Searching for John Reed on Ile de Re

When John Reed, the head of what was the world’s largest financial institution exited Wall Street in 2000, he hightailed it to an island off the coast of southwest France. Interesting, n’est pas?  I mean, John Reed could have moved anywhere in the world but this Master of the Universe chose Ile de Re. Why?

For years, I wondered about that. But I never managed to actually get to Ile de Re to find the answer - which is strange since as islands go, it is very accessible. It is connected to the mainland by a bridge and is only 15 minutes by taxi from La Rochelle airport.  But finally, my chance arrived when friends generously offered their house over the Easter school holidays. And so we went. With years of built-up expectations, would I be disappointed?

Hardly. This island is as good as its reputation. Elegant but relaxed, popular but unspoiled, charming but not pretentious. Granted we were there off-season. That has many benefits and a few drawbacks. It was way too cold to go in the water but it didn’t stop the die-hard surfers who were having a great time. Many restaurants, shops and activities were not yet open. On the other hand, the restaurants that were open were thrilled to see us. Our seafood lunch at L’Ecailler in La Flotte was particularly memorable. We could ride bikes along 60 miles of deserted bike paths, down empty streets and across lonely marshes filled with wildlife. We walked for hours on the beach without seeing a single soul. We drank the local wine and were the only folks buying oysters at the morning market in La Porte so we received a breakfast of free samples and an amazing lesson in how to open them. It’s so much easier than you think.

Here’s what we didn’t find – crass commercialism, tear-downs, McMansions and all the other nightmares so often seen when too much money is chasing too little real estate. Chapeau to you residents of Ile de Re. You’ve kept the commercial and bad architecture beasts at bay and the island is all the better for it. Long may it last.

Anyway, I am sure the atmosphere of this very special place changes dramatically when its population (20,000 in winter and 220,000 in summer according to Wikipedia) increases  10 fold but basically, I’m not worried. It’s like this. I now understand why John Reed likes to walk the beaches and mess around

in boats and ride bikes and play tennis here. This is a lovely, interesting island Believe the hype – it’s wonderful and by all means, go.

Fontainebleau - The Other Royal Palace

Love the kings. Hate the crowds. That’s my problem with Versailles and here’s the solution: the Palace of Fontainebleau.

Located 35 miles outside of Paris and home to kings and queens of France since the 12th century, Fontainebleau shares several characteristics with Versailles. It is filled with history, enlivened by splendid art and architecture and is surrounded by immense forests, parks and formal gardens.

What Fontainebleau does not share with Versailles is the overwhelming crush of visitors. We were there on a Thursday during the Easter holidays with no lines and no tour groups. Without the modern day mob scene, it was easy to imagine the daily lives of a homesick Catherine de Medici, a renaissance-besotted Francis the First, an imprisoned Pope Pius VII and an emotional Napoleon en route to Elba. Aided by an absorbing English language audio guide, even our 11 year old daughter happily spent 1 ½ hours wandering through this monument to French art, architecture and history. If you are looking for a great day out of Paris, Fontainebleau is hard to beat.

If there is a downside to Fontainebleau, it would have to be the fact that it is not the easiest place to reach. We arrived by car which was an easy 45 minute journey on the A6 motorway out of Paris but a torturous 1 ½ hour journey back in the early evening. Travelling by car allowed us to take a quick side trip to the artists’ village of Barbizon, drive through the INSEAD business school campus, and consume a grand lunch in the forest near the town of Larchant followed by a walk and some rock climbing. If you don’t mind navigating and driving in and around Paris, renting a car for the day would open up your options in this wonderful part of France.

If driving is not for you, here is advice on how to reach Fontainebleau by public transportation gleaned from various blogs and websites:

Take a train from Paris – Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon station. Here is a link to a journey planner with schedules and fares in English. The trip should take about 50 minutes.

From the Fontainebleau-Avon station, take Bus #A or Bus #B to the Palace. The trip should take about 15 minutes. Taxis from the station are also available.

SNCF sells a combination train/bus/palace ticket (including guide book) at the Gare de Lyon which cost €26 as of July 2008.

