Sunset dinner at Le Mesculan in Seguret

Sometmes, it's just like a fairytale. Sounds trite, way over used and even a little silly - but there you have it. I made a reservation for dinner at the restuarant that I stumbled upon yesterday, while making my way to the "Musique dans les Vignes" concert, and tonight I ate at this perfect little jewel of a find that looked like it was right out of the pages a medieval fairtale. Le Mesculan, nestled in the hilltop town of Seguret, has the most glorious setting for enjoying your Provencal repas. You have the choice of outdoor eating on the centuries old stone and vine covered patio, with the vineyards and the chateau laid out before you below like an artfully aranged picnic meal. Or the small and intimate private room, with only two tables, just located off the entrance to the restaurant. I chose to eat on the patio and surround myself with the warm balmy evening air.

There was a very good selection of Entrees (the French word for starter courses, not like the American use meaning the main course), Plats (main courses) and desserts. The wine menu was composed almost entirely of selections from the local chateau so that you could really get a feel for the local terroir and how it affects the bouquet and taste of the wine. The prices were reasonable for a restaurant of that caliber (approximately 26-45 Euro for 3/4 courses). I wasn't hungry enough for a three course meal so I chose a single a la carte entree of Terrine de Fois Gras that was as smooth and creamy as I have had with a light, delicate flavor - which is just how I like it. I simply can't remember the origin of the wine although it was certainly acceptable. My waiter was friendly and obliging and didn't even blink an eye when I asked for my bol de glacon. I like my water really cold and I've found that the only way to make this happen in a French restaurant - whether you're in Paris or the countryside - is to, right up front when I place my initial order, ask for a bowl of ice so I don't have to keep asking the wait staff for plus glacons. I've gotten into the habit of doing this and it has assisted in the process of making the waiter my friend rather than my adversary.

I think for me, the evening meal was one of the more enjoyable exeriences of my vacation to Vaison and the surrounding villages. But truly the most memorable part of the evening wasn't the meal, or the great service, or the smooth and creamy fois gras. It was the feeling I had just sitting at the table, watching the sun go down and the sky turn to shades of magenta and purple, sipping a glass of cabernet, and thinking how lucky I was and wishing how I could simply freeze the moment in time. Hmmmmm . . . . but I already had.

Musiques dans Les Vignes in Seguret, Provence, France

I saw the advertisement for the Quatuor Antares violin concert at the Tourism office located in the center of town, located directly across the entrance to the Roman ruins of the Site Antique de Puymin. There is a wealth of information on all types of goings on in and around the village: Concerts, Theatre, Vide Grenier, cooking classes, guided historical tours, train rides around town - something for everyone. The office is staffed with local French people who actually want to help you and speak English (if you ask) although I was practising mon Francaise and did a fairly decent job of getting my questions asked and answered and obtaining the pertinent information I needed. I was looking for something special to do to get a true flavor of the surrounding area. And then it caught my eye, "Musiques dans Les Vignes". Wine? Mozart, Rachmaninov & Haydn on violins? {I digress, but here's a little piece of trivia I bet you didn't know - I didn't - unless, of course, you are a classical music buff. Wolfgang Mozart is the son of Joseph Haydn!} Under an arbor of entwined vines with the Provencal setting sun as a backdrop? What could be more perfect? And as luck would have it, the last event of the season was happening tonight, Mercredi 5 Aout. My timing was perfect - it made my decision easy.

Seguret is a short 8km distance from Vaison, not more than a ten minute drive by car or fifteen if you're driving slow so you can drink in all the surrounding scenery like I was. It is also classfied as Les Plus Beau Villages which means it has a population of less than 2000 people, has at least two historique structures within the village and was given a vote approval by the town council to be included. And beautiful it is.

This village is perched on the side of a hill, snuggled up close - one stone building after the next. The pebbled and well traversed alleyway of centuries old stone leading to the concert venue was dotted with picturesque maisons that looked like they had been plucked from the pages of a Peter Mayle book. The archway which framed the entrance posed the perfect photo backdrop for the concert. I could just barely see and get a small peek at the vineyard arbor with its twinkling lights delicately threaded through the vines waiting with welcoming arms for all the attendees to enter.

