OK folks, we haven't blogged much since the day before yesterday. (We will fill in the details later). PLEASEEEE don't think we have been idle.

We began the day at the market in Bormes-les-Mimosas.  It was MUCH larger that than when we first came here.  We tried to buy everything we saw, but ended up with ONLY jewelry, sausages, capri pants for Skip (which we may explain later), olives, tapenade, scarves, and who knows what else.  It was great fun, especially for Capri Boy, ie., Skip.  Be sure to ask him what it is like to try on capris at a market!!  We did our best to stimulate the economy in Bormes!

After that, we had a day trip to Saint Tropez that was wonderful.  After a huge lunch there and much wandering around the town, we returned to our "home" in Bormes.  Lowell may have found his boat/ship in St. Tropez.  Afterwards, we had dinner at the bastide, our home.  Jock, the caretaker, joined us in a delightful dinner, but the wine was the hit... about 5 or 6 bottles, all of which were superb.

Today, we revisited Bormes seriously, finding tiny areas that we had not previously discovered.  (It's a town like that!)  Later, we went back to the vineyards to replenish our inventory (god forbid that we should run low!).  After that we traveled to Le Lavandou and saw all the sights (the petanque courts were in full force).  Les Boules is a game we all should learn to appreciate, as it is played by young and old alike!!!!  We also found where a very special friend lived whom we met many years ago.

We departed Le  Lavandou rather abruptly when Mary Alice thought that someone had stolen "baby".  We will share with our closest friends later about who "baby" is.  Again, it's true that "all is well that ends well".

Dinner was at our favorite restaurant in Bormes.  A wonderful ending to our time here.  We first met the owners in the 1990s and their youngest son is now all grown up.  They honestly seemed to remember us and offered us a bottle of wine for the occasion.  It brought us nearly to tears.  This is such an incredible place and it should be on everyone's "must see" places.

Tomorrow we are off to Nice for one day, dining at our most favorite restaurant, Le Chantecler.  It will be a very special evening, and then we will be off to Paris for three days.  Oh my, the time is passing too quickly.  We love and miss our friends, but WE SURE LOVE IT HERE!

Lest we forget, PLEASE someone ask about washing clothes AND passports and washing machines!!!! You will not be disappointed with the stories, I promise!

Day trip to Pierrefeu-du-Var

Today was the first morning since we arrived in France that we arose early. But we had good reason to do so since we were invited to lunch with our good friends, Rene and Vivette Terras. We met Rene and Vivette way back in the late 1990s and try to visit with them each time we are here. Rene is a potter of considerable talent. He creates both functional pieces and pieces that are cherished for their beauty.  Last year he was awarded a very high honor by Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France. Vivette was a teacher, but retired several years ago.  I've collected Rene's pottery for many years and it is always very exciting to see his current pieces.  (For those of you who have seen my collection, his work makes up the bulk of my pieces.)

Dining with good friends is always a wonderful thing to do, but we all agreed that doing so in the South of France, and with those who reside here, is unbelievable!!  Almost everything that we ate came from the garden that Rene tends. Vivette prefers to work with the flowers and interestingly, mow the grass. During the day's outing we visited in Rene's studio, viewed his new pieces, caught up with Vivette about their children, and had an extraordinary meal in their garden that began with champagne and ended with cheeses, fresh strawberries with creme frais and an infusion (tea) from herbs in their garden.

Of course, we could not leave without a few purchases.  I bought a clock that has very special meaning for me and Della purchased a beautiful bowl (that I covet!) and a few other special pieces.

It ended up being a perfect day, which was especially pleasing given the start of the day. I won't describe it now, but just let you know that there appeared to be a strong possibility that Lowell might not be returning home with the rest of us. As the saying goes, all is well that ends well, and that has certainly been true for this day.

We are off to dinner tonight at La Tonnelle.  The food here is so spectacular that it is indeed hard to believe that it contains NO calories!

Au revoir!

PS - Erin, your mom and dad wanted me to tell you that you are back in the will!  :)

Wine tasting in Bormes-Les-Mimosas

September 20, 2010

Oh brother, what another wonderful day in and around Bormes-les-Mimosas!  

Sunday, September 19

Well we had another wonderful day in Bormes.  After awakening VERY late, because we were up VERY late last night, we strolled down to the village center (2 minutes walk away) for a lovely brunch that lasted nearly two hours.  Needing to exercise to keep from going back to sleep, we began an earnest walk around Bormes with all of its lovely alleys and beautiful flower lined streets.  We found where we had previously stayed, found where I had taken cooking lessons many years ago, caught up with what had happened to several people with whom we had become friends with over the years, and just generally delighted in the beauty of the village.

