Category: France

If there is one place in France I very much enjoy coming back to, it is Saint Remy de Provence. Every time we visit I marvel at the town. Surrounded by the most beautiful, rugged and unspoiled Alpilles countryside, it is so full of colour, character and historical interest and …and let’s not forget the food.

During recent visits I have tried repeatedly to gain entrance to the tiny 16th century Chapelle de Notre Dame de Pitie which sits near where Avenue Durand Maillane and Avenue Pasteur converge and; this time I succeeded although it was something of a bitter sweet moment.

The chapel was deconsecrated some years ago and left a ruin until at least 1985 when a local association, in conjunction with the town council, set about it’s restoration. It no longer serves as a church but is used to hold temporary exhibitions and one was underway as I arrived.

The sculptures on display were predominantly gilded steel and created by Philippe Lonzi (and he had no problem with me taking photos of his work). I think the paintings were by Christian Reale although Lonzi is also a painter.

Because we so often have the dogs with us as we explore, it’s rare that I am able to visit galleries and/or museums on these tours but; Vanya was caring for the dogs during our first afternoon back in Saint Remy and that meant I was also able to visit the Point Rouge Gallery on Rue Carnot in the centre of the old town.

The works of three different artists were on display during my visit and, hey, there were some really unusual and exciting creations. Amongst some impressive pieces by both Florence Vasseur (Painter) and Sylvie Mazereau (Painter and sculptor in ceramics and textiles), were some quite amazing life-size sculptures (mannequins?) by Anne Bothuon in cotton and cloth. It was actually embroidered wadding but ‘cotton and cloth’ has an altogether nicer ring about it. The creations were life-like but with a hint of caricature. Some appear a little freakish (extraordinary is perhaps a more apt word) but all are unique and a couple are quite sensational.

The exhibits in the Point Rouge Gallery formed part of the ‘Nature of Being Display’ organised by the owners Olivier Kaiser and Jean-Michel Warin. I spoke briefly with Olivier (who very kindly allowed me to take photos) and he explained that all the exhibits would be gone by the next morning. It seems that every 6 weeks or so, the owners change everything out, which allows them to showcase the art of a great many other favoured artists during the course of the year.

In addition to holding and displaying tons of interesting and exciting artefacts associated with Vincent Van Gogh the nearby Musee Estrine is renowned for displaying the work of contemporary artists so that, in line with Van Gogh’s wish, “living painters are no longer so unjustly ignored”. It occurs to me that the Point Rouge Gallery have adopted much the same philosophy. This is a gallery I will seek out again.

During this visit to Saint Remy, Vanya and I planned on stopping by Les Baux des Provence to experience the Vincent Van Gogh light and sound show at the Carrieres des Lumieres but, the Van Gogh display has been replaced by a new show (Egyptian Pharaohs) which simply didn’t appeal to either of us. Damn!

Instead, I walked along Avenue Vincent Van Gogh to the former Benedictine Monastere de Saint Paul de Mausol. This historic monastery turned asylum is renowned for a one time resident, Vincent Van Gogh, who admitted himself into the asylum for a year between 1889 and 1890. While there he produced some of his finest creations including ‘Starry Night’, ‘Irises’ and the ‘Olive Orchard’. I’d previously visited the area but never been inside the building itself.

Much of the monastery complex still functions as a psychiatric clinic but one wing serves as a small museum which reflects how Vincent Van Gogh lived during his stay and how other residents and some of the staff lived and/or worked. Also, in and around the museum there are markers identifying where Van Gogh will have sat while painting many of the 150+ creations he completed during his stay in the asylum. I spent a couple of hours wandering the building and surrounding gardens and found it absolutely fascinating. The place really is worth a visit.

Some of the care Van Gogh received in the asylum would have been primitive compared to that available in modern hospitals but, for it’s day, Saint Paul’s was one of the more advanced and caring hospitals. I’m fairly certain Van Gogh would not have been keen on the so called hydrotherapy treatment prescribed by his doctor (two hours of alternating hot and cold baths twice a week) but, for the most part, he didn’t lack for comfort compared to all other residents. Van Gogh’s brother, Theo, paid all fees associated with his stay in the asylum and that included three private rooms; one which served as Van Gogh’s living quarters, the second as an artist’s studio and the third to store his paintings.

After leaving Saint Paul’s, I hoped to revisit the old archaeological site of Glanum but it was closed. I took a couple of photographs of the mausoleum and the triumphal arch which stand outside the northern gate of the old Roman city but then made my way back into town to find a decent restaurant for the evening.

I found and booked us into a delightful family run restaurant (a mother and daughter team) near the town centre – the Restaurant XA. Quintessentially French with a retro shabby chic decor, we were well received (dogs as well) and served some great food. Van went for the fish while I had a veal dish (i.e. proper veal not that awful substitute they seem to serve almost everywhere in the UK).

Once again, we thoroughly enjoyed Saint Remy. There’s no doubt we’ll return but now it is time to start north.

