Fête Nationale - Parade

The last time we were in France during the Fête Nationale (July 14th known in the US as Bastille Day) we saw the fireworks but somehow missed the parade and ceremonies.  So this time we made sure we saw the parade.  The parade route was on Cours Franklin Roosevelt, a lovely wide avenue lined with trees, and there were flags hanging across the street along the length of the parade.  Quite a lovely, festive sight!

The parade route before the parade.

The parade itself consisted of various military, police,and fire units.  There were no marching bands, but there was a large band stationed near the grandstand, and their music was projected via speakers along the parade route.  The band played a wide variety of music, even including selections from Phantom of the Opera, but, curiously, no Marseillaise.

The legendary French Foreign Legion - They marched in slow march time; very impressive!

Firefighters - those are axes they are carrying.  Also, note the police officer on the left.  Officers were stationed along the route for crowd control;"ours" was quite pleasant and answered questions, etc.

Here's the Army. (Apologies to all you Navy fans - my picture of the Navy is blury.)

Police motorcycle unit waiting its turn to get into the parade.

And, no parade would be complete with Fire and Rescue vehicles!

The spectators were enthusiastic, applauding at the appropiate times and taking lots of pictures, as you can see on the phone on the bottom left of the picture above.  In fact it was a lot like parades in the US.  It even started a bit late - the French woman next to us. said that was "so like the French!" and smiled.

After it ended we found a little bistro on a side street and enjoyed a pleasant rosé as we watched parents taking their very excited, tired, hungry children home for dinner.

A BIG Birthday...

Birthdays don't normally bother me.  In fact, I can't remember a birthday or age that's given me the slightest concern.  Until THIS one, that is.  July 1st was one of those milestone birthdays that carries a lot of weight.  At least it seems like it to me.

But, David came to the rescue!  He and his bicycle buddies had discovered a nice little auberge just outside of Viviers (a village about 2 hours drive south  of Lyon - by car, that is).  And, he made reservations for my birthday weekend before he and the guys pedalled on.

So off we went on the 29th.  The weather was great, and the drive was quite pleasant.  The scene was set for a lovely weekend.

The auberge definnitely lived up to all the wonderful things David said about it.  Blue pots with colorful plants graced the entrance along with large, charming trees.

Entrance to the Auberge.

Here's the tree-lined driveway leading to our room.

Our room was actually a separate cottage by the pool.  We had our own little patio with a great view of the pool and spacious grounds.  Quite the setting!

Our patio and door to our room.

View of side yard from our room.

David by the side of the pool.  Next time we'll bring swimsuits!

Our hostess was fun, entertaining and informative.  We enjoyed our many conversations with her.  She also took very good care of us at breakfast and dinner.  We had our own table reserved in the dining area outside under an arbor.  And, the food was fantastic!  Breakfasts included  assortments of freshly-made breads and rolls with home-made preserves.  Dinner was excellent!  Our  evening meals were preceeded by more delicious breads, including an olive bread that I just couldn't resist, and various toppings and pâtés.  We ordered a la carte since out appetites aren't up to the full meals (although they were VERY tempting!).  Desserts were wonderful, too.  In short, the food and the wines were amazing.

So, if you are in the area and would like to be pampered and enjoy a quiet retreat, I highly recommend Le Relais Du Vivarais.  It makes even a BIG birthday fun.

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We did some sightseeing during the days we were there - there will be another posting on that.

Guests of a Chef

France continues to present us with surprises, and today was definitely one of them.

We met Bernadette last year at Vitenature, our favorite boulangerie.  She is actually a neighbor and lives in a building at the end of our block so we see her often in the neighborhood and have treated each other to coffee at the boulangerie.  So we weren't totally surprised when she invited us to join her family in their apartment on a Sunday along with Phillipe, Angeline,(owners of Vitenature) and their boys.  Certainly a very nice gesture!  (NEVER believe those books that tell Americans that the French are very private people and will never invite you into their homes.  Who comes up with that stuff anyway?!)

So today we went to their apartment and were welcomed by her and her daughter, whom we had met before, as well as her husband, Claude, and Bernadette's sister.  Claude has an amazing collection of small models of cars, ships, motorcycles, etc., etc. (The boys were fascinated!)  In mentioning us to Claude, Bernadette had told him, among other things, that we enjoy French cuisine and that David had been in the Navy.  Claude had also served in his country's Navy and insisted on giving David one of his old Navy hats.  He also proudly presented us with an envelope.

Now, Bernadette had mentioned in passing that Claude is a retired chef, but we thought no more of it.  Until we opened the envelope, that is.  Claude had actually worked for years with Paul Bocuse, the reknowned 3 Star (Michelin) chef.  The envelope contained, among other things, a card and a small pamphlet personally inscribed: "Pour Anna et David Aubry - Amities gourmandes, Paul Bocuse" and "Pour Anna et David avec mes compliments.  Paul Bocuse."  Claude also gave us a picture of him and the team he coached to win a European culinary championship.  And, of course he had prepared a special gateau for us all te eat, along with the champagne that flowed.

Notes  Claude had Paul Bocuse inscribe to us.

A picture of Claude surrounded by his championship team.

What a generous man, what a lovely visit with his family, and what a pleasant surprise!