A night at the theatre

Recently, friends invited me to join them for a visit to the theatre in Pezenas.  They had been telling me about this historical theatre for ages, and I had been longing to go – so this was it!  The theatre is tucked away in a narrow side street, and the facade of it is rather plain, save for a very ornate doorway.  If you look at the top half of the door casing there is nothing much to hint at what lies behind the entrance:

 

There are no flashing signs, no names up in lights!  With the large wooden doors closed it would look like many other buildings in Pezenas.  BUT, the wooden doors were open and allowed a glimpse into the foyer:

 

Very little is known of the early history of the theatre, but a description of it was made by the then town architect, Joseph Montgaillard, in 1855.  The town of Pezenas purchased the building in 1857, and in 1899 a series of renovation projects started, improving seating and stage machinery, as well as replacing the painted stage curtain.  In 1925 (!!) the theatre was electrified. I couldn’t find out whether it was lit with gas or candlelight before then. In 1947 the theatre closed down – I am assuming that it might have been due to the poor state of repair of the building.  You can find out a little more about the history of the theatre here.  There are also some pictures of it before the restoration began, on that website.

Work on the restoration didn’t start until 1998, after the theatre had been closed for more than 50 years!!  It finished with the re-opening of the theatre in 2012.  During those 14 years absolutely everything was worked on.  The building was made watertight, the interior restored and up-to-date technical services were installed.  Here is what it looks like today:

Door leading to the stalls

Former box office windows in the foyer

Detail of art deco decorations in the foyer

The foyer did not prepare me for the sumptuous interior of the auditorium

Auditorium of the historic theatre in Pezenas

The photo above is of the view from the first floor balcony straight down to the stage.  The walls in the stalls and on the balcony are covered with striped wallpaper, faithfully reproduced after fragments of the original paper.

More carvings on the front of the 1st floor balcony

A closer look at the stage

Decoration on one of the proscenium boxes

The ceiling was intricately painted and had been painstakingly restored:

The painted ceiling

Ceiling painting just above the stage

Flowers on the painted ceiling

Rib vaulting

The coat of arms of the town of Pezenas adorns the proscenium:

Coat of arms of the town of Pezenas

A new chandelier was created to light the auditorium:

The chandelier

Unfortunately the main stage curtain was not lowered during my visit, but apparently it is very much in keeping with the decorations you can see below:

Top of the proscenium arch

Bit by bit the other patrons arrived, and the theatre filled up.  When it was time for the performance to begin the theatre was pretty full!

The auditorium filling up

During the performance I took no pictures – I was too self-conscious of the loud click of the camera, and aware that the pictures might not be all that good with the low lighting conditions.  The piece we’d come to see was L’homme qui voulait voir les anges, The man who wanted to see the angels.  It was an amazing mix of storytelling and music, performed by Kamel Guennoun and the Trio Zephyr. I was totally mesmerized and carried along by the story and the music.  The simplicity of it was breathtaking – only the four chairs on the stage and the lights, which dimmed a little at times, but that was it!  A totally amazing evening all around!

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Feeding frenzy

I promised to share some of the food pictures I took during my nephew’s visit, and I like keeping my promises.

To start with, here is one picture which should really have made it into last week’s post:  the wonderful ice creams at La Nomada on the beach at Valras Plage.  Here’s their version of a banana split:

During the week that my nephew, Thomas, stayed in Saint-Chinian, we went out for a few meals.  It really started on the way back from Toulouse airport.  Thomas arrived at just after 5pm – too early to have dinner in Toulouse.  We therefore decided to head in the direction of Saint-Chinian, and along the way had the idea to re-visit a restaurant in the centre of Carcassonne called L’Escalier.

When I last visited this restaurant it was specialising in Mexican food, and I was looking forward to that.  However, since that last visit the theme has changed, and now Bistro food is all the rage.  The ambience was still the same, somewhat ramshackle and haphazard, and at the same time very cozy.  We were quite early and had our pick of the tables.

