Status
Series
Description
After trying to live in other places, Peter Mayle is back in Provence. He celebrates his homecoming by sharing with us a new feast of adventures, discoveries, hilarities, and culinary treats. The pauses for refreshment include an unforgettable meal in a converted gas station, a rendezvous with the very best bouillabaisse, and visits to eventful weekly markets. But there is life after lunch, and we also discover a school for noses in Haute Provence, a gardener who grows black tomatoes, a celebration of Alowine (Halloween) Provence-style, and the genetic effects of two thousand years of foie gras. There is a memorable tour of Marseilles, a comprehensive lesson on olive oil, a search for the perfect corkscrew, and invaluable recommendations for splendid local cheeses, wines, bread, country restaurants, and off-the-beaten-track places to stay. Never has Peter Mayle written with more unabashed pleasure about his heaven on earth.… (more)
User reviews
Encore Provence is the collection of essays from the years following his self-imposed exile and this time he was smart enough to change the names to protect the innocent (or privacy-inclined).
I enjoyed the first two books, but I think I liked this one a bit better. I found more of the essays enjoyable and informative: rather than merely making me wish I lived in a gorgeous, centuries old - but recently updated - farmhouse in Provence, these essays also taught me a few things and gave me food for thought.
Now I really want to go truffle hunting.