[Idyllchat] Re Le Chiuse vs. Provence
Jerry Clancy
jclancy@billtrak.com
Wed, 19 Jul 2006 17:24:36 -0400
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NOTE: I am sending this again, as last night's post never made it to
the Idyllchat forum. My apologies if you get two of these. -- Jerry
--------------
Hilda,
Well, there are many reasons, some subjective. Foremost, I would say,
is that the Le Chiuse/Tuscany trip was a celebratory one taken almost
two years after an 18-wheeler hit our two daughters head-on and both
lived, so on this basis it was the best ever family vacation (and
they're doing well now). But it's much more than that. I had
previously been to Italy some dozen times before on (mostly) business
and some pleasure, generally to the Milan region but also to Rome.
For all these trips, however, I had cleverly avoided seeing Tuscany.
Once I did I absolutely fell in love with it. And it's more than the
spectacular scenery -- it's a feeling, a sense of contentment, the
love of the people, the towns, the culture. Now, I've been to France
(mostly Paris and environs) more often than Italy (and last summer
vacationed in Provence) and, ideological issues aside, I actually
enjoy the French and their culture very much, but if I had to choose
between having a French or Italian companion for the summer, let's
say, I'd take the Italian in a heartbeat. Frankly, I think they have
more fun and their life's more laid back. It's a personal bias borne
of years of experience. If something didn't work -- and back in the
'70s and '80s lots of things didn't work -- their response would be,
Eh, domani! Tomorrow maybe it works. You'd be on the tarmac, halfway
to your plane, and they'd call a wildcat strike. Say, what?... You'd
go to Orly for a flight to Milan in November and they tell you Linate
(Milan) is closed due to fog...maybe until April. Flights there were
always a crapshoot and we took the train more than once. The Italians
could exasperate you but you just couldn't hate them. In fact,
culturally, being of strict Irish heritage, I'm supposed to be
genetically predisposed to hate them, or so I was told as a youth,
but my first trip to Italy took away any hope of that ever happening.
I mean, the landscape, the sun, the history and culture, the people,
the Brunello, the gelato...hey, what's not to like?
There are other reasons. Firstly, the Le Chiuse location is set in
the middle of a wonderful vineyard at the base of Montalcino, run my
a most pleasant family. At first light on the first day there my
daughter Anne and I looked out the kitchen window overlooking the
vineyard and distant rolling and very green hills and together said
we could live here forever. It's not an experience you would have in
Milan, a good deal of which is, frankly, ugly. Secondly, you have the
town of Montalcino itself, in my opinion one of the nicest of the
"living" hill towns, with sleepy Buonconvento nearby. Then there is
the food. Though much French food is exquisite, and I certainly love
it, I find I enjoy the Italian food more, particularly in the north
where the lighter cuisine is in fact influenced by the French
(southern cuisine is heavier, more tomato-based). In Milan, a
culinary delight, you can get it all. I also might observe that the
northern and southern Italian are very different animals. The
language and temperament are both different, rooted in the respective
regions (Alpine vs. Mediterranean). Willie Sutton would have loved
Milan. That's where the money is.
I worked professionally with both the French and the Italians (and
Brits -- never say English lest you be unknowingly addressing an
Irishman, Scotsman or Welshman) for some 15 years and occasionally
would spend a week in Paris followed by a week in Milan. Though there
were many exceptions over the years, generally, when the meetings
were over for the day in Paris, the French went home and you hit some
local bistro with your American, Brit or Italian colleagues. And,
BTW, enjoyed it very much. In contrast, after the meetings were over
in Milan the Italians went out with you to their favorite ristorante
and you usually laughed and drank your way through dinner. Ditto
lunch (actually the big meal of the day). It's a cultural thing.
