The 25th Avignon Film Festival

Today marks the start of the Avignon Film Festival, celebrating European and American independent cinema. Screenings will be held at Cinéma Vox through June 29. Regular admission is €6, but pick up a promotional postcard (right) at the box office to participate in five screenings for €2 per film. All screenings are open to the public.

Though Quentin Tarantino did win the prix tournage for Reservoir Dogs in 1992, don’t expect too many famous faces. Founder Jerome Rudes describes the festival as “an event where we discover movies, not where we see a movie that’s going to be seen [in theaters] the next day or the next week.”

For a schedule, visit the Avignon Film Festival website or stop by the Cinéma Vox box office, 25 Place de l’Horloge.

As printed at PlanetEye

Best Budget Bites in Avignon

As with any tourist town, it can be tough to find a tasty meal in Avignon on a backpacker’s budget. There are plenty of great restaurants in the city, but for a sit down meal with starter, main course and wine, visitors should expect to pay at least €20. With the current state of the US dollar, that can be a hard nut to swallow for many a traveler.
Luckily for you, I take my “Avignon Local Expert” position very seriously and have spent the last the last three months eating at nearly every sandwich stand, kebab shop, and pizza joint in the city to supply you with a list of the best cheap eats in town.

Istanbul Kebap:

9, Place des Corps Saints

The owner will be the first to tell you that he has “les meilleurs frites de la région” (the best fries in the region) and it’s true. Most of the kebab shops in town serve frozen pre-cut fries, but Istanbul Kebap serves generous portions of freshly cut potatoes topped with the most savory sauce blanche this side of the Bosphorus. Grab a frisbee-sized kebab frites on fresh flat bread for €5.50 and then snag a bench at nearby Square Agricole Perdiguier for some great people-watching.

Tapalocas:

15, rue Galante

Just a short walk from Place de l’Horloge’s pricy cafes, the dark interior at Tapalocas offers relief from the summer heat and is one of the few restaurants offering free wifi in Avignon. Cool off with a white or red sangria and choose from their extensive menu of tapas starting at €2.70. Save room for a big slice of gateau basque, a sumptuous shortbread stuffed with vanilla custard.

Glaces et Sorbets:

35 rue Saint-Agricol

True. Ice cream doesn’t count as a meal, but on Avignon’s sunny days a cone from Glaces et Sorbets is nothing short of bliss. The oldest glacier in town, this little ice cream shop offers an eclectic mix of flavors such as verbena sorbet and sweet chestnut alongside the old standards. It’s central location, makes it a perfect stop if you’re headed towards the river, Place de l’Horloge, or the Musée Calvet. €2 for a small cone and worth every penny.

As published at PlanetEye

Behind the scenes at Glaces et Sorbets:

Fête de la Musique – Top Spots in Avignon

After a stormy spring, the sun is finally shining in Avignon, just in time for one of the city’s best events, the Fête de la Musique. Always occuring on the summer solstice, the Fête de la Musique is a day for amateur and professional musicians throughout France to take over the streets of their cities. Avignon’s reputation as a performance town draws musicians and visitors from all of Provence every year.

No cars will be allowed within the city walls tomorrow, so parking may be even more difficult than usual. Contact your hotel or read my Parking in Avignon post for suggestions on parking alternatives.

One of the best ways to experience the Fête de la Musique is to just wander the town and see where your ears take you, but be sure to check out the following spots for the best the city has to offer:

1. Notre Dame des Doms (next to the Palais des Papes) – Organ recital in the city’s most famous church from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
2. Place de l’Horloge – Avignon’s biggest square will offer a variety of jazz and blues performances throughout the day.
3. Place des Corps Saints – One of Avignon’s most charming little squares, this year it will host a variety of indy rock bands from 7:00PM through Midnight. Head east through Park Agricole Perdiguier behind the tourist office to find this hidden gem. Get there early to snag a good seat at Les Celestins, the local bar.
4. Palais du Roure (near Rue Saint Agricol) – Traditional Provençal music from 7:00 PM on. A great opportunity to hear spoken Occitane, the region’s fading dialect.
5. Rue Bonneterie- A variety of DJs from 8:00PM on. Jamaican Reggae, Techno and House.

