Jane & Katharine: Reviews of Montpellier's beach restaurants 2014

Editor:  if only the wind would stop blowing, then our beach restaurants are a perfect way to spend a summer day.  The following are accounts of Jane and Katharine at the beach for the day.  We hope it will inspire other reviews of your summer day at the beach, especially once the wind drops and we move into our customary August hot days.  Please send your own accounts, and/or photos, to:
awg.scriveners@gmail.com.

Jane kicks off with A Holiday in a Day.

 
LA PAILIOTE BAMBOU
Le Grand Travers
La Grande Motte
http://www.lapaillotebambou.com

A holiday in a day - that's the 'Bambou' experience!   I LOVE this pailiote.   The day begins with parking your car in their private car park.  If you have had your car keyed whilst being parked at the beach like I have, you will appreciate this service.  Two parking attendants will look after your car and when you leave the pailotte, a message will be conveyed back to the car park and your car will be moved to the exit and the air conditioning turned on!

The pailiote is about a hundred metres from the car park - a huge white 'tent' housing a bar, seating areas and a restaurant but most people go to the Bambou for a few hours on a 'transat' (lounger).   The deal they offer is a lounger for the day, plus a copious, delicious salad and one drink for €25.  You must book in advance and on arrival, once checked in, a 'plagiste' will take your bag and lead you to your lounger and parasol.

I do not know how many loungers are available but seemingly quite a lot and the punters are young people (some only a few months) upwards.   Service is good and attentive.

The sea is a few paces away but if you prefer a stroll, the Grand Travers is a huge and very wide beach.

Some friends took advantage of the massages offered nearby and raved about them.

Basically, it's a day of sheer luxurious comfort and actually, a very good deal.

Katharine went to Le Carre Mer, along the étang from Palavas towards Villeneuve-Les-Maguelone

1. Carré Mer
2. Address: Route de Maguelone, 34250 Palavas-les-Flots

   Phone:04 67 42 06 96 

   I (along with Jane) was introduced to Carré Mer by Sylvia, on a May day when holiday visitors had not yet arrived, nor had very hot weather.  The waiters brought us soft blankets to keep off the chill - a  nice touch.  This summer,  Phil and I, two of our sons and their respective girlfriends, were there for lunch on Bastille Day, July 14th.  Madness, you might have thought, on a busy public holiday.  

   But in fact our lunch was serene in all respects.  The menu was interesting (this is a pop-up beach restaurant, remember) including tuna tartare, grilled calamari, panna cotta, an enormous tiramisu  - it's owned by the Pourcel Brothers of Jardin des Sens, and the quality of the food was fine (it's a beach restaurant ....).  Service was excellent, although they didn't seem to be chilling a lot of their rosé wines which on a hot day is probably a good idea.  Not surprisingly, it's a Mediterranean restaurant, and it fulfils the promise:  a gorgeous terrace, whose tables are protected by a bamboo-screening from the midday sun;  kid-friendly, although it is adjacent to Villeneuve's naturist beach, so you all might want to screen your view from the people darting around with no clothes on, who shouldn't be;  plenty of tables inside the wooden building, decorated with vintage white birdcages, if you don't wish for the sun's glare over lunch.   You could sit and look at the sea endlessly, which has to be the most effective anti-depressant in this world.  

   
   

   There are mattresses and parasols on the beach in front of the restaurant (Mattress + parasol €10-12 a day) and a boutique close to the acceuil with interesting Moroccan crafts/jewelry/beach blankets.  The huge carpark is €4/day, and is not validated by the restaurant (but there's space, which on a hot summer's day is worth paying for).  Very easy access to the (public) beach if you don't wish to go the mattress route.  It's open 7 days/week. 

   
   
   

   

   
   Our lunch there was memorable for the happy time we shared, followed by the afternoon on the beach.  
   

