Road trip-Getting to know Arles

PART I

Three minutes in the Place de la Republique...

When the sun shines in provence the streets come to life.

A gypsy on a park bench, playing his accordian,

 Young people "hanging out" on bikes, skates and boards- gathered in groups- sitting on steps,

An ancient "Scottish highlander" lost in time.

The delicate carved stone of a romanesque cathedral facade,

The pleasures of art: recycled plastic phantoms, paintings of celestial light and stone men gazing at a cross, steel wool scouring pads stretched to the shapes of man clinging to each other and hanging from space.

 

This is just the begining of Arles, the land Van Gogh, bullfights and gypsys, Roman ruins and Romanesque monuments. Arles is a UNESCO World Heritage City. So much to see and so little time! On friday we will return to Arles and for part II ...



A Birthday in Dad's Memory!

No more neckties, soap on a rope or packages of golf balls to wrap.

No more looking for a good book or an interesting video about history, airplanes or anything mechanical, construction, or a good old fashion western he hadn't already seen.

No more crosswords or puzzles to fill up the cupboards.

No more last- minute framing pictures of grand kids to put on your desk.

No more gift certificates or gadgets...cause what do you get for the man who needs so little and wants only to spend time with his family and friends.

No more bottles of spanish wine to try and compare.

No more silly "Best Grampa in the World" t-shirts and hats.

The only present left to give is our eternal love and gratification for all you left us...the wonderful memory of a life well lived!

   



Words of Wisdom...Again!

Six Month Anniversary
It has been six months since we arrived in Provence and I decided to re-post this poem. It has been a dear, old friend to Marc and I ever since my sister Cindy gave it to us years ago. 

Cindy was my first traveling partner. In 1983, she and I set out to discover Europe. She had just graduated from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, and was 24 yrs. old.  I was 18, and had not a care in the world. Cindy, with all her beauty and knowledge, led us in a spectacular, six month adventure around Europe.  Actually, I led in the adventure department-she kept us safe and guided us to discover all the culture, history, art, antiquity, and charm I would have passed up to "check out guys and lay on the beach". We were perfect traveling companions. I got us back stage passes at Rod Stewart concerts in Madrid and Lisbon, a room at the Palace Hotel Madrid-four doors down from Rod, and pushed us to keep on walking when we didn't want to take another step. She took care of logistics and got us from the Artic circle in Scandinavia to the Bavarian Forest, down the Rhine river, through the Alps, to the Vatican, castles in Austria and Switzerland,  kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland, hours of art at the Prado, running of the Bulls in Pamplona, and much more. I never imagined the how that trip would change my life. Until I met Marc, she was my best buddy and I love her for "babysitting" me on that journey that gave me a taste of the old world.

Merci... My Sister Cindy...
"Je voudrais cinq billets pour Lourdes"...inside joke-you had to be there!!!

GOETHE
Until one is committed, 

there is hesitancy,

the chance to drawback,

always ineffectiveness.

Concerning all acts of initiative

there is one elementary truth

the ignorance of which kills

countless ideas and endless plans:

That the moment one definately commits oneself, 

then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.

A whole stream of events issues from the decision,

raising in one's favor all manner of 

unforseen incidence and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way.

Whatever you can do,

or dream you can, begin it!

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

     ...Goethe

 

SIGNS...

Everybody's got there thing: birdwatchers, window shoppers, museum enthusiasts, paparazzi, facebook fanatics, bloggers,

even heavy equipment freaks (my pop-the late, great Gabe Mendez and my brother).

Mon truc right now is SIGNS.

It may be somekind of strange by-product of being "lost" in a foreign land and needing direction. Whatever the case, I am obsessed with signs and find myself taking photos of everything, everywhere! I will try to contain myself, and if I get out of hand, please feel free to "comment" and tell me "enough signs already"!  I was thinking of doing a weekly post to share some of my favorite "Signs"...enjoy!

PRETTY OBVIOUS

No Parking Zone or Towing away Zone

...but I love the french wording...

google translate: PARKING EMBARRASSING

Literal translation would be something like...

STATIONNEMENT: stationing, parking

GENANT: inconvenient, nuisance, unwelcome, annoying

PRESSE: Sells news papers, magazines etc. 

 (it is not where you get your shirts pressed!)

TABAC: Sells cigarettes

PMU: Bet on horseraces

Other miscellaneous: Lotto tickets, candies, gum, stamps

The official post office with expanded services to include banking transactions.

Typical Festival Poster

Announcing winter activities... notice the time 14h30-always in military!

I can not get used to it...always having to subtract 12!

Tarif of Consommations...That sounds personal!

However, it is just the pricing of food and drinks.

ROAD WITHOUT ISSUE!

or...DEAD END...

MY FAVORITE OF THE WEEK

Finally, a campaign to rid the streets of obnoxious DOG DODO!

TROTTOIR OU CROTTOIR ?

A play on words...

