Moules Frites en Centre-ville

One of my favorite things about living in Provence is the social life that takes place outdoors. Whether it’s celebrating holidays, dining, or picnicking, it’s so pleasurable to sit in warm air with friends, often under the canopy of giant plane trees or in pine forests, and to eat fabulous food. For this year’s Bastille Day, our village offered Moules Frites with a cabaret. Our French friends told us the moules (mussels) had a “Sailor Sauce” (haha!) – that is, “Mariner,” which consisted of mustard, cream, and Provencal herbs. We sat at long tables set up in centre-ville and servers brought large trays filled with the steaming hot mussels. As we finished eat tray, the server set down another one. The moules were delicious, especially with the frites (how and why did Americans ever start calling them French Fries?), and so was soaking up the sauce with bits of baquette, and washing it all down with vin rouge or chilled rosé. The meal concluded with a cheese course, then ice cream. Parfait.

Le Cabaret

All this eating was accompanied by a wild loud cabaret, with numerous singers, dancers, musicians, lightning-quick costume changes, and lights and dry-ice. Loads of people of all ages danced to the music which went on until two in the morning.

Maybe this sort of village life exists somewhere in America but it was never part of my life growing up in California. The first time I saw such a festival was on Bastille Day in 1973, while I was hitchhiking across Europe with an English friend. We visited the castle in Monte Carlo, Monaco, during the day, then drove up into the surrounding mountains that evening to camp. I have no idea now what village we happened to stop in but there was the same sort of dinner-dance celebration happening there. I had never experienced anything like it and was enchanted. There was a band playing (much simpler and, for me more preferable, to the Las Vegas-style spectacle our village offered — the norm I think these days) and the entire village was dancing and having fun – from old grandmas and grandpas all the way down to little toddlers.

As summer goes on, the fêtes continue up until the much-anticipated (for us!) end of summer celebration – “La Fête d’Aioli.” The garlic mayonnaise-laden meal in centre-ville is followed by a stroll down to our local arena for the “Taureau Piscine.” More on that crazy custom at the end of next month …

Categories: Memories, Provence, Travel
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