Stage 13 of the Tour de France is still in the Languedoc-Roussillon region which stretches from the foothills of the Pyrenees on the Spanish border to the mouth of the Rhône. This stage starts from Narbonne and ends in Nîmes, a town known for its Roman antiquities such as the Roman amphitheatre “Les Arènes”, the Maison Carrée (Square House Temple) and the Tour Magne.

Maison Caree

When we did our “Tour de France“, in a motorcoach, we stayed at the Imperator Concorde in Nîmes, a very pleasant hotel in the city centre. Nîmes’ Amphitheatre is one of the best preserved of its kind and the arches reminded us of the Colosseum in Rome.  Construction of the Colosseum was completed in 80 AD under Titus and “Les Arènes” was built at the end of the 1st century AD, so maybe that’s where the inspiration came from.  Nîmes had a turbulent history and suffered during the 16th century Wars of Religion.  Fortunately, the town prospered during the 17th and 18th centuries from textile manufacturing and anyone who’s worn denim jeans has this town to thank as denim originated from Nîmes or ‘de Nîmes’.

Carre d'Art

Nîmes is also very privileged to have a dynamic mayor who engaged great contemporary architects to modernize its cityscape.  Philippe Starck redesigned the city’s pedestrian zone and its swanky bus-stop whereas Norman Forster designed the trendy arts complex.  Blending old with new, you’ll also see the Maison Carrée in the city.  This ancient Roman temple, now used as a museum, is one of the best preserved in the world.

Jardin de la Fontaine

If the cyclists arrived in town via Avenue Jean Jaures, they would have seen the Jardin de la Fontaine in the north-western part if the city.  This beautiful formal garden is quite magnificent even though it’s slightly faded these days.  After a hard day cycling, a stroll in this garden is very soothing.  If you have a powerful camera lens, you will see the octagonal Tour Magne, high above the garden on Mont Cavalier (too far for us to climb in the time we had).  This used to be a key part of the Roman walls and the views of the city from the viewing platform up there must be fantastic.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

Well, we’re at the half way stage and all fans of Cadel Evans, especially his mum, sighed a huge sigh of relief when he survived that horrendous crash. His cracked helmet explains how huge the impact was and his injuries must have hurt like hell. What a champion to pick himself up from the crash and then to win the yellow jersey at one of the most painful stages of the tour. 

The riders had a day off yesterday and I hope they got fed delicious French food, like some of the stuff that Gabriel Gaté has been producing.  The gel that they consume during the race sounds pretty revolting. 

I watched over the past few nights and it’s amazing how he and his fellow chefs are able to whip up such scrumptious food in a matter of five minutes.  I was looking forward to learning the Raspberry Pâte de Fruit as I love these fruit jellies.  They’re very popular in Europe but I’ve found them to be quite pricey, especially when it’s possible to eat lots of them.  Now that I understand the work involved, I have a better appreciation of the cost.  Experienced cooks may think it’s easy, but I thought it looked a bit messy to make.  So, no experiments with Pâte de Fruit for the time being.

Tonight’s Apple tart with Armagnac was more encouraging.

Ingredients include:
4 dried figs chopped into 1 cm cubes
30 ml Armagnac
20g butter
60g caster sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
4 green apples – peel, core and cut into 1 cm slices
2 squares of rolled puff pastry, at least 22 cm square
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 teaspoon water
250g rich cream

Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Place fig cubes in a bowl with the Armagnac and lemon zest and macerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Place the butter in a large non-stick pan on medium heat. Cover the pan with the sugar and as the sugar begins to melt, add the apple slices. Caramelise one side of the apple slices, then turn over to caramelise the other side. Add the figs and Armagnac in the pan and stir in. Tilt the pan towards the fire so that the Armagnac catches the flame and cook for a few seconds. Transfer the apple onto a plate and allow this to cool.  Wow, it looked good to eat at this stage!

Place the puff pastry on a floured bench and using the flan tin cut the two sheets of pastry into circles. Place one pastry circle in the greased flan tin and brush the edges with a little diluted egg yolk. Fill the centre of the pastry with the cooled down apple slices and the figs.

Carefully place the other pastry sheet on top and seal by pinching the pastry edges together. Make a hole in the centre of the pastry using the tip of a blade and brush the top with diluted egg yolk. Using the prongs of a fork, make a criss-cross pattern on top. Place the tart in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Bake the tart in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is cooked and golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before carefully turning out. Cut the tart into wedges and serve with cream.

I thought the chopped figs was an interesting feature as raisins are a more common ingredient.  It looked so good and definitely something that an amateur like myself can manage.  Another recipe for the books!  Merci Gabriel.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

A tree-lined avenue marks the start of the grand entrance to Château de Chenonceau. Whilst you can picture gold-gilded, horse-drawn carriages transporting its royal residents to and from the château, us mere mortals had to make our way on foot.  It was just as well as it gave our legs time to rediscover themselves, after hours of sitting in our not so royal 48-seater coach.

