The Drome Provencal

After a day of Ferme en Ferme, we were fully settled into the Drome Provencal, the southern part of the Drome departement that is the northern reaches of Provence. While it rained heavily during the night on Sunday, Monday morning started out cold but with brilliant sunshine.  I took my usual morning walk into the center of town to pick up some breakfast items; it was May 1st, a national holiday, but a number of shops were open in the morning.  After we had breakfast, the friendly cat from yesterday afternoon arrived for his breakfast.  After breakfast we took a walk around town (without the cat) and picked up some provisions at a butcher shop, and a Provencal tablecloth to bring home. We hung around the gite for awhile until lunch, when the cat rejoined us.

In the afternoon we decided to visit a few villages not far from Nyons that looked like they would be worth taking a walk through, particularly since the weather had surprisingly turned out to be beautiful. I had also made a list of some of the wine producers in the villages we were planning to visit.

Our first stop was Rousset-les-Vignes, which, as its name implies, is surrounded by vineyards.  It also has a beautiful old village center surrounded by walls into which houses have been built.  We took a stroll through the old center and around the walls.  We also took a walk to Domaine la Bouvaude, a wine producer about a quarter mile from the center, but they were closed.

Rousset-les-Vignes

After leaving Rousset we drove to Taulignan, another village that I had found through a web site that has information about some of the most beautiful villages throughout France.  Like Rousset-les-Vignes, Taulignan was spectacular, with a wonderful old gate leading to the medieval center.  Again, we spent a fair amount of time walking throughout the center of the village, encountering several friendly cats.

Taulignan

Cats of Taulignin

Our final stop was Grignan, which we had visited about 10 years ago.  It was a larger town than the previous two we visited, but no less impressive. The town is on several levels, with the top level being higher than we walked, and there is an impressive chateau part way up to the top. We also found a friendly cat, but he didn’t want to pose.

Grignan

After leaving Grignan we dove into the Vaucluse Departement and through the larger town of Valreas, a center of the local wine trade.  We were looking for Domaine des Grands Devers, and we eventually found it, but alas, it was also closed. I suspect that most wine producers were closed because of the holiday.

We then drove back to Nyons, and as we arrived at our gite, our visiting cat came running down the alleyway towards us, and then entered the courtyard. We sat in the courtyard and had aperitifs; the cat joined us.  He eventually left, and this night he didn’t return for dinner.  But after dinner, when we took a walk through the medieval center after it got dark, a friendly cat suddenly appeared on one of the high walls and greeted us.

Tuesday morning, I took my usual early morning walk to pick up croissants and other breakfast items in town. As I left the gite, a black cat we had seen a couple of days before came running towards me to say hello; our friendly visiting cat was also nearby.  While we were having breakfast, he jumped up onto the ledge outside the kitchen window and peered in.

After breakfast we drove to Vaison-la-Romaine in the Vaucluse departement, one of the larger towns in the area.  Vaison has a huge weekly market on Tuesdays, which stretches throughout the town. There were a lot of food vendors, but at least 3/4 of the stalls were selling non-food items such as tablecloths and napkins, cooking utensils, and clothing. We bought some fruits and vegetables, but were unable to get one of the items we were looking for — roast pintade (guinea hen).  One vendor had various spit-roasted birds, but when Ann asked about getting a pintade, he checked his list and said that all of them had been reserved.

It had started to rain while we were in Vaison, which accounts for the lack of photos except for the one below of the Roman ruins just outside the center, and it got heavier as we went through the market.  We left the market after an hour or so, and headed towards the well-known wine village of Gigondas, where I had contacted one of the wine producers - Domaine les Goubert -- about a visit.  I was somewhat familiar with this producer, having bought a bottle of their Sablet red in Massachusetts from their U.S. importer, Ansonia Wines.  When we got to Goubert, the woman at the tasting room, who was the co-winemaker with her father, opened several bottles, and we got to try their white Cotes du Rhone and Cots du Rhone Villages (including one that was 100% Viognier), as well as their red Cotes du Rhone, Sablet, and Gigondas wines.  They were all very good, but the 2 Gigondas were spectacular. Gigondas is generally considered the 2d best Southern Rhone appellation after their well-known neighbor, Chateauneuf du Pape, and a good Gigondas can rival almost any Chateauneuf du Pape.

