Rentals-France Newsletter September 22 1999. Number 7.

DELAYS

This newsletter has been delayed by the weather. Not Hurricane Floyd, but something just as bad in it's own small way for us here in the South of France. Storms at the beginning of the vendange. Lightning hitting the church spire and blowing up most of the modems in Nizas (well 2 plus a television) and the heaviest rain anyone can remember has caused havoc with the vines during the last two weeks.

After a year of nurturing and watching the weather, to see the grapes laying in the mud, not even fit for vinegar, was a cruel blow for some vignerons.

During the last two weeks the weather has played tricks, the vendange is coming in and not all is lost as the terrain here varies from field to field, but everyone has worked in their own way to help the harvest. So sorry for the short delay this week.

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This week.

1. The Mistral by Michael Tommasi 2. Sculpture in Paris 3. Art in Nizas

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I received this informative and entertaining piece from Michele Tommasi. It appears just as it was sent but I have taken out a technical bit in the middle, the whole piece appears on the archives page at :
http://www.goto-france.com/suissy/
The MISTRAL and the Cote Varoise
by Michele Tommasi copyright 1999 Michael Tommasi
The Mistral is a strong wind from the NW affecting the eastern Mediterranean coast of France, from Marseille to St. Tropez. The Mistral is one of the key weather-makers of this charming part of the French Riviera, situated in the départements of the Var and extending to the Bouches-du-Rhône (Marseille), away from the overcrowded Nice-Cannes-Antibes area and still not really known to foreigners. The Mistral is responsible for the exceptionally sunny conditions, the desert-like vegetation (reminiscent of Southern California), and perhaps even the local temper. Most of the time, in between bouts of Mistral, the coast is gently swept by pleasant breezes, which make summer days more bearable than the hot conditions inland, while winters are mild compared even to Aix-en-Provence, only a half-hour drive inland. These calm periods are punctuated by short violent bouts of Mistral, which clear the air and prepare for the next mild spell, ensuring that this area maintains its sunny conditions. The towns of Bandol-Sanary-Six Fours boast the largest number of sunny days per year in France.

The risk of a Mistral of force 6 or greater is about 30% in the peak period from November to April. In the summertime that risk drops to 18%, but the warm sea temperature increases its speed significantly. Force 7-8 is not uncommon, and at least once a year it reaches force 10 (that's 89 to 102 km/h average; to put the feeling in perspective, it's like leaning out of the window while driving legal speed on a US highway). Navigators and hikers must be particularly aware of the Mistral. Although the locals are fond of embellishment (the Marseillais have the same reputation as the Texans), one should never underestimate their descriptions of Mistral. It does occasionally reach 70 knots, it does appear suddenly, it does drive you to making rash decisions.

If you are driving southward along the Rhône on a Mistral day, you will begin to feel it around Montelimar, the city that marks the dividing line between cloudy and clear conditions. Anything above that latitude is referred to as "le Nord" around here, and that includes Lyon! As you continue southward, the cypresses that protect gardens and orchards from the wind are bent over, leaning permanently towards the Mediterranean. At Marseille the Mistral blows from the north, but a cyclone effect twists it as it reaches the Mediterranean, so that it actually follows the coast eastward all the way to St. Tropez, while also pushing out to Corsica and even the north of Sardinia.

Why the Mistral evokes such romantic dreams in visitors, why these quaint bed-and-breakfasts in the heart of Provence are inevitably named Le Mistral, is hard to explain. When the Mistral blows, it sets most people on edge or gives them migraine, maybe due to lack of sleep, caused by the howling noise it makes gusting up to 120 km/h onto a provençal tiled roof. The dry cold air blows hard, leaving the sky clear of humidity and tinged in an unbelievably luminous blue colour unique to Provence, the air is brisk and the sunshine is harsh and blinding. If you wear polarizing sunglasses like I do, or take photographs with a polarizing filter, the sky will actually look deep blue: no need to retouch the prints, they already look artificially coloured. In the summertime, a day of Mistral is enough to make the soup-warm Mediterranean drop to the serving temperature of vichyssoise.