While I had been through Provence before I'd never spent much time
there until last summer. I found myself comparing the experiences of
Avignon, Aix, Arles and Marseilles with that of Siena, Florence and a
host of hill towns and, again, I found myself leaning toward the
Italian experience. The one city I did really feel comfortable with,
and had circumstances permitted, would have spent more time there,
was Lyon, and l loved the drive I took through the little towns all
the way down the Rhone back to Avignon. I could have gotten back on
the Autoroute (A-7) much faster but with much less scenic charm. And
I found the Luberon area just wonderfully peaceful and scenic. It
compares well with some of the Tuscan landscape. If you do head
there, I strongly recommend staying in this region. The food of
Provence, incidentally, is much more Mediterranean-based and quite
different, for example, than what you might expect in Paris. Great
seafood, but after awhile we found ourselves gravitating to the
Italian restaurants. The people are very friendly, polite and
helpful. Some knowledge of French can be useful in this region
because English is a bit scarce, but it's hardly necessary (the same
is also true of Tuscany). I did put together a capsule summary of
the towns in Provence after the trip and I'll see if I can dig it up
and forward it to you. Which reminds me to have you look at not only
our Untours Trip Log on Tuscany but the many others posted on the
Untours site, as well as those on Provence. There are a few pics of
Le Chiuse (and the vineyard) as well as some Tuscan towns on our web
site at www.billtrak.net/italy. We didn't realize that the Monastery
links didn't work until this week and have since fixed them.
To some extent we're splitting hairs here. There are parts of
Provence that are also spectacular -- the Dentelles come to mind, as
does the view from the top of Mount Ventoux, for example. Then there
is Cassis, the Pont du Gard. But, were I to vacation again in France,
a good chunk of that time would be back in Paris, one of the truely
great cities of the world, with a side journey out to Brittany and
Normandy. Have done Versailles and the Bois.
If you can, do both trips (some Solomon I am). In any event, I hope
this helps you some.
Jerry
At 04:40 PM 7/18/2006, berlinguette@comcast.net wrote:
>We are thinking of going to Provence next year after 2 trips to the
>Swiss Heartland. What can you tell us? How is LeChuise better?
>Hilda
>
>-------------- Original message --------------
>From: Jerry Clancy <jclancy@billtrak.com>
> > Good article. It hit all the right reasons for vacationing in this
> > manner. Of all my trips to Europe the one we spent at Le Chiuse will
> > undoubtedly always be #1. Much preferred it, for example, to our
> > Provence trip last summer.
> >
> > Jerry
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NOTE: I am sending this again, as last night's post never made it to the
Idyllchat forum. My apologies if you get two of these. -- Jerry<br>
--------------<br><br>
Hilda,<br><br>
Well, there are many reasons, some subjective. Foremost, I would say, is
that the Le Chiuse/Tuscany trip was a celebratory one taken almost two
years after an 18-wheeler hit our two daughters head-on and both lived,
so on this basis it was the best ever family vacation (and they're doing
well now). But it's much more than that. I had previously been to Italy
some dozen times before on (mostly) business and some pleasure, generally
to the Milan region but also to Rome. For all these trips, however, I had
cleverly avoided seeing Tuscany. Once I did I absolutely fell in love
with it. And it's more than the spectacular scenery -- it's a feeling, a
sense of contentment, the love of the people, the towns, the culture.
Now, I've been to France (mostly Paris and environs) more often than
Italy (and last summer vacationed in Provence) and, ideological issues
aside, I actually enjoy the French and their culture very much, but if I
had to choose between having a French or Italian companion for the
summer, let's say, I'd take the Italian in a heartbeat. Frankly, I think
they have more fun and their life's more laid back. It's a personal bias
borne of years of experience. If something didn't work -- and back in the
'70s and '80s lots of things didn't work -- their response would be, Eh,
domani! Tomorrow maybe it works. You'd be on the tarmac, halfway to your
plane, and they'd call a wildcat strike. Say, what?... You'd go to Orly
for a flight to Milan in November and they tell you Linate (Milan) is
closed due to fog...maybe until April. Flights there were always a
crapshoot and we took the train more than once. The Italians could
exasperate you but you just couldn't hate them. In fact, culturally,
being of strict Irish heritage, I'm supposed to be genetically
predisposed to hate them, or so I was told as a youth, but my first trip
to Italy took away any hope of that ever happening. I mean, the
landscape, the sun, the history and culture, the people, the Brunello,
the gelato...hey, what's not to like?<br><br>
