A week later there is a full carnival next door, with bungee trampolines, twirly rides, a huge toboggan and a giant giraffe ~ just to name a few attractions.  The ticket booths are doing a thriving business and every child has huge eyes and big smiles.  It is truly a 'winter wonderland' with no snow in sight.  In the Place de la Mairie they refuse to be outdone, and an enormous ice skating rink is erected on top of the Via Domitia or the official crossroads of southern Europe.  Normally this is a place of intense tourist interest, rocky and hot.  Tourists tend to blanket the square in the summer and take photos of the sun-drenched stones smoothed by Roman foot soldiers.  Now, it is completely covered by a hi-tech, 2010 plastic 'ice' skating rink.  The plastic doesn't melt in Narbonne's warm climate and has almost the same gliding capacity as ice.  As soon as it is complete, an enormous booth with skate rentals welcomes the hundreds of patrons who are soon gliding around in the colorful lights.  A small forest of 15-foot high Christmas trees flocked with white surround the rink.  The Roman soldiers who marched through here so many hundreds of years ago would never recognize the place.  What would they think of this winter festival? 

The show goes on for about a month.  Musical acts come and go in the log cabin village and tired parents treat themselves to a glass of warm spiced wine or muscat (a sweet white wine) with freshly-opened raw oysters as they watch their children gleefully ride the choo-choo train.  Couples cruise the beautiful gifts in the cabins, and teenagers eye each other over the Barbe Papa (cotton candy).  Tall, fantastical creatures perched on stilts, gorgeously dressed in white-on-white costumes dare even the most Scrooge of us all to look away.  Their élan and mysterious spirit capture adults and children alike as they fan through the crowd.  Everyone is in anticipation of Christmas and New Year's Eve. 

Narbonne is exceedingly cold during Christmas and New Year's (below freezing one or two days), and the cold brings the snow.  We have lovely big fluffy snowflakes that float down on the terra cotta roofs and blanket the city for all of an hour, perhaps.  The photos are beautiful and the memories more so.  But soon it all goes away, and the temperature comes back up.  We are now mostly living in about 48 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit during the day.  One early day January the fog rolls in, and I am quite startled to look out the window ~ the Cathedral has disappeared!!  Just look at the photos to compare the views.  It was very thick fog indeed. 

Our stove has given us a little unexpected side benefit of fitness.  Every two weeks we drive to the local wood yard to haul away a pallet of oak and maple pieces cut to size for our little heater.  Two or three hours of lugging 50-pound bags of logs up two flights of stairs beat the gym any day.  But, one day it seems to have had enough and the smoke refuses to draw up the chimney stack.  A quick poke of our heads out through the skylight allows us to just see the top of the stack; the screen to keep out bugs and birds but let out the smoke is completely glued up with tar residue and not letting any smoke out.  In fact, it looks alarmingly distorted and ready to fall off.  So, we go to the yellow pages to look up our local ramoneur (chimney sweep). 

The next day he arrives.  We expected a wiry, youth but instead greet a fifty-something fellow of substantial stature and size with a very affable air.  He is complete with the odd reassuring streak of coal dust in his hair and on his hands.  During our chat we discover he has been doing this for over 35 years.  He states matter-of-factly that his fee is 54 euros to clean the chimney and replace the clogged grill.  Maybe he spoke too soon because he obviously doesn't care for the look of the steep roof gliding down to the chimney stack.  But, he says, as long as it is not raining, no problem.  Without another word he hoists himself through the skylight, without a rope, and gingerly walks down to the chimney stack ~ a good steep ten yards on curved terra cotta tiles ~ with his arms spread out ready to hang onto the chimney for dear life if he should stumble.  I can't look and just wish I had made him tie a rope around his waist for safety.  We are on the third floor, after all.  Happily, within twenty minutes he is back inside and chastising us not to burn any more pine cones in the chimney for this is what creates the goudron or tar that clogged the grill.  He was a kind fellow resembling Dr.Watson from Sherlock Holmes with his handlebar mustache, and so we give him a grateful tip or pourboire.  He is appreciative.  But as he leaves he turns to ask us a question: "Why did you put the wood stove inside the fireplace ~ don't you know you get more heat if it is outside?"  "Yes," we say, "but it looks strange that way." "Ah, oui," he replies, "I thought that was the case!"