The Mistral blows dust in your eyes and leaves your teeth gritty with sand. They say that during a Mistral you can see Corsica from atop the appropriately named Mont Ventoux in Northern Provence; unfortunately, nobody has ever proven that, because it is impossible to stand up in Mistral on the Mont Ventoux. Do not try the dramatic "Route des Crêtes" drive around Cassis in a Mistral, your car will feel like it is about to fly off the ridge of the Calanques, Provence's version of the "fjords" with a 300m vertical drop overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Meteorology
The Mistral's effects develop along the Rhône valley, as a consequence of cold fronts that sweep through France, leaving clouds all over the country. The cold front advances in a SSE direction, passing under high altitude warm air layers and chasing them over the Alps into Italy, causing a depression to develop on the Gulf of Genova. The cold air carried by the front, being of lower altitude, is stopped by the Alps and spills out by funneling down the Rhône valley at very high speed, helped precisely by that low in the Gulf of Genova.

While the conditions outlined above are necessary, they are not sufficient, and other complex triggering mechanisms are involved. For the Mistral to blow, it is also necessary to have a pressure gradient along the coast, however slight, from higher pressure in the Pyrenees or in the Bay of Biscay to lower pressure in the Gulf of Genova, a difference of 10 hp being sufficient. If you are in the Mistral area, that pressure is hard to detect, because you are smack in the middle of the gradient, so you must rely on the isobars furnished by weather services; your barometer will tell you nothing.

Mistral effects on the coast can be amplified if the air is much cooler than the sea. Mistral can get a further boost from the Tramontane, another strong fall wind which can simultaneously blow out of the west, generated by conditions similar to the Mistral, by the funneling effect of the Pyrenées and the Garonne-Carcassonne valley. The Tramontane can blow alone, and it is often confused with the Mistral by inexperienced people.

There are other winds in the area, like the East wind, which announces its arrival causing the currents in the Mediterranean Sea to move westward, and then inevitably brings rain. Exceptionally, violent storms can be carried by southern winds, although these are more often the result of instability in North Africa, and can carry prodigious amounts of desert sand, coating everything in thick yellow mud.

The Mistral is what Bowditch defines as a fall wind, occurring when cold air is dammed up in great quantity against the windward side of a mountain ridge. The Bora is an eastern Mediterranean example of fall wind, when cold air moves in a NW direction up Yugoslavia through the Croatian valley and hits the Alps, spilling out onto the Adriatic, hitting Trieste with great force and reaching as far as Venice. The Bora is not as dramatic as it used to be up to the '60s, when the pavements of Trieste were even fitted with rope railings to help pedestrians. The Bora shares the Mistral's symptoms: it can happen with a clear sky, no perceptible barometric pressure change, and no notice. In the winter it can last 14 days, in the summer 2 or at most 5 days.

On rare occasions, if the volume of cold air reaching the Alps is sufficient, the Mistral may also spill down the Argens and the Var valleys (the Var river is not in the Var département at all, it flows through Nice...), hitting the Nice Riviera directly from the land side. Technically speaking though, the Mistral must come from the Rhône valley. But the wind the Niçois most often call Mistral is in fact the Ponant, which is not a fall wind at all, it always begins around mid-day and ends just after tea-time on the Boulevard des Anglais. So remember, contrary to what they tell you there, Nice is not in Provence and hardly ever gets the Mistral.

Forecasting
Accurate forecasting is very hard indeed, do not expect anything more than a short notice if any. It often builds up in the night, after midnight, or early in the morning, especially in the summer. It very rarely appears on a summer afternoon. Once established, the Mistral generally peaks in the afternoon and weakens in the evening. Most Mistrals last one to three days, sometimes extending to a full week. Tales abound about it always lasting a multiple of 3 days, but this notion, often quoted by landlubbers as some form of venerable ancient mariner's knowledge, is in fact utter nonsense.

The sky in the NW can show telltale signs several hours before a Mistral. Wispy high-altitude cirrus may appear, but the typical signs are lens-shaped alto-cumulus, looking like cuttlefish bones. These appear the evening before, with a red sunset, the clouds are golden at first, turning to pink and then gray. The faster they turn gray, the harder the wind will be, force 8 or 9 is not uncommon. After sunset, short gusts of wind appear, at first in long intervals, then coming more often, while the sea current starts to flow towards the east. Expect full development between midnight and sunrise.

