Provencal Highlights

Living the Good Life
when: June 2013
where: St Remy, Aix en Provence, Cassis

You can read the full report here on Flyertalk.  Here are some highlights.

La Begude de Mazenc

This was a beautiful little town where we wondered the back streets and encountered some cute little cygnets

Gorge du Doux Velorail

The amazing views coming out of the tunnels towards the end of the route were well worth it despite the pouring rain.

Aix en Provence

A beautiful old town with lots of atmosphere and tourists to match.

Cassis and the Calanques

A beautiful day at the sea side.  Magnificent scenery from the boat tour and an amazing dinner to round it off.

St Remy and the Roman Ruins at Glanum

A stunning end to the trip.  Much quieter than Aix en Provence, a delicious lunch and the surprise of the Roman ruins made for one amazing and slightly sun burnt day!

To The Wonder: Valence, Varda and the Pirate Tavern

Helping Me Find My Inner Child, To the Wonder: The Pirate Tavern et "un Peu de Varda a Valence"
Where: Valence, France
When: March 2013

 At last an excuse to get writing again, it has been so very long.  During the regular "spring" trip to France there were some fun things to write about.  Well, one good exhibition, some beautiful scenery (though sadly I only get to talk about the stuff on film) and well...  lunch at the Pirate Tavern...  But really, more than anything else it was time for me to explore my inner child and how much fun it can be.  It all started on the drive back from the airport, at least for me it did, "Oh look, a Pirate Tavern!  How exciting."  Or words to that effect, who knows whether this innocent comment planted a seed, gave someone an excuse or whether it was just a passing comment on the inevitability of things to come.  Anyway, I dislike the idea of eating at a themed restaurant as much as anyone but somehow the idea of going to eat at one brings out my inner child.   The pain of it all.  Anyway, later that week we ended up at the Pirate Tavern for a birthday lunch.

When you see the name Pirate Tavern you expect excitement, parrots, pirates, tankards, and the smell of the sea; generally something pretty rowdy.  However the Pirate Tavern in Valence did not have this idea in mind, in fact it was all rather polite, complete with smiling pirates and relaxing sea shanties playing for background noise.  The only hint of chaos was the crossed knives and forks.  The menu was destination themed and we each chose a set menu from a different country where pirates may or may not have ventured, Thailand, Morocco, Italy and France - perhaps French pirates sailed different oceans to the British...

 

The food was nicely presented and pretty tasty.  Not being a fan of things from the ocean I went with the Moroccan option.  I actually quite enjoyed my meal it was full of flavour and my lamb was very tender and soft.  It certainly was not what I was expecting and didn't feel very piratey but it was a good lunch nevertheless.

 Now if the pirates didn't bring out my inner child then potatoes certainly would.  There was an Agnes Varda exhibition on and this was something I was really looking forward to.  There were two pieces in this small exhibit that really engaged my inner child.  The first was a film about a photo, Ulysse.  The photo was a black and white shot of a pebbly beach with what looked like a father and son together in the mid area and a dead sheep in the foreground hidden amongst the stones.  With a childlike curiosity Varda tracks down those in the photo many years after it was taken and explores all the angles.  The young boy is now a man, married with children, the young man is now an old man.  The beech is still there and sheep are still plentiful.  Varda questions those involved about the time of the photo and how their lives have moved on creating a narrative and explanation of the photo above any conventional understanding.  She also shoots the film in such a way recreating elements from the photo in the different scenes.  It was immensely enjoyable.  The second memorable moment was watching the installation of potatoes going through various transformations with age, inspired by the heart shaped potato in the The Gleaners & I (Varda, 2000)

With pirates and potatoes my inner child was enjoying itself but it then decided to grow up and go and watch a film.  I have always been a big Terrence Malick fan, well as big as one could be with just a handful of releases over the majority of his directorial career.  Of late he has picked up the pace.  How would To the Wonder compare with the acclaimed (and at times up its arse) The Tree of Life (Malick, 2011) and his prior works?  To the Wonder is really a companion piece to The Tree of Life.  Whereas The Tree of Life seems to focus on masculinity, To the Wonder sees the same story from a more feminine angle.  For me the film was all about the failure to obtain the perfect life these characters wanted.  For the woman, Marina (Olga Kurylenko) a loving perfect family, for the man, Neil (Ben Affleck) a natural life of his own, with his own child.  For the priest, Father Qunitana (Javier Bardem) to find God again, but amongst beautiful shots of Paris, Mont Saint-Michel and the farm lands of Oklahoma in the American mid-west I just stopped caring about these characters.

Visually this was perhaps the most beautiful and mesmerising of Malick's films, the dusky magic hour sunlight, midnight in rain soaked Paris.  Maybe it was all too subtle but I found there was nothing to get my teeth in to, nothing to get all that emotional about.  They say films are made in the editing suite but if we put To the Wonder back into plot order it would be nothing to write home about, just another make up/break up film...  Hopefully the next one will be better.