Our little wood-burning stove has been going every day since and gives us almost 100% of the heat we need during the day.  During the night we need little as it rarely goes below freezing outside.  Our place inside is generally around 62 F in the morning and creeps up to 68 in the day with a little help from the fireplace.  We are keeping in great shape by hauling wood about twice a month! 

Other than that, Narbonnais life goes on much the same.  The restaurants are all open, and music continues to thrive.  The Centaurée (www.lecentauree.com) has become one of our regular social scenes, and we enjoy live music there at least once a week.  We are even looking forward to a private Champagne tasting (invitation only ~ we are honored) in mid-February.  Several restaurants and bars in Narbonne have renovated over the winter and are enjoying a booming business.  The summer must have been good.  We didn't expect to hear so much live music this season, but we are nicely surprised to find ourselves in thick crowds that are enthusiastically responding to the local entertainment. 

January, February and March should be quiet, now shouldn't they?  I keep thinking I'll be able to hibernate a little, meditate, and write that next book...sometime...soon.   I'll let you know next time as the quiet season descends upon us.

Wine Notes

Wines are very easily obtained right in the aisles of the grocery store ~ no need to trek out to the vineyard or domaine.  There is always a dizzying selection of wines to choose from, and the large grocery stores have the advantage of constant cooling which keeps the wine fresh.  The local wines are heavily featured, thus there is a good opportunity to sample some of the varieties available in the region. 

One of our favorites for the holidays is Roche Mazet Cabernet Sauvignon (red) with its silky texture and vanilla finish.  The Chardonnay is oaked with a lovely burnt wood flavor, highly unusual for a French white wine, more like the California Chards.  The 2008 vintage for both the Cabernet and the Chardonnay is labeled Cuvée Spéciale 2008.  The term 'cuvée spéciale' indicates a wine that is higher quality to the producer's norm.  Their Syrah and Cinsault rosés are also labeled Cuvée Spéciale and more robust than the average rosé.  Roche Mazet is located in Béziers, a city about a 20-minute drive east of Narbonne. 

If you can get them on sale the cost is so ridiculously low that we are embarrassed to tell you ~ but good enough to pleasantly surprise your most sophisticated wine snob.  The truth about wine in France is that price often has little to do with the quality.  We specialize in finding the gems that put a smile on our faces and those of our friends while allowing us to share them easily.  Well, someone has to do it!

To help sort through the myriad wines in a French grocery store, I have compiled a guide that helps anyone find a bottle of good wine that will be drinkable and maybe even delightful.
 
 
 

Marline's Guide to French Wine

1.  The deeper the dimple on the bottom and the heavier the bottle, the better. 
2.  AOC - Appellation Origine Controlée on the label is a good sign.  This means the wine was produced and the grapes blended within the regulations of the regional authority.
3.  Mis en Bouteille au Château or Propriétaire shows the producer bottled the wine himself, not a cooperative or factory. 
4.  Fût en Chêne - This is a personal taste those who enjoy woody wines should look for ~ this phrase that means aged in oak.
5.  Numbered bottles show just an extra mark of care.
6.  Vintage - Two or more years old is always better than 'aged on the truck'.
7.  Medals - There are annual wine contests in France where gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded.  The bottle boasts a shiny replica of the medal, usually added on the neck of the bottle, with the location and year of the concours or contest.  Be aware that many wine makers put a round sticker there that appears to be a medal but is not, just another label on the bottle.

This guide is just something to navigate by.  Few wines have all these traits, but the good ones will have at least a couple.

Last, but not least, I actually try to keep the cost of the bottle of wine under six euros simply because, if we really like it, we want to be able to have it often and share it.  Some of our very best finds have been under three euros!  The truth is that there are wonderful wines in France that are not well advertised or well known.  Why not give the wine maker a chance?  They are the Bordeaux and Burgundies of the future, so we seek them out now.