When the Mistral is blowing, you can often see a large cloudy area waiting far away to the west of Marseille, prevented from advancing by the airflow down the Rhône. If the Mistral subsides, those clouds will quickly invade your area.

Navigation
While it is blowing, the Mistral creates short deep waves, making navigation unpleasant and definitely very wet. Sea conditions are generally extreme around the numerous capes that make up the coast in Mistral country. The shallower waters and the rocky coast create havoc with the waves, creating crossing patterns that are hard to negotiate. The waves can be one to two metres long, 3 metres at most, in places like Almanarre.

When navigating, be aware that not all ports are suitably protected against all winds. Some are well oriented for protection against the Mistral, but may be rough spots during an East wind.

Several aids are available to navigators. Flashing lights are used in certain ports or navigation areas, for daytime warnings of expected winds of force 6 and over. Weather warnings are issued in SSB on short wave by stations at Grasse, Marseille and Monaco. The "CROSS" centre in La Garde broadcasts special bulletins and warnings on VHF, plus you can request a rebroadcast of a weather bulletin. Other sources are local radio stations, Radio France International, NAVTEX, Weather-fax, as well as many meteorological centres and semaphores with automated telephone response, reachable by GSM mobile phone.

Windsurfing
The Mistral makes our part of the coast a wind-surfer's paradise. All of the dangers to navigation mentioned above are in fact a plus to wind-surfers. Few people refer to the beach of Six-Fours by its real name "Plage de Bonnegrace", the more popular "Brutal Beach" is more descriptive. Another favourite spot is the beach of Almanarre, in Hyères. In both places the waves are short and treacherous for a pleasure boat, but ideal for wave jumping on a 2.6m long fun-board. Expect to see amazing acrobatics being performed here.

In calm weather you will not see them, but wind-surfers from all over Europe are there, camped out somewhere, waiting. When the Mistral hits, they all come out at once, their campers invading the coast. The Italians have the fanciest gear, their custom boards splashed with "Giorgio" or "Roberto" in large script, smartly tied on top of their sleek German cars. The Germans have the most gear, plus mountain bikes, so they need extra-large campers. The Dutch also have oversized campers, because they are in the habit of bringing along all their food needs for the entire trip, including those beautiful but totally tasteless watery greenhouse tomatoes that they grow.

Forest fires
Summer dry conditions and Mistral combine to create a high risk of forest fires, making hiking dangerous. Such fires are rarely accidental, usually deliberately set in pine forests by deranged people or by contract arsonists on motorcycles, using such imaginative devices as incendiary tennis balls and a raquet. The perpetrators are often known by the police but never held for more than a few days, the police here being mainly in the business of giving parking tickets. The fires rapidly assume alarming proportions and become difficult to control, advancing in the forest faster than you can run, unimpeded by rivers or highways as glowing pinecones get flung across these ineffective obstacles. All the firefighters can do in these conditions is concentrate on protecting the inhabited areas.

The pine trees burn very quickly, fuelled by resin and wind, while the pinecones explode and spread burning shrapnel to nearby trees, aided by the burning underbrush and thus extending the fire to the cork oak forests. The growth on the ground used to be kept under control by large flocks of sheep and goats, but somehow the shepherd's profession has become even less attractive than accounting. When a pine forest burns, it rarely regenerates itself, the more rugged cork oaks eventually replacing them. Cork oak trees also appear to burn to a crisp, but in fact the scar is only on the surface, caused by the underbrush and the leaves, the trunk and main branches being protected by the cork bark, which does not burn. Remarkably, the following spring these blackened skeletons develop pristine new green buds and leaves, while the tree keeps growing stronger than ever, fed by the minerals in the ash deposited on the ground

Fires of this magnitude can cloak huge areas of the coast in smoke. This can be awesome (in the pre-1980's sense of the word), the sky gets completely overcast. The tourists think it's a storm coming until they notice their cars are covered in ash, the sun is invisible but for an eerie orange-brown glow, and bright yellow and red Canadair water bombers are buzzing all around.

