Buona Fortuna!

The Gorges of the Verdon have been around from millions of years, so they can wait a few days for me to post them in all their magnificence! And I can share a few photos of another magnificent place --Venice!
David had the opportunity to participate in a meeting for two days about the gates that are being built to protect Venice during the storms that cause the flooding --and there was NO WAY that I would not accompany him! We had not been to Venice in more than 30 years --and it is still the same (well, there really are not many opportunities for real estate development --thankfully!) except it seems more prosperous (and more heavily tourist-ed...).
There is little one can say about Venice that is not surpassed by some pictures --except that it was so wonderful to be able to recognize and love everything on the menu --spaghetti alle vongole, al nero de seppia, risotto primavera, fritte miste, pasta e fagoli! France may be about the food --but remember WHERE it came from!! (Although there is no Italian equivalent of the French cheeses, and the essence of terroir as manifested from olive oil to wine...)

I spent the days (while David was in his meetings) with another woman (her husband is at MIT in civil engineering and is chairing the committee) just walking through the city, which is the best thing to do in Venice... so I'll share some sights...



As you know, Venetian glass is world renowned for its colors and creativity. Glass-making has been a Venetian art since the 12th century, coming from Constantinople when the crusades sacked the city and the artisans fled (another story of the Church going after those with different beliefs, this time the Eastern Orthodox. And this crusade, the 4th, started in France and got the Venetians to help out --they split the spoils... and I wondered why the Church was a target during the French Revolution... all this destruction, murder and pillaging --sounds like Iraq). The glass factories were moved to the island of Murano, just off Venice, in the 13th century to prevent fires. There are still craftsmen (I did not see any women!) working there, although some younger artists work on the mainland of Venice. We took advantage of the free water taxi ride out to Murano to see the factory and walk through the galleries --there are some incredible pieces, as well as pieces that my grandmother would have loved-- and there are some museum quality pieces. The use of the old techniques like the millefiori rods in contemporary applications produces some wonderful effects --and of course the colors are stunning! (I did succumb to a small pendant lampshade that I found after looking at hundreds of them in the shops that line every little calle or canal!)



If we have buona fortuna we will return in late October! Ciao!
(29 juillet- we will be going in October as David will be joining the group!)

La lavande, le lavendin...

We have no grass to cut, no flower beds to edge, no vegetable garden to weed. Thus it is July and we took a trip! I have been lavending (pining in the right species!) to see the lavender in bloom in Provence for more years than I have been raising lavender! And this is the first time we are here to catch the blooming season --and we timed it perfectly for the area of the Drome, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, and Vaucluse (it is all part of our idea of Provence...) to see the fields in their full glory. And we got to see a few other minor things like the Gorges of Verdon which are second in depth only to the Grand Canyon. We also got to see the sun --every day!
Several years ago while visiting our friends Jacqueline and Philippe, they brought us to Jacqueline's dad's country house in Crest (in the departement of the Drome), a fabulous old country home with gardens, views, and a magnificent field that was planted with sunflowers across the road (sometimes it is bit less picturesque when the farmer plants garlic rather than sunflowers!). There are some exquisite hilltop towns in the area, and Le-Poet-Laval was one of our absolute favorites (there is no poet --the translation has to do with a hill top of the valley). There is a charming hotel in the old town with an outside terrace for dining... winding little streets too small for cars, views of the mountains... I had been Droming to return --we spent the 4th of July there!



Mid-morning we left for Provence and drove through mountains and fields --some lavender, some olives, some wheat, and sunflowers. Nyons, which is famous for its olives and oil, was our stop for lunch.



Our destination was Allemagne-en-Provence, un petit village, and a charming chambres de hotes where we spent 4 days in the country (these are "bed and breakfast" type accommodations, and Domaine Bertrandy was also a tables de hotes, which served dinner to the guests). This is a fabulous and relatively less expensive way to travel in France, and the bonus is that you get to meet guests from all over. We had dinner on their patio three nights and enjoyed the company, sharing of travel information, and relaxing outside --and a great meal! (In this area of Provence, there are many camping opportunities, but very few hotels, so these accommodations are well used by tourists --including many French tourists.)


