Carpentra

Lilliputians in the Rhone Valley!

Marche a Isle Sur La Sorgue

Marche a Isle Sur La Sorgue

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Zucchini Flowers w Truffles

Poached Eggs w Truffles

We got back on the motorway, headed for Carpentra, along the way passing through some of the most well-known wine regions in the world, strewn with famous Domaines, among them, of course, the region -appelation controlle - Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Pope's New Castle). We knew we were entering a special region when we encountered a roundabout littered with tree-sized corks as if a giant were dropping them there as he opened bottles of wine.

Our first night we went into Carpentra searching for a nice restaurant, but had great difficulty even finding a restaurant that was open. Our second night we decided to eat at the BandB, so we shopped in the market as Sur La Sorge for fresh bread, meats, cheese, olives, tomatoes, and wine to make our own dinner.

The market at Sur La Sorge is a bustling Provençal street market; picture stalls overflowing with fresh walnuts and olives, men in aprons slicing hunks from giant wheels of cheese, brightly colored produce spilling out of bins and baguettes leaving crusty crumbs on tables. Often called the antiques capital of France and sometimes the Venice of France, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue has the largest marchés aux puces (flea market) outside of Paris, and many antique and bric-a-brac dealers set up shop all year ’round.

On our way back, we (eventually) found the town of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and, after sampling many varietals in degustacion we all bought some nice bottles to take home. Don't let Missy serve you any plonk – she has the good stuff hidden away somewhere!

 Once again I wished I could avail myself of the advice of my good friend JB, who would have advised us as to which vintages to stock up on, and regaled us with the history of the region and what to look for in a special wine.

Here is what we learned. The characteristic terrain that hosts the vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape comes from a layer of stones called galets (pebbles). The stone retains heat during the day and releases it at night which can have an effect of hastening the ripening of grapes. The stones can also serve as a protective layer to help retain moisture in the soil during the dry summer months.

In 1308 when Pope Clement V relocated the papacy to Avignon, Clement V and subsequent "Avignon Popes" were said to be great lovers of Burgundy wines and did much to promote it during the seventy-year duration of theAvignon Papacy.

The next day we travelled to Avignon to see the “Vatican of the South, and yes, Missy and I danced on the Pont D'Avignon.

Sur le pont d'Avignon
On y danse, on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
On y danse tout en rond

The bridge's construction was inspired by Saint Benezet, a local shepherd boy who (according to tradition) was commanded by angels to build a bridge across the river. Although he was ridiculed at first, he dramatically "proved" his divine inspiration by miraculously lifting a huge block of stone.It was built between 1171 and 1185, with an original length of some 900 m (2950 ft), but it suffered frequent collapses during floods and had to be reconstructed several times.

In fact, people probably would have danced beneath the bridge (sous le pont) where it crossed a river island on its way to Villeneuve. The island was (and still is) a popular recreation spot, where pleasure gardens once stood and folk dancing was a popular pastime for many years. The bridge itself is far too narrow to have accommodated dancers.

On our last day, Carpentra redeemed itself in the gastronomic sense as we were advised to lunch at Chez Serge, a restaurant noted for its truffle specialties. Lorraine had fried zucchini flowers stuffed with cheese in a truffle sauce, Missy had poached eggs in truffle sauce, and I had an omelet, featuring – truffles! We drank two large bottles of Perrier as the day was so hot.

Truffles have a very earthy, almost dank smell and taste,  and I can totally understand why someone would not like them, but they definitely grow on you. Actually, the black truffle is exclusive to a symbiotic relationship with the oak tree in the Perigord region of France. Roughly 45% of the black truffle crop is found in France and specifically in the south eastern part of the country. Spain is also home to the black truffle along with small growth patterns in Italy, Croatia and Slovenia... so, no I guess they don't grow on you, they grow underground... but they are an acquired taste. 

They are also VERY expensive. In 2007 a white truffle hailing from Tuscany, weighing 3.3 lbs was purchased for US $330,000 at an annual auction in Hong Kong. In 2010, two truffles weighing just under 3 lbs total were again sold for US $330,000 .

We left Carpentra with heavy stomachs and heavier hearts heading to Marseilles, where we would have to say goodbye to Our Missy.

Marseilles, for us, was just a place to hang our heads before Missy and I having to get up the next day (at 4:30 AM) for her flight home. There is something incredibly poignant about seeing your little girl (as Panos said, "She will ALWAYS be your little girl!") as well as one of my very best friends, walk through security, and walk as far as we could go along the corridor with only a glass wall separating us, till we have to leave each other's sight.

She is a special girl.  We had a GREAT time together.  Many, many laughs, and many unforgettable moments. Not once did we have an argument or did things get unpleasant, (unless you count the time she heard me utter a word foreign to her vocabulary - and not because it wasn't in English -  to a French driver who was driving irresponsibly).

I Love You Missy!!!