CHATEAUNEUF DE MAZENC, DAYS 7, 8, 9 (12 JULY 2010)

Montelemar gets a bum rap. Although it is the largest nearby town, many people have said it’s not worth a visit. But it seemed likely to have the largest of the Saturday markets, and I wanted fresh fish, so we headed off barely in time to get there before the market would close. Our Norwegian hosts the night before had said that the old military barracks had recently been converted to a new public space, and by coincidence, after getting lost several times on the way in, we ended up parked underground precisely there – the car out of the heat for a change. The market was not far off, and is interesting as it spreads from a small market square down several side streets, making the search for the fishmonger a bit of a treasure hunt. Once we’d put the fresh rascasse and dos de cabillaud, fresh basil and the amazing flat, white-fleshed peaches on ice in the trunk, we emerged from underground into some wonderful gardens planted around the new square, and noticed that there is a new municipal contemporary art gallery, so went in before lunch.

The current display was a huge collection of very large paintings by a Serbian artist, VLADIMIR VELIČKOVIĆ. It was so large that it took up the entire main gallery, as well as a refurbished ancient chapel in the old town. VELIČKOVIĆ has been working since the early 1960s, largely from memories stretching back to the Nazi occupation of Belgrade. He’s been evolving as he struggles to capture the experience of having lived through the sequence of atrocities committed in his home country, and that he’s succeeded in finding images that convey the horror of torture, death and destruction with ever greater clarity, even though living in France for years now. After spending two or three hours with his work, I’ve had to spend a couple of days thinking through the impact his work, and don’t have much coherent to say yet. Except that I’m more grateful than ever to have been raised in peaceful Canada.

The rest of the day passed pleasantly – a good restaurant in one of the converted barracks, and a lengthy stroll through town. The by-now-infamous Canadian barbecue lighter nearly won, but eventually Helen managed to coax the charcoal to light, after I’d given up in disgust and wandered off to sulk.

Sunday the heat reached a new high – I’m sure it was 36 or 37 degrees. A good day for reading. As 7 pm approached, we decided to go for a walk through the countryside, following a route we’d used 2 years ago. Somehow, though, we missed the turning for the relatively short return, and ended up walking about 8 km, the last 3 along the highway back to Chateauneuf. Virtue stockpiled.

Today, we decided to forego breakfast and head to Marsanne for lunch at L’Atelier, a nice looking place we’d noticed on the main square. It turned out to be excellent. After a good 3 course meal, we were advised to move to the garden for coffee, to avoid the concrete saws that had struck up on the main terrace. At last a really good cup of coffee! In a tremendously pleasant space full of butterflies and lavender, sitting beside a clear blue lap pool. What a treat. Followed by a hike up to the 12th century chapel at the top of the village, to wear off some of the calories. Clouds settling in late in the afternoon lowered the temperature – it’s nice to have some variation in the weather at last.