French Touch

 Crêpes and Cinema
When: 21st September 2012
Where: The Kensington Crêperie
           Ciné lumière at the Institut français
Once upon a time I was going to start a blog called "Dinner and a Movie" to celebrate two of my favourite things.  Although it never came into being it is the inspiration for a number of my posts as when done just right there is no better thing than a great meal out followed by an even better film.  After an unintended break it was time to return to one of our favourite spots,  Ciné lumière at the Institut français , but before then it was time for some French food to go with a French film and what could be more appropriate than a  crêperie.

Like the film this evening crêpes are a simple premise that can be deliciously filled with endless possibilities from savoury to sweet.  However, in the wrong hands they can also easily burn, the filling could be uncooked, or they  can be too sweet or too salty.  Thankfully like the film we saw, this place had it nailed!  Service was quick and efficient, our crêpes were cooked perfectly and the cider was nicely chilled.  My dessert wasn't bad either, waffles and chocolate sauce washed down with a nice double espresso.  A great  follow up visit to the  Kensington Crêperie.  With our main course over it was now time for the real dessert, the film.

Untouchable (Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano, 2011)       There are a number of reasons why I really enjoyed Untouchable, the first was going in to the film with no expectations of what it would be about, a rare luxury these days.  This helped me really enjoy the film thanks to the way it introduces our two lead characters.  The film's opening scene takes place around 3/4 of the way into the plot of the film.  We hear the upbeat and happy melodies of Earth, Wind and Fire, a blue Maserati is speeding along at night.  Bright blue police lights and blazing sirens are not far behind.  We hear our characters discuss placing a bet on the likelyhood of a police escort.  The driver is young and black, dressed in a tracksuit.  His passenger is a scruffy old man with a beard.  You wonder what kind of crime they have committed and how they intend to escape from the police.  They certainly don't look like they belong in that car.  

The police officer asks them both to get out of the car, the black man says his passenger can't and to "check in the boot".  We are expecting something bad, in fact it is just a wheelchair.  Do they have the perfect scam going on?  The old man starts frothing at the mouth and coughing, he needs to go to the hospital.  

We still don't know the truth, after all if you've watched your fair share of Coen brothers films you'll know to be particularly wary when the words "Based on a true story" flash up at the beginning of a film.  Either way, forcing us to judge the characters upfront to expose our prejudices is a great move in my book.

We soon find out about who these two characters really are and the heart warming story of a rich, upper middle class man with a life changing disability who meets someone from outside of his social circle to take care of him and give him a life again.  

Coming out of this film, that opening scene stuck in my head and it made me think just for fun of a probably already green lit Hollywood remake of Untouchable.  I mean Hollywood aren't afraid to ruin the odd French classic here and there!  Why not something like Meet the Parents meets Dumb and Dumber.  The possibilities are endless.  My favourite would be Robert De Niro as the man in the wheelchair and perhaps Chris Rock as the man from the ghetto pushing him around, it could be a laugh a minute gross out joke fest with just the  Earth Wind and Fire track left in to stay true to the original.  I'm sure this re-making of the film would more than make back its money but something would be missing, my crêpe would have been overcooked on the outside but left the cold in the middle.

The thing that makes Untouchable the perfectly cooked crêpe is the balance that is found in the film.  Both the characters judge each other horribly, much like we judge them in the opening sequence.  Phillipe (Francois Cluzet) thinks poor old Driss (Omar Sy) should be taught the lesson that an honest days work means an honest days pay.  Driss thinks I might as well just turn up to the interview, get them to sign my papers so I can keep claiming unemployment benefit, it's not as if he's going to hire me.  These initial assumptions of both characters backgrounds are regularly and evenly played off against each other without too much judgement as to which is better.  They both laugh at each others hang ups in equal measure and both help each other get their lives back on track.   In all such balance makes for a great bit of entertainment that anyone can enjoy and identify with, whatever side of the tracks you come from you see yourself somewhere in Untouchable, you can really identify and bond with the situation however far from day to day reality it seems and apart from the Earth Wind and Fire you don't need a classic Hollywood score to tell you how you feel.  Please go and see this film as perhaps then they would make more like this rather than the kind of remake that leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

The Kensington Crêperie 2-6 Exhibition Road, London SW7 2HF
Cine Lumiere 17 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2DT

The Perfect Meal?