Katharine: Goodnight Moon

What Writers Can Learn From ‘Goodnight Moon’

By AIMEE BENDER

July 19, 2014 2:06 pm,July 22, 2014 4:13 pm

Draft is a series about the art and craft of writing.

I gave birth to twins a little more than a year ago, and at the baby showers we received many books: colorful board books, big illustrated books, collections of Sandra Boynton and nursery rhymes and Dr. Seuss, but none multiple times except this one: a board book “Goodnight Moon,” a flimsy “Goodnight Moon,” a large lap book “Goodnight Moon,” and an anthology by the book’s author, Margaret Wise Brown. Of course, I thought. It’s that one that says good night a lot. I figured I’d read it before, just a story of going around the room saying good night to stuff, and I thought it was popular as a gift because it’s so appropriate for bedtime and everybody wants babies to sleep.

But, when I first sat down with the babies, on the bed, nestled into pillows, beginning a sleep routine as recommended by their doctor, I pulled out the big lap book and read it aloud, and by Page 2, it was clear to me that for whatever reason, I had never read this one before. The babies listened in their sleepy baby way, and as the pages turned, I felt a growing excitement — a literary excitement. Not what I expected from this moment. But I was struck and stunned, as I have been before, by a classic sneaking up on me and, in an instant, earning yet again another fan.
It also seemed to me to be an immediately useful writing tool.



“Goodnight Moon” does two things right away: It sets up a world and then it subverts its own rules even as it follows them. It works like a sonata of sorts, but, like a good version of the form, it does not follow a wholly predictable structure. Many children’s books do, particularly for this age, as kids love repetition and the books supply it. They often end as we expect, with a circling back to the start, and a fun twist. This is satisfying but it can be forgettable. Kids — people — also love depth and surprise, and “Goodnight Moon” offers both. Here’s what I think it does that is so radical and illuminating for writers of all kinds, poets and fiction writers and more.
First, Brown sets up her terms. We look around the room and learn about it and “meet” all the items in question. The language is direct and clear and the rhythm is just right. The telephone, which we never revisit, is aurally perfect. “In the great green room/ There was a telephone/ And a red balloon.”

After we meet the old lady whispering “hush,” there is a pause built into the page turn, and the movement begins officially. The title kicks into play. We begin with “Goodnight room” and the pacing slows: the words are fewer, or at least they seem fewer. The cello, I’d say, begins. But even though we are now revisiting the items we’ve met, we meet new things too, right away. We hadn’t greeted the moon earlier, but here it is. Not only that, but Brown allows us to hear of two moons, the real and the virtual, and not to worry about any varied rhyming scheme. When I Googled “Goodnight Moon masterpiece,” I came upon a blog post by a reader who was irritated by the moon/moon repetition I had loved. Because they are such different moons! But that post was a reminder of the gentle risk Brown takes there. After the moons, we go through the whole room and our love of repetition is satisfied and we can track the little mouse and see the lights dimming in the illustrations. The page turns are beautifully paced and quite slow. 
What a surprise, then, to find that there is a blank page with “Goodnight nobody” out of nowhere, sharing a spread with “Goodnight mush.” What a surprise, then, that the story does not end with the old lady whispering “hush” but goes out the window into the night.Most picture books would close with that old lady — that’s the balanced choice. But we see the stars and feel the air — we’ve been sure we’re staying in but now we’re floating out. Why? And then back in for the ending of “Goodnight noises everywhere.” This, the last page? At first, I looked for another page — why end here? Isn’t it a little abrupt? But (after a few more readings), isn’t it also the way for us to close our eyes metaphorically with the bunny and be in that state right before slipping off to sleep, that magical drifting moment after floating out with the stars and the air, when we only hear noises and next is sleep? The story has moved so close to the bunny as to become an experiential mirror of his drift and fall. How much deeper and more elegant that is than the neat symmetry we might expect.
For writers, this is all such a useful reminder. Yes, move around in a structure. But also float out of that structure. “Goodnight nobody” is an author’s inspired moment that is inexplicable and moving and creates an unknown that lingers. How wonderful that this oddly compassionate moment, where even nobody gets a good night, shows up in the picture book that is the most popular! There is no template, ever. When writing, how do we allow those moments of impulse, of surprise? How do we not censor that kind of leap? (I’d argue for following tangents — for not feeling bound to the topic at hand.) And when to end a story or poem or novel or essay? It’s one of the most common questions at readings: “How do you know when it’s done?”