We started with a Greek salad to share between the three of us.  A wise move, since that salad was huge!  At this point I have a confession to make:  I cannot find the photographs of the entire meal – they have somehow disappeared into the ether 😦

Luckily I can always remember a good meal!! 🙂  Thomas had chosen mussels for his main course, just plain moules mariniere – fresh mussels are very difficult to come by where he lives.  The mussels were absolutely wonderful!  They were served in a large salad bowl, with another bowl the same size for the empty shells, and they were piping hot and freshly cooked.  My partner had ordered a dish called pluma de porc, which is a cut not unlike the filet, but with more marbling.  It was deliciously tender and the portion was very large.  I had chosen the house speciality burger:  a submarine roll, filled with slices of grilled duck breast, foie gras and onion marmalade – total decadence!!  After all that food we skipped dessert – we had all eaten very well!

Our next outing was to Pizza Tillou in St Chinian, and once more there are no pictures of the food.  To me one pizza looks very much like the next, although the taste experience can be very different from one Pizzeria to another.  Tillou’s pizzas have a very thin crust and I always ask for mine bien cuit (well done) – then it comes with slightly charred edges, and is very crispy!

The food highlight of Thomas’s visit was dinner at Au Lavoir in Colombiers.  I had taken his brother two years ago, and Thomas deserved that treat too.  It was a perfect evening, warm enough to sit outside.  We were kindly given one of the two tables right at the end of the terrace, from which you have a view of the Canal du Midi below – such a great start to the evening!!

Canal du Midi as seen from the terrace at Au Lavoir in Colombiers

Here’s the food – at long last some pictures!!  For starters, Thomas had chosen Bellota ham, my partner had decided to try the carpaccio of octopus and I had plumped for foie gras as usual. 🙂

Bellota ham

Octopus carpaccio

Terrine of foie gras

For the main course, Thomas had chosen rack of lamb and when it came he was somewhat disappointed – he felt the portion looked rather small.  He’s into eating big portions.  The lamb was cooked to perfection, pink and juicy, and ever so tender!

Rack of lamb

My partner had filet of sea bass with a celery cream – yummy!!

I had chosen the tuna steak for my main course – beautifully juicy and oh so tasty!

Tuna steak

Desserts at Au Lavoir are always delicious!!  Thomas wanted the moelleux au chocolat, a kind of half-baked chocolate cake with a melting centre.  It was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream – Thomas was in seventh heaven!!   My partner opted for the crispy green banana fritters, with ice cream and a salted butter caramel sauce – I could have very happily eaten that instead of my dessert.  But then I really liked my dessert too – a raspberry tiramisu, served in a little kilner jar!

Moelleux au chocolat

Crispy green banana fritter

Raspberry tiramisu

As it got darker the lights came on, and the terrace took on a completely different allure.

The terrace at Au Lavoir in Colombiers

The sun set over the Canal du Midi, a wonderful end to a fantastic meal!!

Sunset vewed from Au Lavoir in Colombiers, France

Our last meal out with Thomas was at Valras Plage.  He had set his heart on going to eat at a restaurant where we had spent an evening when he had last visited with his parents.  “This will be my treat, I am inviting you”, he announced.  He confided that he had brought enough money, so we could have anything on the menu – so sweet!! 🙂

L’Auberge Provencale is on Allee Charles de Gaulle, a square which opens right onto the seafront.  There are many restaurants surrounding this square – I don’t remember what made us choose this particular one the first time we went, but we’ve been back a good few times.  We all opted for the set menu which was priced at EUR 16.90 – it had a good choice and we all found something we liked.

Thomas started with a Caesar’s salad – almost a meal in itself, but then he likes big portions! 🙂  My partner enjoyed a goat’s cheese mousse, and I had a platter with a selection of starters, a bit like tapas – very delicious.

Caesar’s salad

Goat’s cheese mousse

A mixed starter plate

For his main course, Thomas had his longed for mussels.  He wanted moules mariniere just as he had on the day he arrived in France – so he could compare them!  He said that they were every bit as good as they had been in Carcassonne, and he did finish them all!

