France Voila - Newsletter #57

Nizas - France - December 2, 2001

1. Traveling Now
2. River Cruises - Special Offers
3. Paris Restaurants and Hotels
4. Penguins in Provence
5. Mind your P's and Q's
6. Gourmet Week in the Midi - Book Now
7. Buying Real Estate in France
8. Yoga Week in Provence
9. Nizas - Music, Wine and a Wild Thyme


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Sent from France by..
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All you need to visit France.

Full details to subscribe, change address and unsubscribe are at the end of this newsletter.

Write to me at...

mailto:tony@nizas.com

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1. Traveling Now

A few weeks ago I was asked by a journalist "Would I travel by air for a vacation". I answered that "I doubt if I would take my family, but I have no worries about travelling on my own. " This was straight off-the-cuff (OK where did that expression come from?) and obviously against my own interests of encouraging everyone to come to France for their next vacation.

It is not that I now think flying is dangerous, but the reason I felt I would not travel is that I would be enjoying myself when so many people are suffering.

The next day I received this mail ...

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Hi Tony, Thanks (as always) for your latest newsletter. I am writing to share a first hand experience, and to send my encouragement to people to continue with their travel plans.

I just returned to the USA after two wonderful weeks in France. We flew Boston-Paris-Marseilles, and then drove to Aix for 3 nights.

It's really a wild and wonderful feeling to have dinner in Boston and lunch in a cafe overlooking the market in Aix a few hours later. Our flight on Air France was almost full (They are down to one flight/day out of Boston instead of two). Check in took about two hours. We breezed through Paris customs and Marseilles airport and were soon on our way.

Airports were calm, and I was surprised to see almost no police . We came in contact with many French people. All, without exception were very happy to speak with us. At one winery we visited, our guide told us that it was thanks to the Americans that his country was returned to him.

For the next week we visited Les Beaux, St R my, Pont du Gard, Gordes, Apt, Forcalquier, Sault and a little town with a Relais et Chateau called Chateau Arnoux.

At a cafe in the village of Sault, an 80 year old man told us of fighting side by side with the Americans after all of his friends in a Resistance group had been killed.

My companions headed for home and I went to Nice for the week. Nice was quiet, again the people were very friendly. I felt comfortable everywhere I went.

Coming home to all the hysteria, I actually felt safer in France that I do at home. I felt safer flying than I do driving on the highway. My French friends were VERY surprised that people are afraid to visit France.

While I can't pretend to know what someone else should or shouldn't do, I do know that for me, I will continue to travel.

In fact traveling has taken on a new importance for me. Basic tourism isn't enough. It's through meeting people and exchanging ideas that I feel I can best help to bring caring and compassion into the world. Staying at home, scared, glued to CNN awaiting the next disaster is a recipe for a slow and unpleasant physical, spiritual and emotional death. Personally, I'd rather be discussing politics with a French person in a cafe overlooking the Mediterranean! Happy travels, Rick

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I know you are right Rick, thank you for reminding me that fear and guilt is what the terrorists and criminals want. We will grieve for the dead, but we should celebrate life.

I have had many letters from people saying they will travel, and none from readers who are discouraged by recent events.

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2. River Cruises - Special Offers

We can offer a large reduction on the luxury river cruiser "Bon Vivant" ...

The all-inclusive cruise rate of $2,800 per person or $22,500 for full boat private charter (up to 8 guests) will replace the regular rate of $4,000 per person or $32,000 for full boat private.charter for all reservations made by January 31, 2002 and will apply with no exception to all available weekly departure dates from April to November of 2002.

http://francevoila.com/canalcruises/

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3. Paris Restaurants and Hotels

I get a lot of mail asking me my favorite restaurants and hotels in Paris. It is difficult to answer as there is a large choice and it depends on your own likes (and who you are with). However I have promised many of you a couple of restaurant recommendations . These two are on the left bank and ones I go back to as often as I can.

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Le Table d'Aude
8 rue de Vaugirard
Paris 75006
01 43 26 36 36


This is typical Langeudocian cuisine and the garlic beans are from a recipe the chefs' grandmother gave him in his home village, he says the recipe from the other side of the street is different. I had the pigeon pate and the sanglier (wild boar). Superb quality, the wines are all from the Languedoc and are some of the best in France. The price is very reasonable, two people can have a splendid meal, with a selection of superb wines for less than euro 90.

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Chez Henri
9 Montagne St Genevieve
Paris 75005
01 43 29 12 12


A real classic French restaurant; Great value lunches for less than 20. Dinner is relaxed and excellent value. I am a meat eater and the kidneys and liver are perfect. Great smoked salmon and good inexpensive wines. The Coteaux Lyonnaise is super value. Three people for dinner cost me euro 111.