A little botanical history lesson: la lavande is the "true" lavender that grows wild in in Provence --like thyme, marjoram, bay leaf, rosemary-- together these are the classic herbes de provence (sometimes with addition of basil). La lavande grows wild at higher elevations (2000 to 4500 ft.) and is propagated by seeds; the flowers stalks are smaller and the scent is more delicate. The planting of lavender fields at these elevations is a 20th century phenomenon (it was picked in the wild as extra income), and enabled farmers to use this rocky and dry area productively (I do not think that they anticipated the tourist draw that this would create --car loads of Dutch, Germans, Brits, and the occasional Americans taking memory cards full of purple fields and blue skies!). It is used for perfumes --and in the true tradition of terroir, the essential oil of la lavande de Haute-Provence has an AOC designation. It grows on and is cultivated on Mont Ventoux and Montagne de Lure and is wild other places within these elevations. The photos were taken at the rim of Gorges du Verdon.


Lavendin is cultivated at lower elevations and it is the (at least in my gardener's opinion) lavender augustifolia that we often plant in New England. It has long flower stalks and that uniform dome shape that makes such a show of color. Although it is less fragrant, it is more prolific and is used for lavender scented products. And... it is more showy! It is propagated by stem cutting as the seeds are sterile and must be replanted every 5-7 years. (which I discovered with great disappointment when the two magnificent lavendin plants I had on my patio were dead one spring --of course I blamed our erratic New England winters!) The Valensole Plain (just above where we stayed) has the most magnificent fields.....



As the last picture shows, it was windy up at this elevation even on a hot day. Another product produced here is lavender honey and you can imagine how many bees are in these fields --they hum! With the wind and the bees, the fields almost shimmer as they are in constant motion. This picture of me was taken before the bees got the message that it was time to return to the hive. We were walking along the fields and soaking up the perfumed air --a little after 7pm-- and then, as if a bell rang, all of the bees began to leave the fields, and all going in the same direction, made off for their hives. Well, all but one who decided to get tangled in my hair (and this happened before I realized that they were all flying!). I heard him and tried shaking him out and he held on! I then realized that the entire road was full of honey bees --and I did panic! Poor David ran over and could hear him buzzing, but could not see him in my hair --finally he freed himself and joined the cloud.....we did not get stung, nor kill the bee....but what an experience! I now understand "bee-line"!
Next stop --the Gorges du Verdon!

Libre......

Ingrid Betancourt was freed along with 3 Americans in Columbia yesterday. Betancourt was held hostage for 2321 days after being kidnapped while running for president in Columbia; she is a French citizen and honorary citizen of Paris. This photo with the days in captivity has been in front of the Hotel de Ville (City Hall),
and others are in prominent places in the city like the gates to the Jardin du Luxembourg. (Do we even know the names of the Americans who were hostages?)
Today, the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, held a press conference to celebrate her freedom, and stated that, "she is free, we can all be free." I went and listened.



Tomorrow is the 4th of July, Independence Day. But it is not Liberty Day, although we proclaim liberty in the Declaration of Independence as an inalienable right. We Americans cherish our individual independence which we often confuse with liberty. Bertrand Delanoe is correct: we can only be free when we are all free. And that inalienable right to liberty is God given to all.

And it pre-dates the State of New Hampshire's license plate....

The following is an Op-Ed piece that appeared in the New York Times today (I hope I have not broken any copy right laws by re-printing, but it has information that we as Americans should know....)

A Gift From France, to France

By EDWARD BERENSON
Published: July 3, 2008
ON a recent visit to the Statue of Liberty, my first since the sixth grade, I was struck by how many French people were at the site. Why more French than others from abroad? The answer may lie in the statue’s history. After all, it was conceived nearly 150 years ago almost as much for France as for the United States.

The idea for the monument stemmed from a French struggle for freedom that began in 1852, when Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, having overthrown France’s democratic republic, declared himself emperor. In the summer of 1865, after enduring 13 years of Napoleon III’s near-dictatorial rule, Édouard de Laboulaye, a historian, hosted a dinner for a small group of French liberals to celebrate the North’s victory in the American Civil War. To Laboulaye, the restoration of orderly liberty in the United States put his own government to shame.

