A very lucky day in Provence leads to a fine time on the Mediterranean

CASSIS, France – Every once in a while, you get really lucky in life.

As Travel Editor at the Star, I’m pretty lucky every day, to be honest. But Wednesday was just a shade above the norm. For the most part.

I left Aix-en-Provence a little after 10 and, after getting stuck on crazy/slow roads outside Marseille,  arrived in Cassis a little after 11. The sun was struggling to come out after some rain overnight, but the harbour looked lovely with multicoloured boats bobbing in the water in front of typical Provencal-style buildings lining the waterfront.

I grabbed a coffee at a waterfront place called Le Grand Large Café, which I found rather amusing, and watched a fairly angry Mediterranean roll in. The waves were pretty big crashing on the shore on an overcast morning, but it was still a joy to be overlooking the beach.

Cassis isn’t as well known as Nice or Cannes or Marseille, even, but it’s a nice, manageable town with some lovely shops. They had a lot of Christmas stuff out for sale, but I also managed to find some great fruit stands and a guy from Corsica selling Corsican sausages and sheep’s cheese, which I couldn’t resist. Not to mention the luscious tangerines, apples, and other stuff on display.

I drove out of town a couple hours later and headed up a snaky road called the Route des Cretes. I heard it led to a nice overlook but I had no idea the sun would suddenly come out and that I’d quickly climb hundreds of meters above the crashing Mediterranean, perched on a high overlook of white and yellow stone with seemingly all the world stretched in front of me.

It was an absolutely glorious drive, topped by a few minutes sitting and watching the coast far below as I snacked on a typical picnic lunch of fruit, cheese, sausages, fresh French bread – and a coke. (Hey, I wasn’t going to go driving around the south of France with a glass of wine under my belt).

I tried to find the village of Rousset but the highway I took wouldn’t let me off until I was 20 km past. I ended up checking out a village that had been recommended to me. It’s called Vauvenargues, and it’s pretty for sure, nestled in a valley with a large rock mountain/hill flanking it to the south. But at 3 p.m. on a Wednesday in December it was completely and utterly deserted. Not a single shop was open, and I only spotted one person and two dogs out and about, so that was too bad.

Still, it gave me a chance to wander about in Aix-en-Provence and to relax a bit at Les Deux Garcons and at the Hotel Pigonnet. It’s a nice, quiet spot a few blocks outside the main part of Aix, and it has lovely gardens and a great dining menu. The bathrooms are nice but the rooms are a touch tired and fairly small. That’s not a big deal in the scheme of things, but the coffee, mon dieu, was rather weak, and that simply won't do for visitors to France!

Finished it off with a remarkable dinner at a very modern spot called Le Passage, across from Le Cezanne Theatre (on the other side of town from Lycee Cezanne). It's a French restaurant on one floor and Thai on the upper floor, with a kind of old-factory feel to it. There's a central atrium, if you will, surrounded by seating that feels like you're almost suspended in mid-air. That's a lousy description, but  it's a very fun and enjoyable place to eat; a modern spot in a relatively old part of town with exceptional food. I tasted a sort of pumpkin cake served with creme fraiche mixed with goat cheese, as well as a lovely pork terrine with onion confit; always a popular choice. They do a pretty good job with flank steak and duck, too, plus a nice raspberry/rhubarb tart and other desserts.

Checking out the Atelier Cezanne on Thursday, then back home to what looks like a White Christmas!

 

 

Not quite a year in Provence, but 24 hours is still pretty good I think...

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France - Walking into town from my hotel it didn’t look like much.

But once I got past the garish kiddie rides that have taken over the main square here for Christmas (they did the same thing in Paris at the Bastille, which is another matter entirely) I was suddenly in a charming, ancient city.

Aix was founded by the Romans back in 122 B.C. after a convincing military victory over local Ligurian tribes, and it’s filled with lovely squares and limestone buildings in various Provencal shades of yellow, pale white and various hues of ochre.

The Hotel de Ville is on a beautiful square (see left side of photo) with a tall tower that features a “window” with changing displays. There’s a revolving mechanism and the scene changes with the seasons, moving four times a year.