Roman Ruins in Vaison-La-Romaine

After leaving Domaine Les Goubert, we headed back to our gite for a late lunch.  Having failed to get a pintade, we had some charcuterie, cheese and a salad, with a bottle of Altesse from Domaine Grisard in the Savoie.  The cat was hanging around, and came over for lunch.  We rested a bit after lunch and then took a walk around and through the town, crossing the 2 bridges again and admiring the views.

Eygues River in Nyons From The Pont Roman 

Pont Roman (Built 1340-1409)

View of Tower in Medieval Center

                                                     

From the Bugey Region to the Drome

On Saturday morning we left our gite in Lhuis and headed to Nyons, in the Drome departement in northern Provence, about a 3 hour drive.  We said goodbye to some of the local cats, and au revoir to the gite and other sites in the village.  Lhuis was a fantastic place to stay, and the gite was terrific.

        This was the weekend of La France de Ferme en Ferme, the equivalent of Maine’s Open Farm Day, in several departements.  Both the Ain departement and the Drome, along with several other departements throughout France, have their Ferme en Ferme events this weekend, and other departements have their open farms the following weekend.

On the way to Nyons we stopped in the town of Crest, which is not particularly picturesque, except that it has a beautiful setting across the Drome River with picnic tables and a view of the donjon in Crest. So we stopped there and had lunch and took a few photos.

After leaving Crest we saw a sign for a Ferme en Ferme participant, and decided to see what type of farm it was. It turned out to be a fantastic place, and it was very busy.  The farm raised the Moulard variety of ducks, and made all kinds of products from ducks, including foie gras, duck breast, and rillettes.  We got a tour of the farm, followed by a tasting of their products, many of which we bought.

We eventually arrived in Nyons and checked in to our gite. The gite is in a building that’s built into the ancient town walls, and it took awhile to find it.  But with a little help from some residents, we eventually found it.  After unloading our suitcases and everything else we brought from Lhuis, we talk a walk through the town and packed up some pastries and a few other things for dinner.

On Sunday morning we first walked into town to pick up a few fruits and vegetables, then headed off to visit a few more farms that were participating in Ferme en Ferme weekend.  On the way we stopped at the small village of Cornillon-sur-l’Oule because it looked like there would be a good view of the valley.  The view was great, but we also noticed a shop that was having an art exhibit that was ending  that day.  The exhibit, which featured paintings by local artists gong back to the 1950's, was put together by the shop owner, who said that she often had art exhibits at her shop.  The shop also sold wines from local producers, and had a very interesting selection. I wound up buying a bottle of a red Cotes-du-Rhone Villages from Domaine Louis Tourtin, partly because of the story the shop owner told me: that Thomas Jefferson, when he was Ambassador to France, brought wine from this domaine back to the United States to give to President Washington.

After leaving Corrnillon-sur-l’Oule, our first farm stop was Ferme Monge near the village of Arnayon, a farm we had visited 10 years ago, which raises goats and makes goat cheese as well as walnut oil and fruit juice. We picked up several goat cheeses, then headed off to the next farm, La Ferme de Pracoutel in Vesc, which also raises goats.  Like Ferme Monge, this farm makes goat cheese, but also makes various goat meat products.  They were serving a lunch that included the cheeses they make as well as goat sausages and salami.  We ordered the lunch and sat at a picnic table on the farm overlooking the hills.  Before leaving we bought some more goat cheese and some goat milk.

