Soaking Up Flavors of Provence

VAISON-LA-ROMAINE, France —  Rays of sun spilled over my shoulder as I stood on the terrace of our bed-and-breakfast. They poured onto the Ouveze River and the lower part of town and caught on the hillsides, turning them lavender. As I looked out over the tiled rooftops, I noticed a small blue house on the opposite riverbank. It was a stroke of color among Vaison-la-Romaine’s gray stone buildings. The shutters swung open on the upper floor. A couple stood in the window, and they embraced and kissed.

Romance comes naturally in this ancient city, as I would learn on my seven-day visit here last fall.

Before I arrived I had known about Vaison from American writer and cookbook author Patricia Wells, who lives with her husband in a converted farmhouse outside town. I envied her for being able to live in a region that is, essentially, an immense garden planted with vineyards, orchards and cypress trees and watched over by Mont Ventoux, at 6,300 feet one of the highest peaks between the Alps and the Pyrenees. Every time I roasted a leg of lamb or prepared the classic French potato dish called gratin dauphinois in my kitchen in San Diego, I thought of the bustling Provencal market where Wells filled her basket with fresh-picked tomatoes, purple stalks of asparagus and pungent ropes of garlic. And although I didn’t bring any pots and pans to Vaison, I wanted to soak up the inspiration for her dishes, to sit in a cafe feasting on roasted chicken with apricot stuffing or some other culinary delight that I couldn’t get back home.

My husband, Ralph, and I have the palates for fine wine but not the budget. Still, we have managed to visit Provence once or twice a year for the past decade, drawn by the region’s good food and wine. This is the kind of place where, when they are not eating, people are either planning their next meal or talking about their last one.

Last October we were driving on curving country roads of the Vaucluse, the sun-drenched departement, or county, where the Alps and the plains of the Rhone River Valley meet, when I saw a small white sign with “Vaison-la-Romaine” painted on it. On impulse, I asked Ralph to turn our rented Renault up D938 toward the rolling green hills in the distance.

Vaison has a little more than 5,000 residents. In summer tourists swell the population, but it remains mostly a sleepy farm town with touches of sophistication. The fields along the banks of the Ouveze River, which bisects the town, contain mostly wine grapes.

People were living in Vaison as far back as 4,000 years ago, but it was the Romans who put this place on the map. They arrived in the 1st century BC and created a town called Vasio Vocontiorium on the north bank of the Ouveze. Drawn by the lush agricultural lands, wealthy Roman families moved in, building luxurious homes with gardens and mosaic-tile floors, as well as an amphitheater, a bridge, an aqueduct and baths.

Vaison’s population soared to 10,000 by AD 14, and it became a center of politics in the region. The ruins of Vasio Vocontiorium are one of the largest and best-preserved Roman archeological sites in France, and they alone made our detour worthwhile.

We arrived at the base of the Ville Haute, or high village, an area of narrow medieval cobblestone streets at the base of a chateau, an abandoned stronghold that dominated the town in the Middle Ages. I saw a wood sign that pointed to a chambres d’hote, a B&B; called L’Eveche. A few shops and restaurants were scattered around, and I made a note to peek in later after we checked in at L’Eveche, which was a bishop’s palace built in the 16th century. Its owner, Aude Verdier, greeted us with a warm smile and a “bonjour” and led us past a small sitting room with a sofa, a few chairs and a mantel lined with regional guidebooks, up a steep, narrow staircase past walls filled with colorful posters of art shows featuring local painters. Using an old-fashioned skeleton key, she unlocked the solid wood door to the “rose room,” named for the pinkish Provencal bedspreads and tiles in the large bathroom. I took in the whitewashed beamed ceiling, oversized tub and pink geraniums along the windows and promised myself a soak after I had satiated my hunger. Ralph was eager to taste the local wines, so we said au revoir to our hostess and set off on foot down the hill.

Walking past splashing fountains and a large city gate, we crossed the 2,000-year-old, 55-foot single-arched Gallo-Roman bridge that connects the old Roman city to the south bank’s medieval Ville Haute. The river’s slow, shallow current looked harmless enough, but a large marble memorial at the bridge’s entrance reminded us that the Ouveze’s periodic flooding had taken lives. It honored not only the men and women who died in all the wars the French had fought, but also 35 villagers who drowned in a flash flood in September 1992.

Ralph held my hand as he guided me through the south bank’s maze of streets lined with eclectic shops. Fashionable clothing, lingerie and magazines were being sold alongside artwork, books and, two favorites of tourists, lavender sachets and bags of Herbes de Provence.

We wandered the streets until the sun set, discovering bakeries and pastry shops as well as the occasional gallery or artist’s studio. At one, the Galerie d’Art de la Place du Poids, the precise, intense brushstrokes of renowned French artist Leon Zanella caught my eye. The bold compositions, bursting in shades of indigo, red and yellow, were so enticing that I found myself trying to peer into the shuttered shop.

We eventually rounded a corner and found ourselves in the town square, Place de Monfort, lined on one side with open-air cafes covered with bright awnings.

After scanning menus posted outside, we walked into Le Brin d’Olivier, a hopping little restaurant near the bridge. Each table was set with fragrant flowers and a large bowl of olives, and I hoped the crisp elegance of the dining room’s decor would be reflected in the quality of our meals.

Almost all of the restaurant’s 40 seats were taken, mostly by locals dressed as if they were dining at the Ritz. We sipped cooling kir royales, a classic aperitif of sparkling wine with a splash of creme de cassis, as we perused the menu. Ralph also ordered vin de table. The red Cotes du Rhone was light and fresh.