The palace is open every day except Tuesday.
From October 1 to May 31 - 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
From June 1 to September 30 – 9:30 am to 6:00 pm

Our restaurant in the forest can be found near the town of Larchant
La Dame Jouanne
Route de la Dame Jouanne (Chalet Jobert)
Tel: 01 64 28 1623
Open Thursday through Sunday for lunch and dinner

Photo of the Palace of Fontainebleau courtesy of Wikimedia

Provence without Crowds

Provence in summer can make you crazy. On the one hand, the region offers one of the world’s most seductive landscapes and sensuous lifestyles. On the other hand, the entire charmed experience can be ruined by the crush of tourism and the problems which arise when lots of foreigners with lots of money invade. Between the high prices, the traffic and parking problems and the irritated locals, it is easy to decide that Provence in high season is oh so lovely but just not worth it.

This year, while driving back to London from northern Spain, we stayed with some savvy friends in the Luberon, made famous by British author, Peter Mayle in “A Year in Provence”, who introduced us to a magical village that seemed to solve the problem of how to visit Provence in high season without crowds.

Goult, located near the famous hilltop towns of Menerbe, Bonnieux and Lacoste, is a delightful place tucked up on the side of a hill that has somehow escaped the attention of tour buses and groups. That’s not to say that you won’t find tourists in Goult but you won’t find many. The atmosphere of the town was surprisingly quiet, chic, in an understated way and decidedly slow. We visited on a warm day in August and had our pick of parking places in the Place de la Liberation in front of the Romanesque church. The fact that we could park so easily was already a huge advantage, as was the fact that the children could wander safely through the narrow, quiet streets. A few tourists, like us, were wandering around appreciating the splendid views from the ramparts, admiring the windmill and photographing the lovely ancient stone houses.

The highlight of our visit was a long lunch on the terrace of the Café de la Poste which was filled with a jolly mix of locals and their dogs, tourists of every nationality and lots of children. It’s best to reserve or arrive early as the place fills up quickly. We had a wonderful time. Service was incredibly slow and slightly haphazard which bothered absolutely no one. More importantly, the plat du jour and several lunch menu options offered very good value. Everything was delicious.

Whiling away that blissful afternoon on the terrace of the Café de la Poste with all the sensual tastes and smells of Provence, we gave serious consideration to returning to Goult for a longer stay. Located in the Parc Naturel Regional du Luberon, Goult is a wonderful jumping off point for walking and bicycling. Surrounded by some of the most fertile agricultural land in France, the food in the markets really is too good looking to eat. An internet investigation revealed that there are several places to rent in and around Goult including the town’s rather fabulous chateau which can accommodate up to 14 adults and 10 children. Compared to the prices of hotels, even the Chateau ends up looking like a bargain. There’s no doubt about it. We’ll be back.

Café de la Poste
Rue Republique
Goult
Tel: 04 9072 23 23

Take your Family to Talloires

When the Fletcher School of Tufts University scheduled its annual European alumni gathering in Talloires in early June, we took the opportunity to organise a family holiday in the Lake Annecy region in France’s Savoy Alps during Eloise’s school holiday. We have been in the area many times but always in winter for skiing, never stopping during our mad dash from Geneva Airport to the larger resorts of Les Trois Vallee or L’Espace Killy. I have many things to thank the Fletcher School for - an education and a husband whom I met there - and now I can add to the list the fact that the school has introduced us to one of the best NoCrowds destinations in Europe for a family vacation.

To begin with, Talloires is dead easy to get to being roughly one hour from Geneva Airport by car. And while most airfares during school holidays rise to usurious levels, our British Airways flight from Heathrow’s Terminal 4 was inexpensive and filled mostly with bankers and well-dressed pensioners which was a refreshing change from the “flying bus” discount airlines we normally use. Naturally, the ever efficient Swiss were well organised on the other side and we were through customs, into our discount rental car and on the road in no time.

For our first evening, we elected to stay in the Faverges district in the mountains above the southern end of the lake and the scenery up there really is breathtaking. We stayed at Au Gay Sejour, a lovely converted 17th century Savoyard farmhouse with an excellent restaurant in the tiny hamlet of Seythenex. When we arrived, we were warmly greeted by Madame Gay who runs the front of house. We dropped off our bags and immediately took a hike through the countryside which included watching the cows being brought in for milking, exuberant horses enjoying fresh spring pastures, cherry trees loaded with fruit and lots of beautiful wildflowers. After our walk, we enjoyed drinks on the terrace while the children of the village played a naughty spitting game in the square below us, using the water from the ancient village cistern. Eloise, in the interest of making friends and improving her language skills was keen to join in, asking Jeff how one might say “May I spit at you” in French.