It’s still set on fall, this technically being autumn. But the rest of the city clearly is gearing up for Christmas, with small, chalet-like buildings lining Cour Mirabeau, known around here as the Aix version of the Champs Elysees. They sell lovely lavender soaps, churros dipped in chocolate, lovely candles, warm Alsatian wine (handy given the temperatures in France of late) and other local specialties. Off to one side is a market that specializes in tiny clay figures painted to look like everything from the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus to the wise men, as well as camels, local farmers, breadmakers and other village folks (my tour guide said they looked like the village people but I don’t think she meant it in a “YMCA” kinda way).

The story goes that local religious types were worried about having their Christmas figures destroyed by French revolution activists, so they created small figurines made out of clay that could be easily hidden or destroyed. The tradition carried on and now you can buy an entire population of small figures. They’re pretty cool mementoes and cost only about $10 to $15 each.

There are tons of nice-looking shops all around town, everything from Apple and Bang and Olufsen to fine lingerie shops, of which there is no shortage anywhere in France I can see.

There’s an old cathedral with stones taken from the edge of the Roman Forum and fifth century mosaics, as well as medieval paintings, Romaneseque and Gothic influences and a soon-to-be-restored cloister.

I got a quick glimpse of the cloister but it was nearly dark and the construction work prevented a good picture. But it looks lovely and well worth a look if you ever come this way. Be warned, however, that it’s not part of the regular tours so if you’re interested, just stop at the main desk on your way in and say you’d like a peek.

I stopped for an al fresco lunch of pizza and green salad with garlic at a sidewalk spot called Il Palatino. Quite good, but when they say salad with garlic they mean it; there had to be two tablespoons of chopped garlic on a small serving of mixed lettuce.

The town is home to painter Paul Cezanne, and you simply can’t get away from the guy even if you wanted to. They have small, metallic markers in the sidewalks for people to follow the Cezanne route, which takes you past his school, a couple of his houses, his favourite pub (see photo of Les Deux Garcons, a lovely spot), the church where he got married, a fountain named for him, and more.

Maybe we could do the same for Mike Myers in Scarborough, I dunno…

Off today to check out some surrounding villages and maybe sneak a peek at the Mediterranean….

 

 

PARIS – They call it the new Paris. I kinda like the old one, but I see their point.

I had lunch Monday with Sylvie Legars from the Ile de France tourism bureau, meeting for a long lunch at a place called Ze Kitchen Galerie. It’s a beautiful, sunny spot a couple blocks from Notre Dame on the left bank. A bit of a traditional area, but the restaurant is playful and wonderful.

Chef/owner William Ledeuil obeys the basic “laws” of French cooking, but he marries that with a love of Asian flavours. The result is a fabulous mixture of French-style seafood such as red mullet, with, say, lemongrass or ginger. Or both. He makes a broth that’s similar to Thailand’s Tom Yum Goong, but with a classic French twist.

The restaurant is not only bright and fun but features paintings from French artists; very modern and ultra-colourful.

The scallops were absolutely perfect, especially with a cold bottle of Sancerre white wine, one of former Toronto Star reporter Ernest Hemingway’s faves as I recall.

Ledeuil is a charming guy with far nicer hair than any successful chef in French really needs, if you want to know how I really feel. But a very nice fellow, and an outstanding cook who spends a lot of time chatting with customers at the end of the lunch if Monday was any example.

I had just enough time to take in a brief tour of the Louvre. Thank god they point the way to the Mona Lisa, and that they have an audio tour that gives a 45-minute “quickie”

It's geared to tourists weaned on meals at McDonald’s who don’t take the time to properly visit one of the world’s great museums. People like me, I guess, at least on this day.

The 45-minute tour takes you to see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace; all hugely impressive once you get past the throngs of idiots who stand in front of the statue and demand that other people get out of the way so some stupid friend of theirs can take their picture.

Honestly, people. Get a life. YOU WERE THERE. YOU SAW THE PAINTING OR STATUE. YOU CAN TAKE A PICTURE OF IT OR BUY A POSTCARD. DO YOU ENJOY MAKING JOURNALISTS FEEL THEY HAVE TO TYPE IN CAPITAL LETTERS?