The Perfect Meal? - Le 7 
When - March 2012
Where - Le 7, Valence, France


There are a number of ingredients to my perfect meal but it is rare they all come together at the same time.  However, a few months ago whilst in France that was just the case.  We were celebrating my girlfriend's birthday with her family.  That meant ingredient one was already here, the right company.  As this was a big birthday we ended up going somewhere a little fancier then we would usually go and it was a really great choice, Le 7.   My second ingredient is of course the right place for the occasion.  Le 7 is famous for being the less costly sister restaurant of the famous three  Michelin star Pic located next door.  A pretty good choice if I may say so!  The third ingredient is service, we were warmly welcomed and shown to our seats, service was friendly, though perhaps a little brisk but it was also flexible enough to accommodate a vegetarian meal for one of our party despite the restaurant not offering one on the menu.  The fourth and often the most important ingredient is the food itself, which I will discuss shortly.  My penultimate ingredient is value for money, did you get what you pay for?  How did this restaurant compare with others at the same price point?  My final ingredient is how memorable the overall experience was.  Will this meal be forgettable, remembered fondly, or am I hoping to never return again?




Le 7 is a modern French bistro restaurant with tables packed closely together and a fast paced service.  The menu follows the theme of a culinary road trip across France from north to south.  After being seated on a nice table in the corner of the dining room we were given some complementary bread in a paper bag, which was very tasty.  After all no good French meal is complete without fresh bread on the side!  We followed the 30 Euro per person three course set menu which we washed down with a bottle of Argentinian Malbec that I sadly forget the name of.  Lunch started off with an amuse bouche of bread and hummus which was delicious. We then moved on to our starter of Pumpkin Soup with Coffee.  



The soup was smooth and velvety with a nice hint of coffee running through it, everything was just right with this course.



To follow the soup I had the Shoulder of Lamb with Seasonal Vegetables.  The lamb was soft, tender and slightly pink in the centre.  The vegetables were finely diced and melted magnificently in the mouth together with sauce.  There were some quiet complaints that the sauce was a touch too salty, but for me it was perfect. 



After that perfect main I had a feeling of contentment inside.  We had a short rest from the food and then it was time for dessert.  I went with the Chocolate Finger which was a sweet, dark, reinvention of the Black Forest Gateaux with a scoop of refreshing raspberry sorbet served on the side.

All good things must come to an end and lunch was sadly over. I have to say all the ingredients had mixed together nicely.  We had good company and a great place for this special occasion.  Service was a little brisk but it did not hamper our lunch one bit.  The value for money was excellent, it's very easy to spend £20-£25 per person on lunch/dinner and end up with an underwhelming meal.  At Le 7  the food was great across each course and I only wish I could eat this well and at this price so close to home here in London, hopefully my quest will not be in vain!  I won't forget this meal any time soon and hopefully we can go back again.  If you ever happen to be in this part of France than a visit to Le 7 should certainly be added to your itinerary, unless of course you can afford the three star restaurant next door!

Pic Valence - 285 avenue Victor Hugo, 26000 Valence - Drome
              Tel. +33 4 75 44 15 32

3 Fridays, 3 French Films Part 3: Summer Hours

Film: Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas, 2008)
Watched: July 18th

Where: Renoir Cinema

Summer Hours makes for a great conclusion to the three films about how we have such a lack of control about how our lives and the lives of others are viewed after their time. The three films are also about family and the situation you inherit. Angel was the grocer's daughter who wanted to make her mark with words. Slimane wanted to leave something behind for his family so they could make something on their own terms. In Summer Hours we have the story of a modern upper middle class family spread apart from each other by work. More specifically we look at the power and context of things, Angel's books, celebrated and forgotten, Esme's masterpieces of suffering, Slimane's food and restaurant bringing everyone together again to give them something that is uniquely theirs in an expanding world. In Summer Hours it is art and antiques at the centre stage as objects as well as their place and our place in a global world.

It's Hélène's 75th birthday and her now grown up family complete with grandchildren jet in from near and far to come together for their annual family reunion. Hélène knows her time in the world is coming to an end and wants to make the necessary arrangements with her children for her estate and the many precious artifacts in her possession from a life spent with artists. Her children hate to discuss this with her. Most of the real action takes place after Hélène's death, as her children, not having taken their mother's advice, try and decide what to do with their inheritance. The debate is on two sides, do the siblings share the items between them or do they sell them off? Frédéric (the only one of the three to remain in France) believes they should keep the house and art to leave as a legacy for the children and for all the memories that they had there together and will have there in the future. The rest of the family are not in agreement, the youngest sibling Jérémie living and working in Asia (he wants to progress his career, that's where the action is), their sister Adrienne a designer in New York again prefers to sell as she's hardly ever in France. Much to Frédéric 's dismay they decide to sell and for tax purposes to donate much of the art to the Musée d'Orsay. There are three endings to the film, the first is Hélène's long time housekeeper taking what she thinks is an unremarkable vase (which is actually rather valuable) when offered something from the house. The second takes place at the Musée d'Orsay when we see the disinterested reception of some of the Hélène's furniture by the public and also the all the many items in the museum's archive and restoration sections (normally unseen by the public). The third and final ending is that of the soon to be sold house. Frederic's daughter throws a huge party there for her friends and the camera follows them lovingly through the house as it once more takes in some happy family memories, most probably for the last time. Frederic's daughter takes her boyfriend to a hidden spot in the grounds of the house that only someone who had spent happy times there would know. The film ends with the happy scenes of the house party.

