Pézenas News Letter
January 7th, 2000
Welcome
to my first fortnightly newsletter
with a spicy Mediterranean tang of garlic, olive oil and lavender, to
tempt you to visit sun-drenched SouthernFrance all year round !
So you may think that after the typical tourist season in July and August, we just hibernate down here in the South of France, waiting for next summer ? Ah now there, you would be quite wrong. In January days are sometimes chilly, but the sun is generally here to enjoy.
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If rainfall can be dramatic and even catastrophic in this part of the world, it never lasts long and enables the countryside to take on beautiful autumn and winter hues ranging from ochre to red and back to green again. In January wild flowers abound along the country lanes already and in such a clement climate (16° centigrade on January 7th !) walking is a real pleasure. Today, the strong north wind, the "Tramontane" has blown all the clouds away revealing a bright sun and sky a piercing blue. Time for a little drive to the historic port of Sète, hive of activity all year round. Climb the steep slope of the Mount Saint Clair for a breathtaking, if decidedly windy view of the beautiful Med stretching away to Africa. |
 Sete |
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Visible too the oyster beds of the "étang de Thau" (don't miss oyster tasting with a cool glass of "Picpoul de Pinet", the local dry dry white wine, with a sunny flavour or the museum to tell you everything you ever wanted to know about oysters). Returning to the town centre, where you certainly deserve to try a delicious "tielle" - local seafood speciality, (to be eaten hot or it is a bit like eating rubber), take a look at the picturesque port, the beautiful old "Molière" theatre, down to the sea along the Corniche stretching along miles and miles and miles of sandy beaches to Marseillan, its grandeur amplified by the fact that at this time of the year you are probably the only person on the beach. |
Drive to Marseillan - "village" not "plage", as the seaside resort looks more like a ghost-town than a Mediterranean version of Blackpool at this time of year. Marseillan village is a delightful little port on the "Etang de Thau". Enjoy a delicious meal of fish at one of very good little restaurants overlooking the tiny port. At this time of year you will find the service excellent, the fish delicious and the local wine particularly pleasant, not forgetting the apéritif - Marseillan is the home of Noilly Prat (visit the museum) and muscat from nearby Frontignan for sweeter tastes.
My drive home to Pézenas takes me through the shady village of Florensac - look out for scenes from Pagnol on the village square of plane trees where the old villagers meet in the afternoon for serious disputes over "pétanque". From there head for St. Thibéry.
Now just as you get close to the village, turn right to take a look at an impressive Roman bridge over the Hérault river. A real relic of Roman times and the Via Domitia, precious relay for goods travelling even in those times between Italy and Spain. Admire also the unfortunately abandoned but very fine XIIIth century mill just beside the bridge.
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