How did Brown know? On some level, it had to have been a felt ending, a note she hit that must have seemed right and took confidence and daring to pull off. The reader has time to linger with that end and accept it — it’s not the obvious closing note of the music, it’s not the fully resolved major chord. But she trusted it. How something ends is so much about a writer training her own instinct and her own sense of that note.
The babies are 14 months old now and I’ve already read the book probably a hundred times — but these unexpected choices of hers are the ones that keep my interest. I think I have a whole lot of rounds of the book to go, but I feel sure I will never crack open the meaning of “Goodnight nobody,” and moments like that make rereading a genuine joy.

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Aimee Bender is the author, most recently, of the novel “The Color Master.”

Katharine: Museums in France this summer

Subscribe to the Newsletter Would you like to ride the highways and byways of France on a discovery of masterpieces? Take part in our Tour de France of museums, departing from Compiègne. After celebrating Carrier-Belleuse at the Château de Compiègne, take the Dijon road and explore the collections of the Musée Magnin. Then take to the road again, making for the Musée de Grenoble where a summer programme awaits you. After that, head for the Côte d'Azur for a colourful break orchestrated by John Armleder at the Musée National Fernand Léger and by Denis Castellas at the Musée National Marc Chagall. Then make a detour via Limoges and explore the "trade routes" of blue at the Musée National Adrien Dubouché. Bound for Paris, set off on a discovery of the works of Lee Ufan in the Park of the Château de Versailles and peruse the fabrics on display at the Château d'Écouen. Your next stage sheds light on the mystery of the mask at the Musée du Louvre, explores the history of dragons at the Musée National des Arts Asiatiques and rounds off the summer on a beautiful note on the banks of the Seine in the company of the Louvre's water nymphs. The museum bookshops’ team wishes you Bon Voyage! CONTENTS > Departure from Picardie > First stage to Dijon > Stopoff in Grenoble > A detour via the Côte d’Azur > Getaway in southwest > Arrival in Île-de-France > CONTENTS  Departure from Picardie  Carrier-Belleuse Le maître de Rodin Until October 27, 2014 Musées et domaine nationaux du Palais impérial de Compiègne The first ever retrospective to be devoted to Albert Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, this exhibition offers an exploration of the work of one of the most celebrated sculptors of his time. After early training in a metal smith’s workshop, he pursued a career as a sculptor and is today the embodiment of Second Empire sculpture. Learn more Order the catalogue Our top choices > The whole selection The Imperial Palace Compiègne - English 23.00 euros 10 Notecards and envelopes Auguste Rodin 11.00 euros Rodin. La passion du corps DVD 19.95 euros Two Hands 159.00 euros > CONTENTS  First stage to Dijon  Musée Magnin Musée Magnin, Dijon Housed in an elegant seventeenth century town house, the museum presents 2,000 artworks assembled by two avid collectors, the siblings Maurice and Jeanne Magnin. The exhibition path takes in Flemish, Italian and French paintings but also canvases by great masters such as Tiepolo or Géricault as well as lesser-known artists. Learn more The whole selection > CONTENTS  Stopoff in Grenoble   Summer at the museum Musée de Grenoble Musée de Grenoble Discover or rediscover the collections of one of Europe's most prestigious museums, set in summery surroundings. Workshops and visits will take you on a tour through the History of Western Art from the twelfth century up to the present day, with artists such as Rubens, De La Tour, Ingres, Gauguin and Picasso. A Summer at the museum! Order the guide of the museum The whole selection > CONTENTS  A detour via the Côte d’Azur  John Armleder Until October 6, 2014 Musée national Fernand Léger, Biot John Armleder, Sans