The next stop was Les Cochons de Dieulefit, a pork producer in the town of Dieulefit. We took a stroll around the farm, viewing all of their pigs and piglets. We then stopped at the stand they had set up for the weekend and bought some of their sausages and rillettes. The woman who waited on us said that the man who makes the sausages makes the best sausages in the world. We’ll see.

We then drove back to our gite in Nyons, and after unloading our purchases we took a walk around the town and down to the river.  We crossed the river on the 15th Century bridge, then walked to the modern bridge, where we had a great view of the old bridge.  On the walk back to our gite we made a few stops, including at a still-operational lavender distillery.

When we returned to our gite, there was a cat who had walked into the courtyard through one of the gates. The cat was very friendly, and also hungry. We gave it some pork products and then some cheese, which it happily devoured.  When we sat down in the courtyard for aperitifs, the cat joined us.  When we went inside, the cat followed, then went back outside.  After we shut the door, the cat jumped up to the kitchen window, looked inside, the curled up and went to sleep.

     The cat eventually left and presumably went home.  As part of dinner we had the sausage we had bought at the farm in the afternoon, and whether they're the best sausages in the world might be subject to dispute,  but they certainly were very good.  And so was George Washington's wine, which we had with dinner.

The Final Day of Our Trip

My prior post was going to be my last from this France trip, but on our final day I took a few photos that I thought some people might appreciate (and others might not), so I decided to write one more brief post, from home.

On our last full day in France, we drove from our gite in Saligney to the town of Segny, near Geneva, where we were spending the final night.  On the way, we made a few stops, the first one being Chateau de Joux.  The construction of Chateau de Joux began about 1,000 years ago, and it was rebuilt, added to, and remodeled numerous times over almost 1,000 years. The chateau, together with Fort Mahler, are located high above a mountain pass that was an important commercial route and later a strategic military route from northern Italy through Switzerland into what later became France.  We stopped along the road to have a picnic and take some photos from down below, then drove up towards the chateau and walked up from the lower parking lot.

Chateau de Joux From Below

At the Chateau

Chateau de Joux and Fort Mahler on Opposite Sides of the Pass

After leaving Chateau de Joux we continued our drive through numerous mountain villages.  We made one stop, in Les Rousses, where we parked and walked through  the town.  There was a terrific-looking cheese shop in the center, which we passed up because we had another cheese shop in mind for later on, and there was also a not-so-appetizing looking restaurant whose menu included Wings de Poulet (Chicken Wings).

Finally, we drove from Les Rousses up into the Jura Mountains and then down into the valley where Geneva and Lac Leman are situated.  We checked in at La Bonne Auberge in Segny, where we had stayed 5 years previously.  Segny is a small suburban town just off the major road heading towards Geneva, but there are several things to recommend it as a place to stay.  La Bonne Auberge is a charming small hotel that used to be a large farmhouse, and it has been beautifully remodeled. And just across the road is a fantastic bakery, a cheese vendor, Fromagerie Michelin, that may be the best cheese shop I’ve ever been in, and a lovely restaurant, Chez Arno, where we had lunch 5 years ago.  We patronized all three establishments on this visit: at Fromagerie Michelin we bought a lot of cheese, which now resides in our house; we had dinner that night at Chez Arno, which was outstanding (including sweetbreads and stuffed fillet of rabbit, and one more Seyssel wine); and we bought croissants and bread the next morning at the boulangerie to bring home.

Since we had a little time before dinner, we drove to the nearby commercial center of Ferney-Voltaire, which is right by the Swiss border.  We parked and took a stroll through the town, and had a glass of wine at an outdoor café.  We also spied a sleeping cat at the beginning of our walk, which was still sleeping, albeit on a different step than she had been on, when we walked by again 45 minutes later.  Just then the cat’s owner drove up, and the cat came to life. Talking to her (the owner, not the cat), we found out why the cat probably was so tired: she often accompanies her owner on 3-hour walks in the Jura Mountains!

