Je Suis Dans Le Pastis!

Ahhhh, Pastis….The sweet scent of anise wafts from the tall heavy-bottomed glasses on our tiny table in Café Gaby.  Memories of a subtle licorice flavor laced with fragrant herbs are called forth.  Our thirsts on this very warm late August day will soon be quenched.

Café Gaby in Lourmarin 

We arrived in Lourmarin yesterday afternoon and are now sitting in our favorite café, in the heart of this Luberon village, where we will mark the start of our vacation with—what else? —a little pastis.  We sit, nestled among locals and tourists,  in this lively café where people have come for generations for their pastis. 

“Since the war,” the waiter replied when we asked how long Gaby has been here  (and he meant WWI).Our waiter has poured a couple of inches of the golden-colored liquid and it beckons us.  When pastis is served with all its accoutrements, one would also be served a ceramic pitcher of ice-cold water, a small bowl of ice-cubes, a saucer of sugar cubes, and, to the uninitiated, a curious perforated flat spoon.  Here, at Gaby’s, things are casual—we just got the pastis and a carafe of water.  No fanfare.  Just drink up.

Two popular pastis - Casanis and 51

I prefer my pastis without sugar anyway, but I do typically like to add the ice-cubes at the end of this ritualized preparation.  I usually pour about three-parts water for one ...

PROVENCE TO COMMEMORATE “THE FORGOTTEN D-DAY”

Twenty six years ago today, August 15, 1944, Allied troops landed in Provence to help liberate Europe from the Nazis and end World War II.

The Allied invasion of Provence, code-named Operation Dragoon, got overshadowed by the better-known D-Day invasion in Normandy two months before (June 6, 1944). So much so that it got dubbed “The forgotten D-Day.” Yet 66 years later, Provence is strewn with memorials to the Provence landings. And this August 15, at least one community will devote the whole day to remembering the historic military campaign that freed southern France from occupation.

Operation Dragoon - August 1944. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Two hours from our rental apartment in Lourmarin, the Mediterranean port of Sainte-Maxime will hold an all-day event this August 15 commemorating the Provence landings. Plans call for a morning parade of vintage military vehicles and an afternoon march on foot through town. After a parade of boats and a Blessing of the Fleet, there will be a solemn mass followed by musical fireworks and two balls, including a “retro” ball on the town's market square. http://tinyurl.com/22nqtma

Meanwhile, monuments and plaques commemorating the invasion are scattered across Provence. http://tinyurl.com/2elsq2l . These include monuments to the Provence landings on the Saint-Tropez beach, and a massive...

ESCAPE PARIS TO PROVENCE ON THE TGV

Perhaps you’d like to escape the sticky heat of Paris this August by traveling to Provence. You can do so in just a little over three hours in the quiet comfort aboard the high-speed train-- le Train a Grande Vitesse, or TGV, as the French call it. (Conversely, you can add a quick Paris TGV trip to your Provence agenda….although we don’t recommend doing so in August!)

Powered by electric motors, the French TGV was originally conceived in the 1960s right after Japan launched its foray into high-speed trains. Today's TGV from Paris to Provence runs at about 320 kilometers an hour, and gets there in three-and-a-half hours or so, depending on the train. That's more than twice the speed of regular trains, and it's much faster than driving.

“The TGV is a very civilized way to travel,” says one American habitué. “It's more relaxing after an overnight flight when you're tired and jetlagged. It's nice to be able to sit in comfort and watch the countryside without having to arrive early for your connection or to buckle up. To avoid dining car costs and have a better meal, you can prepare a picnic ahead of time, and even bring a bottle of wine—liquids are not contraband on the train! At the airport, you can also find places to buy wine, bread, and cheese. And you can take your dog, too!”

When we were in Lourmarin for six months in 2003, we had many guests pop down to Provence from Paris for a weekend visit. And, we often took the TGV to Paris for long autumn weekends. We would pack a basket with a dinner of assorted cheeses, pâtés and salamis, maybe a tomato salad with Herbes de Provence, some fruit, and the obligatory baguette; grab our overnight bags; put the leash on our dog, Pal; and dash off to the station, about 45 minutes from our home. And, then, as if by magic, the stresses of the harried traveler would melt away as we snuggled into our comfortable seats, popped the cork of a nice bottle of Gigondas and enjoyed our meal, all the while watching the glorious landscape pass by. Just as we finished our dinner, we would be pulling into...

LAVENDER-- A FLOWER ROOTED IN SUN-DRENCHED PROVENCE

Lavender is entwined with the very soul of Provence. In the summer, when the lavender fields bloom, a vibrant purple sea envelops the region's medieval monasteries, lapping at ancient hilltop towns and traditional working farms. In July, lavender is everywhere – snaking up hillsides in parallel purple rows, splashing field after field with a touch of day-glo purple. In August, it’s harvest time -- the rows still stand but their purple hues are more subdued after tractors pass through and collect fragrant bunches of lavender for the distilleries. Already, the lavender festivals are in full swing.


The lavender fields are scattered across Provence ( http://tinyurl.com/25e82nk ) many of them within an easy drive of La Bonbonnière, our rental apartment in Lourmarin. (There are small fields just fifteen minutes away!) Depending on their location, altitude and the year's weather, the best time to see them runs from late June until harvest-time in late August.

A few kilometers from our place, southern France's “Lavender Roads” (Les Routes de la Lavande) ( http://tinyurl.com/2eagv7q ) offer a winding route through breathtaking vistas of lavender landscapes splashed with bluish-purple ( http://tinyurl.com/263j9md ). You will see aromatic fields, tiny gardens, busy distilleries, a few museums, a lot of gift stores, and villages everywhere reveling in the glory of the lavender season.

Lavender has always grown wild in Provence, but it has only been grown commercially here for a century or two. Valued by the Romans for its ability to perfume relaxing baths, its name derives from the Latin verb lavare (to wash) and is linked to the French verb laver, which means to wash. Today, lavender is woven into the fabric of Provence's commercial life....

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