Over brandy and cigars, he and his guests, who included Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, the prominent sculptor, decided to organize a public campaign to commemorate American liberty with a grand gift to the United States. But the gift would double as an implicit critique of Napoleon III.

Bartholdi later envisioned a mammoth statue of the kind of ancient Roman goddess that since 1789 had symbolized liberty and the Republic. The French revolutionary tradition actually produced two goddesses: one sported the “liberty cap” and appeared in ardent motion, her breasts often bared, a fierce expression on her face. Her counterpart stood erect and still, her body modestly draped, her expression calm and serene.

Bartholdi chose the second, unthreatening icon to have his “Liberty Enlightening the World” depict the stability that French liberals saw in the United States and wanted for their own turbulent land.

By the time construction began in the mid-1870s, Napoleon III had been removed from power and his opponents had created a moderate republican regime. France had escaped the twin perils of revolution and reaction that had characterized its political life for nearly a century. Now, Bartholdi’s statue could stand for both the French and the American republics.

The statue took shape over the next 10 years in a huge workshop near the western edge of Paris. Gustave Eiffel, Bartholdi’s chief engineer, created its iron skeleton, allowing him to test certain techniques he would use for his great tower in 1889. Fully assembled, the 151-foot “Liberty” loomed high over the Paris rooftops. When it was dismantled for shipment, in 1885, Parisians would miss it. Several smaller versions were built, and two of them still stand in Paris.

Americans would come to regard the statue as a beacon for immigrants. The French have always related it to their complex struggle for liberty. On my visit, I passed a young French woman posing for a snapshot, her right arm raised as if she had become, for a moment, the goddess herself.

Edward Berenson, the director of the Institute of French Studies at New York University, is writing a book about the Statue of Liberty.

The Statue of Liberty in sculptor Bartholdi's atelier, rue de Chazelles (in the 17th just beyond Parc Monceau and NE of the Arc de Triomphe) in 1885.

As is self evident, I am a liberal Democrat, and every 4th of July I read the Declaration of Independence as the Boston Globe prints it on the Op-Ed page. It should be on the front page. I read it to remind myself how important freedom and liberty are --for all of us, including immigrants, and to remind myself that we can be better than we what we have become-- and that is being patriotic.
By the way, as French as the French are, there are no lapel pins.

A temps perdu.....

Et nous avons pris les temps de vivre! Merci a Dieu, le temps s'est mis au beau! Time and weather --all embodied in the same word... (In our spare time... And we have made time to enjoy life. Thank God, the weather has changed for the better!)
I write this wanting to give a glimpse of some the places we have been that je ne prends pas de temps to write about! But this connection between time and weather deserves some musing... in a country with a rich agricultural tradition and bounty like France, time and weather are the important and integral parts of the growing cycle... and these are true to their Latin roots of tempus temporis for time and tempestas for weather --although more commonly a storm---and the root of temporary which is from the Latin for seasonal --temporalis. By the way, the same root is for tempero --to control yourself! And thus I will stop here as I have studied Latin and French many years ago, but I am not scholar of linguistics (although it is interesting!). The only remaining question is one of relevancy as in these days of green house gases and global warming (yes, I am a believer...) these words will have lost connections as the passing of the seasons is not so rhythmic and predictable... maybe the 40 "Immortals" of the Institut de France will need to add a new word to the French language --or time will become like Le President Bush --stuck in denial.
(I know, enough! --he's almost through-- but he's in office for as long as we are in France so he's fair game! And if Obama continues to sound like Bush-Lite in his campaigning, he's fair game too! McCain flew too many sorties, c'est une perte de temps to write about him.)
You will recall that we went to Toulouse to make the foie gras and duck confit. Well, we also visited Toulouse and some the towns in SW of France, Carcassone, Cordes-sur-Ciel, Albi... so let me continue the story...
This is the Languedoc (Langue d'Oc) the area of the Oc language which is French but with Spanish mixed in!
Toulouse is the large city --remember Airbus?-- along the Garonne river and it is built predominantly out of red brick so that it takes on a rosy hue at sunset.





