Mas de Viales, Cavillargues, Gard, South of France from Sept. 6

Did I mention that I was weary at the end of the last posting? So how do you know you’re really exhausted? Dawn putting her head down on the serving tray of the airplane to catch a few z’s might be one clue. Even though I drive a standard car every day, I’ve got a better exhaustion story for you.

By the time we got to our B&B, the Jardins Fragonard, clearly I was in the bag. We drove up the very steep and narrow driveway to the B&B and managed to enter the wrong driveway, which sloped steeply downwards. OK, we’ve been here before and I should have remembered where to go, but keep in mind the tired thing. So, once we discovered we were at the wrong gate, my brand new Renault was nose to nose with the wrought iron gate. Reverse isn’t in the same location in all standard cars, so instead of backing up,

I started to push on the gate. Did I mention the brand new car? I only pushed on the gate three times before finally digging into my gray matter and using the emergency brake to escape my tight situation. Fortunately, after our afternoon siesta, I was a little more prepared to drive up into the old town of Cagnes sur Mer for dinner.

So, after a lovely breakfast on the terrasse of our lodging, we struck out for the autoroute, first across the south of the Riviera and then north to Avignon. Traffic was relatively heavy and we ran into a few “bouchons” (traffic jams) on the way. We had originally thought that we’d try to make it to the market in Bagnols sur Ceze, but as we continued, the skies opened up, making an open air market less appealing. Plan B became a stop at the Auchon centre just north of Avignon. For anyone complaining about the size of any of the Canadian superstores/big box stores, you should spend some time in this place. A conservative guess would put the length of the grocery/whateverelseyouwant store at ½ kilometer. Lots think us nuts, but we really love grocery shopping in France – there are so many unique products to savor.
If the car wasn’t already full before our Auchon stop, it was now. As we made our way to the Mas de Viales, formerly owned by Peter & Margaret Pigeon, we heavily resisted an urge to stop on our way through Chateauneuf de Pape. Who the hell resists a chance to sample some Chateauneuf? Apparently us. Not over the tired thing yet, I guess.

Arriving at the Mas, however, was like coming home. This is our fifth visit to this fantastic destination and each one has been as enjoyable if not more so than the last. After unpacking, we made our way down to Peter’s concrete table for a drink overlooking the vineyards of the Tave Valley. The tranquility here is breathtaking!


On our way in, we noticed the new restaurant a few hundred metres down the hill from the Mas. This is promising. At the Duty Free in Paris, I picked some Laurent-Perrier Champagne and a container of authentic foie gras. Although we did save the champagne for later, we did dig into the foie gras with some Cremant d’Alsace for o’er d’oeuvres. Vive la France! Or even better – La Vie est Belle!

After a delightful first night’s sleep in the Mas, we awoke to blue skies and arising at a leisurely pace, we showered in the courtyard, had breakfast – lardons factored in here – and headed out to the Sunday market in Laudun, a short drive from the Mas. This is not a large market by any Provencal standard, but it has most crucial ingredients – flower vendor, olive & spice seller, veggie stand, sheep cheese seller, seafood vendor and of course the pizza truck.

Leaving the market with Nicoise olives, Cavaillon mellon and a pizza – this one had lardons of course, but also crème fraiche and prunes – we headed back through the Cotes du Rhone vineyards to the Mas. Apparently the Vendage- grape harvest- is not close due to excessive precipitation – kinda like at home right? – and the farmers are not happy – not enough sun to add natural sugar to the grapes. On this route, we always pass through village of Tresque which is a really pretty vineyard town, but one we just take for granted. So, given the blue skies, I stopped for a photo op.

Of course pizza goes nicely with a sumptuous Alsace riesling, so the afternoon was very quiet, but we’re definitely getting into an R&R mode. With a view like the one below, what’s not to induce serious R&R.

Last evening for or d'oeuvres we added fresh figs from this morning’s Laudun market. We discovered later that we have lots of figs on the property. I’m not sure appetizers get better than this. I neglected to mention that we stopped at Quatre Chemin Winery in Laudun for some wine and other goodies. The wines were both Cotes du Rhone Village Laudun – red & white - and so far, the white was delightful. Among the goodies, were bars of olive oil soap, half the size of previously purchased bars here and much more travel friendly.
It's interesting how much English sneaks into the French language these days. I heard a gentlemen at the market this morning say, "Bon Weekend, eh!" This guy would fit right in in Canada.