There are other reasons. Firstly, the Le Chiuse location is set in the
middle of a wonderful vineyard at the base of Montalcino, run my a most
pleasant family. At first light on the first day there my daughter Anne
and I looked out the kitchen window overlooking the vineyard and distant
rolling and very green hills and together said we could live here
forever. It's not an experience you would have in Milan, a good deal of
which is, frankly, ugly. Secondly, you have the town of Montalcino
itself, in my opinion one of the nicest of the "living" hill
towns, with sleepy Buonconvento nearby. Then there is the food. Though
much French food is exquisite, and I certainly love it, I find I enjoy
the Italian food more, particularly in the north where the lighter
cuisine is in fact influenced by the French (southern cuisine is heavier,
more tomato-based). In Milan, a culinary delight, you can get it all. I
also might observe that the northern and southern Italian are very
different animals. The language and temperament are both different,
rooted in the respective regions (Alpine vs. Mediterranean). Willie
Sutton would have loved Milan. That's where the money is.<br><br>
I worked professionally with both the French and the Italians (and Brits
-- never say English lest you be unknowingly addressing an Irishman,
Scotsman or Welshman) for some 15 years and occasionally would spend a
week in Paris followed by a week in Milan. Though there were many
exceptions over the years, generally, when the meetings were over for the
day in Paris, the French went home and you hit some local bistro with
your American, Brit or Italian colleagues. And, BTW, enjoyed it very
much. In contrast, after the meetings were over in Milan the Italians
went out with you to their favorite ristorante and you usually laughed
and drank your way through dinner. Ditto lunch (actually the big meal of
the day). It's a cultural thing.<br><br>
While I had been through Provence before I'd never spent much time there
until last summer. I found myself comparing the experiences of Avignon,
Aix, Arles and Marseilles with that of Siena, Florence and a host of hill
towns and, again, I found myself leaning toward the Italian experience.
The one city I did really feel comfortable with, and had circumstances
permitted, would have spent more time there, was Lyon, and l loved the
drive I took through the little towns all the way down the Rhone back to
Avignon. I could have gotten back on the Autoroute (A-7) much faster but
with much less scenic charm. And I found the Luberon area just
wonderfully peaceful and scenic. It compares well with some of the Tuscan
landscape. If you do head there, I strongly recommend staying in this
region. The food of Provence, incidentally, is much more
Mediterranean-based and quite different, for example, than what you might
expect in Paris. Great seafood, but after awhile we found ourselves
gravitating to the Italian restaurants. The people are very friendly,
polite and helpful. Some knowledge of French can be useful in this region
because English is a bit scarce, but it's hardly necessary (the same is
also true of Tuscany). I did put together a capsule summary of the
towns in Provence after the trip and I'll see if I can dig it up and
forward it to you. Which reminds me to have you look at not only our
Untours Trip Log on Tuscany but the many others posted on the Untours
site, as well as those on Provence. There are a few pics of Le Chiuse
(and the vineyard) as well as some Tuscan towns on our web site at
<a href=3D"http://www.billtrak.net/italy" eudora=3D"autourl">
www.billtrak.net/italy</a>. We didn't realize that the Monastery links
didn't work until this week and have since fixed them.<br><br>
To some extent we're splitting hairs here. There are parts of Provence
that are also spectacular -- the Dentelles come to mind, as does the view
from the top of Mount Ventoux, for example. Then there is Cassis, the
Pont du Gard. But, were I to vacation again in France, a good chunk of
that time would be back in Paris, one of the truely great cities of the
world, with a side journey out to Brittany and Normandy. Have done
Versailles and the Bois.<br><br>
If you can, do both trips (some Solomon I am). In any event, I hope this
helps you some.<br><br>
Jerry<br><br>
<br>
At 04:40 PM 7/18/2006, berlinguette@comcast.net wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type=3Dcite class=3Dcite cite=3D"">We are thinking of going to
Provence next year after 2 trips to the Swiss Heartland. What can you
tell us? How is LeChuise better?<br>
Hilda<br>
<dl>
<dd>-------------- Original message --------------=20
<dd>From: Jerry Clancy <jclancy@billtrak.com> <br>
<dd>> Good article. It hit all the right reasons for vacationing in
this=20
<dd>> manner. Of all my trips to Europe the one we spent at Le Chiuse
will=20
<dd>> undoubtedly always be #1. Much preferred it, for example, to our=20
<dd>> Provence trip last summer.=20
<dd>>=20
<dd>> Jerry=20
</dl></blockquote></body>
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