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As published at PlanetEye

Image by ~Phil Moore (Flickr)

Village Life 10 Minutes from Avignon

Just across the Rhone, the little village of Villeneuve-Lès-Avignon is a great destination for those looking for a quick escape from Avignon’s tourist crowd or a place to let the kids run around. Easily accessible by bus (#11) or bike, Villeneuve is full of smaller museums, walking paths, and great views of the Palace of the Popes.

Start at Tour Philippe Le Bel, a fourteenth century tower which is so under-visited, you’re likely to have the place to yourself on a weekday. It’s a steep climb to the top, but you can go at you own pace, stopping off for a breather in the stone tower’s cool quiet rooms. Once you’ve reached the top, photo-ops abound, with spectacular views of Avignon, the Rhone, Mont Ventoux, the Alpille Mountains, and the lush greens of neighboring Chateauneuf du Pape.

Pick up an Avignon Passion pass at the Office de Tourisme for reduced entry.

Keep your camera out during the walk along the main road from Tour Philippe Le Bel. The old stone walls leading into the village are idyllic, especially in late spring when ivy and honeysuckle trickle down from hidden gardens. Halfway into town, you’ll walk past a wrought iron gate with a modest sign marked “La Colline des Morgues.” It looks very private, perhaps the entrance to an elementary school or a cemetery, but don’t worry, it’s a beautiful park with winding trails leading to a hilltop view of the region and your first peek into the village of Villeneuve itself. Just be sure to leave the same way you came, or you might wind up further from the village than you started.

When you’re ready for a break, head into the village and grab a coffee at one of the cafes at Place Jean Jaurès before heading over to former monastery and papal residence, Chartreuse du Val de Benediction, the largest Carthusian monastery in France.

As published at PlanetEye

Cool and Calm at La Mirande

The short walk from La Mirande to the café scene at Place de l’Horloge may be one of the most beautiful strolls Avignon has to offer. Just steps away from the city’s top tourist sites, this four-star hotel is ideally situated for travelers wishing to be at the center of it all while still having a quiet place to call home when the day is done. Sheltered by the Palais des Papes and its 18-foot thick walls, this luxury hotel is calm and composed even during the city’s notoriously raucous theatre festival.

Part of what makes La Mirande so distinct is the incredible detail that has gone into preserving the traditions and style of a European luxury hotel while eliminating the sort of corpse-like formality which can leave guests hurrying off to their rooms. In a town famous for its theatre, La Mirande knows how to act like a four-star hotel.

Many historic hotels have a schizophrenic approach to design. Unsure how to merge modern technology with period décor, belle époque armoires are too often weighed down by clunky TVs, rococo desks left cluttered with DSL cables and iPod docks. At La Mirande, the emphasis is on beauty, detail and discretion. At first glance, the spacious guest rooms, with their antique tapestries, paintings, and Pakistani carpets, look as if Flaubert or Baudelaire could have just checked out. On closer inspection, however, the luxuries of the modern era are all there: marble bathrooms with Frisbee-sized shower heads, his and hers sinks, robes and slippers, and best of all, a flat screen TV discreetly hidden beneath a two-way mirror.

The lounge, garden, bar and a collection of other quiet public spaces are equally charming and offer a variety of settings for guests to sip an espresso, read le Figaro, and let the day slip by. When their appetites pick up, the renowned Michelin-starred Restaurant La Mirande, offers an organic locally grown menu sure to please even the pickiest eater. Guests hoping to learn the chef’s secrets can sign up for cooking classes held in the building’s perfectly preserved medieval cellar, complete with vaulted ceilings, shiny copper pots, and a 10-meter deep well.

As a small hotel with only 21 rooms, La Mirande is able to offer impeccable customer service and a one-to-one employee-client ratio during the high season. Rooms fill up fast however, and guests are recommended to make their reservations at least three months in advance.

