , while not a grande château, it is a large country home surrounded by vineyards.

Château de Malromé

We also visited the medieval chateau at Langoiran. This is now in ruins but has a caretaker living on site so for just €3.00 each we could clamber about to our heart's content. The chateau is on a hillside overlooking the valley of the Garonne river. You can see why this was considered an advantageous position for spotting an approaching enemy.

the entrance across the moat - a rider would have to get off and walk his horse through this gateway

16th century accomodation buildings

The chateau was mentioned in documents in the 11th century but the current fortifications date from the 13th. The dungeon was added in the 14th  and more buildings in the 16th and 17th centuries. 

There is always a chapel for use by all those who lived in the chateau.

modern painting in medieval style over the altar

windows in the chapel with family crest - what a view !

There are wooden pews in this room as though it is still used for worship.

the family crest on the stone altar

a sunny seat by the window - bring your own cushion

very steep and shallow staircase - difficult for an attacker to fight his way up here

We climbed the staircase from the lower courtyard to the upper where the family would have lived.

steep walls everywhere

no floors left in the donjon (tower) 

see how thick these walls are in the dungeon - no tunnelling out of here

Mostly the work that continues here appears to be just to stop any further degredation.

  

and you think you have cracks in your walls !

the one room that has received some restoration in the family apartments

The view from the top is magnificent...

south across the Garonne river valley and the chateau's vineyards

The pictures are a little hazy as this was still a winter’s day and the vines are bare, but you can see how beautiful this area can be in summer.

This little stone man was perched on the roof of the chapel looking like an early version of ‘The Thinker”.

Hope you have enjoyed our day out.....

Bonne semaine mes amis