Like the other two movies in this set of three we see how once something moves from the private space into the public the perceptions of it can be different. The desk is a functional and beautiful object in Helene's home but when it moves into the museum it becomes just another object of many with no memories for those who view it. Likewise the memories of the house and the house party are different for Frederic's daughter to that of the other party goers, she has her own private space, to everyone else it's just a big old house. In contrast when the housekeeper takes the vase when she leaves Helene's house for the last time to her it is just a beautiful vase that she always loved, for the memories it gave her as much as for the vase itself. Unbeknown to her the vase was also a valuable item which could have easily been a museum piece to be forgotten and ignored at the Orsay along with the rest of Helene's collection. Like the house and the collection the collaborators must also give up their film and move it in to the public space for it to be celebrated or forgotten. However, Summer Hours finishes on a positive note in that the personal memory and significance of something will never be lost if it truly means something to you, something that is true of Slimane's restaurant, his family and his guests who turned out, something that is up for debate in Angel's books.

3 Fridays, 3 French Films Part 2: Couscous

Film: Couscous (Abdel Kechiche, 2007)

Watched: 11th July 2008

Where: Renoir Cinema

Slimane has worked hard all his life, working in a shipyard to support his families, his first family and his new family. At sixty years old manual work is tough; life is tougher still when new generations of migrant workers who work faster and for less take the place of older migrant workers. What really matters to Slimane and who really understands him? I suppose that is the main theme of the film but maybe it says a little more about a desire to have something that is ours, something that cannot be taken away. After finding out that he is likely to be out of a job and that his family does not really understand him, Slimane decides to do something that matters to him, to bring things back around to how he thinks they should be. He decides to take his redundancy and use the funds to convert a boat in to a couscous restaurant with the help of Rym, the daughter of his new partner and owner of the hotel in which he lives.

Couscous sets itself up so we can see the difficult situation Slimane finds himself in, his family prefer to argue and only calm down at the dinner table to eat amazing couscous made by Souad, Slimane's ex-wife. Slimane prefers to eat alone in his tiny hotel room, however Rym likes to keep him company and support him. As the film builds, it is Rym who truly believes that Slimane can make his restaurant a reality and helps him out with the things he finds difficult. Cue the (comic) scenes where Rym and Slimane go to the chamber of commerce and the banks to try and get the necessary planning permission and funding to get the new restaurant afloat, with Rym playing his business assistant, making his business plan, and trying to look the part in only the way someone slightly out of their depth can manage. Slimane doesn't open up much in the film, though we can see his frustration and shyness, though from his ideas for the restaurant we feel what really matters to him, having his whole family round him, new and old, all together, all happy, all with a part to play. Slimane feels awkward in the hotel when invited to his partner's room, he feels lost when his sons come to visit and say he should go "back to the old country" now that he's retired/unemployed and useless to the family.

The film comes to a climax with the opening of Slimane's restaurant. His family (old) are preparing the food to be heated and served for the grand opening. The old boat has been transformed thanks to Rym's endeavor, a prime space has been reserved for one night only and everything is falling into place. Everyone who knows Slimane is playing a part for the opening and everyone wants to be there except for his new partner who feels she will be made unwelcome as Slimane's first family disapprove of their relationship. When it comes to the crunch the truth comes out, Couscous seems to show that everyone has their place in the world. Slimane's family turn out for him, all the guests turn up, the band from the hotel where Slimane stays play their hearts out, how could Slimane fail to fulfil his dream? Well, someone stole the couscous... Slimane's son Hamid is in trouble as the woman he is having an affair with is a guest at the opening of the restaurant, in a selfish panic he drives away unseen with all the couscous in the boot. The consequences are two fold: we see the truth of Hamid, he is deceitful, we see the truth in the rest of Slimane's family and friends, they all come together to try and make his mark on the world a reality, they stall the guests with drinks and music and dance as Slimane goes off on his moped in search of the grain! Even Slimane's new partner gets in on the act, going back to her hotel to make up a new batch of couscous even though she doesn't trust her cooking. As Slimane goes searching for Hamid, Souad and the couscous, his moped is stolen by a gang of youths. Slimane runs himself to death chasing the moped and the film ends. Slimane gets what he wanted, not that he's around to know it. His truth, that his life will be the death of him, is made real. What is also made true is that Slimane has left his mark on the world and his family. He has left them a restaurant and also the truth that they can come together and make something special.