And when the musicians took the stage and began to play, I had to stop a moment, take a deep breath, and pinch myself. The melodic sounds emanating from their instruments, played in such beautiful harmony, with the composition of such delicate musical notes, underneath a blanket of hundred year old plus vines, on a warm summer night in the south of France, can you feel it? It gave me goosebumps. But the moment was momentarily tinged with a tiny but fleeting pang of sadness that my husband John could not be by my side to enjoy this special evening. And even though I was surrounded by a group of other lucky attendees, I felt a tad lonely . . . Silly, but there you have it. One and a half hours of the most soothing interlude of musical symphony . . . and to top off an already spectacular soiree, because it was the very last night of the summer program, we were treated to samplings of wines from the local chateau as a celebration and thank you for the completion of the 15th season of the "Musiques dans Les Vignes". And even though I might have been a little lonely, I wasn't really alone. As I was tooling home down the country backroads, with my windows rolled down and the rooftop skylight fully open to the starry sky, and enjoying the warmth of a balmy 22 degres Celcius night, I was kept company by the singing of the cicadas serenading me all the way on my journey home to Vaison-la-Romaine - a perfect finishing touch to a magical evening.

French Presentation.....is everything.

On Mondays in Vaison-la-Romaine, nothing really gets moving until later in the afternoon. In fact, some stores remain closed all day. So on this particular Monday, there was a lot of strolling going on and I was partaking of this relaxing ritual with the best of the rest of the tourists. And it never ceases to amaze me. The French follow the principle that presentation is everything. And I'm not even certain if this is a conscious effort, it just 'is'. You know that little scarf tied casually, but oh-so-perfectly, around the neck of that French femme strolling down the rue Boulevard Saint Germain in Paris? Or the piece of lingerie just purchased carefully wrapped in the colorful tissue and placed in the magnificently decorated shopping bag that makes the 10 Euro purchase look like you spent a million bucks? Or the window of the local dry cleaner around the corner on rue Amelie near our apartment on rue Saint Dominique that is strung with a clothes line upon which delicate, antique baby clothes are suspended and is surrounded by the perfect antique accessories to match? And THIS - the dry cleaner! You look at this picture of a flower storefront, bursting with color and the wheel barrow of lavender effortessly placed just so ... truly a feast for the eyes.

There is a book I recommend to anyone who wants to truly understand this phenomenon called "Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris" by Sarah Turnball. In this great Francophile read which is one of my faves, she describes a scene she tumbles out of her bed early one morning in the apartment she shares with her then boyfriend, takes a shower, throws on her old sweat pants and unmatching T-shirt and flip flops, hair still damp and stringy, and of course with no make up and heads for the door to go to the boulangerie to get her daily croissant. Her significant other says to her softly but with surprise buried in his tone of voice (and I'm paraphrasing here because I can't remember the exact words), "You aren't going out like that are you?" She answers cooly with a deadpan stare, "Yes, why?" "Well, it wouldn't be nice for the boulanger to see you like that". And therein lies the difference between us and the French. Enough said. I rest my case.

In Suzy's Gershman's Maison Vaison

I forget how beautiful the sunsets are in Provence -until I get here, and experience it all over again. Pale orange melting into violet, surrounded by cornflower blue and touches of magenta all rolled up in one beautiful setting sun...like no other place on earth, truly. The calm, quiet sunsets and warm summer nights bring back treasured memories when I was on my la lune-de-miel with my husband John twenty five years ago. We spent a good part of our three week honeymoon in this part of France - Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Les Baux.

And for the next twelve days, I am happily ensconsed in Suzy Gershman's (you know, the Born to Shop Lady) Provence maison. The little village of Vaison-la-Romaine is located about 45 minutes by car north east of Avignon, in the heart of the Vaucluse. The tiny rue Trogue Pompee faces the Site Antique de la Vilasse which is a fancy french term for Roman ruins. I parked my car, and I was following the written instructions she had provided to me to her home, but when I saw the front door, I didn't need to look up to confirm the house number - I knew I had arrived. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but one of the door signs said "Happy Everything" and I knew instantly I was in the right place. And for those of you who have ever visited this area, you know that "Happy Everything" sums it up quite nicely.