Before leaving Ferney-Voltaire, we also saw this fascinating sight, which made us realize that one never needs to go hungry in Ferney-Voltaire, no matter what the time of day or night.  There, in a tiny side street, was a pizza machine that supposedly operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Just put in your Euros or credit card, and 4 minutes later you have a finished pizza.  We skipped it, though, since we had dinner reservations at Chez Arno.

Sunday morning we had breakfast at La Bonne Auberge, walked across to the boulangerie to pick up some things to bring home, then drove to Geneva Airport to drop off our car and fly home. The less said about the return voyage the better.  Now we’re home, and the cheese and wine (and everything else) made it back safely.

The End of the Week in the Isere

  Thursday morning we took a walk into the center of the village to stop at the boucherie and pick up something to have as part of lunch. On the way we spied the friendly orange and white cat that we had seen late yesterday, but this time I had brought the camera. The cat was behind a fence and some shrubs, but she squeezed under the fence and greeted us, and I managed to get some photos. We continued on to the butcher shop, then stopped at a farm in town that sells milk, cream and cheese, and we bought some cheese.

     Afterwards we decided to visit the somewhat large town of La Cote Saint Andre, about 25 minutes from Baucroissant, driving through some small villages on the way. La Cote Saint Andre is known for being the birthplace of the composer Hector Berlioz, and the house he was born in has been converted into a museum celebrating his life and works.  We went through the museum, and took a look at the beautiful interior courtyard.

        After leaving La Cote Saint Andre we returned to the gite to have lunch.  Since we were running out of time in Beaucroissant we took a look at the map and some booklets to figure out what we wanted to see this afternoon and tomorrow. There were several towns in the mountainous Vercors Park that we wanted to see, but we decided to save them for tomorrow, since the weather looked like it would be more promising then.  Instead we decided to go to Saint Antoine l'Abbaye, a village that is another one of the classified Plus Beaux Villages, and also has a well-known former abbey.

     Saint Antoine certainly deserves its Plus Beaux Villages designation, and the abbey was impressive. We spent a couple of hours walking through the village and touring the interior of the former abbey, including the massive church and a museum which details the history of the abbey and the order of Saint Antoine.

Gate to the Abbey

Abbey Church

Church From the Lower Village

   After leaving Saint Antoine we drove back to Beaucroissant on back roads, avoiding the major roads during rush hour.  We had dinner at the gite, which included a bottle of Mondeuse Blanche from Domaine Philippe Grisard, as well as the Verdesse we had opened at lunch, as we tried to make a dent in our wine purchases.

     On Friday, our last full day in the Isere, we headed to the Vercors Regional Park to visit several villages that I had read about.  The first stop was Cognin-les-Gorges, a beautiful village which leads to the Gorges du Nan. We parked near the center of the village and walked upwards through the streets and towards the gorges, stopping to admire the turrets of an old church and a small bridge. Along the way we met a friendly cat, which we later saw down at the bottom of the village near where we were parked.

    After leaving Cognin we drove to Pont-en-Royans, a larger village on the Isere River. We parked outside the center and walked through the Grand Rue and up some small streets into the upper part of the town.  Since it was a little past noon we decided to have a picnic along the banks of the Isere with some provisions we had brought with us and some that we picked up in town. We decided to picnic on the opposite side of the river from the center of town, since from that spot there were great views of the houses perched over the Isere.

         After our picnic we stopped in the village of La Sone, which is also on the Isere River.  La Sone looked like it was a little down on its heels, but there was a charming little park next to an old tower, and an imposing church with a 12th century clock tower.

    Our last stop of the day was the village of Beauvoir-en-Royans, which is the site of the ruins of a medieval chateau, as well as a former Carmelite convent.  While not much of the chateau remains, what does exist gives one an idea of how massive the building must have been.

      After leaving Beauvoir-en-Royans we drove back to our gite and started to get things together for the return trip. Tomorrow morning we leave Beaucroissant to finish our trip where it began -- in the town of Cremieu.