Moonlight, Music and Movies

It’s been a quiet and relaxing week. Mike and I both felt a little discombobulated following the departure of our last guests. For me, it was the first time that it seemed odd to still be in France when everyone else who left. I felt a craving for things American. And I got my wish.

Sunday night was a rock concert in Cotignac. There was a small stage set up at the end of the Cours and three bands were scheduled to play that evening. We walked into town to join the fun and found the Cours packed with people! Every restaurant was full and people were milling about, sipping beer and wine, enjoying the early bands. We heard a group of five guys who were great fun. The lead singer, an American, was a rock star wannabe. He looked the part – rail thin, long hair, muscle tee and tight jeans. He sang every old rock and roll song from James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Twist and Shout. I haven’t danced to that much old rock and roll since an ITE Annual Meeting! I found myself standing in the middle of the Cours in France singing along to “Sweet Home Alabama.” I loved it! I wasn’t the only one. Everyone was there having fun. Kids were running around, the little ones were on their dad’s shoulders clapping along. It made me remember when my dad would put me on his shoulders. It was one of my favorite things. We saw Pascal (the baker from a previous blog) with his little daughter. It’s delightful to see that fathers and daughters are in love with each other no matter where in the world they are. And all of this with the moon and stars overhead.

On Monday, Mike and I had our first excursion to Aix to see an American movie. There is a theater on the main street, Cours Mirabeau, in Aix that shows movies in their original version. We saw Eclipse. As some of you know, I devoured the books in the Twilight series, just like a teenager, so I couldn’t miss the movie. In France, it’s called “Hesitation.” We went to a matinee with a handful of other people …and we were definitely the oldest! The French don’t have all the accoutrements that we do in movies – huge buckets of popcorn, a quart of soda and jumbo boxes of candy. Instead, we shared a tiny, little bucket of popcorn and a bottle of water. And, you know what? We enjoyed the movie just as much!

Not to be outdone, Cotignac had a movie on Tuesday night. There is an old amphitheater at the base of the rock cliffs in town. Each summer they put on a series of outdoor movies. The setting couldn’t be better. The movie is shown in a small amphitheater with ruins lit at night. There is a small area outside of the amphitheater where they sell sandwiches, a plate of the day and, of course, wine. We sat next to old rock walls under lights strung between the trees with a pleasant summer breeze blowing the scent of pine trees. People were milling about, eating, laughing and enjoying the wait for the movie.

Each movie, shown in its original version, is accompanied by some type of appropriate entertainment. Tuesday night was Brigette Bardot in “And God Created Woman” – the film that made her a star. Before the movie, there was a musical performance – Marie Frances sings Bardot. Marie Frances is an attractive middle-aged woman with long blonde hair and wearing a tight dress. She worked both the hair and the dress – and the crowd. We enjoyed her performance (and the showmanship) but the funny part was that they couldn’t get her off the stage! She finished – the first time – then sang an encore. The MC came out and thanked her, so she sang another song. He came out again but she’d already started the next number. He finally darted out and gave her a bouquet of flowers and escorted her off the stage. The movie finally started at 10:45PM.

The film, made in 1956, was shot in St. Tropez before St. Tropez was “St. Tropez.” It was in French but the plot was easy to follow and Brigette Bardot was beautiful and sensual in any language. We’ve been to St. Tropez a couple of times now so it was fun to see the places we’d visited in their original fishing village form before Prada and Vuitton arrived. It was delightful to feel the cool breeze with the lighted rock cliffs rising behind the screen. It was a perfect night and the moon was overhead as we walked home after midnight.



The next night we had dinner for our new acquaintances, Catherine and Irene. Catherine is my French instructor and Irene is her friend, an American. We had a delightful dinner – that Mike prepared, of course – and enjoyed getting to know them better. Catherine was a good sport and tolerated our English conversation all night. It was nice not to have to work hard at conversation – conjugating verbs, struggling to remember the right word. What a relief to simply talk!

It’s hard to say which event was the highlight of our week, but the jazz concert in the vineyard on Thursday night may be it. I’d seen this event in the English language newsletter that we subscribe to. It was at Chateau St. Julien D’Aille, a vineyard near the village of Vidauban. It was a little further than we typically travel for something like this, but it sounded nice and the weather was beautiful. I’d made reservations so we’d be sure to have a seat. Mike packed our picnic dinner – fabulous, again – and off we went. We drove through the big gates of the vineyard and down a long, tree-lined drive to a large building housing the production facilities for the winery. There was a small parking lot next to a lake with a handful of cars. So…..where were all the people? Were we there on the wrong night? Had I made a mistake? No – we were in the right spot. The jazz combo – three men and one woman – were setting up in a small patio outside the doors of the winery. There were tables and chairs to accommodate about thirty people. It was a small and intimate setting – perfect – not what we were expecting, but better.

After a comical exchange with a nice man in the tasting room over the pronunciation of “rouge” in French, I bought a lovely bottle of rose (and rouge), Mike unpacked our meal and we settled in for the jazz. It was lovely. There was a large bed of lavender near where we were sitting. The light breeze would float the fragrance our way every so often. The grounds included lovely pine trees that look like umbrellas. It reminded us of the images you see of an African savannah. As the darkness fell, the trees were silhouetted against the grey-blue sky of dusk. We were enjoying the jazz with the French singer and then the woman joined them. She was American. What a treat. Her first words were, “Heaven, I’m in heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak.” Wow. That nailed our feeling! She followed that with Route 66, and Georgia. As the words to Georgia were coming out of her mouth, we were experiencing moonlight through the pines. It was wonderful to be in this beautiful setting, in France, and sing along with classic American songs. It was just what we needed! She finished with Louis Armstrong’s, “It’s a Wonderful World.” My heart was full as we drove home overwhelmed with the delightful experience we had stumbled into.



But there was one final surprise. We’re rarely out late at night along the narrow, windy roads so Mike commented that maybe we’d see some wildlife. And, sure enough – we saw a small fox and a herd of wild boar! There were a couple of sows, a large bull and about six babies. They scampered across the road in front of the car with their little legs moving so fast it looked like a cartoon.

Now we’re at the end of the week and we’re both feeling better. We got the connection with America that we needed – all the while appreciating life here. The lavender has been harvested, wheat fields are cut, the olives are now the size of large capers, ripe figs and little red currents are in the markets, and young blackberries dot the vines along the roadway. We still have the frogs with us at night but now I have my morning walk in rhythm with the cicadas.

We’ve had cool, breezy nights, too. The wind comes through the open windows like soft fingers exploring the room. I can feel it tossing my hair on the pillow. All the while we can see the moon outside of the window. Even now, as I write, dusk is settling in. The moon is nearly full with just a thin sliver missing. I look at the moonlight over the valley and “I think to myself, what a wonderful world.” Ohhh yeahhh.