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4. Penguins in Provence

Painters have always found France attractive for many reasons. The life-style, the food, the liberal and free attitude to most things (often forbidden in other parts of the world), but especially the quality if the light.

We have a friend who lives near us in the town of Lodeve. He is an otter, which I understand is the equivalent of a Lord in the Scottish McEwen clan. David McEwen is a painter and, with his delightful wife Sally, runs a residential painting workshop all year from their home.

You can see details at...

http://.PaintFrance.com/

A recent commission meant that David was in the Falkland Islands on an official assignment to paint. This meant that he took many photographs and would finish some of the canvasses back here in France. One thing the Falklands are famous for are the penguins, so inevitably David had studied the penguins and started several paintings of penguins.

On his return to France, David had some students for a workshop. While the students were painting the local architecture and scenery, David was finishing some of his Falkland studies which happened to be of penguins. So all the passing tourists and local townspeople who casually walked past the artists in the street and, as one does, looked at the artist's interpretation of the local scenery and people, and were confronted with a full canvas of a large group or penguins. Needless to say there are no large groups of penguins in our region, at least none that I have ever seen, so this caused considerable puzzlement and comment. David, who is a tall, strong bearded Scotsman and not a person you would make fun of, carried on working. So if you happen to have been passing through Lodeve this summer and thought that you may have caught the sun or perhaps a little too much wine. They really were penguins in that painting.

OK so what is the collective noun for penguins?

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5. Mind your P's and Q's

Last month I asked if anyone knew what this familiar expression really meant a,d where it came from. I had several different answers but the most popular one by a huge majority was to do with drinking !! Here is a reply from someone who knows a lot about drinking wine and clearly is a beer expert as well.

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Funny you should mention it, and hailing from the country of its origin, I'm surprised you don't know the history behind p's and q's.

In the old taverns, the owner/barkeep would keep track of his customers's beer quaffing by marking on a chalk board (or some equivalent), a 'p' for a pint, and a 'q' for a quart. As the evening would wear on, and as the drinkers got more boisterous, the barkeep would point to the board, "Mind your p's and q's."

I have been trying to find a spot to tell this tale in my newsletter, and maybe this is it.

So long as Bombardier George doesn't have the whole world in flames, we will see you sometime next June. Cheers, Bob

I recommend Bobs' surreal newsletter "Wine Iconoclast" good reading... mailto:wineicon@aol.com

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CLASSIFIED ADS You can place free classified adverts about Paris and France on-line at...

http://parisvoila.com/parisvoila/classifieds/

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6. Gourmet Week in the Midi - Book Now

With so many different ingredients available in the Languedoc region, it would be a crime not to capitalise on them. All kinds of meat, poultry, game, fish, seafood, cheeses, vegetables and fruit are readily available and the market stalls are laden during each season with a myriad of colourful produce.

Tomatoes with taste, lemons with zest, lamb tasting of the wild rosemary growing on the hillsides, oysters tasting of the sea-just a few of the ingredients available to us lucky people who live in the Midi.

Whilst touring other regions of France for a few days, David and Sally McEwen of Lodeve decided that a Gourmet Week of eating, drinking and perhaps a little painting would be just the thing in July 2002. As they already run painting holidays all year round, with accommodation and food in their own home, why not, for just one week a year, push the boat out. They are beginning to talk menus, visiting wine producers in their region ( their livers are beginning to shout for a rest!!) and finding out about festivals and special days in the area during July. Already on the calender in Lodeve is the Poetry Festival, Tour De France and National Petanque competition-all the same weekend of the 20/21 July.

Picnics by the lake Salagou, visits to painting exhibitions (guided by David), wine-tastings, barbecues in the garden by the river-all these little pleasures rolled into one week. Of course, you don't have to paint, just lie in the sun if you wish!

To find out more about this very special week, or to know more about Painting Holidays and Bed & Breakfast in the Midi, then contact Sally and David through their web site...

http://PaintFrance.com/

You can write to us from the site for more information.

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I will pass on any correspondence - write to me at...

mailto:tony@francevoila.com

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7. Buying Real Estate in France

Buying property in France is very straightforward. Many people are coming here with the intention of buying a place in the sun or a home in the garden of the civilization of the western world. We are working hard to re-publish the French Property Digest and we are on course to re-launch this in January

http://French-Property-Digest.com/

I try to answer any questions, but I am not an expert, just a person who has "been through the mill" (another odd saying - any ideas anyone?).

Hello Tony
We saw your article in USA Today and found your website. We have similar story to yours.

