Fête de la Musique Celebration in Gaujac

Fête de la Musique is a celebration of music started in France, but now observed worldwide. It usually happens on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. On this day, everyone is encouraged to play music outside, in their neighborhoods, in parks, in public places. In France, you can observe it in large cities, as well as trickling down to small villages. Sometimes it is a live band, sometimes a DJ, and sometimes even karaoke. The message is to celebrate the joy of music with everyone. It is always free.

We stumbled upon the little village of Gaujac’s Fête de la Musique, not far from Uzés, quite by chance. Gaujac in the Occitane region, is a small winemaking village of about 1,000 residents, surrounded by vineyards producing Côte du Rhône wines.

Approaching the the village, there were no signs for the fête, and when I inquired at the wine cooperative on the outskirts of the village, I was told they know there was a fête today, but didn’t know where or when it started. So we headed towards the center of the village. No signs, no publicity, this fête must be a long standing tradition that locals know about. We did manage to find the fête whereabouts.

In late morning, there was confirmation of a running of the bulls with French cowboys and cowgirls mounted on magnificent Camargue white horses down a sectioned street with protected bars. Spectactors, usually male adolescents, were allowed to run after the bulls, pulling their tails, trying to touch them. I was aghast. Each running of the bulls went very fast, about 25 seconds. It was very exciting and very hot that day. There was an ambulance strategically parked close by, in case of an emergency.

Running of the Bulls in Gaujac

There Were Several Running of the Bulls, Each Lasting About 25 Seconds

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Too

Next to the sectioned street was the main shady plaza of the village. Tables and benches were set up for the lunch crowd. Two very friendly ladies in pink were busy making paella for 250 people starting at 1:00pm. Each pan served 100 people. For 15 euros one could get a plate of delicious paella, your choice of a beer or glass of wine, and dessert of tarte tatin.

When the paella was ready to be served, the lunch tickets had been purchased, everyone got their lunch plates and sat down to enjoy. There were people of all ages, sitting together, eating and enjoying the day. I imagined most of them were from Gaujac. It was nice to see.

Paella Ready Just About Ready to Serve, a Masterpiece

The Fête de la Musique wouldn’t be a fête without music. A lively village brass band dressed in orange and lemon shirts was there to entertain us and put a smile on everyone’s face. Some spectators joined in the singing.

A large stage was set up at the far end of the plaza. A big music group would be playing later that evening. We decided to look for another Fête de la Musique in another location for later that evening. It had been a very entertaining, delicious, and delightful day.

Can’t Go Wrong with Brass and Lemons

When I think back on this memorable day, I think of the phrase “French Country Living.” I also think of key words that describe the essence of this day and “French Country Living:” fun, adventure, surprises, simplicity, seasons, delicious, beauty, visual, senses, drama, tradition, and joy of life.

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie

Entering Our Village We Ran Into a Shepherd Grazing His Flock

Bonjour to all of you! It has been a while since I have written. It has been a very busy beginning of the year, and sometimes one benefits from a nice long pause, to catch your breath, reflect, and reset if necessary.

I am back in France again and wanted to share some of my first week here. Coming into our village after being away for almost six months, my husband and I were greeted by a surprise thunderstorm of rain and lighting, as well as a shepherd grazing his huge flock of sheep in the protected forest. Welcome back to France, and be ready for the unexpected.

All is well with our little mas (house), and it was very exciting to unlock the door and see all of the incredible changes in person. I have been working with a special someone here in France the last six months, who has a great design eye, and a team of artisan trades people at her fingertips to make a few needed changes with lighting, wrought iron railings, etc. Our little mas is cute, but some little tweaks here and there have made it especially charming and inviting. I will share more in another post.

Running of the Bulls at Fête de L”Etang

The French are full of fun, and always have festivals and events happening. Some we stumble upon, and others we are told about. We were told about the annual celebration, Fête de L’Etang in La Capelle, the next village over, where there is food, music, and even running of the bulls. L’Etang is a beautiful rare protected freshwater lake in this region among the typical garrigue (scrubland). Surrounding this lake you see a lot of vineyards, fruit orchards, and dark brown bulls are even raised here. These French cowboys and cowgirl are running three bulls in the middle of them around a small portion of the lake. You can hardly see the bulls, but if you look closely in the middle of the photo, you see two bull’s curved brown horns. It is a fast pace, and very exciting to watch. The beautiful white horses, it seems to me, have such a big sweet heart, and are a special breed typical of this area, that I have got to find out more about.

Mussels in Marseille

Still within our first week here, we met Colorado friends in Marseille for a day. We had never been to Marseille, and rented an AirBnB down by the Vieux Port. Marseille is interesting, a gritty melting pot of many cultures and history. Our friends were on a week long Mediterranean cruise that docked in Marseille for the day. I love mussels (moules) from my Brussels, Belgium days. I was in heaven having Mussel Meunière and frites for lunch.

It has been a whirlwind week full of surprises and adventure! Sheep, horses, and mussels!

Bon Appétit et Bon Weekend…Bonnie