The annual book festival in Mouans Sartoux takes place during October for three days and encompasses the entire village. There are five themed exhibitions; literature, coffee table books, youth, comics-teens-manga and antique books. The festival attracts around 35,000 visitors each year and that does not include 250 plus exhibitors and between 250 and 350 authors. It has grown in popularity over the years and is now an internationally recognised event as well of one of France’s main book festivals. Each year the festival is concerned with a specific topic; this year that subject will be States of Emergency.
The village of Mouans-Sartoux is a mediaeval town located between Grasse and Cannes. Along with Festival du Livre, it is also known for its pottery markets, winter santons exhibit and a modern multiples cinema. There is mixture of old and new which has been accomplished by maintaining the traditional village centre and the development of a modern industrial area on the outskirts of the town.
The traditional language of the South of France used to be Occitan or Langue d’Oc, until almost one hundred years ago and most people would have spoken this. The word “oc” means “yes”. Occitan could not be understood by those living in the northern areas of France. There are many subsequent dialects, one of which is Provençal.
It is highly unlikely that you will hear anyone speaking Provençal unless perhaps by an elderly person. However, the Provençal accent is still very common and can be heard from people of all ages. It is similar to Italian as it the “n”s at the end of words are pronounced, unlike the French spoken in Paris and it has many ups and downs which is almost like hearing somebody sing.
The Occitan language began to die out when it became mandatory in schools for French to be taught although there have been attempts to try and re-establish it in some areas in the South of France.
One of the many wonderful things about Provence is that it plays host to an array of different landscapes for such a relatively small area. The Garrique is a type of scrubland which is home to wild herbs such as thyme, rosemary and sage as well as lavender. In the summer there you see hundreds of fields completely covered in lavender. This is used to produce perfumes, soaps and bags of dried flowers that are popular items found on market stalls around Provence. The tradition of using the essence of lavender goes right back to when Roman housekeepers used lavender to make the linen smell fresh, as well as using it to fragrance the house and bath water. In the Caramarque you can find marshes where rice is growing and wild bulls roam.
In stark contrast there is Mont Ventoux which adds a white rocky texture to the surrounding landscape. Provence even has its own small scale Arizona in the form of the red Estérel hills. In the subsequent valleys you will find an assortment of vines, fruit and olive trees. There are also areas of Mediterranean oak and pine trees.
Provence offers so many dramatic landscapes that by the end of your visit you can feel like you have had several holidays in one.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Provence |
When most people think of a French alcoholic beverage it is usually wine that is conjured up in their minds. However, a popular drink of choice in France, particularly in the southern regions of the country, is a tipple called pastis. Pastis has an aniseed flavour and is in a similar vein to sambucca in Italy, ouzo in Greece, raki in Turkey and arak Lebanon and Israel
Pastis became popular after absinthe was banned in France from 1914 although it took 17 years to establish itself due to people’s reluctance of drinking anis-based drinks. Pastis is a strong drink that is 40% to 45% alcohol by volume. It is normally diluted with water which gives it a sweeter taste. It is strongly associated with the game pétanque which originated in Provence whose players drink it to legally enhance their performance.
130 million litres of pastis are sold every year in France. It is also used as an ingredient of in several cocktails including Mauresque, Perroquet, Tomate, Rourou and Cornichon.
