Allyson Johnson

Pieces of my Mind

Archive for the month “July, 2024”

30 Jul 2024

Freeway Free in France: Eating our Hearts Out in Arles

On our first evening in Arles we rendez-vous with our friends at the Cafe Factory Republique, a modest bistro with comfortable outside seating, where it seemed all the customers were English-speaking expats.  EJ’s Duolingo French being limited, he exploits the change to get insider tips from the expats, which we will benefit from for the rest of the trip.

The next day, EJ and I stop for lunch at one of the places recommended by his new Canadian friends, Le Criquet. For my enthusiastic thoughts about this spot, check my previous post. Only later did I discover that Rick Steves is also a fan of this spot, and we were lucky to get a last-minute table.

EJ went birding and missed a dinner at Michelin-recommended Le Gibolin. This is a small bistro with a remarkable wine list. The dish we all focused on was an appetizer, the spring pea soup, a brilliant green concoction with all the springy sweetness of a vegetable straight off the vine, somehow preserved in a bowl.

The next night EJ, BB and I ate deliciously at l’Entrevue, a Moroccan restaurant by the river recommended by my French friend CRH. This restaurant is affiliated with an excellent bookstore, Actes Sud, a cinema specializing in films related to the Arles area and history, and a Turkish-style hammam, offering various spa-type services in addition to the steam bath. The menu offers a number of vegetarian options, in addition to some really wonderful lamb stews, all at a very affordable price in an outdoor setting bordering the Rhone. This was so good that we came back two nights later bringing our other two friends PS and MV along so they would not miss out.

In the intervening night we had a luxe meal at l’Arlatan, a lovely restaurant located in the atrium of the hotel of the same name. This is a beautifully updated hotel, with trendy bright colors in the lobby and restrooms so artfully designed that they are almost impossible to locate in the panelled hallway. We ate under wisteria trained high above, excellent “brousse” cheese with spicy tomato sauce, (five of us share) excellent monkfish with spinach and tiny asparagus (four of us order, Ps has a compressed block of chicken with excellent sauce) then three of us order decaf coffee while PS and MV wait and wait and wait for a chestnut tart. I finally leave to meet EJ just as the waiter comes runnng with the dessert.  So – five stars for the food and the locale, but only two for the service. (Were they changing shifts? Who knows?)

I meet EJ at the Wauxhall on George Clemenceau Blvd just opposite the Tourist Bureau. This busy indoor/outdoor place boasts of having been a fixture in Arles since 1771. EJ had not dined, and filled his empty spaces with a bread/cheese/salami platter. I ordered what I thought would be a cup of chocolate flavored coffee, but evidently cafe mocha in Arles means something quite different:. Fortunately EJ was able to help me out with this mountain of ice cream, chocolate mousse, caramel sauce, whipped cream, and cinnamon.

On our last night in Arles I made reservations on the website of another Rick Steves-recommended restaurant, and had no trouble reserving a table for five, though the (out-dated) RS guide told me it would be closed. It was pouring rain when I got to the place, and RS was right. The also-recommended bistro next door was already reserved for a special banquet. Thanks be, the third restaurant on the street was open and empty, so I was able to stand out under the awning in the downpour and re-direct my friends to Le Plaza La Paillotte, a very happy outcome. I found later that this is rated # 8 of 230 restaurants in Arles by Trip Advisor, which only goes to support my feeling that it is almost impossible to blunder into a bad meal in Arles.

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23 Jul 2024

Freeway Free in France: The Torch is Passed

We happen to be in Arles as France prepares for the Olympics to take place in Paris later in the year.

This is a really big deal. The Tourist office has an eight-page magazine detailing all the civic celebrations which will precede and follow the actual passing of the torch. (the gladiator combat and bull fight we saw earlier in the week were part of the celebration) and also includes a detailed map of the route the torch will take through Arles, beginning at the Musee d’Arles Antiques and continuing through the center of town past all the major monuments and ending with a “dance spectacle” at the riverside.