As published at PlanetEye

Gypsy Pilgrimage at Saintes-Maries de la Mer

With a bullring next to the beach and a maze of pedestrian streets and white washed houses, the little fishing village of Saintes-Maries de la Mer is the capital of Camargue folk culture and home to some of Provence’s most authentic festivals, including the pélérinages des gitans, the Gypsy Pilgrimages.

According to legend, Lazarus, Mary Magdalene, Mary Jacobe, Mary Salome, and their Egyptian servant, Sara, fled Jerusalem in a raft that drifted to the shores of the Camargue in 40 AD introducing Christianity to France. While Lazarus moved on to neighboring Marseille, Sara and the “Saint Marys” stayed behind to help the local people. Unlike the Marys, Sara never achieved sainthood in the Catholic church, but was adopted by the local Gypsies as their patroness. Twice a year, in late May and mid-October, Gypsies from across Europe make a pilgrimage to this little town to celebrate “Sara la-Kali” (Sara the Black). People clamour to touch her relics as they are taken from the crypt of the 12th Century Notre Dame de la Mer and carried to the sea. The week leading up to the procession offers excellent opportunities to experience authentic Gypsy music and dance.

If the crowds get to be too much for you, this village by the sea offers plenty of ways to escape. Make your way down to the small port to catch a tour boat or to watch local fishermen load up their battered rigs. Head to the rooftop terrace of Notre Dame de la Mer for a panoramic view of the Mediterranean and the Camargue wetlands. Sink your toes in the soft sands of the 30 km long beach as the winds catch the roar of the crowd from a Sunday afternoon bullfight. Thrillseekers can try the kite-surfing school west of the harbor or wander east towards the nude bathing area next to the light house.

For cheap and tasty eats, try the beef with Camargue rice at Les Saveurs d’Ailleurs (18 bis, rue Frédéric Mistral). Most meals are under €10 and include a glass of sangria.

As published at Planet Eye

Images by Kahala on Flickr

La Camargue: France’s Wild West

Arles is known as the gateway to the Camargue, marking the point where the Rhone, once a fierce alpine river, decides to take it easy, spread out and relax. Visitors to the region would be wise to follow its example. Life moves more slowly in the Camargue and the traffic doesn’t move much faster.

Luckily, there are plenty of opportunities to get out of the car during the 38km drive from Arles to the Mediterranean. Stop by a roadside stand and pick up some riz de Camargue, a nutty red rice gown in the local paddies and grab some of the local salt to season it. Admire herons and egrets as your wind your way through these protected wetlands and keep your eyes open, many of these wading beauties are actually pink flamingoes. For optimal birding, visit the Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue and neighboring Parc Ornithologique du Pont de Gau.

The lack of roads can be limiting however, so when you’re ready to get away from the crowds hire a horse and guide and spend the day pretending to be a gardian, a French cowboy. President Nicolas Sarkozy famously rode with the gardians for a photo shoot during the 2007 presidential election, a move which many have compared with President Bush’s days down on the ranch. Those who’d like to take their horsemanship to another level can sign up for a week-long stage de gardiane at a local manade (ranch) herding bulls and living in a traditional thatch-roofed house.

Cowboy culture reaches its peak during the summer when horses and riders take part in countless local festivals. May’s Fête des Gardians finds the locals parading proudly through the streets of Arles decked out in their best leather hats and checked shirts. The Horse Festival (June 11 – 14 ) features competitive riding, parades and flamenco dancing.

“Humane” bullfights are held every Sunday,, at the bullring in Saintes Maries de la Mer. Many visitors are happy to learn that bulls are not killed in the courses Camargues. Rather, amateur razeurs try to cut ribbons off the animals’ horns before jumping to safety. On November 11, the season comes to an end with the spectacular abrivado, a traditional Camargue game in which groups of gardians race to herd their bulls to the arena while men on foot try to distract the horses allowing the bull to escape.

As published at Planet Eye