Le Castellet

● Le Castellet is a

small medieval

village of about 4

480 inhabitants. It

is in the South of

France. The main

activities are

making wine and

tourism.

Le circuit du Castellet

● Le Castellet circuit, (or

Le circuit Paul Richard)

is an F1 race track. The

race track often

organises races or F1

training sessions. You

can even drive your car

on their race track! They

have a really good kart

race track. The next

page has more pictures.

Le Circuit du Castellet (2) (pictures)

Le Castellet airport

● The Castellet airport

is right next to

the circuit du

Castellet : the race

track.It isn't an

international

airport, but famous

F1 drivers use it to

get to the circuit

du Castellet.

The Alps

The Alps are the hightest

chains of mountains in

France, the Mont Blanc

peaks at 4808m height.

We can do ski in winter,

hiking and rock climbing in

summer and spring. There

is an incredible number of

wonderful naturals sites.

There are a lot of animals

like the marmots or the

ibexes.

The St-Croix lake

The St-Croix lake's located

in the Verdon gorges. It's

an artificial lake. The

construction started in

1973 and finished in 1975.

Now it's a touristic site :

_we can go canoeing,

_we can swim.

It's a wonderful site.

The Azur coast

● The Azur coast is a

part of the coast of

the Mediterannean

sea.

● There are a lot of

beautiful beaches or

« calanque »

(creeks).

Flora of my region:

The olive tree

The olive tree is an

evergreen tree or shrub

native to the

Mediterranean, Asia

and Africa. It is short

and squat, and rarely

exceeds 8–15 metres

in height.

The rosemary

Forms range from upright

to trailing; the upright

forms can reach 1.5 m

tall, rarely 2 m.

Flowering, very common in

a mature and healthy

specimens, occurs in

summer in the north, but

the plants can be

everblooming in warm-

winter climates. The

colors of the flowers are

variable, being white,

pink, purple, or blue.

The cistus

Cistus is a genus of

flowering plants in the

rockrose family

Cistaceae, containing

about 20 species (Ellul et

al. 2002). They are

perennial shrubs found on

dry or rocky soils

throughout the

Mediterranean region, from

Morocco and Portugal

through to the Middle

East, and also on the

Canary Islands.

The iris

Iris is a genus of

260 species of

flowering plants

with showy

flowers. It takes

its name from the

Greek word for a

rainbow, referring

to the wide

variety of flower

colors found

among the many

species.

The stone pine

the Stone

Pine, Italian Stone

Pine, or Umbrella

Pine, is a species

of pine in the

family Pinaceae

that is native to the

Mediterranean

region in Southern

Europe, North

Africa, and the

Levant.

Wildlife of my region :

The cicada

● The cicada is a little insect

that lives on trees. Its

sound is unique.

●

Wildlife of my region :

Hermann Turtle

There are several tortoise

sanctuaries in Europe such as

"Carapax" in southern

Tuscany, and "Le Village Des

Tortues" in the South of

France (near Gonfaron).

These sanctuaries rescue

injured tortoises whilst also

taking in unwanted pets.

These two sanctuaries

specialise in Hermann's

tortoises,

The Snakes (Adder , Grass snake )

● The Adder got a

« V » on her head

and that's fun

because in French

we say « Vipere » .

● The Grass snake is

less dangerous than

the Viper.

● The picture shows a

grass snake .

The lizard of provence

The lizard reaches up to

40 cm (approximately 16

iches) in length from the

tip of the muzzle to the

tail. It can be up to twice

the length of the body.

This lizard sheds its tail to

evade the grasp of a

predator.

Tarentola Mauritacina

Tarentola

mauritanica is a

species of gecko

native to the

Western

Mediterranean

region of Europe.Adults can measure up to

15 cm, tail included.

La Cadière, a village in Provence

● At the edge of a cliff, on a hill

which faces the village of Le

Castellet , this small medieval

village takes advantage of a vast

view of the Mediterranean sea.

Surrounded with pine forests

,dominating the famous and

renowned (aoc) Bandol vineyard,

A typical street

La Cadiere has the charm of these

Provence villages with its flowery

streets charged with history. It

offers a splendid panorama of

Saint-Cyr bay to La Ciotat.

Wine

With few exceptions, all the wines

come in red, pink and white.

Depending on their dress, they can

accompany the traditional red or

white meat, seafood of Provencal

cuisine, and even desserts with

sweet wines. The wineyards of

Bandol are well-known.