The basilica of St. Sernin was the most famous of the churches on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela (see the March 5th post for refreshing the memory!) It is a Romanesque church dating back to the 12th and 13th century (Architects do not cringe). Basically these are a single nave with heavy exterior walls and barrel vaulting, and as the walls need to hold up this massive structure, there are few and narrow windows. This is rather amazing in these large basilicas; St. Sernin has a nave that is 377 feet long, 210 feet wide, and nearly 70 feet high.


Toulouse along with Albi, Carcassone, and other towns in this area were home to the Cathars, a religious (labeled heretic by the Church) sect that has Eastern roots and believed in a separation between Good --the spiritual world of God-- and Evil --the materialist world of Satan. Man is a spirit caught between the two worlds, constantly seeking "purity". Thus their "Parfaits" (and they also believed in equal rights so there were "Parfaites") lived their in poverty, humility, and patience. The believers, the "Croyants" (and "Croyantes") strove to emulate them. Obviously, this did not sit well with the powerful (and wealthy) clergy and bishops or the Pope. There were several Albigensian crusades against the Cathars, who were the cloth weavers and merchants and supported by the nobility in these towns. The Second Albigensian crusade was lead by the King of France, Louis VIII, who got great support and participation from his associates by promising that the fiefs of the area would be given to them once they were conquered (so... this idea of a war and then no bid contracts for the oil fields has precedence --and undertaken by Le President Bush who confers with our Christian God...) The Dominicans and their Inquisition finished them off... except that they are resurrected as part of the tourist trade in the region.


Next stop, Carcassone, the Cathar fortified town Disneyized by Viollet-le-Duc in 1844. (I will write about Carcassone and Albi in my next "catch-up" piece) Our French friends do not approve of our belittling of Viollet-le-Duc as he probably did save many historical and wonderful places like Carcassone, St. Sernin, Chateau de Vincennes --but did he really have to add that spire to Notre Dame de Paris? In his own words about restoration:
"means to reestablish [a building] to a finished state, which may in fact never have actually existed at any given time."
Disneyworld.

Bruuuce!

Bruce Springsteen played at Parc des Princes last night. We were there! I had purchased the tickets in January as we are big, big Bruce fans and the thought of seeing Bruce, Born in the U.S.A., in Paris, My Hometown, seemed like a fabulous opportunity! And it was!
If you have not seen Bruce Springsteen, and he was accompanied by the E Street Band, you need to know that he has the most energy of any performer that I have ever seen --he wore out the crowd! He was Born to Run! And he has a great time playing his audience as he has that Human Touch.


I knew all of this, and I wanted to see the concert! (the anthropologist in me!) It was an opportunity to see thousands (maybe 20,000??) francais acting like les americains! Well, like Americans in moderation! (I wondered what the Institut de France thinks about French acting like Americans at a concert given by The Boss!) Yes, they do sell beer and hot dogs (but no hot dogs inside!). And there were certainly no all you can eat seats!
Everyone was clapping and singing and Dancing in the Dark and waving (which was different and makes the wave at Fenway seem pathetic --imagine the whole floor of the stadium waving their arms in the same direction in time to the music for the entire song!) I think we should institute a French wave!

We have attended a number of Springsteen concerts at home. I must comment that the crowds in Paris are similar in ages and numbers as in the States at his concerts --as are the ticket prices. However, the quantity of beer consumed (and food) is about 1/1000 of what is consumed at a concert at home. Thus, no sticky stands, no beer spilled on you by the guy behind you who is on his 6th 32 oz. cup, people stayed at their seats, and no drunks shouting out... but everyone was having a great time. (And --going home was civilized, jovial, and organized-- the Metro had extra trains and controlled access to the platforms so there was no overcrowding, and everyone used a ticket... the car behind ours was singing the refrain from Growing Up all the way back!)
Being that Bruce is Bruce, he did give a little political twist as he was playing and the song that he closed with questioned the anti-immigrant sentiments in the US --which is also appropriate in Europe these days-- and spoke about the loss of liberties following 9-11 as he introduced Livin' in the Future. I have always wondered if the Bruce Springsteen fans have ever paid attention to his lyrics --he is the balladeer of the American experience for our generation. Barack Obama has listened --and the French paid attention.

