Postcards from France: Black Diamonds
Celebrating the End of Truffle Season with a Back Alley Deal
The call came while we were touring the ancient Greco-Roman city of Glanum on the outskirts of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. ‘Come quick if you want the last truffle of the season. Bring cash.’ Click; the line went dead.
My heart began to race as I stuck my phone back into my pocket. My GPS said it would take over an hour to get to the secret spot despite mister X having promised it wouldn’t. Time was of the essence, not one single minute could be spared.
My son Beau has defaulted to the French style of starting every conversation by exclaiming ‘Non’, regardless of the situation. ‘Hey Beau, would you like to check out some really cool Roman ruins’?
‘Non!’
‘Hey Beau, let’s go get some Toblerone ice cream.’
‘Non!’
Although in the last case, the ‘non’ was only a prelude to a future ‘oui’ with conditions. I knew that when I interrupted the filming of his French documentary for his 6th-grade class to get a lone black truffle he would protest vehemently and concessions would have to be made.
The funny thing is that he never wanted to go to the ruins in the first place. When I had suggested it earlier you would have…