TROITTOIR:  Sidewalk

CROTTOIR:  Does not exist...it is a made up word to rhyme with troittoir, however,

it comes from the verb

 CROTTER: To dirty or the slang would be "droppings", a dog or cats "business" or as we say in America "crap"

Therefore...

SIDEWALK OR CRAPWALK?

Transhumance passing through Venasque...

TRANSHUMANCE

.

Sometimes a word comes into your vocabulary and although it doesn't have a clear meaning, it lingers in your thoughts and secretly works in your subconscious, waiting for its opportunity to be more than defined-waiting to take a special place in your heart- to imprint it's definition in a way that the dictionary can only be envious of.  

Several years ago, our son Vincent spent time with a family in Bordeaux. Thierry, the father, was very dynamic and looked forward to sharing many experiences with Vincent. Thierry is a wine maker for the well known winery Chateau Estrille. Of his many plans were to take Vincent fishing, mushroom hunting, harvesting grapes, and the one that perked my interest, a hike up the mountains in the Pyrenees for the "transhumance". 

Of course, I went to the dictionary to demystify this term. Transhumance: The seasonal moving of livestock from regions of different climates. "Sounds interesting", I thought.

 "I am sure our 14 yr. old son will have a blast". 

The day after Vincent arrived in France they left on their excursion up the mountain to follow the path of the livestock.

 Vincent called home after the weekend and I eagerly awaited his description of his first adventure.  I don't remember any mention of livestock just a typical teenage explaination; a full days hike, exhausted with jetlag, and an incredible view from the summit of France to the east and Spain to the west.  

So the visions of  transhumance went to sleep in my conscience until a few days ago, when on our way up the hill to Venasque, traffic stopped; up ahead a flock of goats and sheep, a mix of dogs, a man on a donkey, several shabby looking characters and a rickity old van with a sign on the back reading "Transhumance".  Louis and I jumped out of the car. I grabbed my Flip video camera and we tried to capture the beauty of the primitive and traditional practice of shepherds herding their flocks to new pastures.

This particular group were on a ten day journey from the Vaucluse to the Drome region.  The Drome region hosts a festival in the village of Die. You can check out more videos on You Tube and visit the website http://www.diois-tourisme.com/  or look for other festivals under: Fetes de la Transhumance.

The following is a beautiful description from Alphonse Daudet, "Letters from My Mill" that I found in Louisa Jones book, PROVENCE A country Almanac.

"The road itself seemed on the march...the old rams first, leading with their horns, with a wild look to them; behind came the bulk of the sheep, the mothers somewhat weary with their suckling lambs underfoot; the mules, with red pompons, carried the newborn in baskets on their backs that rocked like cradles by the slow rhythm of the march; then the dogs, all in a sweat, their tongues hanging to the ground, and two shepherds, great rogues draped in homespun russet coats that reached to their feet like great capes."

Ps...I just asked Vincent (19 yrs old now) to tell me again about that trip up the Pyrenees...yes!!! there were sheeps and goats, even a carcass that was being devoured by hungry voltures. It was a 30 mile hike to the summit and they stayed four days in the shepherds humble abode.  Glad I asked again...

Sunday Paella with "contra band" sausages from...

Flying Mule Farm

Basque style  chorizo sausages

FROM AMERICA!!!

ready for the barbeque

How did I get them from California to France  
step 1. Freeze overnight
step 2. Wrap well in plastic freezer bags with an ice pack, in an ice chest & at the last minute before checking bags, transfer to your luggage (pack in the center-insulated with lots of clothes). Carry on an extra plastic baggie.
step 3. Before landing ask stewardess for two cups of ice and save in plastic baggie.
step 4. At baggage claim, remove sausages from plastic with ice pack, and replace them in the baggie with ice cubes from stewardess.
step 5. Put them in your purse, because no one at customs in France cares what you bring in.
step 6. Pass through customs and head for the train.
step 7. Repack the ice again after a two hour layover in the train station and get on the TGV for a three and a half hour journey.
step 8. Arrive in Avignon 27 hours later with your Flying Mule Farm basque chorizo perfectly thawed and ready to BBQ!

http://www.flyingmulefarm.com/ 
Foothill Agrarian
http://www.flyingmulefarm.blogspot.com/

Last look at Uzes...

Thank you to Jeff Hamilton and his family for making the trip to Uzes and sharing their experience in a blog...It would have otherwise gone unknown to us & what fun it is to
unexpectedly discover such a treasure.

A brief video:

A quick look around the historic center of the city. Starting in the Place aux Herbes where the market place is held wednesday and saturday mornings, then heading a short walk to the grand boulevard that circles the city and is the main route for circulating traffic, finishing at Place Albert 1er...
where one would find the Office de Tourisme.

Visit the Hamiltons blog www.tryintobefrench.blogspot.com  for a sweet glimpse of life in Uzes during the summer months.

On to new things tommorow...