If you think that view that greets you at the end of the avenue is awesome, wait till you catch the view from the gardens.  The fairy-tale looking castle stretches across the Cher river and its reflection in the water paints a dreamy picture of the château and accentuates its already magnificent beauty.

As mentioned previously, Chenonceau owes its beauty and existence to six women.  On our tour of the chateau, we were told of the love triangle between King Henri II, his wife Catherine de’ Medici and the mistress Diane de Poitiers.   When Henri II married Catherine de Medici in 1533, Château de Chenonceau became a royal palace in the Loire Valley.  However, it was to Diane that Henri offered Chenonceau to in 1547.  You can imagine how incensed Catherine was as she wanted Chenonceau for herself.

The story of Diane de Poitiers is an interesting one.  She was no ordinary mistress and to understand the King’s devotion to her, one needs to trace back to how she happened to be in the King’s inner sanctum. At the young age of 15 (not so young during those days) Diane married Louis de Brézé, who was 39 years her senior.  Louis was grandson of King Charles VII.  Diane was made lady-in-waiting to Claude de France, first wife of Francis I.  When the Queen died, Diane was placed in charge of the royal nursery and she became a mother figure for the young princes.  Henri was only five at the time.  In 1525, Francis I was taken hostage after the Battle of Pavia.  He offered his two sons as hostages to the Spaniards in exchange for his own freedom. Diane accompanied the two young princes to the Spanish border and it is said that Diane’s presence at his departure left a great impact on Henri as she tried to comfort the nine year old.  When he returned from captivity, it was Diane that he sought and not his father, hence the beginning of a very powerful relationship between Henri and Diane which then grew into one of the most powerful love affairs of the Renaissance.

Apart from being exceedingly beautiful, Diane was of sharp intellect and politically astute.  She was very loyal to Henri and he in turn relied on her as his most dependable ally. Catherine would have seethed with jealousy and hatred over this relationship and on Henri’s death in 1559, she quickly took back possession of Chenonceau from Diane and even evicted her from the palace.  She also redeveloped the castle to rid it of any reminders of Diane’s existence, however the spirit of Diane lives with us to this day.

You’ll see on the tour that Diane’s room is on the ground floor whereas Catherine’s room is on the first floor.  Interestingly, from the plan, it appears that Catherine’s room was right above Diane’s.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

The Loire Valley is home to over 100 French châteaux, some of these are spectacularly grand.  On our château trail we visited Château d’Azay-le-Rideau, Château d’Amboise, Clos Luce, Château de Chambord, and my very own favorite Château de Chenonceau, including its interior.

Chenonceau is a magnificent château with a very interesting history.  We normally associate palaces with the kings who occupied the palaces during their reign, however Chenonceau is unusual in that three aristocratic ladies were responsible for some of the creation of the château and three other ladies played huge roles in transforming the château, hence its elegant and romantic feel.  The six women of Chenonceau included:

- Catherine Briconnet, wife of the first owner Thomas Bohier, was responsible for transforming the medieval Chenonceau into Renaissance style.  The couple put in the turreted pavillion and Catherine also set the trend by creating one of the first straight staircases in France.  So, blame Catherine if you don’t like straight staircases!

- Diane de Poitiers, lifelong mistress of Henri II, added the formal gardens and the arched bridge over the river

- Catherine de’ Medici changed Diane’s arched bridge into an Italian-style gallery following her husband’s death.  She also evicted Diane from the palace and forced her to move to Château de Chaumont.

- Louise de Lorraine inherited Chenonceau in 1590, when her husband Henri III passed away.  As a mark of bereavement, she painted the ceiling of her bedchamber black and white, the color of royal mourning.  Henri III was Catherine de’ Medici’s  third and favorite son.

- Madame Dupin, an 18th century chatelaine saved Chenonceau from destruction during the Revolution.  She was a cultured and educated lady and turned Chenonceau into a salon for writers and philosophers.

- Madame Pelouze bought Chenonceau in a dilapidated and ruined state and undertook a total restoration in 1863.  It is thanks to Madame Pelouze that we have the good fortune today of seeing Château de Chenonceau in its original state.

More on Chenonceau and the Châteaux of the Loire Valley later….

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

The world’s most gruelling bicycle race is just around the bend.  The 2008 Tour de France marks the 95th anniversary of this high profile professional cycling event.  Competitors in this 23 day annual event will hit the road from Brest in the north-western part of Bretagne on July 5th and finish in Paris on July 27th.  Whilst the organizers are excited about the number of mountain stages and altitude finishes, my pain threshhold does not even allow me to dwell too long on how exhausting the rides must be. 

