La Passarelle: Marseille

On our last trip to Marseille, we made sure to stop by La Passarelle, a restaurant we discovered while roaming around the city three years earlier. You can see my post about that here.

Every day, they write the new menu in a notebook and share it with you when you arrive at your table.

The food at La Passarelle is simple, unpretentious, and fresh. (They even have their own garden.) You can expect to order items like a satisfying savory tart, a crisp salad, or a perfectly-cooked piece of meat.

It wouldn't be La France without a plate of cheese to round out the meal.

Eating in Les Baux de Provence

I'm not the biggest fan of heavy French dishes, which is why I love Provencal cuisine.  The food is lighter and more reminiscent of Italy and the Mediterranean.  On our first day in Provence this past March, we had lunch on the terrace of a hotel in Les Baux.  The restaurant of La Reine Jeanne was unassuming but the cuisine was impressive.  It was here that I indulged in the best aioli of my life, served simply with vegetables.  The requisite rosé made the rounds and we enjoyed fresh local food and drink under the warm Provencal sun.  

Hostellerie de la Reine Jeanne is located at the beginning of the town in les Baux de Provence.

L'as du Fallafel

One of my favorite places to get a quick bite to eat when I was living in Paris was L'as du Fallafel.  When I was there last month visiting, I decided to grab a sandwich but I picked the wrong day- it was the half marathon and I literally couldn't cross the street.  I went back to the apartment and ventured out after the race was over.  

It closes Friday afternoon for Shabbat, reopening on Sunday, which makes it a perfect pit stop for Sunday lunch.  Much of the Marais in fact, is the place to be in Paris on Sunday, as many other parts of the city (shops, bakeries, etc.) shut down.  There is often a line but it moves quickly as you pay while you're queuing.  While they have more to offer than just falafel, I recommend the falafel sandwich with all the fillings (cabbage, cucumber, onion, fried eggplant, creamy white sauce, etc.) and sauce piquante (though it's not at all spicy).  It all comes together nicely in a messy street-food kind of way.  Take it to go and enjoy it (start with a fork, then eat it like a sandwich) in the street walking through the Marais or find a nearby park bench to savor it.

L'as du Fallafel is located at 34 Rue des Rosiers in Paris

Monet's Garden and House

During my two years in Paris, I didn't take nearly enough day-trips as I would have liked, so when my mom was in town visiting, we made sure to visit Monet's Garden in Giverny, a place she has always wanted to visit.  It was opening weekend of the garden (in the first week of April) and although it was still damp and chilly, it turned out to be a great time to visit, as we nearly had the place to ourselves.  We took a train from St. Lazare in Paris to Vernon, and then hopped on a shuttle bus to Giverny.  In the middle of the summer, it could be a nice walk from Vernon to Giverny- it's probably only a three mile walk.

Growing up with a mother who loves gardening, I had always been exposed to Monet's gardens through hardcover gardening books from the library, calendars of his abode, and visits to museums like the Musée d'Orsay.  When I first saw the green bridge over the pond, it was like seeing the paintings I was so familiar with all these years finally come to life.

The best part of visiting Monet's Garden is that it is always changing, depending on what time of year you visit.  As we were there in the spring, all the bulb flowers were in bloom and the bright purply blues and whites provided a nice pop of color against the gray April sky.

When also toured Monet's house, which was absolutely stunning.  We weren't allowed to take pictures inside but each room had a different feel and the yellow dining room and beautiful blue-tiled kitchen were gorgeous. It was a nice thought to imagine Mr. Monet sitting in his studio, painting the beautiful nature scenes outside his window.

Les Baux de Provence

The day my mother and I ventured up to Les Baux it was stormy, windy, and wet.  By the time we parked our car at the bottom of the town and began walking up the hill, the wind was so strong I thought it was going to pick me up and throw me down the jagged cliffs.  The town is small and peaceful.  We lit a candle for our loved ones in the old stone church.  Rain or shine, Les Baux is a beautiful town worth seeing.

