A Moveable Feast

tasty med dish

photo credit

How do you say “delicious” in French? There are a lot of ways to get the concept across, but perhaps the most convenient shorthand is “Côte d’Azur.” The Mediterranean coast of France has a culinary focus on garlic and olive oil, with plenty of fresh seafood. It’s also a warm, beautiful place, with seaside cliffs and Roman ruins. In other words, it’s perfect for a vacation—and Rondi Erickson, of Nokomis Restaurant here in Duluth, is sponsoring a trip there this October.

“We’ll have wonderful things to see and do for our guests,” Erickson says. “It’s an area of the world that is envied for its climate. It has more days of sunshine than almost anywhere. And it has a fascinating history.”
The ten-day group trip departs Minneapolis on October 1, 2011 and returns on October 10. Erickson is leading the trip along with Cheryl Pettersen, a retired French teacher. Both women are frequent travelers to the Côte d’Azur (Pettersen even has a time share in the area) and they decided to organize the tour as a fun way to share their love of France with others.
“We’ve always said that when we have more time, it would be fun to put together a little travel business,” Erickson says. “We have two or three French trips in our brain lined up, so we anticipate that this can be an ongoing venture.”
For first-time tour guides, this is an impressive debut. The ten-day trip has guests taking walking tours of old cities, visiting art museums, and shopping at local markets. There’s plenty of culture to the area, and surprisingly, not all of it is French.
“It’s an area of France that has had many shifts in who owned it and therefore who dictated the culture,” Erickson says. “It’s very French, but it’s a lot of other things, too.”

In the old days, the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans settled in the area, establishing shipping routes and building aqueducts. More recently, the Italians and French have battled it out for their share. The culture clash has left its mark on the food, as well. Guests will get to try fragrant North African couscous and socca, a crepe made of chickpea flour and olive oil and generously seasoned with black pepper. (Check out the recipe for socca in our Savor section this month.)
Of course, there’s more to food than eating it. Guests will be able to shop at Confiserie Auer (fruit confit and chocolates), Confitures Herbin (jams and jellies), and little shops in Fayence that specialize in olive oil and herbs de Provence. Erickson and Pettersen will share their first-hand knowledge of food and culture, so come with an open mind.

Other possibilities:

include meeting with the great grandson of legendary French chef Escoffier and a cooking class on cuisine Niçoise in a prominent local cooking school. But don’t worry if the schedule seems packed. The guides have built in plenty of time for exploration, so you can return to a destination you liked earlier, try someplace new, or just relax for an afternoon. Plus, the group will be staying at the same hotel all week, so there’s no need to keep repacking your bags.
Ernest Hemingway, no stranger to fine food, once said: “Paris is a moveable feast.” The French Riviera has the same kind of charm. With sunny days, ambling markets, and plenty of good rosé wine, it’s a great place to spend a day—or ten.