That being said, it’s awesome to see all of the “Big Three.” The Mona Lisa deserves its title as the most famous painting in the world, with that famous, enigmatic smile. The Winged Victory statue I don’t recall from earlier visits, but it’s wonderfully impressive. And what can you say about the Venus de Milo? It’s probably a good thing she’s missing most of both arms, as it definitely adds to the mystery.

I had to stop for a minute and think about it, though. The British Museum gets lots of bad press for having the Elgin Marbles from Athens. But both the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory statue came from Greece, and I don’t remember hearing too many folks clamouring for THEIR return. But maybe I’m wrong.

Anyway, the Louvre is obviously one of the wonders of the world. Even if you don’t care for art and are one of the folks who thinks even the 45-minute “Greatest Hits” package is too long, it’s worth it just for the architecture and design and the views of Paris from the windows.

Equally impressive to the big three were some of the French paintings I managed to sneak a look at it, including a great one of Napoleon at his coronation at Notre Dame and the famous Delacroix painting of Liberty Leading the People; as stirring a painting as you’ll see anywhere in the world.

 Topped it off by some serious shopping at the Galeries Lafayette near the incroyable Opera House. Wow. You think Honest Ed’s owns the voltage record for the world? Check out the lights at Galerie Lafayette, the French department store. And that’s just one building. They had another one for men’s fashion and a third that’s called Lafayette Maison. They probably have an oil and lube centre somewhere for all I know.

Just down the street a few feet is the Printemps department store, which was much less crowded.

Stayed the night at a wild spot called the Murano Urban Resort, which features about 10 different types of lighting in the room, a photo/sketch of Marilyn Monroe above my bed, lots of glass and a cool restaurant with dozens of white rods hanging from the ceiling and plenty of white sofas and chairs. It’s over near the Place de Republique, and looks like a welcome change for a fairly traditional neighborhood.

As for Marilyn, I’m not telling how the evening went. I WILL say that of all the light schemes offered, she looked prettiest in pink….

Look for more on Paris in the Saturday, Dec. 18 issue of Star Travel. It’s the final destination in our Grand Tour series of great world destinations.

Who knows? Maybe we’ll do it again some time!

 

 

 

Star Travel Grand Tour hits a jazzy note in Paris, Musee d'Orsay, Le Bristol Hotel

PARIS – It wasn’t what I expected. And I couldn’t have been happier.

When someone from the French tourism office in Canada suggested I take in a jazz brunch on Sunday, I had pictures of a bunch of guys Woody Allen’s age bopping on the clarinet in front of a well-heeled group of visitors at a semi-swanky hotel room. Or something like that.

 
Instead, when I arrived at a place near the Marais district called Le Reservoir, I was mildly surprised – in the best possible way – to find a funky room with stone walls, wooden columns painted with white and red roses, red and gold chairs and a well-used, wooden floor. They had a large buffet with everything from eggs and sausages and croissants (natch) to tasty couscous, pasta, chicken, parma ham and various salads.

There was a jazz trio on the stage, fronted by a dimunitive woman with jet-black hair and a slinky outfit, belting out everything from “My Funny Valentine” to a souped-down, jazzy version of “Light My Fire,” an excellent number and a perfect one given that the writer of the song, Jim Morrison of the Doors, is buried in these parts.

The drummer was good and the organ player, who bore a striking resemblance to Raptors’ coach Jay Triano I thought, was exceptional. There were a lot of young people in the audience, most of them French-speaking, so it definitely felt like an “out of the way,” authentic Paris experience versus something with all the tourists from Ohio clambering off the bus. Not that I have anything against Ohio, so please don't start the letters....

It’s called Jazz Brunch – www.reservoirclub.com is the website – and it’s highly recommended. It costs $25 euros, about $30-$35, and that’s pretty good considering all the food and the entertainment, plus a barrel of red wine that’s there for the taking.

They operate on Saturdays and Sundays, late morning, from September to June, on a small street called Rue de la Forge Royale. Even my cab driver, possibly the nicest man you’ll ever meet, didn’t know. But he pulled out an old-fashioned map (no GPS, thank you) and figured it out, clucking his tongue and puffing out air in that funny way French people like to do when they don’t quite know what to say or want to fill in a gap in their thoughts.