The night before the actual running of the torch offers a free fireworks display, so after dinner EJ and I joined the throngs heading to the Roman Amphitheatre. The spectacle, presented in a completely dark Amphitheatre, involved a lot of torches swung in pattterns by people of indeterminate sex wearing costumes made out of what looked like burlap bags, a juggling unicyclist, a lot of kerosene dripped on the ground and lit in patterns, fireworks, and skyrockets. Wow. Happily the lights came on as we descended from our nosebleed seats.

The next day I walk through the city center and next to the Tourist Office is a street fair, with a community band playing, and a number of booths set up to allow children to practice American football, or play ping pong, or show off their karate moves. A lot of dumb fun for parents and kids.

Fortuitously, our hotel is right on the path of the Olympic torch as it passes through the city, and as I leave to meet our friends for dinner the next evening , I come out the door to see the actual passing of the torch from one former French Olympian to another.

The side of the street are packed with smiling on-lookers. At one point, a young man who is apparently on one of the French teams stopped the parade for a quick interview, surrounded by his teammates and applauding fans.

I understand that Parisians are griping about the upset to normalcy required to prepare the City of LIght for a week of Olympic competition. From down here in the provinces, though, it’s hard to feel bad about something which is making so many people happy.

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16 Jul 2024
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Freeway Free in France: Gourmet Day

EJ suggested that a Provencale cooking class would be fun, and two of us took up the suggestion. EJ, SF and I meet Erick Vendel at his home, and proceed with him and his assistant Sylvia to the vast Saturday market along George Clemenceau Blvd in central Arles.  I heroically walk past the racks of 5 euro dresses and 7 euro hats but allow myself tastes of wonderful cheese, olive bread, salami,and other bits while odors of paella, falafel, and various exotic spices waft past, while Erick chooses supplies from his favorite vendors

Once back at the well-supplied cooking kitchen, we learn how to make Mille feiulles de legumes (there’s a trick to grating the garlic) pintade  aux olives, (Chef Erick gallantly chopped off the head and feet of the pintade [guinea fowl] for us), torte aux blettes (be sure to wring out the chard), riz au gingembre and tarte tatin (amazingly easy and dramatic upside-down apple pie dessert!)

Everything in the oven or on the rack! Triumphant sous-chefs take a moment.

Then we sit down and eat it all, together with wine and digestif, which makes conversation lively in English and French. Then, clutching our recipes, we totter back to our hotels for what will probably be naptime.

Posted in Events, France, Freeway Free, Memoir, Travel and tagged ,
09 Jul 2024
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Freeway Free in France: All Arles in a Day?

This was our “What shall we do while the rest of the group goes to Avignon?” Day. EJ and I met for breakfast (rather ordinary, but fortifying) downstairs, put on our walking shoes, and set off for the Tourist Information Office down the street.  We picked up our Arles 365 Passes, allowing us into ten historical sites and museums, and started across the street directly to the Hotel de Ville (City hall) and the neighboring Cloitre de St. Trophime (St. Trophime’s Church And Cloister). This was our dose of Gothic/medieval Architecture – lots of biblical motifs, Christ in judgment with unhappy souls being led off in chains to the left, while the sanctified get their angel wings on the right, all over the Church door in graphic detail.  Inside, lots of chapels with minor saints (St. Roch is my new favorite dressed in the garb of a Conquistadore, but evidently he lived in the time of the plague, and had one of those incredibly faithful dogs.)

Then up to the riverside where we explored Constantine’s Baths (public steam room, exercise room, sun room, swimming pool – an incredible structure which, when first unearthed, was assumed to be a palace) Then through the adjacent Musee Reattu, an odd collection of 18th century and modern works (“The museum went to sleep during the world wars” explained the catalog), and down to the Arena, where we saw two gladiators battling rather cheesily.