The Tour de France will be made of of 21 stages covering a total distance of 3,554 kilometres.  To put this into perspective, if you’ve ever done a 15-day coach holiday in Europe, you will generally travel that sort of distance.  Yet these guys are actually covering the same mileage on bicycle and up and down the mountain roads of France.  How the riders motivate themselves to climb on the bike again after each punishing day on the road is beyond my comprehension.

The race rules are complex and the tactics and strategies employed by the teams and individual riders to win the yellow jersey are a mystery to me.  For me, I rather enjoy following the course that these riders will be taking, which takes you through some beautiful French countryside.  The aerial shots are particularly amazing as it provides a different view of the magnificent chateaux that we’ve visited, especially around the Loire Valley. This year, the route strays into Italy and the riders will have a break day in Cuneo.

Another treat from watching the Tour de France (for Australian viewers) is the cooking show and food commentary provided by Gabriel Gate.  Gabriel is a celebrated French chef, currently resident in Melbourne.  He grew up in the Loire Valley and did his chef’s apprenticeship in a renowned restaurant in the Loire before taking off to Paris.  It’s great watching Gabriel discuss the regional products and cuisine and then he cooks up a mouth-watering dish in such an effortless manner as only celebrity chefs can. 

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

The Camargue is an interesting region in the south of France, very much like its own separate little country. The scenery takes on a huge change from elegant chateaux or medieval villages to vast stretches of marshes and wetlands, pastures, dunes and salt flats which make up the Camargue.  This region was designated as a botanical and zoological nature reserve in 1927 and 1970, which helped to conserve its natural wild beauty. A unique variety of flora and fauna flourish here and we are told to be on the lookout for flamingos, egrets, ibises and other species.  

As we take snaps of the black bulls grazing on the pastures, they in turn stare back at us.  Spring and Autumn are the best times for seeing the birdlife of Camargue.  Also spotted in the fields are small, white, sturdy horses which are ridden by the guardians or cowboys.  It’s a bit intriguing to think of cowboys in France, but when we saw them in town, they were decked in boots, hats and all. The Camargues live a traditional life which in turn keeps the Camargue traditions alive.

As we headed for the village of Ste-Maries-de-la-Mer, we saw in the salt marshes long lines of salt mountains drying in the Provencal sun, and the checkerboard salt-pans.  The  salt marshes (salins) of Salin de Giraud can be found in the southeast corner of the Camargue, near Salin-de-Giraud and the Grand Rhône. Another salt marsh, the Salins du Midi, is located in the southwest corner, west of the Petit Rhône. 

Salt production in the Camargue began since ancient times by both the Greeks and the Romans, and continued through the Middle ages. Salt was transported along the Mediterranean coast and then inland on the Routes du Sel  (Salt Roads), up into Piedmont.

During the months from March to September, seawater is pumped about 30 km across the salt tables, to form a saturated solution of sodium chloride. The solution is then directed into crystalising pans, about 12 cm deep. The solution evaporates all winter and into the summer.  From the end of August until October, the salt crystalizes.

Ste-Maries-de-la-Mer is the gypsy capital of the Camargue and it is also a compact seaside resort town, filled with shops and activities oriented towards the tourist trade. We arrived in town on a very hot summer’s day.  Unfortunately at lunchtime, most stalls and shops were closed and Tony didn’t get to check out a very nice cowboy leather belt.  Apparently, it does get busy during their festive seasons. 

The annual pilgrimage and gathering of the gypsies or gitans takes place here on 24-25 May. The gypsies start arriving in Ste-Maries-de-la-Mer during the preceding week and during this time, marriage requests and baptisms take place. The saint’s day for Mary Jacobe is 25 May.  This is also a time to venerate their patron saint, Sarah.

The parish Church of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is the central attraction of this village.  Viewed from the outside, the church resembles a fortress due to the height and bulk of the building.  Above the entrance door to the church an original cross welcomes us.  This is the cross of the Camargue, made up of three symbols:

-  At the top is a cross, which is a sign of lived FAITH.  This is decorated in cowhands’ forks, which represents daily work.
-  The cross is rooted in the sailor’s anchor, representing a sign of HOPE amid the storms of life and the history of humanity.
-  The cross is surrounded by a heart, being an invitation to LOVE and to share with those who are near and those who are far away.

So who are these gypsies and where do they come from?  There appears to be no written record of when they arrived at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, but are believed to have been here since time immemorial.  It is reckoned that they migrated from the north-west of India around the year 900.  Having got as far as Persia, they broke up into different branches, then spread out throughout Europe and beyond.  In nearby Arles, they are recorded as having been there in 1438.

More of the gypsies and Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in next blog.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

So, I got somewhat side-tracked in the last week by yet another impending wedding, this one of my cousin from Singapore.  Family and relatives are flying in and hence the hunt for accommodation, making dinner plans and thinking of things for the folks to do.  My brother coolly requested for 4* or better hotel but at 3* prices, sending me into paroxysmic panic!  So, I’m scouring the net for deals everynight, and neglecting my blogs.

