Peter Mayle is the author of eleven books on Provence, including the best selling non-fiction works A Year in Provence and Toujours en Provence. He was recently awarded the Legion d'Honneur by the French government. He lives in Provence with his wife. Tanya Ivey from Blue Sky Living caught up with him.
1. What advice would you give to a tourist in this region?
First, abandon any thoughts of sticking to a strict timetable. They tend not to work here. Also, one of the joys of unstructured vacations is that you have time to enjoy the unexpected: a market, a particularly fascinating village, an empty beach, an entertaining stranger, a charming restaurant.
Second, don’t be afraid of another language. Most of us are inhibited about ‘talking foreign.’ We shouldn’t be. A pleasant manner and a small dictionary will get you a long way. Avoid the common habit of shouting (in English) when you’re trying to communicate. This is not well received.
Third, experiment with food. This seems obvious, but it’s amazing how often one sees regional specialities ignored in favour of the ubiquitous pizza and hamburger. A great pity.
Fourth, when in Rome, etc. Local habits, from siestas to shop opening hours, have often been developed after centuries of trial and error. They usually make sense, and the wise tourist will fit in with them.
Fifth, don’t try to see all of Provence in two weeks. You can always come back next year.
2. Which do you think is the best market in the area?
This very much depends on what you’re looking for. If it’s fish, you can’t do better than the daily fish market on the Quai des Belges in Marseille. For acres of antiques, go to Isle-sur-Sorgue on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. You will find everything else, from flowers to cheese, from jewellery to hunting knives, in one of the traditional village markets. These are scattered all over Provence, and, if you’re addicted to markets, you could go to a different one every day of the week.
3. Do you think the region has changed a great deal since you wrote ‘A Year in Provence
A Year in Provence was published in 1989, with a first printing of three thousand copies. Since then, to my astonishment, it has sold between five and six million copies in forty languages.
This, inevitably, is a source of great irritation to some people, who will insist, from their vantage points in London, Paris or New York, that I am helping to ruin Provence. How they can be so certain, when their knowledge of the region is limited by the inconvenient fact that they don’t live here, is not explained. Even so, their criticism has prompted me to compare the Provence of 1989 with the Provence of 2008. What has changed?
The price of property has gone up. But then, it has in Spain, Italy, Florida, the Bournemouth Riviera, and anywhere else that could be described as a desirable place to live. There are now more good restaurants than there used to be. More Michelin stars, more bistrots, more tables d’hotes. In other words, more choice. The local wines have improved enormously. And, as far as change goes, that’s about it.
Perhaps more interesting is what hasn’’t changed. Markets still sell food that has escaped the modern passion for shrink-wrapping and sterilizing. Great stretches of countryside remain wild, still unscarred by theme parks and condominium colonies. Silence, that endangered commodity, is available to those who want it. And, unlike so many other beautiful parts of the world that progress and ease of access have made noisy, bland and predictable, Provence has managed to retain much of its individual flavour and quirkiness. This can be delightful or exasperating, but that’s the way it is, and long may it last.
4. If you were to go on holiday anywhere else in France, where would it be?
We like to spend a few days every year in Paris, and we like to go in August, when most Parisians are away. This is when the city is relaxed, uncrowded and extremely pleasant. Even the taxi drivers are happy to see you.
5. What is your favourite plat du jour?
It changes with the seasons. In the winter, cassoulet. In the spring, anything with asparagus. In the summer, gigot of lamb. In the winter, a comforting daube de boeuf.
6. Where would you go for lunch on the coast?
A restaurant we like very much is Péron, on the Corniche Kennedy in Marseille. Fresh air, fresh fish, and a magnificent view from the restaurant’s terrace across the water to the Chateau d’If and the Frioul islands.
7. Do you have any ongoing writing projects?
I’m working on an idea inspired by a newspaper article I read about a year ago. The article described the ingenious theft of five hundred bottles of great vintage wines from a gated community in California. Neither the wine nor the thieves have been found, and so I thought I would invent the rest of the story—how the robbery took place, who did it, why, and where the wine went. It’s been great fun, and I’ve almost finished the first draft.
8. What are your tips for aspiring authors?
Read a lot, because reading good writing improves your own efforts. Choose subjects that interest you, rather than subjects that are fashionable. Try to write every day, even if it’s only a diary. And, most difficult of all, don’t give up.
9. What is your most treasured possession?
My two dogs give me more joy than any possession.
