Saturday night was the "fete petanque" - petanque is the southern France version of boche ball so this was the annual social event of the local petanque club. We were with a group of about 10 local French friends and John and I and our English friend John were probably the only non-French people there. It started at 8 pm and first you hang out for an hour and a half, talking, drinking (pastis, beer, or wine), and smoking (not us of course). Then they serve the dinner which was a nice salad and then a HUGE beef chop (unbelievably huge) and french fries. It was definitely quantity rather than quality. Most of the meat from our group ended up in a doggie bag for a real (big) dog belonging to one of the group. Then cheese of course and some kind of dessert which I didn't have. All of this was of course accompanied by pitchers of local wine.
After dinner was loud recorded music and dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing. First the music was old time French that the older people to a paso doble dance to (very beautiful to watch). Than the music changed to modern - much with a middle eastern influence. All the women danced alone or in groups. Many young children got on the dance floor and really rocked never stopping through the evening. Then some young men joined in (of course our older charming french friend Yves who is a wonderful dancer danced the whole time taking turns with the women in our group). Finally both Johns joined in and my John ended up in a circle of the women doing kind of a mock boy toy routine. There was also a major conga line number led by the mayor. Quite a raucous and fun evening ending (for us) after midnight. Goodness knows how long others stayed.
Unfortunately we didn't bring a camera to this event. The pictures would have been classic.
Then last night we were invited to a small dinner party at the home of a delightful French couple Jean Baptiste and Rosemary. Both grew up in this village. He is an architect. Her parent owned the building and grounds that is now their home. It was originally the house upstairs and the stables and work areas downstairs including what is now the garden and was previously where all the equipment was. In back originally was the huge garden. Her family owned vineyards. Jean Baptiste redesigned the place so that it is now an unbelievably beautiful home and is absolutely not expected from the street. It is an oasis of beautiful design, cool spaces, and many exceptional and eclectic art pieces. The garden in the rear is shaded by huge ancient trees and it is all light with tiny lights in the trees. Jean Baptiste has an outdoor kitchen in the garden from which he cooked much of the food.
The food and company were just wonderful with many, many appetizers - lots of seafood and then a lovely small main course. Of course after that lovely cheese, small apricot tarts, and then delicious watermelon with some kind of syrup to cleanse the palate. Jean Baptiste and Rosemary were skilled and warm hosts. We spoke both French and English - most guests were Brits living here. We left after midnight feeling very fortunate to have been included in such a lovely evening.
After dinner was loud recorded music and dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing. First the music was old time French that the older people to a paso doble dance to (very beautiful to watch). Than the music changed to modern - much with a middle eastern influence. All the women danced alone or in groups. Many young children got on the dance floor and really rocked never stopping through the evening. Then some young men joined in (of course our older charming french friend Yves who is a wonderful dancer danced the whole time taking turns with the women in our group). Finally both Johns joined in and my John ended up in a circle of the women doing kind of a mock boy toy routine. There was also a major conga line number led by the mayor. Quite a raucous and fun evening ending (for us) after midnight. Goodness knows how long others stayed.
Unfortunately we didn't bring a camera to this event. The pictures would have been classic.
Then last night we were invited to a small dinner party at the home of a delightful French couple Jean Baptiste and Rosemary. Both grew up in this village. He is an architect. Her parent owned the building and grounds that is now their home. It was originally the house upstairs and the stables and work areas downstairs including what is now the garden and was previously where all the equipment was. In back originally was the huge garden. Her family owned vineyards. Jean Baptiste redesigned the place so that it is now an unbelievably beautiful home and is absolutely not expected from the street. It is an oasis of beautiful design, cool spaces, and many exceptional and eclectic art pieces. The garden in the rear is shaded by huge ancient trees and it is all light with tiny lights in the trees. Jean Baptiste has an outdoor kitchen in the garden from which he cooked much of the food.
The food and company were just wonderful with many, many appetizers - lots of seafood and then a lovely small main course. Of course after that lovely cheese, small apricot tarts, and then delicious watermelon with some kind of syrup to cleanse the palate. Jean Baptiste and Rosemary were skilled and warm hosts. We spoke both French and English - most guests were Brits living here. We left after midnight feeling very fortunate to have been included in such a lovely evening.
Dinner party at Jean Baptiste's and Rosemarie's.
Jean Baptiste cooks in his outdoor kitchen.
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