The Canadair CL-415 is rapidly replacing the piston-engine CL-215, but despite its variable pitch prop and turbine engine it is still basically the same design as the original WW II bomber that it was developed from. The plane can scoop over 6000 litres in a quick 12-second skim over water, and in a typical 2.5-hour mission it will drop 91000 litres of water. Canadians will never stop telling you about Canadian airplane designs that never saw service because they were 10 years ahead of their time. It is ironic that one of their biggest successes is a WW II bomber still in production 50 years later. Officially called a fire-fighting amphibious craft, the French refer to any such plane as a "Canadair". They are stationed at Marseille airport, watch for them as you land, admire them during the 45 minute wait for your luggage.

Places in the Mistral's path
The Mistral is like an endurance test, but once it has finished its business it will leave the air clean and fresh, allowing you to enjoy the rest of your stay here. There are many things to see and places to visit on and around the coast. Avoid the months of July and August at all cost, that's when Parisians come down and invade the place, recreating the traffic jams of the capital, just so they can keep their stress from dropping to unnaturally low levels.

Starting from the West, as you probably will arrive at Marseille airport, always head east. You could venture into Marseille, there is nothing wrong with the place, it just has a bad reputation which the Paris-based media scrupulously maintains, but in truth, despite the rough veneer and the filth, the place is totally harmless and actually quite a place for contemporary culture, mainly theater and music.

As you leave Marseille head for Cassis, but do not take the highway, use the spectacular road that goes along the coast, with great views of the islands, and then continues through the "garrigue", the patch of Mediterranean brush that covers the Calanques. Take a detour to the fantastic Presqu'île of Cassis and see the view from the Calanques. As you leave Cassis, look for the Route des Crêtes, and follow the ridge of the Calanques. Drop into La Ciotat and see the station, so you can see where the Lumière brothers shot the first film ever made. The first cinema hall is also in La Ciotat. Take the coast road again and go to Bandol if you like sitting at cafés people-watching, or if you are searching for some night-life, otherwise go to Sanary, one of the best preserved fishing villages on the coast. A side trip to Castellet will provide great views from this medieval village overlooking the Bandol vineyards, but be warned, there are hundreds of shops either selling the same provencal soaps that you find everywhere in France, or run by pseudo-artists producing semi-industrial hideous art; as a contrast, drop into La Cadière, truly authentic, with very few tourist shops, and the best restaurant in the area (Bérard).

Beyond that you can skip Toulon altogether, unless you want to see France's first and only city with a mayor from the fascist and overtly racist National Front. The infamous Toulon-La Seyne sur Mer-Hyères triangle is the capital of Mafia and corruption on the coast, the highest level politicians are in jail and so are some of the neighbouring town mayors, or so they should be. Toulon is home to the French fleet, which was self-destroyed in the harbour when a couple of German subs blocked the port entrance in WW II. If the Germans were prevented from taking the city, nobody was able to prevent post-war French architects, inspired by Stalin, from defacing the waterfront with nightmarish blocks of concrete, simultaneously choking the old town and blocking any view of the sea and the naturally beautiful inlet. The got the coveted "Prix de Rome" for this work.

Hyères is next, and do consider a day-trip to the island of Porquerolles. The coast drive will take you to wonderful spots, such as Bormes-les-Mimosas, and the nearby beaches of Bregançon, the nicest of the entire coast, with a view of the President's fort and summer residence. Continue to Lavandou and through to Ramatuelle, ending up in St. Tropez. This is a very beautiful village, but its discovery by actress Brigitte Bardot has made it incredibly crowded between Easter and September. Look for immense yachts in the minuscule port, but also walk through the tiny streets and see the fishermen's houses; wintertime is best. The aging Ms. Bardot has lost her marbles, she has married a member of the National Front and advocates saving the seals and being nice to dogs, while spouting the nastiest remarks about humans of every race, including her own, who have ruined her poor little village. She has forgotten who started the whole invasion. If it's too crowded in St Tropez, after being stuck in traffic for an hour, head up to quiter places inland, like Grimaud or La Garde Freinet. In the autumn, head back through Collobrières and sample the local chestnuts.