10. Who is your favourite fictional hero, and why
Harry Flashman, coward, scoundrel and unrepentant lecher, whose adventures have given me endless enjoyment, is one of the great figures of 20th century fiction. The books are exciting, extremely funny, and historically dead accurate. They stand up to frequent re-reading, and I love the idea that the author, George MacDonald Fraser, stole the character from that otherwise insipid Victorian novel, Tom Brown’s Schooldays.
11. What is your greatest extravagance?
It used to be shirts from Charvet and shoes from New and Lingwood. Now it’s more likely to be olive trees.
12. Do you have a favourite tipple?
Many, actually. Once again, it depends on the season. Nothing is nicer during the summer than rosé, pale or otherwise. For winter reds, Constantin Chevalier, Bastide du Claux and Chateau La Verrerie are all very good and very local. I’m also discovering the under-appreciated wines of the Languedoc, some of which are terrific. And as a digestif to settle the stomach after a big meal, I can thoroughly recommend La Vieille Prune.
13. What was the last book you read?
I’m wading through That Sweet Enemy, by Robert and Isabelle Tombs—a 750-page study of the British-French relationship from Louis XIV to the present. It sounds heavy going, but in fact it’s fascinating, particularly if you happen to be English and living in France.
14. Do you have any Provencal gardening tips?
Don’t try to fight nature. The Provencal climate is brutal: long periods of drought, rare but excessive bouts of rain (the average annual rainfall, measured at Carpentras, is slightly higher than London’s rainfall), and the Mistral, which can scorch anything delicate. So it makes sense to stick to hardy indigenous plants that don’t need much watering. We’ve found that exotic imports like lawns and yew hedges don’t work here. Gardeners in Provence should assume that they’re dealing with conditions that are not too different from a desert. Fortunately, there are dozens of plants and trees that can do very well even in these unpromising surroundings.
15. Can you cook? If so, do you have a signature dish?
I’m better known for my washing up than my cooking, but I have managed to master the risotto, which is a wonderfully versatile dish. Truffles, shrimp, chicken, bacon, mushrooms, asparagus, parmesan—any of these ingredients, and many others, can be used. I have a book of 100 Risotto Recipes, and I’ve still got about 90 to go.
16. Can you describe your perfect summer’s day in Provence?
Up early, around 6:30, to take the dogs for a walk in the Luberon while the air is fresh and there’s dew on the ground. Breakfast in the shade of the plane tree in front of the house. A wander round the garden, to see if anything needs to be done before the day’s heat sets in. A trip to the village for bread, coffee on the café terrace, and a glance at the newspapers (La Provence for regional news; the Herald Tribune for the rest of the world). Back home to prepare the barbecue and chill the wine for friends who are coming to lunch. A shamefully long and very enjoyable time at the table, followed by a swim and a siesta. An evening of pleasant chores—watering the vegetable garden, feeding the fish in the bassin, another stroll with the dogs. The last swim of the day. A salad and some cheese around nine o’clock, as daylight turns into twilight. And so to bed.
17. How long did it take you to write ‘Provence A-Z?’
The final pieces of research and the actual writing took about two years. But to that I should add fifteen years or more of exploring the region and taking notes of everything that intrigued me or made me laugh: characters or subjects or incidents that I tucked away in my memory for future reference. Some of these I’ve used in novels, and most of the rest went into Provence A-Z.
18. What is your most unusual fact about this area?
I think the fact that Marseille has been continuously inhabited for more than 2600 years (2602, to be precise) is quite remarkable.
19. What is your philosophy on life?
Carpe diem
20. Which do you prefer writing—fact or fiction?
I enjoy both and, I’m sure like most writers, I sometimes mix them up. For instance, I’ve taken real people, disguised them a little, and used them as characters in my novels. Or I’ve come across a real life situation that, with a bit of creative tinkering, can be made more amusing or dramatic or interesting than it actually was. That’s what I like about writing fiction. Non-fiction, of course, has the advantage that the story is there, so all you have to do is describe it. And true stories are often the best stories.
The A to Z of Provence is published by Profile Books priced £18.00
. Live as much in the present as possible. The world is now suffering from a terrible addiction to speed, and we are surrounded by inducements to hurry. There’s no time for anticipation, that most enjoyable aspect of any pleasure. We are persuaded that everything, especially gratification, should be instant. This is a certain recipe for a rushed and unsatisfactory life. Slow down, and appreciate today.
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