Le soliel reste sur la touche.

While summer may have arrived with a vengeance in New England, we remain less summer like than I would like --the sun remains on the sidelines for those of you who may not have caught the title! This has not stopped our visitors from savoring Paris nor did it stop us from a sojourn to the Dordogne and Bourdeaux area last week with our friends Jacqueline and Philippe. There is some symmetry to our travels with them and our visitors here --they show us around like we show our guests around (I cannot help but say it, what goes around comes around! although I often used it in the malevolent, Italian sense of mal'occhia!). But --we have the longest days! It is light here until 10pm --I simply love it (although can you imagine if we had days this long at home? Think of all the gardening that could be done --and with the prices of food, everyone should contemplate at least some tomatoes!)
The Dordogne area is in the southwest of France, inland from Bordeaux on the coast. As the gulf stream is close by (at least for now....) the climate is a more temperate and for example, there are some palms and other more tropical plants that grow in the area. The area where the Dordogne is located is in the Perigord --and along with the surrounding areas of Lot, Quercy and Gascony-- and this is the home of foie gras, truffles, and great wines. (We were actually close to Toulouse for those of you following along with my travels!) This is also to region of Lascaux and Les Eyzies --the pre-historic cave paintings of France (even Pre-Historic French knew that it was about the food!).


These little hill towns including Sarlat, Bergerac, St. Emilion have those wonderful winding pedestrian streets (although cars somehow manage, albeit no SUV's) and old stone buildings. There are also a number of half-timbered buildings in these towns as well and they date back to the 16th century.


Of course, Bergerac is famous for Cyrano --de Bergerac!
The town of Rocamadour was built around the abbey that was founded here in 1166. It said that the intact body of St.Amadour was found here which sparked the building of the shrine. Rocamadour was part of the pilgrimage network going to Santiago de Compostela. (Remember the coquilles St. Jacques in an earlier post?)
Following all the wars of religion (this is the area of the 100 Years War for those European history buffs!), the abbey was abandoned and in the 18th century it was restored --it remains however very sympathetic to its earlier roots (I guess considering that it is literally carved out of the hillside and the "ancenseur" is new, making major changes may not have been feasible. Of course, that begs the question of building there in the first place!) To access the town, there is long winding stair along the side of the hill --the stations of the cross have been placed every few turns-- I imagine on the way UP these make handy places to contemplate the Passion of Christ --as well as catch your breath (and the penitent did the stairs on their knees...). In the interest of time (okay you can laugh!), we opted to spring for the 4 Euro ride back up in the ancenseur....



This area of the southwest of France is not well traveled by Americans --but it is well known by the British; many have bought and restored houses here to either relocate or for holiday homes (the French have feelings about this --I bought some prunes from Agen at a little provincial fair in Paris and told the elderly merchant that I would be going to the Dordogne, and he proceeded to tell me about all the British!) The Brits also have been importing these red wines for centuries --no wonder they love Bordeaux--it's genetic! (By the way, it was not called Bordeaux in Britain --it was claret), and this term --from the word "claire" meaning light (as in Claire de la Lune)-- was used to distinguish the "lighter" Bordeaux from the dark red wines of the Cahors region (roughly inland from Bordeaux), which had been preferred in Britain as far back as the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine in the 12th century. (Shows you all I know, I thought claret was a thick, fortified wine --I would never think that anyone would re-name French wines so that their terrior was not showing!) The Bordelais realized that they had a stranglehold on shipping from this area as all of the major rivers of this region flow to the port of Bordeaux. The taxes levied on wine from "upcountry" and the restrictions on shipping gave the Bordeaux wines an advantage. The wines from the interior of the region like the Cahors are becoming popular and recognized --Cahors was given an AOC designation in 1971 (note: Georges Pompidou, local, just happened to be Le President--sort of like Le President Bush giving an AOC to Saudi oil...)
David and I had visited this area when Andrew was 20 months old (he's now married with two dogs) and visited the caves of Peche Merle and Cougnac as well as another whose name escapes me; I still remember what a magical and spiritual experience it was seeing those paintings from up to 25,000 years ago... (and I remember vividly the utter disappointment when reaching Les Eyzies to see that the entrance to the cave closed with a sign "greve" --strike-- posted! So we have yet to see that cave!), and we love it now --speaking of Cro-Magnon ideas, if John McCain manages to win the election, you can look for us there...we will be eating very well!

