 | La Fête de la Vannerie at Vallabrègues - Once a year, the rather nondescript Provençal village of Vallabrègues comes alive to its glorious past in basket weaving. Situated close to the Rhone, whose alluvial plain was great for willow-growing, Vallabrègues was once the biggest basket producer in France. Of course, that was at a time when (imagine!) baskets were a major type of packaging--for fruits, vegetables, breads, and all sorts of other goods. Things started to go downhill with the advent of wooden crates and then, cardboard and plastic. The coup de grâce to French basket making on even the artisanal level arrived with the arrival of cheap Chinese imports. Today, French basketmaking is an art in danger of disappearing.
Basketmaking was formally organized as a recognized métier in the region of nearby Arles in 1497. Historically, most basket-makers were nomadic, and many of their number were Roma. An old engraving shows such an itinerant vannier covered from head to foot in baskets. But Vallabrègues was home to numbers of 'fixed' basketmakers, who supplied merchants with transport packaging and merchandise displays.
In 1990, the village of Vallabrègues decided to bring its vibrant history back to life with an annual basketmaking festival. The festival includes a fair for basketmakers from all over Europe, echoing the foires of yesterday, which were major markets of the day. There's also a special mass, where the willow is blessed. But best of all is the parade, where everyone dresses in period costume. Wagons bearing families coming to the fair bearing baskets to sell, Carmaguais in traditional costume, mounted proudly on their superb white horses, the confrerie--or guild--of basketmakers...the parade is a breathtaking sight. In fact, it was so beautiful that I wept during a good part of it. I was simply overcome with nostalgia for a time when things were simpler and people working with their hands had honor and dignity. Come, take a step into this past time with me... |
Enjoy some photo stories:
 | A botanical hike in Provence - Our part of Provence is full of secrets waiting to be discovered. On the eve of Easter, we visitied the village of St-Saturnin-les-Apt, in the Vaucluse about 30 minutes from our house in Haute Provence. While the core of the village was built in the early 18th century, the chateau looming over it dates in part from as early as the 9th. Come with Denis and me as we walk from the old village up through the chateau and follow a path through the spectacular countryside that was the former domaine of the chateau. See the early spring wildflowers and discover myriad architectural ruins along the way! |
 | Stirrings of spring in Provence - Nothing is quite as thrilling as the very first stirrings of spring. From one day to the next, a warm breath transforms the landscape from sere grays and browns to tender green brushed here and there with pinks and acid yellows. I never lose my sense of wonder that somehow, spring once again has arrived...sometimes against all odds... |
 | The flavors and fragrances of Haute Provence - Each year, around the second week of September, the village of Forcalquier celebrates local producers, chefs, and artists in a week of festive activities. On the final Sunday of the week (most of which I miss as I am in Paris working), a village market filled with an exuberance of diverse stands makes for a delightful afternoon. |
 | Jardins, jardin! - Every year in early June, France declares a national garden festival. All over the country, normally private gardens open their gates to the public and public gardens host special thematic events. As part of this festival, the Jardins, jardin garden show this year was held in the Tuileries--right in the heart of Paris. While water was the overall theme of the event, the special focus was on terrace gardens, which is the sort of garden Parisians have if they have any garden at all. A series of superb large display gardens topped off the event. On a splendidly sunny early June day, take a photo tour with me of this year's Jardins, jardin festival, and reap a basketful of ideas for your own urban garden! |
 | Cows of France - France is home to 37 different breeds of cattle. This marvellous diversity is on display each year at the Salon d'Agriculture, the mammoth agricultural fair in Paris. The fair covers 7 vast exposition halls, and includes not only cows but pigs, sheep (49 breeds), goats, horses, all manner of poultry, and producers of fine quality agricultural products (including wine) who let you sample and buy their wares. The fair is visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year and is always held in early March. Meet a sampling of France's magnificent cows!
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 | Antique French post cards--Roses - Are you a romantic? Like a bit of kitsch? Love anything having to do with roses? Or do you just enjoy imagining a time, before telecommunications, when people actually wrote, by hand, to communicate with each other? Then these old postcards are for you.
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 | A Sunday stroll through Veules-les-Roses - Veules-les-Roses is a tiny coastal village about ten miles from our house in Normandy. Like a Norman Hobbittown, everything is diminuitive in Veules. A scant kilometer inland from the sea, an enormous spring gives rise to the Veules, the shortest fleuve--or river running directly to the sea--in France. This crystalline, rushing river and the roses that flourish everywhere are the defining elements of this charming village of thatched-roof cottages. |
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Diable
Provençal daubière
Provençal poêlon, medium