Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
He forgot to mention that the car would probably also stink to high heaven, yet again.
I decided not to add this to his current level of angst. Instead I told him to put Biff in the
car and sort out travel directions for our lunchtime venue. That agreed, I set about fishing
Sam out of the water, which was easy once I'd remembered the irresistible dog chew in my
back pocket.
After a quick towel down we were back and good to go. I was then subjected to yet
more of Jack's whinging about his once-clean car and the stench coming from
that dog.
My
attempted diversion was to remind him how well the car was running and, whilst it was a
little 'whiffy', the smell of
'eau de Trevi'
was infinitely preferable to
'sheet de sanglier'
.
This attempt at pacifying him wasn't entirely successful.
Leaving the estate inevitably meant passing the guardian once again. The unfortunate
chap shambled out of his shack just long enough to wave a filthy paw at us and exchange
a few words with ItsWill (at a distance). He then returned to what I suspected might be his
usual position of sitting directly in front of his wide-screen television.
Following the morning's events, I was in no mood to plunge into an immediate prop-
erty post-mortem, so I focused my attention on thoughts of lunch. I was starving now and
looking forward to having our 'Provençale repast'.
ItsWill had told us that this restaurant was a special favourite of his and my taste buds
were fairly bursting with anticipation by the time we arrived. Jack also needed cheering
up, of that there was no doubt. So, to get his grub-bag filled with delicious vittles would
be just the job to sustain us for the (hopefully positive) adventures that lay in store for the
afternoon.
As mentioned already, Provence is renowned for its production of olives. Similarly
the region is famed for its cultivation and use of a variety of herbs. A typical jar of
herbes
de Provence
, for instance, may list savory, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, basil, thyme and
sage as its ingredients. Many of these will have been grown privately in people's herb gar-
dens and used in several culinary ways.
Small, neatly tied bundles of aromatic essentials are often used as part of the marinade
process. Whether it be surf or turf, if it's considered that the morsel in question will benefit
from a marinading session, it is immersed in a container of wine, or (at a push) water, to-
gether with the herby package. It then stays there for several hours or sometime days, until
thought fit to cook.
Additionally, various perfumed leaves and buds are liberally rubbed over raw food-
stuffs, used to decorate plates and dining places and often turn up in a salad or found float-
ing around in a steaming bowl of potage.
Yes, the
Provençaliens
do love their fragrant preparations. Joyful as this whole herby
world might be to some, it is anathema to Jack. For as many years as I have known him,
and that is many, Jack has been a dedicated herb-hating carnivore and hasn't eaten a main