Dinner that evening in the hotel’s “Mistral Gourmand” restaurant, prepared by Monsieur Gay, featured fresh ingredients from the region presented in inventive ways. We had suckling pig, wild fish from Lake Annecy, snails, asparagus and fois gras as well as an excellent selection of Savoie cheeses and crèmes brulees flavoured with violets and mints. We washed it all down with a very good Vin de Savoie 2006 Chignin Mandeuse. As a demonstration of Monsieur and Madame Gay’s bonhomie, just as we had finished our meal and were about to leave the now empty dining room, guests arrived who had obviously gotten lost, were famished and very apologetic. Madame couldn’t have been nicer about it and they were served dinner despite the fact that it would mean a very late night for the proprietors.

After dinner, we got a good night’s sleep in a comfortable room at the top of the house with a lovely view down the valley. Breakfast, although expensive at €12 per person, is worth it because there isn’t an alternative within walking distance and the little extras such as fresh orange juice, alpine yoghurts and real hot chocolate make the meal more than just your average hotel continental breakfast. All in all, I really enjoyed this hidden alpine treasure and would recommend it to anyone looking for an unspoiled mountain refuge with professional service and excellent food. Quality comes at a price, particularly in this part of the world and we ended up spending €146 for our triple room and €202 for dinner. But it was a great way to start the holiday. After our fine breakfast, we bid farewell to Madame Gay, climbed back in the car and made our way down eastern shore of the lake to the lovely village of Talloires.

In 1896, when Cezanne arrived in Talloires to stay at the Hotel L’Abbaye, a converted 17th century Benedictine abbey which has been a hotel since the French Revolution, he commented that the town was a “superb vestige of times past.” Remarkably, when we arrived in Talloires in 2007, we said pretty much the same thing and the view of the bay, which Cezanne immortalised in his painting of Lake Annecy remains essentially unchanged. The atmosphere of the village is elegant and traditional with several exclusive four and five star hotels boasting seriously good restaurants, the most famous being the L’Auberge du Pere Bise, a star in France’s gastronomic firmament and a favourite of such notables as Winston Churchill, the Windsors and the Romanovs.

To try and hold down our costs, we stayed in the nicely situated and less formal three star Hotel Le Lac which is a good option for families. While the rooms could use an update, they were clean and perfectly correct. The pool was large and the garden had a ping pong table which kept Eloise busy. The feel was relaxed, staff was accomodating and internet access was included in our €150 a night triple. Given the number and the quality of the restaurants in the area, I would not go for the hotel’s half-board option and instead of the €15 breakfast (which we heard wasn’t great), we recommend having your petite dejeuner at the nearby Café de la Place, which is an old fashioned neighbourhood kind of a place with good coffee.

Upon arrival, as our hotel was a program participant, we were given a “Talloires en Liberte” card which offered free use of many activities in the village including mini golf, tennis, kayaking and bike hire. (A word of caution, many of the activities are not fully operational in late May/early June.) In addition to the above, there is a medieval castle in neighbouring Menthon where tours are conducted by costumed guides and an enormous Forest Adventure Park where children as young as 5 can scale cliffs and swing through the trees. A daily ferry service from Talloires to Annecy means you can visit the beautiful “mini Venice in the Alps” without the aggravation of traffic and parking problems. Overall, Talloires is a haven for children offering “city kids” like Eloise the chance to explore the village with her buddies like characters out of her favourite Enid Blyton stories.

Along with the many activities, fine dining is a big part of any visit to Talloires. On our first day, we had a fun, informal lunch on the terrace of La Savoyarde overlooking the beach where Eloise played Frisbee with a group of good looking Tufts University students and the next day we had an excellent lunch for a reasonable €50 at the L’abri-cotier Restaurant which is on the lake just outside the village near the l’Aquarama and camp grounds. The restaurant in the La Charpenterie Hotel has a cozy Savoyarde atmosphere and serves a good fondue (If you like that kind of thing) and good, reasonable alternatives if you don’t. As part of the Fletcher Symposium we ate two first class group meals at the L’Abbaye restaurant and “Le Cottage” which are both well known stops on France’s gastronomic roadmap. The fact that both restaurants effortlessly delivered such sophisticated and elegant meals to a group of 80 enthusiastic “networkers” speaks to their culinary capabilities.