Musee, Musee

May was and June continues to be high season at our chambre d'hotes (French name given to rooms rented as bed and breakfast accommodations in private homes --great way to travel!) We have enjoyed everyone's company and our opportunity to re-visit favorite places. (Although the weather has not been what I want spring time in Paris to be --but I am in PARIS-- so how can I complain???) The opportunity to return to these great places is a luxury --I have been to the Musee d'Orsay 5 times (our membership was a great investment as we can go in the member's entrance and avoid the lines!)
The first time that you visit a great museum, you really are taking inventory (and some visitors chose to catalog that inventory by photographing every single piece on display! do they EVER look at them when they get home???? Imagine sitting through that evening of "let's look at my vacation pictures..."). But honestly, you are so enthralled that you are actually seeing the originals of art work that you recognize, and being introduced to pieces that you do not know, that you do not have the time (or brain capacity) to look into the piece and absorb its flavor (this is France --and it is always about the food!) And the sense and process of taste is exactly what you need to emulate when looking at these artworks --their presentation, their perfume, their texture, their taste as it lingers, their terrior...(of course, we Americans are probably confused about taste --how would you describe the taste or terrior of a vente iced soy carmel latte with an extra shot and whippped cream???? And those, and more complicated drinks of COFFEE get ordered and imbibed daily!!! Well... maybe twice a week now since you have to DRIVE to Starbucks...)
But it is the return visits that give you the chance to understand and experience what makes these masterpieces. You can also be more discerning... and decide that greatness does not always mean that you like the works.
In my last visit to the Musee d'Orsay, I was wandering around the Impressionist galleries as my friends were looking at the paintings of Monet, Renoir, Pisarro, Cezanne and the others. I made an observation --Monet must have painted in his sleep! I realize that he lived a very long life, but he painted hundreds of pieces --the familiar ones of the Rouen Cathedral, the British Parliament, Venice, the countryside just outside of Paris, the monumental Les Nympheas-- The Waterlilies from his garden in Giverny-- we all know of these. But there are many others that equally magical. And you simply must be across the room to really see how masterful they are (so those thousands of digital shots taken to every corner of the globe are impressions of impressionists!) I was particularly taken by Monet's treatment of water and reflections. In his pieces Yachts, Argenteuil and Regatta, Argenteuil, the water from a distance looks mirror like. At close inspection it is merely white lines (okay, merely MONET's white lines!) One of my other favorites is the Magpie, which is a magpie sitting on a gate in a snow covered landscape as the sun creates those blue tinted shadows after a new snow fall. It gives you that sense of stillness and sparkle that you see and admire those mornings after a heavy snow fall (before you have to shovel and drive to work in that post-snow storm traffic!) But let's not forget the magic of that moment!

My other observation is that Pisarro and Sisely are under-appreciated in the States.

I have taken almost no pictures of these paintings. So --you will have to come to Paris to see them-- and I will get to see them again... and I will let you borrow my Carte Blanche so you will not have to wait in line... but no Starbucks!
But these are my impressions from Jardin, Jardin the Paris "flower show" held in the Tuileries this weekend.



The title, 'Musee, Musee' is a play on the name of a Richard Serra (American sculptor) work, 'Clara, Clara' on display in the Tuileries, while his installation, Promenade, is in the Grand Palais. Monumenta 2008 is the second Monumenta --an artist is invited to make an installation in the large exhibition hall of the Grand Palais. Promenade is composed of five huge COR-TEN steel slabs that you walk through to experience... David as you might imagine loved the works!