Archive for the ‘Travel News’ Category
May 14th, 2012 | 
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Saorge Orchid by Pierre Commenville courtesy of Parc National du Mercantour
There is no better way to discover the splendors of the Cote d’Azur (indeed of all France) than in the annual Fete de la Nature which aims to get people away from their screens and into their natural environment. Local naturalist associations and the system of national and regional parks are mobilized to provide expert guidance on all facets of the environment with particular emphasis on local flora and fauna. All events are free but with obligatory advance registration.
In the Roya Valley near Nice, the events were spearheaded by the Parc National du Mercantour which also organized a dozen different outings and programs throughout the region covered by the Mercantour National Park. The two that I attended this past weekend were fascinating and well-executed.
Saturday began in the perched village of Saorge where two nature walks were proposed: one on medicinal plants and the other on local bird life. Local naturalist and mountain guide Rene Bouyal led the plant excursion. I followed Mercantour park ranger and naturalist, Jean-Marie Cevasco, to discover the local bird life. Although the idea was to listen to and distinguish various bird cries, in practice, there was a relaxed overlap. The terrain around Saorge is known for its incredible variety of orchids which happened to be in full bloom. On the way to “bird stations”, I was delighted to get the lowdown on orchids and various other flowers and plants. Not that the birds were neglected! In addition to directing our careful listening to the local birds, Mr. Cevasco had brought along recordings of various bird calls which helped tune my ears. By the end of the day I was pretty sure I could distinguish between a warbler and a wren but I wasn’t sure.
Fortunately, I had an opportunity to review on Sunday when another bird walk launched from Col de Brouis outside Breil-sur-Roya. This time it was park ranger, naturalist and bird expert Laurent Zimmermann who led the way. Our group was small but passionate and we were rewarded by rather noisy birds that seemed to turn up the audio just for us! Mr. Zimmermann had brought along a bird guide and carefully pointed out pictures of the birds we were listening to. He had an extraordinary depth of knowledge about all aspects of bird life; one got the impression there wasn’t a question on the subject he couldn’t answer.
If the idea behind the Fete de la Nature is to sensitize people to their environment, it certainly worked for me. Although I’ve been hiking in the Roya Valley for nearly ten years, I’d never much gotten beyond the spectacular mountain vistas and tasty river trout. Sorting out the innumerable varieties of plants, flowers, birds, trees, insects and animals seemed such a vast and confusing project, I kept putting it off for another day. I’m glad that day arrived because I found that watching and listening more attentively creates a more intimate and rewarding experience of the mountains. It’s also focused my attention on preserving the local flora and fauna. For more, see the diverse protection programs of the Mercantour National Park and the Conservatoire d’espaces Naturels Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur.
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Wynton Marsalis & Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra
It’s been a swinging five days at the Nice Jazz Festival concluding last night with a ravishing set by Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Despite Marsalis’ somewhat catty comment on Facebook that he played “the jazz night” and ” it’s good to see some actual jazz musicians at a jazz festival” (meaning preceding artists Ahmad Jamal and Roy Hargrove), there were other bona fide jazz musicians on other nights. Monday night’s program featured Avishai Cohen and “Trombone”" Shorty; Sunday night boasted Martial Solal, Stefano Bollani and Michel Portal; Saturday had bluesman Joe-Louis Walker. I suspect that Marsalis does not accept the jazz fusion style of Mike Stern and Didier Lockwood or John McLaughlin on the opening night. I don’t much care for it either but I think it does deserve the jazz label.
If it’s any consolation to Marsalis and other jazz purists, “jazz night” was absolutely jam-packed. It was, by far, the best attended night of the festival. Clearly having funkster Maceo Parker on the bill helped boost attendance but I suspect that it was Marsalis, Ahmad Jamal and Roy Hargrove who really put the buns in the seats–and on the ground and squeezed into every available corner of the Theatre de Verdure. In fact the milling crowds with the kids, cellphones, beer runs and chatter made it difficult to concentrate on the music.