We were in Violes, in the southern Rhone Valley, to sample the wines at the Domaine des Favards and thereafter enjoy their annual celebration ‘Bodega La Nuit Favardaise’ (although, in truth, we didn’t know about the winery’s annual celebration until after we arrived). The Domaine des Favardes is first and foremost a very successful working winery of 25 hectares owned by the Famille Barbaud but they have converted a large stretch of land next to their bodega into a first class campsite. How Vanya finds these places I don’t know but we booked in for two nights.

There was nothing open in the village of Violes that first night. In fact, there is very little in the village to open. Google ‘Francethisway’ and check out Violes and everything they write about is at least 5 miles away – witness Seguret and the Dentelles de Montmirail.

Please don’t misunderstand; I’m not complaining about Violes. We know from our earlier travels in this Region that there’s plenty to see and do in the area, if not Violes itself. We were there to relax and enjoy the local wine and we weren’t going to venture out while the Mistral was blowing a hoolie. Our first evening was therefore spent in the campsite’s restaurant enjoying some good French cooking and getting a sneak preview of a couple of the local wines.

A little about the Mistral before I continue. It’s a wind and it had been blowing for a few days before we arrived and showed no sign of abating. It can blow any time of the year but is more common in the autumn and winter. It occurs when warm air coming in from the Mediterranean meets the cold air from Central France and the Alps. The warm air rises leaving a space for the cold air from the mountains to fill and this cold air then sweeps down through south east France to the Mediterranean. It makes for very strong cold winds which get even stronger as they are funneled through the narrow Rhone Valley. I heard a local man describe the Mistral as ‘exhausting’. He could not have described the phenomenen better but, it wasn’t going to spoil our wine tasting the next morning and, anyway, on the plus side this strong wind clears away pollution and makes for very blue skies.

Unfortunately for Vanya, the Domaine des Favardes produce just two white wines; a Cotes du Rhone ‘Les bons moments’ and a CDR ‘L’affute’ and as a result her wine tasting session the next morning was soon concluded. We shouldn’t have been surprised because only 6% of wines across the Rhone Valley are white, 13% are rose and a whopping 81% are red. There was no doubt which of the wines would win the white category either because the L’affute is stored in oak casks and Vanya hates oaked whites. So sorry for laughing Vanya.

I didn’t mind either of the white wines but it was the reds I was looking forward to tasting and when our host started on them, they just kept coming. I was a very happy chap.

Before this session, I knew very little about Cotes du Rhone wines other than that there are 4 grades which are produced across both the Northern Rhone and the Southern Rhone (where the terroir is somewhat different). The best wines are the ‘Crus’ AC; the next best are the ‘Villages’ AC from a named village (e.g. CDR Villages Plan de Dieu and CDR Villages Chusclan) – not just any old village but one of 20 specified villages. The third level are ‘Villages’ AOC which are not produced by one of the 20 specified villages but by a CDR accredited commune. The fourth and final level, which amount to some 50% of the area’s controlled wine production, is the CDR AOC. Anything else just isn’t Cotes du Rhone (officially).

I’m not sure I learned a great deal more about Cotes du Rhone wine at the Domaine des Favards but I certainly got to taste a few. These included (a) Les bons moments rouge 2023 13.5%; (b) CDR Les Grandes Terres 2022 (Grenache, Mourvedre & Syrah grapes) 14.5%; (c) CDR Villages 2020 (Grenache & Syrah) 14.5%; (d) CDR Villages Plan de Dieu 2022 (Grenache & Syrah grapes matured in oak barrels for 12 months and at their best after 6-8 years) 14.5%; (e) CDR Villages Plan de Dieu les Givres 2021 (Grenache, Syrah, Carignan & Cinsault) 14.5%; (f) CDR Villages Plan de Dieu les Brigands 2022 (Cepages, Grenache, Cinsault & Syrah and at their best after 8-10 years) 14.5%; (g) CDR L’une et L’autre 2020 (matured in oak barrels for 16 months and also at their best after 8-10 years) 14%.

There was only the one wine I was unsure about, the Les Givres. The rest were fine but the winner for me was the L’une et L’autre with the ‘Plan de Dieu’ (a named village) coming a very close second. Needless to say, we purchased a mixed case of our favourites.

We were sufficiently rested when, that same evening, we made our way back to the winery to join La Nuit Favardaise. It was well attended by residents of not just Violes but various other villages in the area and all had dressed having regard to the continuing strong winds (in what the Geordies would call ‘their big coats’). The Mistral was still in full flow.

I tried a couple more glasses of the Les Givres during the course of the evening and, I am pleased to report, I warmed to it.

The locals are clearly made of hardier stuff than us because within an hour, Vanya and I decided to retire to the Van. We can attest to the fact, however, that the party continued to precisely 0H30 as advertised on the admission ticket. The music played by the DJ Mister Flo was good and loud.

The next day we left Violes to drive further south and west to Les Argeles sur Mer, near France’s border with Spain. Before leaving I, once again, battled my way into the village for a final look and to buy some fresh bread. My first thoughts apropos the village were correct. It really doesn’t have much about it but, the bakery at the main cross-roads produce first class bread and the nearby cafe-bar does a good coffee.

There follows a couple of photos of the village…

Les Argeles sur Mer next… and of course, one of my favourite wineries (Les Vignerones des Alberes) is very close by at Saint Genis des Fontaines.