After coming to southern France for the past 10 years on summer holidays we have decided to live here permanently with our 2 young children. We have mostly stayed near Lodeve and have found a village house with a garden about 10km in a village past Soubes called St. Etienne de Gourgas. We love the village and the house has everything that we want in a house. It is on the market for a little over a million francs. My question is: are homes randomly priced by the seller or is the price listed the honest appraised value price.

We made a lower offer on the house but were told the sellers were not going to budge on the price. We like this house and probably can afford it but we don't want the feeling of being ripped off, especially if the property market value goes down. I hope you can offer us some advice. thank you; Elizabeth Hard

Hello Elizabeth
Pricing property is an emotional thing. Anything is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it.

Prices around us have more than doubled in the last three to four years and they are certainly rising faster now. There is a very big demand for properties which are traditional and have that magic ingredient of "charm".

When we moved here 7 years ago a million francs would have bought anything in our village and a lot of land as well, now a nice village house in Nizas costs over 1.2 million with no garden.

Prices never rise for ever, but the new Autoroute, new TGV and the policy of the French government to encourage people to move to this region and possibly double the population in ten years, will have a massive effect on all property values. have a look at our new site at..

"http://francevoila.com/"

and click on the real estate links. This will take you to a site which lists over 4000 properties in France and many are in this region. This will give you an idea of prices.

My personal comment is that if you really love the property and can afford it, buy it. Do tell me more details, number of rooms, age, land etc and I may be able to give you more personal opinions, but the final decision is yours.

Hope to see you soon as neighbours and share a glass of wine. best wishes, Tony

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8. Yoga Week in Provence

We offer a charming property at...

http://rentalsfrance.com/granddarene/

In the first week of September 2002 there is a special one week Yoga course.

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9. Nizas - Music, Wine and a "Wild Thyme"

I am delighted to report that the infernal Belgian barrel which obstructed our road for a year has not yet reappeared. Many people visited Nizas to photograph this barrel last summer and shared glasses of wine with us on our terrace. I wrote about this simple piece of rural history to show the pace of life and introduce some of the characters in our village. You can read the saga of the barrel plus stories about Terry Thompson, the world's second best clarinet player, The Late Andre Carcapino and the hi-jacking of his invalid car and other characters from our village of 500 people in the Midi in the archives at...

http://francevoila.com/archives/

In the last letter I started telling the story of a party on the Causse (plateau) above Nizas. Terry was playing brilliant soprano sax and much Nizas wine was consumed. The highlight was a Paella cooked by a charming young lady who managed extremely well in the dark and with no help apart from a few glasses of wine. The food at all functions here is prepared in huge quantities. The Paella pan was over 5 feet across and took four people to carry it in the dark across the vineyard at 10:30 at night.

The meal was distributed to all the guests, who by then had been supping wine for at least 4 hours and were very "happy", the first mouthfuls declared that there was not enough salt in the Paella, many arguments started and the lady chef, with a classic Spanish temperament, began reacting to a series of challenges of her skills. A few punches were exchanged, but not too much blood. To calm our chef down one of the men at the table took her for a walk to get some fresh air.

This gallant gentlemans' wife did not seem too pleased with this, and about 45 minutes later was even less pleased when they both returned looking sheepish and smelling very strongly of the crushed herbs, mint and thyme, which cover the fields of the plateau. A warm summers night in the South of France is full of magical memories.

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I must introduce Lollo, one of the characters of Nizas. The plateau party was in one of Lollos' fields, behind his goats and chickens. Lollo is - well - short, he is perfectly proportioned, but on the small side of being certainly not tall.

As in many rural French villages, Lollo seems to be related to just about everybody else. For his lack of height he is one of the most generous men and has a kind heart. He is also partial to a glass of wine and he is a very good dancer. At every event in the village, and there are many, Lollo can be relied on to enthusiastically join in the music and dancing, sometimes this is not quite what the musicians expect.

At one summer concert in the village park. Lollo, as usual, as soon as the performance commenced (the musicians took themselves very seriously) started dancing, unfortunately there was a slight problem with his trousers, they kept falling down. They did not have far to fall, but it was far enough. Lollo did not notice so we picked him up and I tucked him under one arm while we improvised with some string. However the problem with the trousers and gravity was not resolved and the musicians got annoyed.

Now Lollo is far more respected in our village, with or without trousers, than a troupe of travelling musicians, no matter how seriously they sing, so after they were told either to carry on or clear off by the whole village, who were enjoying their Nizas sausage and plenty of wine, the concert continued.

Lollo is quite a ladies man. I'm not saying that a village of our size has a red light district (more of a slightly rose coloured corner) but I will ask Lollo for some information on some alternative tourist attractions for the Midi.

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We love to receive your letters and comments and we really try to answer all mail but it does get lost, so if you don't hear from me, please write again.

mailto:tony@nizas.com