France 2014: Life in Bargemon - Part 2

In addition to the numerous restaurants, we were constantly surprised at how many museums and art galleries there were in the tiny village of Bargemon.  Towards the end of our stay, after all of our planned road trips were done, we had a chance to visit most of them.

The Museum of Office Equipment (Musée des Machines à Écrire et à Calculer) housed a collection of over 250 office machines including typewriters, calculators and cash registers dating from 1867 to 1955.  The avid collector, Monsieur Préjean, was a machine operator who found, repaired and categorized items to be added to his collection.  There were some very unusual early typewriter designs including one that used a dial to pick the letters, one that had separate keys for capital vs lower case letters, and one that wrote braille symbols.

The Fossils and Minerals museum boasted a collection of over 3000 items found within the surrounding region, including fossils of ammonites, fish and insects, and minerals of a different colours, shapes and textures.

Bargemon's multiple art galleries displayed eclectic styles of art ranging from traditional to contemporary.  We were particularly amused by the painting of the Medieval knight, who was surrounded by nubile, nude women including one with a firm grasp on his long sword.  The newer works were an interesting juxtaposition in context with the ancient buildings in which they are housed, as was the modern sculpture of a brightly coloured big head that stood prominently on Rue François Maurel.

The local pottery shop, simply named "Poterie", had many beautiful items, made by a variety of local potters, including the owner and resident potter herself.  She could often be seen working at her potter's wheel when we visited the shop.  The local antique store featured items that referred to or where created by famous Provencal painter Honoré Camos, whose namesaked museum we visited earlier in our visit.

Of particular interest to us was the Beddington Fine Arts Gallery, which was featuring an exhibition of art by Anne Des Brugassières, a German artist whose works are created by sawing and burning images onto planks or logs of wood and then painting and priming them with an acrylic binder.  We were enamoured by the one piece that was used to create a dining table and actually took measurements and notes of how it was constructed.  We had hopes of one day commissioning a table top for our own home, although exorbitant shipping fees could make it too expensive.

Parking in Bargemon took a bit of effort and even planning.  Although there were multiple parking lots within the little town, many of them were farther away from the center of the village where we lived, and required going either up or down a steep hill.  The parking lot we liked best was St-Etienne, which was a large open space with lots of room to maneuver.  Unfortunately we could not leave the car there on Wednesday evenings, since by 6am on Thursday mornings, the farmers market would take over the entire lot.   Our backup parking lot was named after Louis Moréri, a French priest born in Bargemon in 1643 who wrote an encyclopedia of "Sacred and Secular History".  This was a much smaller lot with really tight spaces that were difficult to get into, and not helped at all by the statue of Moréri, whose base encroached into several of the spots.  We were thankful that we insisted on a smaller rental car each time we had to squeeze into these spaces.  We never ended up having to go to the further parking lots, although one Wednesday evening, it was a close call as we literally stalked people returning to the car to get the last space in Moréri.  Then one day, we came to understand how the French parked, which seemed to be wherever was convenient for them.  While having coffee in the main square, we were stunned to watch as a car pulled up in the middle of the narrow street, blocking all other oncoming traffic, as the driver casually got out to do his grocery shopping.

The weekly Farmers Market gave us a chance to buy more varieties of fruits and vegetables than might be available at the local grocer at any one time.  We also had to try the Seafood Paella that was on sale at the market and it made for a tasty, hearty breakfast treat one morning.  One Monday in June, the St-Etienne parking lot had to be vacated for a Brocante, which was a flea and antiques market.  In fact, June 9 was Brocante day across the region as all the little villages in the area held the event at the same time.  Rich took the opportunity to check out the collection of old watches, still hoping that one day he will find a hidden, undiscovered gem in midst of all the bric-a-brac.

When deciding which months to spend in the south of France, we weighed the pros and cons between visiting in May/June vs. July/August.  In the earlier months, the weather was a bit cooler, the villages and tourist areas were less crowded, but there were fewer shops and restaurants open and it was too early for most of the festivals or special events.  The later months would be more action-packed but we would also have to deal with crowds, traffic, and heat.

Although we decided on mid May to end of June for our vacation, we were able to attend a one-day festival called la Fête de la Musique toward the end of our stay.  The festival was region-wide and many events were scheduled for the evening in neighbouring Draguignan.  But the thought of driving the twisty roads at night with no highway lights scared us off and we settled for the events in Bargemon.  A small concert was held in the small square on Rue Gabriel Péri, featuring guitar solos and duets by a music teacher and her young student, with vocal accompaniment.

Later in the evening, there was a karaoke party in the main square and it seemed like the entire village came out to celebrate, as all the outdoor patios were packed.  Mostly French songs were selected but there were the occasional English language oldies like New York New York, sung with a heavy French accent.  As the evening wore on, the singing gave way to dancing including a disco set where songs by groups like The Bee Gees (How Deep Is Your Love) and The Village People were played.  People danced to the music and a good time was had by all.

We came across different animals and wild life while in Bargemon.  Each night, we were serenaded by the sounds of crickets as well as frogs whose croaks sounded more like ducks quacking.  Sitting on the terrace during the day, we would see flocks of swifts whizzing around the countryside, but trying to catch one on camera was like trying to anticipate lightening strikes. After numerous attempts, I finally caught the image of a single swift flying across the hilltops.  Although we saw a few dogs in the village, they were significantly outnumbered by the stray(?) cats that milled around the parking lots, including one cat that had the most unfortunate "Hitler-like moustache" across his face.

On our last day in Bargemon, we decided to go for a hike in an area called "Favas et le bois de la Coste" using a map and route instructions that we received from the Tourist Information Bureau.  We were doing quite well following the directions until we got to a step where the description did not match anything we were seeing.  We tried going in several different directions, but none of them seemed right.  At that point, we had the choice of either retracing our steps to return home, or proceeding forward without directions, and relying on the Google Maps on our IPAD to help us find the way home.  Either bravely or foolishly, we decided to be adventurous and try the latter plan.  We ended up lost in the Dracérie Forest for over an hour as we looked for a path that would lead back to a main road.  Google Maps proved invaluable since at least it confirmed whether or not we were headed in the right direction.  Eventually, we could see Bargemon off in the distance through the trees, but an entire valley separated us.  Finally we heard the sounds of cars and found our way onto the D25 road that led back home.

When we finally left Bargemon and for the last time, drove past the crossed-out road sign indicating that we were leaving the village, it was a bittersweet moment. After five and a half weeks, we were ready to move on and explore new places on the way back to Paris.  But we would miss the charm of Bargemon and the beautiful views from the terrace of our home swap.  We would even miss the nocturnal frogs that sounded like ducks.