Ralph gave me a morsel of duck, which was smothered in roasted garlic, sliced and served with a Merlot gravy. He would part with only one bite, so I dove into my poultry bouillabaisse with garlic, tomatoes, white wine and olive oil. Crisp croutons and rouille, a garlicky mayonnaise made with olive oil, added to its potency. With more wine, an arugula salad, and cheeses and creme brulee with lavender for dessert, we paid less than $75 for one of the best meals I have ever eaten.

The next morning we set off to see the Roman ruins. After paying a $7 entrance fee, we started in the Puymin Quarter, which contains the House of the Messii. Owned by one of the wealthiest families in ancient Vaison, the luxurious home was almost 56,000 square feet in its original state and contained intricate mosaic floors. Slightly east of the mansion is Pompeii’s Portico, a courtyard planted with cypress and oak trees that once held atriums, thermal baths and fishponds. Rainwater would collect in pools and was used to irrigate the gardens. Large colonnaded overhangs shaded the walkways.

We were amazed at the originality and extravagance of these ancient homes. Villas had plumbing systems, with water brought into them through lead pipes. Waste water was flushed out through another system of pipes and aqueducts to the river.

The Villasse Quarter, near the center of town, was the central shopping area of Vasio Vocontiorium. Romans used the public baths here. Only a few steps away is the Romanesque Cathedral of Notre Dame de Nazareth, which was built in the 12th and 13th centuries around a Roman temple that stood on the same site. The church, considered one of the finest of its type in Provence, has a beautiful and artistic cloister with three small arches supported by double rows of pillars. The flood of 1992 destroyed much of the cloisters, but most of the church remains standing.

My favorite site was the 6,000-seat amphitheater, built in the 1st century on the north slope of the hillside and still used for plays and concerts. Excavations, begun in the late 1800s, uncovered little of the original structure--only two arches and the bare traces of the stage foundations remained. Most of what visitors see now was reconstructed in 1932.

As I sat on a stone seat, Ralph climbed onto the granite stage and began serenading me.

After our tour of the ancient world, we reentered the modern one. As in all Provencal towns, the heart of Vaison life is the square, and every Tuesday since 1483, the Place de Monfort and many nearby streets are taken over by a farmers market. Strolling the stalls, we found a range of goods for sale, from cookware to bright fabrics typical of Provence. After browsing, we purchased the provisions for a picnic.

We drove out of town and settled in for a picnic in a vineyard, lunching on crusty bread with tangy mustard, an assortment of smelly cheeses and ripe, uncured olives while sipping on a local red.

I looked at my husband, a big smile on his face as he tried to talk me into riding a bike down Mont Ventoux. I closed my eyes and relived the past few days, waking up to the song of cicadas, smelling the fragrance of freshly baked bread.

As Ralph poured some more wine, a breeze caressed my shoulders and, just like that, my husband of 20 years leaned over and kissed me. Romance was in the air in Vaison.

*

Candice Reed is a freelance writer living in San Diego’s North County.

*

Guidebook: Roamin’ in Vaison

Getting there: Air France has connecting service (change of plane) from LAX to Marseille. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $1,192 until Oct. 31, when they drop to $696.

Telephones: To call numbers below from the U.S., dial 011 (the international dialing code), 33 (country code for France) and the local number.

Where to stay: L’Eveche, Rue de l’Eveche, Cite Medievale; 490-36-1346, fax 490-36-3243, avignon-et-provence.com/eveche/gb. We stayed in this converted bishop’s house, a warm and inviting four-room B&B; owned by the Verdier family. Breakfast comes with a view of the mountains. Doubles $65-$72.

Hostellerie Le Beffroi, Rue de l’Eveche; 490-36-0471, fax 490-36-2478, www.le-beffroi.com. This grand 22-room hotel has a restaurant, a swimming pool and plenty of parking. Open March-January. Doubles $81-$114.

Hotel la Bastide de Vaison, F-84110 Les Aurics; 490-36-

0315, fax 490-28-8690, hotel.labastide.free.fr. There are 14 small rooms in this traditional Provencal-style family-run hotel. Doubles $50-$65.

Where to eat: Restaurant le Bateleur, 1 Place Theodore Aubanel; 490-36-2804. An intimate, eight-table restaurant that serves classic French cuisine with fish pate, crepes and guinea fowl. A four-course dinner costs $20-$40 per person.

Restaurant la Fontaine, Rue de l’Eveche, Cite Medievale; 490-36-5278, fax 490-36-

2478. This restaurant is in the Hostellerie Le Beffroi, and the dining room is as grand as the hotel. The menu changes with the season. When we were there last fall we had duck with lavender honey, roasted rabbit and mussels in a basil tomato sauce. Dinner $25-

$60 per person.

Ristorante Leonardo, 55 Rue Trogue Pompee; 490-28-7910. This pleasant family-run bistro serves up pizza, pasta dishes and fresh salads. Inexpensive meals cost $10-$25.

Le Moulin a Huile, 1 Quai du Marechal Foch; 490-36-2067, fax 490-36-2020. The chef in this quaint restaurant in the lower town serves up the best creme brulee I’ve ever tasted. The menu is pure haute cuisine--but at great prices. For about $30-$60 you can have a four-course meal such as risotto with pigeon in spices or sweetbreads with truffles in cream sauce.

Le Brin d’Olivier, 4 Rue du Ventoux; 490-28-7479, fax 490-36-1336. Our favorite place serves up dishes such as eggplant and tomato napoleon, rabbit crepes and beef filet with olive coulis. Dinner $20-$35 per person.

For more information: Vaison-la-Romaine Tourist Office, Place du Chanoine Sautel, 84110 Vaison-la-

Romaine; 490-36-0211, www.vaison-la-romaine.com.

French Government Tourist Office, 9454 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 715, Beverly Hills, CA 90212; (410) 286-8310 (for brochures), (310) 271-6665, fax (310) 276-2835, www.franceguide.com.