And finally, it would not do our visit to Talloires justice if I did not say something about the incredible 11th century priory that is now the Tufts University European Center where our symposium took place. The priory was given to the University by a remarkable couple, the MacJannets, who dedicated their lives to international education and who, through their various schools and camps, left a lasting impact on the lives of Prince Phillip, Indira Ghandi and thousands of other young people. Today, the historic priory is the venue for a large number of programs, courses, seminars and conferences, all of which speak to the MacJannets’ mission of promoting understanding through international education. If you ever had a hankering to expand your mind in one of Europe’s loveliest villages, this is an amazing place and there are course offerings for learners of all ages. As Eloise inquired very early on during our stay, “So, Mom and Dad, how exactly do you get to go to this school?” We told her it was simple – keep your room clean, eat your vegetables, study hard and someday you might be lucky enough to be a student in Talloires.

Useful Addresses

Au Gay Sejour
Le Tertenox
74210 Seythenex
Tel: 04.50.44.52.52
Fax: 04.50.44.49.52
Hotel-gay-sejour@wanadoo.fr
www.hotel-gay-sejour.com

Hotel Le Lac
Rue Andre Theuriet
74290 Talloires
Tel: 04.50.60.71.08
Fax: 04.50.60.72.99
http://www.hotel-le-lac.com/

La Savoyarde Restaurant
Plage de Talloires
Route du Port
74290 Talloires
Tel/Fax: 04.50.60.71.54
lasavoyarde@cegetal.net

L’abri-cotier Restaurant
Centre Espace Lac
Angon 74290 Talloires
Tel: 04.50.60.70.45

La Charpenterie Hotel and Restaurant
Rue Andre Theuriet
74290 Talloires
Tel: 04.50.60.70.47
Fax: 04.50.60.79.07
http://www.la-charpenterie.com/

Hotel L’Abbaye
Chemin des Moines
74290 Taillores
Tel: 04.50.60.77.33
Fax: 04.50.60.78.81
http://www.abbaye-talloires.com/

Le Cottage Bise
Le Port
74290 Talloires
Tel: 04.50.60.71.10
Fax: 04.50.60.77.51
http://www.cottagebise.com/

Tufts University
Le Prieure
74290 Talloires
Tel: 04.50.60.74.04
www.ase.tufts.edu/FrenchAlps
France@tufts.edu

Romance on the Riviera

St Tropez. Who wouldn’t want to go to St Tropez? The name conjures images of film stars, money, glitz, Brigitte Bardot in her prime, gleaming white yachts, cruising sports cars, topless beaches and perfect sun tans. That being the case, you can imagine how thrilled Jeff and I were to receive an invitation to the most glamorous wedding on the St Tropez peninsula since Mick married Bianca in 1971. I had my doubts, however, whether the Cote d’Azur would turn out just too Over The Top for someone hoping to turn a dislike of crowds into a career.

As it turned out, La Croix Valmer, the village where the wedding ceremony was to take place, is only a short drive out of St Tropez, but light years away in terms of temperament and tempo. If St Tropez is the place to see and be seen, then Croix Valmer is a lower key alternative for those who want to get away from the hoi polloi and relax. I was charmed.

La Croix Valmer sits at the southern end of the St Tropez peninsula and is surrounded by vineyards, has several really beautiful sand beaches, and a substantial nature reserve perfect for hiking and getting away from everyone. At the suggestion of the bride’s family, we, along with most of the guests, stayed at the Parc Hotel L’Orangeraie, just outside of town, which must have been very “non plus ultra” during the Belle Epoque and is now a comfortable three star set in a park with a great pool and spectacular views over the bay. Staff are accommodating (and we certainly stress tested their ‘bonhommie’ during and after the festivities) although services are limited. The hotel does not have a restaurant or a bar but the receptionist will happily sell you drinks from the front desk. Our pretty double room with a fabulous sea view was a reasonable €126 per night in low season and although breakfast at €12 was steep for what it was, the fact that it was served out in the garden with such lovely views seemed to help justify the cost.