Winter in St. Remy de Provence

I loved the town of St. Remy.  As we were there in winter, we got to enjoy more of a local flavor of the town, since most visitors come during the warm months.  The main road just outside town is flanked by plane trees on both sides-- it was such a sight, I wish I had taken a picture.  We happened to be in town on the day of the market so we took in all the fresh produce, olives, cheeses, herbs, spices, and other goods.  We made sure to visit the famous chocolate shop, Joel Durand, for my brother, the chocolat connaisseur.  The shop featured a wonderful array of flavors from Szechwan pepper to clove and lemon.  The Earl Grey chocolate was spectacular, even for a sour candy kind of gal like myself.  We then got trapped in a downpour and headed to a cafe for a long, drawn-out hot chocolate while we waited for the rain to let up.  During a brief window of dry skies, we went into a shop devoted to selling umbrellas.  It was a wonderful French experience as the shopkeeper was very serious about helping us select the most beautiful, sturdy umbrella (which cost a pretty penny I might add).  I was so sad to leave it on a train to Belgium a month later.  St. Remy had wonderful little boutiques where we found pretty locally-made ceramic dishes to take back home.  We drove back to our mas on the same plane-tree lined road we came in on, this time under the night sky.  It was as though we had stepped inside a Van Gogh painting.

Santon Museum in Fontaine de Vaucluse

 I highly encourage you to visit the Santon museum in Fontaine de Vaucluse.  Santons are a rich Provençal tradition that started with the French revolution.  In 1789, churches became state property and in 1792 the National Assembly decided to close them all.  With this act, the people were no longer able to enter churches and missed seeing nativity scenes at Christmastime.  And so people in Provence began to make santon figurines in their homes since they were forbidden.  The reason they were so small was that they were easy to hide as being caught could result in the guillotine.  Santons got their name because the first figurines were saints.  As time went on, the santons grew in size and now there is a wide variety.  Today there are about 100 santon makers in Provence.  They represent not just nativity scenes, but the people of the villages, and the old trades and occupations.  The museum can be found at Place de la colonne in Fontaine de Vaucluse.  Tel : +33(0)4 90 20 20 83 

Cheval Blanc in Provence

My second year living in Paris, my mother and I took a wonderful trip from Paris to Provence in March.  We stayed in the adorable B&B, Mas Pomona, in Cheval Blanc.  It is run by husband-and-wife couple, David and Marianne, who are the most wonderful hosts.

Almost every evening we would have fresh olives, tomatoes, a baguette, and local cheeses bought from the town grocer.  We would eat in the living room where David and Marianne had a fire waiting for us every night.  In the morning we would have the dining room to ourselves and there was always tea, fresh croissants, jams and orange juice waiting for us.

As we were there in the off-season, we were lucky enough to be the only guests at the time and on the last night, David and Marianne were so kind as to invite us to their anniversary dinner at the unassuming yet superb restaurant down the street, L'Auberge de Cheval Blanc. It started off with Kir Royal apertifs in the courtyard and continued in the dining room with a five-course meal and live music.  By the end of the 5-hour long meal, our hosts were serenading the restaurant with the band.  It really was a night to remember.

Eating on the French Riviera

My best eating experience while on the riviera this summer happened to be at a place I least expected.  Star Plage, situated directly on the beach in Juan-les-Pins (Bd C. Guillaumont) in a prime tourist area was a wonderful dining experience nonetheless with an unbeatable setting.

I started off with the shrimp and chicken salad with ginger and lemongrass which was generous and hearty, but could have used more flavor.

The main course, however, more than made up for it.  I enjoyed the roasted cod in a citrus sauce with basmati rice and ready-to-burst tomatoes.  My dining partners had a dish that was equally as delicious- roasted duck cooked in a wok with a lavender honey sauce served alongside a delicious vegetable stir-fry.

As I was in the south, I ordered my usual traditional drink, a Kir Royal.  For any champagne lover, it can't be beat and is the perfect refreshing accompaniment to a summer dinner at sunset.  The waves were mere feet from our (bare) feet, the sunset a soft pink, and the live but soft guitar music made a wonderful evening that much more special.