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August 15, 2021 2

GERARD ISIRDI’S WONDERFUL ART EXHIBITION AT CHÂTEAU BARBEBELLE CLOSES SOON

Provence is abuzz this time of year with fabulous offerings of art, music, opera, film, wine tastings, and the usual fêtes that move from village to village. We traveled from New England to Provence last month specifically for this show by French painter Gérard Isirdi at Château Barbebelle in Rognes... [...]

October 25, 2020 0

Wines From France And California Raise Awareness For A Disease Called PANDAS

When Alexandra “Alex” Manfull passed away in 2018 at 26 years old, her parents barely understood the condition that took her life. Susan and William “Towny” Manfull’s daughter was living in Washington D.C., pursuing a successful career in finance. She was a runner and reader, a proud graduate of Princeton University and Phillip Exeter Academy. She was bright and kind, and gone too soon. Alex suffered from a disease called PANDAS... [...]

July 23, 2020 25

À TABLE! CHÂTEAU BARBEBELLE AND GÉRARD ISIRDI COME TO THE TABLE TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT PANDAS, THE POST-INFECTIOUS AUTOIMMUNE BASAL GANGLIA ENCEPHALITIS THAT TOOK THE LIFE OF ALEX MANFULL

The above title would be (more) unwieldy if I included all the names of the friends, family, and strangers who have contributed... [...]

October 24, 2017 1

JACQUELINE BRICARD’S “REGARD NAÏF EUROPÉEN” EXHIBITION EXTENDED THROUGH DECEMBER

There were just a few paintings still to hang when I left Lourmarin in late September. Before departing—and two days before the opening--I popped by to see Jacqueline Bricard, proprietor of the naïf art gallery bearing her name and curator of the “Regard Naïf Européen” exhibition. She was in the midst of the usual frenzy entailed in the preparations for a large exhibition... [...]

September 10, 2017 1

BETTER CALL WALTER

Last year, about this time, my daughter and I were on our way from Lourmarin to Château d'Esclans in La Motte, about 150 kilometers away in the département of the Var. There, we were to meet with Tom Schreckinger, Communications Director for the Château, and Patrick Léon, chief oenologist for the château, for a tasting and conversation at the harvest lunch. It was the middle of the vendange in that part of Provence and, per the... [...]

February 19, 2017 7

HOLLYWOOD – AUBAGNE – PARIS: A TRIANGULAR JOURNEY

It’s Academy Award season, and as it was with me a year ago when I wrote of Marcel Pagnol, I am drawn back to Provence, in fact to his hometown of Aubagne. On this occasion it began last fall when I was discussing with my wife Benedicte, who is French, about the genre films that Hollywood is known for which might appeal to her. In the past couple of years she has become a fan of American westerns, so I thought Foreign Legion fare... [...]

October 7, 2016 11

A TRIBUTE TO PAL, ONE OF THE ORIGINAL MODERN TROBADORS

What is a Modern Trobador if not one who detects the scent of a story and, with nose to the ground, follows it through to the end? Like a dog with a bone, you might say. That was our Pal, our 15-year-old ever-faithful beagle who was with us on our sojourn to Lourmarin fourteen years ago and who has sat at my feet as I have written almost every story since the inception of this blog in 2008. She passed away today, I report with immense sadness.

Pal was an exceptional dog who touched the lives of many people. Pal, I think... [...]

October 1, 2016 8

WHO’S THE FACE BEHIND “LOURMARIN, LOURMARIN”?

If you follow what’s happening in Lourmarin, the charming village at the southern base of the Luberon where the Manfull family has been hanging their hats for many years, you’ve no doubt seen something about “Lourmarin, Lourmarin.” Have you wondered what “Lourmarin, Lourmarin” is? Earlier this year, it started popping up on FaceBook and Instagram and I, for one, wondered what it... [...]

September 25, 2016 10

STOMP SOME GRAPES IN PROVENCE

If you are in Provence and looking for something different to do—in between touring Roman ruins and visiting hilltop villages—I’ve got the answer: Kick off your shoes, climb into a huge oak barrel filled with grapes, and start stomping. That’s what Provence WineZine photographer Pamela O’Neill and I did earlier this month when we visited Les Pastras, an organic farm, located in the southern part of the Luberon, most known for their truffles. We had a ball, not to mention felt a little like Lucille Ball in her iconic I Love Lucy episode about her adventure stomping... [...]

August 14, 2016 2

GARLIC IS IN THE AIR…IT MUST BE AÏOLI TIME!

When the weather gets hot, our mortar and pestle becomes a fixture on the kitchen table. The familiar rhythmic sound of pestle-striking-mortar fills the air and the pungent aroma of garlic wafts through the house. Aïoli. It's aïoli time. The word, aïoli, comes from the French word for garlic--ail--and the Occitan word for oil—òli—the two primary ingredients in this deliciously simple Provençal dish. So ubiquitous is this sauce on tables in Provence that it is also known as... [...]

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