What makes La Croix Valmer and its beaches truly special is their position next to a vast tract of coastal land that has been set aside as a nature reserve, backing onto the justifiably famous and fun Gigaro beach with its surfers, lively bars and surprisingly good restaurants. The night we arrived, the groom’s family had an informal drinks party at the unpretentious beach bar and restaurant ‘Pepe Le Pirate’, at which point I stopped worrying about the entire Code d’Azur being too OTT. We also had several wonderful, informal and reasonably priced meals at the pretty beachside restaurant Couleurs Jardin, also in Gigaro. Although parking regulations are enforced, parking was hassle-free and plentiful. This was hardly the yacht choked, jet setting set-up I was expecting. I can’t speak about Gigaro in high summer, but in September, this place is blissful. I have been told that if you are willing to hike, even in high season, you can escape to empty beaches in hidden coves within the nature reserve.

On the Saturday morning of the wedding, hopeful that September 16 would be late enough in the season to take the topspin off the crowds, we set out for the famous Place des Lices market in St Tropez. But, of course, we underestimated the appeal of this world famous former fishing village, underestimating as well the fact that huge amounts of people wait until September to take their holidays. By late morning, the place was heaving, traffic was at a standstill and parking spaces were long gone. With that said, this is a really fun market and September is the perfect time to buy dirt cheap, incredibly sexy bikinis and knock-off Vilebrequin swim trunks. There’s lots of tourist tat and tee-shirts but you can also find keenly priced, good quality linens and cashmere as well as soaps, lavender and all kinds of fabulous food, much of which can be eaten as one strolls the rows of stalls. As the mother of the bride had so correctly cautioned us the night before, if you want to go to the market, be sure to get there early.

After we finished with the market, we walked down to the port which was heaving as well, which seemed to be the point of the place. We, like the rest of the plebeians, strolled along the space between the yachts and the bars and restaurants, hoping to see someone famous but only glimpsing lots of folks like ourselves looking hopeful. Jeff spent much time checking out the posted menus and prices and quickly began to lobby for heading out of town for lunch. We passed lots of boutiques which you can also find on Bond Street/Madison Avenue. The architecture in the old town is lovely. But I don’t feel we need to go back.

Still, later that day, after a beautiful ceremony, we did head back towards St Tropez for the reception at Les Moulins de Ramatuelle, a small inn and fabulous restaurant set in a lovely garden, only five minutes out of town. And as the French dramatist, Jean Anouilh, once remarked, “In France, everything, from weddings to duels, is merely a pretext for a good dinner." And what a brilliant dinner we had, set in an elegant dining room of white, blond and beige opening on to the a romantically lit garden. With five rooms, the intimate Moulin de Ramatuelle would be an good alternative for couples who want to be near the action of St Tropez but at the same time, stay out of the scrum.

So what’s the verdict on the Cote d’Azur? Maybe it was the charm of the young couple getting married, the attractiveness of their friends and family, the sun which finally came out after an ominous deluge, the lunch at Coulers Jardin or the dinner at the Moulin de Ramatuelle, but in any event, I loved it. And here are my tips to make sure you love it too. Go any time except July and August. Stay within walking distance of Gigaro beach. Have a sunset drink at Pepe the Pirate’s, stay off the road to Nice and get to the Lices market early.

Parc Hotel L’Orangeraie

Route de Ramatuelle

PB 33

83420 La Croix Valmer

Tel: 00 33 (0) 4 94 55 27 27

Fax: 00 33 (0) 4 94 54 38 91

Parchotel2@wanadoo.fr

http://www.lorangeraie-parc-hotel.com/

Coulers Jardin

Plage de Gigaro – La Croix Valmer

Tel: 04 94 79 59 12

Pepe Le Pirate

Plage de Gigaro – La Croix Valmer

Les Moulins de Ramatuelle

Route des Plages

83350 Ramatuelle

Tel: 00 33 (0) 4 94 97 1722

Fax: 00 33 (0) 4 94 97 85 60

www.christophe-leroy.com

Place des Lices Market

Tuesday and Saturday from 8:00 - 1:00pm

Photo of the beach at Gigaro