Hungry and hot, we spotted the sign of Le Criquet, a restaurant that had been highly recommended by the Canadians EJ met the previous night, so we plopped down and were treated to delicious fresh shellfish over linguini or over potatoes (we had 2 different entrees) and a floating island pudding that relates to what they used to serve in our college dormitory as Italian gelato relates to a Fudgecicle.  Fluffy, meringue, creamy pudding…. The picture can’t do it justice.

Almost dizzy from deliciousness, we decided to work off lunch by walking the length of George Clemenceau Blvd to the Musee d’Arles Antiques.  

The museum’s modern bright-blue exterior belies the wealth of ancient artifacts contained within, including a cemetery’s worth of sculpted sarcophagi, murals re-constructed from villas excavated in the neighborhood, an ancient wooden boat retrieved from the Rhone river, its cargo of urns intact, and reconstructed, Greek statuary… and on and on. And, an extra plus after a day of sight-seeing – it’s air-conditioned.

EJ has scheduled a birding expedition led by an expert local guide this evening and may miss dinner, which is why we splurged on lunch a bit.  After a short rest back at the Hotel Constantin he leaves to rendezvous with his guide, while BB and I walk to meet the rest of the group at Le Gibolin, a Michelin -recommended restaurant within walking distance.

There we meet PS, former leader of our student group in France, whom I briefly dated afterward (he taught me to appreciate hot buttered rum), and SF, who traveled with me and two other students for three weeks crammed into a VW beetle – and still remained friends afterward! Rounding out our table was MV, who had been a high school student in Tours during our stay and whose family had informally adopted PS and me. I had not seen her for over 60 years – the other three I had seen briefly at reunions or visits. Would our camaraderie endure after all this time?

Stay tuned!


Posted in France, Freeway Free, Memoir, museums, Travel, World Heritage sites and tagged , , , ,
02 Jul 2024
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Freeway Free in France: Settling into Arles

EJ and I arrive in Arles via an earlier train than originally planned, having discovered that our tickets would be good for any TER train at any time in any direction as long as it is on the same date (what a convenience for the traveler!) We catch a taxi, overtip the driver, and arrive at the Hotel Constantin just as the lobby re-opens for business after the mid-day siesta which is common in southern France.

We picked the Hotel Constantin on the recommendation of our friend BB who was also staying there and was enthusiastic about the service she had received on a previous visit. We were a bit dubious, as it boasts only a 2-star rating, but the location on a narrow street just a footbridge away from the Boulevard George Clemenceau proved to be practically perfect, with easy access to museums, monuments, and the amazing Saturday street market. And we even had excellent viewing of the passing of the Olympic torch right outside the hotel steps! (more on that later).

According to the website, the rooms are “furnished with handsome items picked from various Antique markets”; I myself would describe the style as “vintage Garage Sale.” But the bed is comfortable, there are plenty of drawers for storage, the WiFi works well, and the plumbing provides a reviving hot shower. (Caveat: We learn later that the hot water is only available after 7AM and before midnight).

The breakfasts at the Hotel Constantin are a bit more spartan than as depicted on the website. Croissants and baguettes are fresh, yogurt and orange juice are available, but the only fresh fruit offered throughout our stay was bananas.

The other shortcomings which might have prompted a 2-star rating are

1) the lack of an elevator. The stairs are fit to star in Hitchcock’s Vertigo, and there is a trick to getting the lights to come on. (Motion-sensors are not perfectly placed, but a wave of the arms will usually get their attention.)

2) a shortage of electric plugs, and the one available being oddly placed at eye level just outside the bathroom. Fortunately, I brought an extension cord which served me well.

Did I mention how stellar is the location? At the end of the first day, we walked away from the city center along the Boulevard George Clemenceau which takes a sharp turn just past Hotel Constantin, and there we found Le Grand Rhone, and this lovely sunset:

Posted in France, Freeway Free, Train travel, Travel and tagged ,

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