On their way through the south of France, friends Pete and Cameron stopped in Carcassonne, fresh from the Spanish Basque Country that shares a lot of history and culture with its French counterpart right across the border. One of those traditions that they enjoyed was an afternoon aperitivo that included a glass of vermouth made in a town not far from where they were staying. Knowing how much we like taking a picnic on the train, they created a takeout version of the aperitif to share with us and in the photo to the left you can see the result. The gift bag included a bottle of Ugabe vermouth from Artea, an orange to slice for the glass, green olives, and potato chips just as it had been served at a Spanish café. That prompted me to read up on this “before dinner” pause that we knew as an apéro.

If you want to become a French citizen, one of the requirements is to successfully complete an interview with an immigration officer who will ensure that you are fully integrated into the society here. You can be asked questions about history, geography, culture, values, government, current news and politics, and your daily life. A task that I see often mentioned is to name the symbols of France. According to the Livret du Citoyen (Citizen’s Booklet) that we are given to study, those should include the national anthem, the flag, and Marianne the statue of whom appears in every town hall. Additional responses could be the 14th of July, the official seal, the faisceau de licteur design that appears on the cover of passports, and even the rooster. While those seem to be official and easily recognized by anyone living here, you might get a different response if you asked a visitor to this country. Based on movies and personal experiences I bet that you would hear, “the Eiffel Tower, baguettes and croissants, wine and cheese, blue-and-white striped shirts and berets.” Let’s add one more to the list: the tablecloths of Provence.

During the Covid lockdowns when one of the few reasons we could leave the house was to make essential purchases, Bill discovered a way to easily take care of one of those required items. A wine store was offering free delivery. We prefer to try new wines before we buy them but that wasn’t an option in those restricted times so we had to create our own tasting events at home for just the two of us. While getting the bottles to our front door was simple enough, deciding which ones to choose was more of a challenge since the store stocks wines from 1250 vintners who cultivate 49 different grape varieties. France lifted its state of emergency surrounding Covid on August 1 so now with all events in full operation it was time to visit this Cave à Vin in person during an evening they called an “Afterwork”. 

In the UK we have seen highway signs proclaiming “Britain’s Tidiest Town”, “Tastiest Cuppa” for tea lovers, and even “Cleanest Loo”, all to indicate that a community had been awarded the nation’s top honor in a certain category. France has similar declarations that are proudly posted at the roadway entrance including “Most Beautiful in France”, “Village in Bloom”, “City of Art and History”, and “Active and Sportive”. The level of achievement, typically from 1 to 4, is indicated by the number of stars, flowers, Olympic laurels, or other appropriate symbols based on the theme of the award. Carcassonne has won many of these and thanks to the Tour de France that whizzed through town last weekend, we also have a bicycle emblem as a Ville à Vélo otherwise known as a City by Bike.