valentine's in vence

fondation maeght + la colombe d'or

Last Thursday after dropping Charlotte off at school, Neilson and I hopped into the car to drive out to St Paul de Vence. I’ve heard rumblings of fondation maeght and la colombe d’or for ages and they’ve both been on my “to do” list for years now. But I don’t always think to jump in a car and drive for a museum and lunch date. However, if you’re visiting or live local, I highly recommend that you do.

fondation maeght

“Some of the biggest names in 20th-century European sculpture, including Georges Braque, Joan Miró and Alberto Giacometti, came together to help create La Fondation Maeght, which has become France’s most important art foundation and is among the world’s leading cultural institutions. La Fondation was established by Aimé and Marguerite Maeght, a visionary couple who were publishers and art dealers, and who represented and were friends with some of the most important artists of the era, including Braque, Miró and Giacometti, as well as Alexander Calder, Fernand Léger, Marc Chagall, and many others.”** from the foundation’s website description

We arrived at 10:30, just a bit after opening and for most of our visit we had all of fondation maeght to ourselves. We explored the interiors, Miró labrynth, Giacometti sculpture garden and rooftop viewpoints before stopping into the gift shop on our way out. I picked up some art books that were on sale and have many pages highlighted already.

la colombe d’or

Afterwards, we drove into st paul de vence and parked before meandering the streets of the charming hilltop town. At that point, we were quite hungry and headed to la colombe d’or for our lunch reservation. Don’t be surprised to see fellow museum goers also heading in for their reservations. It’s a small town. We were seated in an instantaneously cozy, yet fairly large dining room. Inches above my head hung a painting of homard by georges braque. My view of Neilson was framed by a Joan Miró piece signed for Madame Roux herself-the founder of la colombe d’or.

The hotel and restaurant combine cozy inn with art hotel. Old school charm filled with inviting nooks. The fabric lined walls soften the acoustics and brass shell sconces illuminate each piece of artwork. Alexander Calder sculptures dangle from the ceilings.

To begin, I had the parma ham and melon, and Neilson had the warmed foie gras with fruits de la saison. I felt bold ordering melon and prosciutto in the middle of february, but their melon was certainly from somewhere where they are very ripe. For mains, I took the cod with vegetables and aioli and Neilson had lamb with gratin dauphinois. To finish, I had the chocolate cake and Neilson had a meringue-y, icy cheesecake with raspberries. Alongside cappuccinos of course. The highlights of the meal were absolutely the buttery foie gras and the lamb. Let’s just say I was out ordered.

Around us elderly french couples enjoyed lovely meals, as well as brits and families and work lunches. It was a très cozy experience and one we both left wanting to experience again.

valentine’s

Since we celebrated a week early, my actual valentine’s will include saying bye to Neilson for a couple weeks and hosting a galentine’s dinner for friends. I’ve got chocolate lava cakes on the menu and will work backwards from there for the rest of it. This afternoon I have brown butter rice krispy treats to bake and bag. Then some valentine crafts to iron out and stitch. I lined all of my pink and red ceramics up and picked up tulips at the market earlier this week to fill the house with more hues of pink and purple.

We are coming off of almost four weeks straight of various sicknesses in our house. Dare I say we are turning a corner?! One can only hope. I’m sipping tea with lemon and honey at all hours of the day and tidying or watching gilmore girls and knitting any chance I can sit down. Last night, I made Alison Roman’s lasagna with a lemony parmesan arugula salad and garlic bread. It was just the cozy remedy we needed before an evening round of tarot. A french game I have shamelessly yet to master. Anyways, enjoy your champagne this weekend…