Maceo Parker "battled" Wynton Marsalis
Marsalis’ other complaint that ” loud non- jazz blaring from the main stage . . . is now bleeding into every song we play.” refers to a serious problem with the festival’s two stage format. The Theatre de Verdure presents musicians who, by and large, eschew heavy amplification while the main stage, Theatre Masséna, lets bands like Seal and Maceo Parker crank up the amps. Actually, the problem was less severe with Marsalis’ big band sound. He should have been there for Avishai Cohen’s trio which was totally squashed by Seal.
To the problem of overcrowding, I say raise the ticket price. In festivals past, nights with big names simply cost more. It’s a wonderful gift to have Ahmad Jamal, Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis and Maceo Parker for only €35 but last year you would have paid €50 and had some physical and mental space to appreciate the music.
Resolving the Battle of the Bands is trickier. You could turn down the amplification on the main stage but that would diminish the pleasure of people who come for a throbbing beat. And, the bands were not over-amped to begin with. A better solution might lie in the programming. Try not to pit a trio in the Theatre de Verdure against dueling electric guitars in the Theatre Masséna.
Come to think of it, if the Nice Jazz Festival only programmed the classic jazz that Marsalis prefers both problems would be solved! The crowds would be thinner as the number of true jazz afficionados is fewer and jazz lovers in both venues could more fully enter into the music without “music bleed”. Maybe the legendary jazzman has a point.
My very favorite regional event has just announced this year’s program. Les Etoiles de Mougins is a yearly gathering in Mougins of the hottest local and international chefs prepared to display, explain and demonstrate their latest concoctions. Roger Verger formerly of Le Moulin de Mougins, David Faure of Aphrodite and René Redzepi of Noma in Denmark are just a few of the past guests of the festival. What I like is that you actually get to taste their treats and get the recipes after you watch the chefs in action.
This year’s festival will take place from September 10 to 12 and the theme will be Women Chefs. It’s about time! Anne Sophie Pic of the celebrated Maison Pic in Valence will headline the event. Other chefs include Sophie Bise, Rougui Dia, Fatema Hal, Flora Mikula, Laurence Salomon, Josy Bandecchi, Hermance Carro and Fanny Rey.
An admission fee gives you access to the seven demonstration tents but there are large areas of the festival grounds that are open to the public. Tastings of regional products, wines and culinary specialties are available to everyone.
For more information, see the Les Etoiles de Mougins website or see more about Mougins.
See the French Riviera Calendar of Events
It’s the 50th anniversary of the Jazz a Juan jazz festival in Juan-les-Pins and the planned program is outstanding, much better than last year. Running from July 14 to July 25, the festival includes major international jazz stars. Check this out:
Wednesday July 14
NJO Nice Jazz Orchestra
Thursday July 15
George Benson, David Sanborn
Friday July 16
Spokfrevo Orquestra, Monte Alexander, Chucho Valdes and the Afro Cuban Messengers
Saturday July 17
Dee Dee Bridgewater, Melody Gardot
Sunday July 18
Django Reinhardt hommage
Monday July 19
Paco de Lucia, Avishai Cohen
Tuesday July 20
Joshua Redman, Roy Hargrove
Wednesday July 21
Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack Dejohnette
Thursday July 22
Kyle Eastwood, Diana Krall
Friday July 23
Brooklyn Funk Essentials, Maceo Parker
Saturday July 24
Manu Katche, Marcus Miller
Sunday July 25
Liz McComb
See more about the Juan-les-Pins festival, including online booking.
Hooray. Commuters can now try to resume their normal work habits. The SNCF and the unions settled the work stoppage that has been plaguing the region since December. According to the deal (and I hope it wasn’t a capitulation) the SNCF has agreed to hire five additional conductors to relieve the crushing workload on the 35-hour a week strikers. The unions wanted 20 but apparently capitulated. Now the SNCF can get back to “normal” service on the Nice-Monaco and beyond lines which usually means only a day or two of strikes each month.