October 11
The wine I
opened on the train was very good indeed. Of course, it’s hard to beat a
smooth, fruity wine sipped from a plastic cup at some improbable speed across the
Earth. I don’t know how fast the Train a Grande Vitesse goes, but I did notice
that poles near the tracks disappear. An occasional blip of a shadow is all you
see.
Riding on a
train is always fun. In the States, you see the seediest sides of cities
because that’s where the warehouses are.
On this
trip, we went through farms and forests. The ground just south of Paris is as
flat as East Texas or South Jersey. Then it starts to roll. The farms and
villages have terra cotta roofs, maybe made by Rodin. Who knows?
We had
bought a sandwich at the station. Sandwiches are very popular and are sold in
most places that sell bread. It’s funny, though, because as rich and complex as
so much French food is, the sandwiches are simple. This one had one layer of meat
and one of cheese, no dressing.
Maybe the
filling is considered dressing for the bread. The bread here can be a meal in
itself.
The TGV has
a station of its own in Avignon. The cab ride is OK. You see the Rhone and some
hills. The shapes of the architecture, the cars, and the signs tell you that
you’re someplace else. It doesn’t look like home, so it’s kind of fun.
Then you
come to the city walls. Wow, now you know that you’re someplace else.
We’re
staying on the second floor of the Danieli, a small hotel in the old city.
There is no elevator, so carrying the bags up was good exercise. The room is at
least twice the size of the one in Paris.
We had been
sitting on the train for two and a half hours, so it was time for a walk. We
headed toward the Palace of the Popes. It was around four in the afternoon, so
we didn’t go inside then.
We did climb
up to the attached church, but the entrance was blocked off by a truck and a
temporary fence. The church is on a hill overlooking the Rhone. You can see the
remnant of the old Pont d’Avignon, on which people dance, according to the
song.
The bridge
is one of the things I came here to see.
The wind was
kicking up and the drizzle sent us back to the old town square, La Place
d’Horloge, which is a few hundred meters from the hotel. It’s where the city
buildings are and it’s named for a clock that was put there in the 15th
century, when a clock was a rare thing.
We sheltered
from the rain in a cafe called La Civette. Joanna warmed up with hot chocolate,
and I saw white Cotes du Rhone on the menu. Wow, even the luncheonettes down
here carry it.
So I had a
glass from les vignerons de Roquemaure. The white Cotes du Rhone is hands-down
my favorite white wine. I drink some others on occasion—Chardonnay with
Thanksgiving turkey, for instance, or Loire Valley whites, which have a mineral
aftertaste—but not a lot. I find them light and a little on the sweet side.
White Cotes
du Rhone is almost as good as a red. It’s hearty and has enough flavor to fill the
mouth.
We wandered
down a couple of side streets after the rain let up. We came to a medieval
church dedicated to an early Bishop of Avignon, St. Agricol. Parts of the
building date back to the 7th or 8th century. Most of it is later, maybe 12th
or 13th century.
Outside are
remains of the old Roman walls of the city.
We came back
to the hotel, which is covered in ornate Belle Epoque grandeur. You enter
through an alley that makes an S curve. I like the sphinxes guarding the door. They
make me feel secure.
We found a
guide book in the lobby and took some notes on restaurants. We had a few
candidates and wound up at one with the unlikely name of New Ground.
It
specializes in Provencale cooking.
I was going
to order the house red, which was 2 euros and change per glass. The waiter
showed me the list of bottles. I could get a whole bottle of Cotes du Rhone
rouge for less than the cost of three glasses of wine in Paris.
He
recommended Les Amariniers, Cotes-du-Rhone Villages, 2012. The village is
Signargues. The wine is made from a blend of Grenache and syrah grapes. I know
this because the notes on the back label are in French and English.
According to
a sticker on the front of the bottle, it took the Medaille d’Or at the 2013
Councours des Vins in Orange.
First course
was grilled tuna. It was supposed to come with mashed sweet potatoes. There was
a mashed vegetable, but I had never seen green sweet potatoes. There was a kind
of ratatouille made of leeks and mushrooms.
We asked the
waiter about the green sweet potatoes. So happens, they weren’t sweets at all,
but mashed peas. “There was a problem in the kitchen,” the waiter said.
I can only
say, give me more problems like that one. This was comfort food right from the
start.
That was
followed by duck leg with herbed rice and another ratatouille-like dish of
sweet peppers, eggplant, and small tomatoes.
The food,
along with numerous glasses of a superb red, put a great cap on the day.
I put the
remains of the bottle in my raincoat pocket and we set out for a stroll.
I think we
stopped at a bar back at La Place d’Horloge, then came back to the Danieli,
where I polished off the Signargues.
Oct. 12
Grasshopper,
Enjoying your missives and so glad
you know just how lucky you are to be there. One of my favorite parts of the
world. Avignon is OK, but the surrounding country is incredible, with the
occasional exception of suburban-style blight. I hope you get the chance to
return for a longer stay.
Random thoughts:
The ramparts are really cool, yes?
And the way they connect into the Palace of the Popes is really something.
Try to get to Les Halles. A modern
market where you'll find lots of local products and flavor.
Most of the restaurants in that big
public square are not very good.
And I'm impressed with your white
wine crusade. It's exactly what I do when I'm there. Some are really
interesting. See if you can find a Vacayras white (the reds can be excellent,
as well.) And need I say, if you feel like a splurge, a white Chateauneuf du
Pape from the right producer, with a little age, can be a revelation. But
proceed gingerly. Lots of bad Chateauneuf du Pape around in those parts. If it
seems too cheap, it's probably not even worth what you're paying for it.
Try to eat some lamb. The area is
known for it.
Have fun!!!
Larry
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