One of the things we really wanted to do while here was to create and cook an authentic Provencal dinner... I mean the whole nine yards.  Yesterday we purchased all of the ingredients but had not decided when exactly we would undertake task.  Well, late in the afternoon we decided it would be tonight.  So about 4:00 pm we began.  In the meantime, Della befriended, Jock, the caretaker of the property and his girlfriend, Susan.  So it only followed that we should invite them to join us in the feast... despite the fact that we had NEVER prepared any of the things on the menu.  We were undaunted and certain that we could pull off a meal to remember.

The menu consisted of appetizers of olives, followed by Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic, Moroccan Couscous, Sauteed Wild Mushrooms, Vegetable Tian, a fresh salad, and finished with assorted sorbets and cheeses.  We all pitched in and I must say it was a huge success.  What can be better than good food, good wine, great old friends, and making wonderful new friends?  We had the entire package and it was fantastic.  True to the French tradition, we dined for over three hours and loved every minute of it!!

LIFE IS INDEED GREAT!!!!!!

Skip and Mary Alice, so far, have tasted the following wines, mostly local, i.e., wines of Provence:  St. Roman Bellet (Braquet blend), Les Figuiers La Roque Bandol (Mourvedre blend), Grand Bormani   (Grenache blend), Chateau du Galoupem (Greanche blend), Domaines Ott Chateau Romassan (Mouvedre blend), Chateau Vannieres Bandol (Mourvedre blend), , Chateau Vannieres Bandol (Mourvedre blend), Chateau du Galoupet (Grenache blend), Domaines Ott Chateau Romassan Bandol (Mouvedre blend), Domaines de Beaurinard (Grenache blend), Domaines Goubert (Grenache Blend), Whispering Angels Domaines Sacha (Grenache blend), Domaines Goubert (Clarirette)

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Ok folks, we hope you have had fun reading of this, and of course there will be a test on it as soon as we return.  Those of you scoring at a superior level will receive a special prize.  It's only taken FOUR hours to complete this segment of the blog.  Oh, the labor of this love.  To our children, and especially the one who is following this blog at the moment, we send our thanks.  And to be clear, Della and Lowell probably tasted just a few of these wines as well.  And please note how difficult it is to work on the internet when you can not cut and paste.  Good night, out of power, laughing our A### off, WE LOVE YOU.  :))))))))))))

We've done lots since leaving Cannes yesterday.  Our drive down the coast was rather uneventful (thankfully) and we had lunch at Les Murennes in La Mole, which is right outside of Bormes-les-Mimosas.  The restaurant was a simple one, but nonetheless delicious.  We found our house easily and met, Jock, the caretaker.  Jock very kindly showed us around and explained how to use the TV, Internet, and other important things.  He was very justifiably proud of the two acre garden that he tends.

The house is amazing.  It's huge and sits on more than two acres looking over the town.  The owners, who live downstairs and are professors at UCLA and are here only part of the year.  They rent the upstairs.  The apartment is not connected to the main house.  It has 3 bedrooms, a huge reception/lounge, a fantastic kitchen (very large for Europe) with modern appliances, two full baths, MANY outdoor eating/lounging areas, and killer views of the Mediterranean, which we can view from our THREE balconies.  As I am sure you have noticed, we LOVE this place and have already begun to think about when we can rent it again... next time for perhaps a month!  Last, but not least, a small kitten appears to be quite at home in the apartment and zips in when we leave the door open.  Speaking of open doors, the caretaker leaves the door to the main part of the house because as he says in his Scottish accent, "this place is quite safe".

We had dinner last night at La Pastourelle in Bormes.  Interestingly, we met the family who owns the restaurant back in the late 1990's.  Their baby boy is now all grown up and works at the restaurant.  I'm sure we will return there sometime during our week here.

This morning Skip and I got up (unfortunately not early enough) and took a much needed walk.  We only walked for about 45 minutes, but it was still a workout with all the hills.  After breakfast at home, Della, Lowell, Skip and I set out to purchase the groceries that we would need for the week.  We had a few adventures along the way that we will share later.  (Actually, it rained a bit and we were happy to do practical things.)

We didn't have lunch until later in the afternoon.  We stopped at the only restaurant open at that time in Bormes.  Everyone had sandwiches, but I had the charcuterie and it was GREAT.  Afterwards, we stopped by the National Petanque Tournament (boules).  The last time we were here we had hoped to see such a tournament, but were not able to do so.  Tomorrow are the finals and we will stop by.  The town is very crowded because of the tournament, and parking is at a premium.  However, we don't have to worry because we have PLENTY of parking on our 2 acre estate. (lol)

We are having a ball.  We've sampled tons of wine (Lowell is keeping with the wines... blends/varietals, etc.) and have had fabulous meals so far.  And by the way, no one is counting calories!!

PS- I've found that my iPhone French/English dictionaries are too hard to use and I couldn't find my pocket dictionary before we left home.  But, today I bought a great dictionary, even if it is a tad big for my purse. 

Off to the Palme d'Or for a wonderful dinner!!!!

Fun in Cannes