(I don’t know about you, but I can’t quite figure out the way Parisians hail a cab. Rather, I can’t figure out when one is free. They all seem to have little lights on the top of the roof, but I can’t tell whether the light means they’re free or they’re not free. They all seem to have the little light on, but some have folks in them and roll past and others are vacant. Beats me. Either way, there are plenty of them and it’s only about $15 bucks to take a 10-15 minute ride across a generous section of town. They start at only a couple Euros on the meter, compared to, what, $4.25 in Toronto these days?)

The afternoon was spent dodging the odd bit of rain – it was pretty thin and it sure beat the freezing rain and snow on Saturday – and checking out the small streets and shops in The Marais. It’s a part of town I hadn’t seen before, but it might be my favourite; nice shops but not overly twee, and not terribly expensive as Paris goes.

I had a dynamite hot chocolate at a place called Café de Philosophers, with a thick gooey patch of pure chocolate in the bottom of my cup, topped with as much steamed milk as I wanted to add and just a single sugar cube. Divine on a cold winter’s day.

I also spent some time at the Musee d’Orsay, one of the great treats of this incredible city. It’s a former train station, as most folks know, that now houses some of Frances’ most treasured art works, including a lot of Impressionist works. They’re doing some renovation, so 53 of Claude Monet’s works are, sadly, on display elsewhere. But there were still several Monet paintings on display, as well as a lot of Van Gogh, Sisley, Degas, Renoir, Manet and others.

Seeing the paintings alone is a huge treat, but to see them in a glorious, high-ceilinged, restored train station with all the natural light in the world and a fabulous mixture of textures and building materials is simply marvelous. And, at least on this Sunday, it was free.

 

Thanks to the folks at Le Bristol Hotel in Paris for an absolutely phenomenal room and a wonderful couple of days. I’ll have more to write about the hotel (with pics, of course) in the new year as part of our “Great Hotels of the World” package. The rooms are exquisite and the garden is lovely, even in winter. And it's a great part of town, just a couple blocks from the Champs Elysees but much quieter. The food at 114 Restaurant is very good, and the lobby bar is a great place for a coffee or a drink, including the Matignon: lemon juice, fresh pineapple cointreau and tequila. Yikes.

More to come on Paris on Dec. 18 when we present our final Grand Tour destination in the pages of Star Travel. And look for another Paris blog entry Tuesday....

 

 

Grand Tour goes to Sydney: beautiful water, awesome food, iconic architecture.

SYDNEY - Far, far better than I remembered it.

My only time in Sydney, prior to Star Travel's Grand Tour series, was to cover the Olympics in 2000. I stayed at a hotel in King's Cross and got to see a bit of the city on my way to and from work, but most of my days and nights were spent in the main media centre at the Olympic Park in Homebush Bay. We had one night on the rocks and a night in Bondi, but other than that it was all work.

This time I was there to cover Sydney for our Grand Tour (see story in Star Travel), so it was a much more enjoyable visit that allowed me to see the sights. I spent a couple nights madly snapping photos of the Opera House from my room at the Park Hyatt Hotel, a terrific spot perched at the bottom of the Harbour Bridge. I ate some terrific Thai food and Japanese food in the Rocks, took the Manly ferry to remarkable Manly Beach, wandered around the neighborhoods of Paddington, Darlinghurst and King's Cross, and took in the surf at Bondi Beach.

I also had a night at the Shangri-la hotel in the Rocks, which has great views from every room, as well as a terrific cocktail bar. And I got a night at the beach-side Swiss Grand Hotel in Bondi, where I had stayed a night back in 2000.

Bondi was better than I remembered, and that's saying a lot. I caught some waves, thanks to Leo, an excellent surf trainer from Brazil, and wandered along the cliff walk that goes from Bondi to Tamarama Beach. They had a sculpture exhibit on, and there were wonderful sculptures and artworks of all kinds and thousands of people checking out the action.

I spent time in 2000 at Watson's Bay, but this time I wandered over to Manly on the ferry. I got rained out the first two tries, but the third attempt was a glorious Sunday morning in full sun and I got some fun pictures of a surf rescue competition and other good stuff.

It's a remarkable city, and easily one of the top three or four in the world. You can't beat New York's energy, and it's tough to beat the culture and pace of Hong Kong, or the beauty of Vancouver or San Francisco. Let alone Paris, the final stop on our Grand Tour. But Sydney is right up there with all of them; a confident, beautiful and multi-faceted city that truly has something for everyone.