Moules mariniere

My partner ordered a plate of grilled gambas and cuttlefish, which came with a cute basked of fries.  We had previously seen these cute baskets at the Maison du Cassoulet in Castelnaudary, but weren’t allowed to have any, remember?  The gambas and cuttlefish were finished with a persillade, a mixture of chopped garlic and parsley.

Grilled gambas and cuttlefish

I had a hunger for mussels too – I don’t often prepare them at home.  I decided to try the mussels with sauce campagnarde, which is bacon, onions and cream – a great combination, and one which went well with the mussels!  Both the mussel dishes came with a bowl of fries, and they were very good too!

Mussels with bacon and cream

The dessert menu was fairly standard, with the usual creme caramel, mousse au chocolat, etc…  We ended up ordering ice creams.  Thomas was tempted by the “Bounty” coupe, which was coconut and chocolate ice cream.  My partner fancied the “authentic Italian gelato” with caramel sauce, and I ordered a strawberry sundae, which came with an almost obscene amount of whipped cream!  All very good and not a spoonful left at the end of the meal.

“Bounty” ice cream coupe

Gelato with caramel sauce

Strawberry sundae

What a wonderful finale to what we hope will have been a very exciting holiday for Thomas!

Flying high

Last week, my nephew, Thomas, came to stay during his school holidays.  He had just turned 15, and this was his first holiday without his parents.  It was also his first time on an aeroplane, so you can imagine how excited he was!

His elder brother had come to visit two years ago, and we had had a week of outings and visits to keep him happy and amused.  I was wondering what would keep Thomas happy, and when I asked if there was anything he really wanted to do, his reply was: “I would like to go to the beach”.  He arrived on Wednesday, and as Thursday was a beautifully sunny day we went to Valras Plage in the afternoon.

Coming into Valras Plage from the eastern end, I noticed a little street, which seemed to lead right to the beach, the Chemin des Pecheurs.  There was space to park the car, so we stopped and decided to explore.  It was the perfect spot for us – the beach was beautifully sandy, and there was a boardwalk leading to a bar/restaurant right on the beach!  The restaurant had a covered dining area, as well as a bar area, and there were armchairs and coffee tables right on the sand.  Absolutely brilliant – I could watch my nephew in the water, whilst having an ice cream! 🙂

The restaurant is called La Paillote Nomada.  Paillotte means a straw covered hut, and refers to the temporary nature of the beach restaurants, which are usually dismantled over the winter months – there are several such restaurants along the beach in Valras Plage.  Thomas quickly changed into his swimming things and after a cursory rubbing on of suntan lotion he was off into the water and the waves.

There was a bit of a breeze, and I was glad to have brought a light jumper, sitting as I was in the shade.  The water was barely 15 degrees, but Thomas was having the time of his life, swimming, diving through the waves and paddling!  I had a job to persuade him to take a break, but he did come out of the water and I treated him to a nutella filled crepe.  No sooner had he finished it, than he was off into the water again.  The beach was fairly empty, so he had it pretty much all to himself.

On the Sunday we went to the beach again – this time to Narbonne Plage.  I had seen an advert for a kite festival there, and I wanted to see what it was all about.

We could see the kites as we drove down the hill into Narbonne Plage.  It looked very exciting!  Where Valras Plage had been almost deserted on Thursday, Narbonne Plage was positively heaving with people on that Sunday .

A huge area had been cordoned off on the beach, and within that area a large number of kites were anchored.

A lot of the kites were carrying other inflatables – there were all kinds of fun shapes floating around.  Can you see the black witches in the picture above?

On the other side of this area, an arena had been set up.  This arena was used for demonstrations of kite flying, and they were doing some amazing stuff there!!  I tried to take a video, but could not catch the kites, they were just too fast!  A number of stalls had been set up next to the arena, selling all kinds of merchandise related to the festival.

I was very taken with the windmills on sale at this stall!  At another stall, I overheard in passing that a competition kite can cost anything between 2,000 and 5,000 Euros!!  I was totally floored!

Back at our “base camp” on the beach, I watched someone flying one of these expensive kites close-up.  The precision and skill were totally impressive!