titre, 2001, Courtesy Galerie Catherine Issert This exhibition has been designed by John Armleder himself. Through this exhibition circuit, the artist shares his questionings, constantly associating his paintings with objects, elementary forms to blur the frontiers separating art from decoration, object from subject and, more generally, art from life. More details Denis Castellas Until October 6, 2014 Musée national Marc Chagall, Nice Denis Castellas, 62 times henry After trying his hand in particular at drawing, photography and film making, Denis Castellas devoted himself to his discipline of preference: painting. Through this exhibition, discover his world and more specifically, his most recent works. Learn More Our top choices > The whole selection Musée national Fernand Léger - Biot - English - 9782854955460 8.00 euros Chagall Musée national Marc Chagall, Nice - English 19.50 euros Dvd Chagall Le peintre à la tête renversée 19.95 euros Fernand Leger : reconstruire le réél 1924 - 1946 35.00 euros > CONTENTS  Getaway in southwest  Les routes bleues Périples d'une couleur de la Chine à la Méditerranée Until October 13, 2014 Musée national Adrien Dubouché, Limoges Allow yourself to be guided along the legendary roads of blue, a colour stamped with the seal of the East, through the history of civilisations and materials. learn more Spotlight on blue   Square scarf "Mademoiselle Chanel" 39.00 euros "Count of Artois' room - J. Garcia" Fan 45.00 euros Floral cushion cover by Monsieur Lacroix - Blue 55.00 euros "Starry night" Stole 59.50 euros > CONTENTS  Arrival in Île-de-France  Lee Ufan Versailles Until November 2, 2014 Château de Versailles Around the avenues and gardens, at the foot of the Gabriel Staircase or in the majestic perspective designed by Le Nôtre, the silent, powerful and calming works of the artist breathe a new and ephemeral air over these exceptional settings. Learn more Order the catalogue in english Books in english > The whole selection Visit Versailles - English 15.00 euros Versailles : Building the chateau - English 15.00 euros Writing from Versailles Pop Up - English 23.50 euros From Marie Antoinette's Garden - An Eighteenth-Century Horticultural Album 35.00 euros L'étoffe des rêves Réouverture de la salle des tissus Until January 26, 2014 Musée national de la Renaissance château d'Écouen Closed to the public since 2004, the fabric exhibition room offers a rotating display of works which can only be exposed to light for short periods. Discover fragments of velvet, damask, lampas or brocatelle which adorned residences from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. Learn more Our top choices > The whole selection Tapisserie : tête de Christ de la tenture de Saint-Merry - Paper without frame XS 22.00 euros Bouc et libellule - Paper without frame XS 22.00 euros "La Renaissance et le rêve" Pouch 27.50 euros Cushion cover "La Renaissance et le rêve" 35.00 euros The Louvre at the beach From 19th July to 17th August Au pied du tunnel des Tuileries Everyday from 10.00am to 6.30pm To celebrate the 13th edition of Paris-Plages, the Louvre has graced the banks of the Seine with its presence and converted the Tuileries tunnel into a new water-side gallery. Come and admire the reproductions of Venus, Diana and other water nymphs from the Louvre collections, or take part in the activities on offer. Learn more Masks, Masquerades, and Mascarons Until September 22, 2014 Musée du Louvre This exhibition presents an opportunity to ponder the paradoxical function of the mask and to discover its role in society, from Ancient Greece up to the seventeenth century. Learn more Order the catalogue L'Envol du Dragon Art royal du Vietnam Until September 15, 2014 Musée national des arts asiatiques - Guimet A figure both terrifying and beneficent, the dragon occupies a special place in the bestiary of the mythological creatures of traditional Vietnam. Through this exhibition, explore the history of the dragon from the Bronze Age to the twilight of the Nguyên royal dynasty. Learn more Order the catalogue