A Night to Remember, our last in Arle, France (by Paul)

It was Sunday evening, our last evening before moving on to Nice (we hoped, based on the outcome of my eye sonograph on Monday morning - see previous post). We were both tired and not sure what to do about dinner, knowing that many places were closed on Sunday night. We talked to the hotel clerk, Noel, who had given us excellent recommendations previously for restaurants. We explained that we wanted something simple but good, and he suggested a wine bar that had home cooking, Chez Adriane. And so off we went, through the now familiar cobblestone streets and alleys of old Arles, except they were mostly deserted and the shops were dark. We rounded a corner, and there, radiating light onto the dark street, was Chez Adriane.


A group of people was standing outside, making us think that maybe we would have to wait. But we later realized that these were the smokers, banned from inside. We walked into a small, very cozy establishment with ten tables at most and a small bar. It was crowded, but there were empty tables. A woman, who turned out to be Adriane, told us that she would not be serving dinners until after the music, but only cheese and meat plates. Music? "Sounds good to us," and we were seated at a small table. We ordered a small plate of curved and olive tapenade, and a small charcuterie plate with ham, salami and pate. And local wine, of course.

And then the group,Swing Manouche, came in and started playing some terrific swing jazz' starting with "When You're Smiling" followed by "All of Me," both sung in English. The four musicians played stand-up bass, rhythm and lead guitar, and soprano sax. Here's a small clip of the end of "By Mir bist Du Shoen"

A woman sitting next to us with her friend jumped up and started dancing, and Adriane came out from behind the bar to join her. Te room was alive with music, laughter, clapping, and the sounds of happy people sharing an evening. Sherry leaned over and exclaimed that she felt as if everyone there was straight out of Central Casting, and it was true:

One man was dressed in a very large floppy black beret, a long-sleeve white pullover shirt with thick blue horizontal stripes, red suspenders, and black pants. He was the life of the party - drinking, singing, dancing, entertaining the group around him...



Standing at the bar was a tall, middle-aged man wearing a camel sport coat over a black turtleneck, thick black horn-rimmed glasses, and black, slicked back hair. Adriane is a middle-aged woman, tall, wearing a pull over top and a white apron around her waist, with glasses and a very curly "mop" hairdo. A young woman with boots, blue jeans rolled at the cuffs, a wide black leather belt, black low-cut long sleeve pullover top off of one shoulder, revealing a black bra strap, and long dark hair. And of course, the stock American tourists with white hair, us!

And so our last night in Arles was one of the most memorable, and we're happy we could share it with you.

"One Eye" and Sherry

posted from the fisheyepad

Location:Arle, France