Now that I’ve found some reasonable accommodation at 3* price, I hope, it’s back to Carcassonne.  An unusual feature of this medieval walled town is that it has two rings of walls.  The first or external wall was built during the reign of Louis IX when the town was part of the royal estates, forming the seat of Senelschalsy.  During this same period, earthworks were carried out in the space between the two sets of walls (jousting grounds) and the Gallo-Roman or inner wall was strengthened.  Carcassonne was first as a Gaul settlement, then became a Roman town fitted with ramparts as early as the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D.  This picture of the town layout shows the double wall.

Much of the Gallo-Roman wall is still clearly visible today.  It consists of small, regular bonding with brick stringing.  The remainder of the inner wall dates from the reign of Philip the Fair.  There is free access to walk between the two ramparts, however visit to the inner wall is only available with guided tours.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

We had a very special wedding invitation tonight – our friends Nick and Sandy from London are getting married in France in September.  According to the Information Sheet, Nick and Sandy have booked a whole chateau hotel for their wedding party. 

The Chateau des Ducs de Joyeuse is 22 miles south of Carcassonne, an amazing medieval fortress town. Guests will be accommodated in the chateau for the whole weekend, compliments of the couple.  What a generous gesture by these guys.  Well Nick and Sandy have gone into exceptional detail to assist their guests with information.  Their Information Sheet covers flight instructions, car rentals, where to get the cheapest on-line deals and even car-pooling arrangements for those who do not wish to drive.  What a classy act!

Apart from wanting to share in our friends’ wedding, Carcassonne is a place that we would absolutely love to re-visit and have a longer stay there.  This wedding invite has spurred me on to do my next few blogs on Carcassonne. 

Travel Signposts Blog

The western edges of the Massif Central and the northern slopes of the Pyrenees are noted for an excellent concentration of Palaeolithic caves.  Lascaux is set a little further away from the traditional sites, but is the most famous of these early Stone Age caves.  When you get there, you’ll hear the story of how four teenage boys stumbled upon Lascaux in 1940 on a day’s outing.  They knew that their discovery was important and decided to keep it a secret … for four days, and finally told their teacher.  This then evolved into perhaps the greatest archaelogical find in the 20th century.   After the war, work was carried out to widen the entrance and lower the floor so that tourists could visit.  By 1955 deterioration of the paintings began to show and by April 1963 the Ministry of Culture decided to close Lascaux to visitors and Lascaux II was then created to replicate Lascaux.

What’s so amazing about the cave paintings at Lascaux is the proportions of the animals painted are very accurate and that the artist worked with the contours of the cave walls to create perspective.  In the Great Hall of the Bulls you’ll see really impressive examples of Palaeolithic art.  Lascaux II has been beautifully created and in itself is a work of art. The details of how it was built are particularly interesting, they went to so much trouble to ensure accuracy, especially the artist who recreated the paintings using original materials and methods over many years.

Only two of the four early discoverers are alive today and each year on September 12, they come to the town for a commemorative ceremony.

Note that it is cold in the caves (even during our September visit) and cameras are not allowed.  Lascaux II is definitely worth a visit, even though it’s only a replica it feels real.

Helen Page 

Travel Signposts Blog

I hadn’t researched this town prior to our visit and was surprised to learn that Sarlat-la-Caneda has the highest concentration of medieval, Renaissance and 17th century facades of any town in France.  Our entry into this town was via the main street, the rue de la Republique, which itself was pretty nondescript.  However, once you get away from the main drag, you’ll be surprised at what lies beyond. 

Just around the corner from the St. Sacerdos Cathedral is the tourist office.  Try and get an English version walking guide and that will help you find your way around the interesting archways, alleyways, courtyards and the town ramparts, mostly built from the renowned golden sarlat stone.  For its loyalty to the French crown during the Hundred Years War, Sarlat was given a privileged status and the town prospered from this.  In rue des Consuls, you’ll find 15th – 17th century mansions belonging to the town’s middle class merchants, magistrates and other officials.  Plamon House or the Consul’s House is one of the most remarkable.  When you get to rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, which today seems like a small back alleyway, you’ll be amazed that this actually was the town’s main street until rue de la Republique was built in the 19th century. 

The Perigord region is noted for its foie gras, walnuts and truffles and Sarlat lies in the heart of this trade.  We were unfortunate not to be there on Wednesday, which is their market day, nevertheless, there were plenty of shops  filled with cheeses, walnuts, foie gras, pork delicacies and other regional goods.  Sarlat is an amazing little town and it would have been nice to have a night’s stop there.  Unfortunately, we had to move on to our next destination.

Helen Page 

Travel Signposts Blog