Somehow, the kites left Thomas pretty cold – he was far more interested in the water and the waves!  😀

We were back at Valras Plage Monday afternoon – Thomas wanted to take us out to a restaurant in the centre of Valras Plage, L’Auberge Provencale, where he had eaten some wonderful mussels on his last visit with his parents.  We went early enough, so that he could have another swim, and went to La Nomada again.  This time it was a little warmer, but the waves were not as big as during our previous visit – much to Thomas’s disappointment.  Once again, there were very few people on the beach, so it would appear that weekdays are best for going to the beach during the off-season!

I promise that I’ll write about my restaurant visits with Thomas in a soon to be published blog!

 

 

Marie Celeste?

About eight years ago, one of our neighbours died suddenly.  He was an elderly man, and he had had a physical handicap from birth – one leg was shorter than the other.  But despite the handicap, he had worked hard all his life, and had valiantly earned his living running a market garden.  In his retirement he continued to garden.  He had a large piece of land, not far from his house, and he shared that with some of the neighbours.  I would often see them all sitting there in the shade, watching things grow and chewing the fat.

Our neighbour died intestate, and he had no close relatives who would have inherited his house and lands.  The French genealogists have not been able to track down any heirs, or if they have, the heirs have refused the inheritance.  So the property has gone to the state, and was recently sold by means of a postal auction.  Before the sale, a viewing day had been arranged, and since I am incurably curious, I went along! 🙂

The house is half of one of the grandest buildings in Saint-Chinian, built in the 18th century for a wealthy merchant.  Under Napoleonic law, property has to be divided between the children, and so it came that the grand house was divided into two, some time ago.  Our neighbour’s half was the “poor” side of the house, with a large garage on the ground floor. I had visited the “grand” side of the house some time ago, and had seen the  immense stone staircase, with the most gorgeous wrought iron balustrade, as well as some of the very large salons.

The “poor” side of the house interested me, since no major renovation works had been carried out for absolute ages.  I took my camera and took as many pictures as I could.  There is currently no electricity, so some of the pictures are a little under-lit.  As you can see, this is a bathroom:

On the first floor, the floor tiles had been re-laid – by the look of the tiles, sometime in the 1930’s perhaps?

I love old wallpaper – you’ll see more patterns later in the post.

Some of the rooms were large, and others much smaller and oddly shaped.

The staircase in this half of the house must have been a later addition, or perhaps it had been a servant’s staircase, which had been updated.  The doors on the landing are the originals from the 18th century!

Another beautiful door on the second floor:

I’m not sure if the pattern in the picture below is stencilled onto the plaster or printed on paper.  It could have been intended for a child’s bedroom?

On the second floor there were a number of small, interconnecting rooms, and there was some wild wallpaper!  The imitation-tile paper was in what looked like a walk through store-room, or dressing room.  Or perhaps it would have held the commode?

Another surprising room on the second floor – this was the only ornate fireplace in this half of the house.  There are several in the other half.  Perhaps the others had been taken out?  With the white tiles along the wall I imagine that the room would have served either as a kitchen or a bathroom, but without much evidence of plumbing.

Here is a glass door knob from one of the doors.

The real surprise/mystery was on the ground floor, which was mostly taken up by the garage.

To the left of the door, in the corner, you can just about make out a toilet, presumably the only one in the house, when it was first installed.  To the right of the door is the base of an old wine-press.

On the wall which divides the two houses there was still a door and a key:

But the mystery was this:

A hole in the ground, with steps leading down to an archway – the entrance to a tunnel, heading in the direction of the river?  An escape route for aristocrats during the French Revolution?  A secret passage to the house across the road, where the mistress might have been installed?

Unfortunately the flash on my camera was not powerful enough to illuminate very much, and the torches we had did not shine very far either.  The light switch close by would not have been much use even if there had been electricity in the house!

So the mystery remains!  Perhaps whoever buys the house will be able to solve it?  I do hope so!!

P.S.  Annie, my trusted proof-reader, has advanced a theory about the rooms without fireplaces in this half of the house: they might have been bedrooms and thus not needed any heating.  They might also have been used for servants or storage or…