Wines
If you enjoy fine wine, you have come to the right place. The coastal area swept by the Mistral is home to many Côtes de Provence rosés, perfect for that light summer lunch. In Cassis you will find a fresh fruity lively white wine with lots of character, perfect with fish, especially bouillabaisse. Look for Domaine du Paternel, or Clos Sainte Madeleine.

But wait, there is more, the coast is not just about light wines. If you want a vigorous red wine that ages well developing exotic aromas, peaking at about 10 years of age, then try Bandol. You will find exceptional wines at Domaine Tempier, Domaine de Pibarnon, Moulin des Costes and my favourite, Domaine de Terrebrune. The best are usually organically grown. Domaine Ott is the most famous, but the prices are quite silly.

One more, and it is not quite on the coast, it's near Aix en Provence: Palette is one of the smallest wine growing appellations in France, and in fact there is only one producer, Chateau Simone. The reds are full-bodied, but the whites are truly big wines, aromatic and requiring ageing to develop fully.

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SCULPTURE IN PARIS (Copyright The Associated Press)

A cow caught upside down in a tree and a mound of plastic fruit were among the sculptures unveiled Wednesday on the Champs-Elysees, transforming the famed avenue into a massive outdoor art garden for the second time in a decade.

The "Champs of Sculpture," running through Nov. 15, features 52 works by contemporary artists from five continents. It was conceived as the second chapter to a 1996 modern sculpture show that drew millions to the Champs-Elysees, the graceful, tree-lined avenue considered one of the world's most beautiful.

"Museums alone, as excellent as they are, are not enough to show how the standards of beauty are constantly evolving," Paris Mayor Jean Tiberi told reporters gathered on the Champs-Elysees under heavy rains.

Among the most striking pieces is Australian artist John Kelly's traffic-stopping "Cow in a Tree." Standing about 24 feet high and weighing more than four tons, the piece enthralled onlookers.

"I was inspired by everything I learned about Australian soldiers who were camouflage experts here in France during World War II," Kelly said as he rubbed the bronze tree trunk of his sculpture. "Also, when it floods in Australia, you often see a cow caught up in a tree."

Another piece is Dani Karavan's "Sukat Shalom" (The Peace Cabin) - an olive tree zapped with blue fluorescent light and draped with Israeli and Palestinian flags.

"You have to be optimistic about peace, even when things are tough," said Karavan, who divides his time between studios in Tel Aviv and Paris. "If you don't choose trees, you end up with ruins."

Alain Kirili, another featured sculptor, said he hoped the "Champs of Sculpture:" would set an example for other cities around the world.

"It's great to get art out of the elite places like museums," he said. "People of all walks of life can just come here with their children and touch and feel and communicate with art."

Copyright The Associated Press

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FRUITCAKE

The proud owner of the famous dog "Fruitcake" has offered me far more than a photo of the wonder dog. I am pleased to announce that we have been offered the whole dog,... stuffed.

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ART IN NIZAS

The South of France has been a magnet for artists for centuries. Thge light, the climate (the food and wine) and the scenery have inspired artists from many countries to make their homes here.

This region has been the home for artists since the middle ages when Pezenas was the administrative center for France and many artists and craftsmen gained the patronage of the Princes, courtiers and governors

This tradition still continues, the 10th century tower in front of our house has recently been restored and is now used for exhibitions

of painting, sculpture and other art forms. Last week we had a vernissage of three local artists. Eve Richards from the UK and Jennifer Griffiths from the USA (paintings) and David Coss and John Sheppard from the UK (pottery).

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MILLENNIUM RENTALS
Still available and still with Champagne in the fridge, the fireworks over the Mediterranean at Menton will be beautiful.
http://www.rentals-france.com/accommodation/paraisette/
and
http://www.rentals-france.com/accommodation/monterel/ We also have a few smaller properties left to rent, do ask us.

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LINKS
We always try to make pages with helpful information on our web site. There is a page of links on :

http://www.rentals-france.com/links/

All the pages have been checked by us and we only add links where the content is interesting useful and relevant. Please let us know if you know of any other sites which can give help and advice to visitors to France.

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FRUITCAKE

Fruitcake is a dog, by all accounts a very ' special ' dog, I hope the owners will send me a photo or write a story (which I can print) about this aptly named canine. Failing which, a recipe would be welcome.

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