 

GERMANY AND FRANCE DOINGS

Thanks to the folks at Germany's tourism office for a nice Christmas reception at the ManuLife Centre Wednesday night. There's a lot going on in Germany next year, what with the women's world cup of soccer in June and other events.

Lufthansa helped stage Wednesday's show, and they've got several things happening as well. As Star columnist Bert Archer pointed out in a story we posted the other day, Lufthansa now has wi-fi available on some flights to Europe, so you can surf the web at 35,000 feet. They also are introducing a biofuel mix on some flights, which is apparently much better for the environment than traditional fuels.

Officials said they bring in a new, Michelin-starred chef every two months to work out a new menu for Lufthansa flights, which is pretty impressive.

Meanwhile, all of us in the media are sad to see Caroline Putnoki leave her post as Atout France, based in Montreal. She's a wonderful help, and we wish her the best in her new endeavours in Brazil.

They had a going-away lunch for her Thursday at ICI, a restaurant run by Jean-Pierre Challet at Manning and Harbord. It's a touch out of the regular restaurant loop, but it's a lovely, sunny spot with bright colours and wonderful food. He makes a terrific, savoury lobster bisque and wonderful veal blanquette served in a crepe-like shell.

 

 

 

 

Hmmmm...is St. John's REALLY more beautiful than Hawaii????

I adore Newfoundland. And Hawaii, I'll admit, is my favourite place on earth.

So it was with some amusement (or is it bemusement?) that I picked up the Metro paper this morning on way into the office and checked their travel pages. There was a good story in there about how St. John's is the second most popular spot for conventions in Canada, topped only by Vancouver.

It makes total sense. I was in St. John's a couple years ago for a golf assignment and absolutely loved the place. The Murray Premises hotel was terrific, the food was very tasty and the bars, well, they deserve their reputation for fun and frivolity. The people were and remain among the most spectacularly welcoming folks on the face of the planet.

I had good weather the whole time I was there and got some smashing pictures. St. John's harbour is beautiful, and the views out towards Cape Spear (see pic at right) are magic on a good day.

Sadly, the really great days for photo-taking in St. John's are relatively few.

Hawaii, on the other hand, has a rather distinct weather advantage. The people, I find, are warm and wonderful. The bars aren't quite as lively as St. John's, but it's tough to beat the beaches and the seafood and the warm, balmy breezes with the smell of fresh flowers.

Just for fun, I'm posting two pictures of the harbour in St. John's and the surrounding area, and also posting two photos of Hawaii. One shows the Napili Kai Beach Resort and Napili Beach on Maui, while the other shows the famed Na Pali cliffs of Kauai.

It's great to root for St. John's and all, but I don't know that I'd say that the "views even beat out the beauty of Hawaii," which is what Metro said today.

Then again, it's not about me. It's about you. And the person next to you on the subway or in line at Tim's.

As my buddy Dave Perkins likes to say, "Everyone's different. Which is why they have menus in restaurants."

And why airlines list a whole bunch of destinations on their boards at the airport, I guess. Some of us love the beach. Some of you would rather ski during the winter, and god love you for it because you're keeping money (some of the time) in Canada and using that white stuff for good purposes instead of just shoveling it to the end of the driveway and hoping it'll go away.

I'll take Hawaii for a sun holiday in the winter, for sure. I love the water and the heat and the beach. But if I had time off in the summer to visit anywhere in Canada, Newfoundland would be near the top of my list, and I'd love to spend some more time in St. John's walking along the harbour and up on Signal Hill. Afterward, I'd sip on a beer on George St. and, with any luck, listen to folks play an Irish jig at an impromptu concert.

Newfoundland and Hawaii; it's a tough combination to beat, for sure.

Here's a look at a couple highlights of both Newfoundland as a whole and Hawaii:

                                                           NEWFOUNDLAND                          HAWAII

Well-known geographic sights:             Signal Hill/St. John's Harbour        Diamond Head/Waikiki

Best-known fish:                                  Cod                                              Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

Best-known drink:                                Screech                                        Rum drink with pineapple

Best-named town:                                Dildo                                            Volcano