Fruit

Olives et oil of olive : extra virgin olive oil is from the

first cold press and can have up to 1 percent oleic

acid, normally around 0.5 percent.There are many

Olive trees in Provence,

Honey : Provence is a region of production of

honeydew honey, which bees collect on oaks and

other hardwoods (dark honey), The peculiarities of

climate and flora of Provence give honey large

aromatic qualities. There are different types of

honey from all flowers of Provence: rosemary,

thyme, white heather and also lavender.

Fig : The Var is the first department of France on

prodution of figs. Tasted kind, dried or as jam, figs

are celebrated in the town of Sollies-Pont.

Candied fruit : Candied fruits, candied sugar, used in

baking to decorate cakes. They can also be eaten

alone as a dessert or candy.

Flowers

Lavender : Blue lavender fields and

lavender fragrance are trademarks

of the Provence. There are many

producing areas. We recommend

two, which are of particular

importance: Plateau d'Albion, the

sparsely populated area between

Sault and Simiane la Rotonde, is

like a sea of lavender in June and

July. Take a closer look at this area

in our Alpes de Haute provence

section.

Soap

Marseille soap : This

traditional soap

made from

vegetable oil has

been made around

Marseille for about

600 years.

Christmas crib figures

The word comes from Santon

"santoùon”, which in Provencal

means" little saint ".

The clay figurines represent the

Nativity scene, a tradition in

Mediterranean countries. But the

figures of Provence of the nativity

scene (Christmas Creche) have a

displacement of human touch:

Instead of portraying the people of

the Holy Land during the time

Jesus lived, the characters are

ordinary people of Provence in

clothing 18th and 19th centuries.

They visit the Holy Family and

bring gifts.

The "AÏOLI"

Aioli is a traditional

mayonnaise which

consists of

garlic, salt, egg yolk

and olive oil with an

assortment of

vegetables and fish.

Tapenade

Tapenade is made of

black olives or green

olives, a clove of

garlic and olive oil.

You can eat it on

toasted bread.

La ratatouille

"Ratatouille" is a dish

typical of the

South, consisting

of vegetables:

oignons, tomatoes,

courgettes,

aubergines and

red peppers. With

meat or cereals

such as rice,

quinoa, wheat,

"ratatouille" is a

dish full of

"The bouillabaisse"

The "Bouillabaisse" is a

traditional Provencal

fish stew originating

from the port city of

Marseille. Origiginally

it was a fisherman's

dish. Fishermen

sorted fish for sale

and put aside certain

parts they prepared

for themselves and

their families. Over

the years, it has been

improved and can

now include seafood.

The "navettes"

● These biscuits or cookies

are the fruit of the

imagination of the founder

of a special oven in 1781:

Mister AVEYROUS who

had the idea of giving his

delightful cookies the

shape of a small boat.

"anchovy paste"

● The sauce consists of

anchovy, capers, oil of

olive and of garlic. The

dish consists of raw

vegetables of season

accompanied with this

sauce.

Calanques at Marseille

● The Calanques (creeks) are

located along the coast to the

South-East of Marseille, and

are usually accessed from

the attractive harbour town at

Cassis.

● There are several small

beaches set among the

rocks, with pine trees, for

example at En Vau and Port

Pin, where you can swim

between the cliffs.

Saint Tropez

● Saint Tropez is a village where

there are many tourists.

● St Tropez started life as a

sleepy fishing village. The

narrow streets wind back from

the coast up to the citadel and

the houses are all in the

simple style of fisherman’s

houses.

● Enjoy the many chic boutiques

that Saint Tropez has to offer.

On the Place Garezzo you can

see the Chateau Suffren built

in the late 15th century

The Verdon Gorges

In the Alps of Haute Provence and

the Haut Var, the Verdon flows.

Born near Val d'Allos, it digs

into the rocks of Provence the

spectacular Verdon Gorges,

Europe's highest gorges, and

finally subsides into the lake of

Sainte Croix and Lake Esparron

de Verdon. Verdon delights this

country by its emerald waters,

warm and welcoming. You can

enjoy hiking along its shores or

rafting and canyoning in the

roughest waters !

My school

● My school is located in the

Var in Southern France in a

village called Le Castellet. It

was constructed in 2006 and

opened in 2007.

● It is surrounded by two small

villages: la Cadiere and le

Beausset. My school isn't as

large as the other schools in

the region. There are only

400 pupils.

The Var

● The Var is a department in Provence. It

is very popular with tourists with 420km

of Mediterranean coastline packed with

vacationers during the summer

holidays. Further inland the Var is one

of the greenest departments in France

with mountain ranges covered by pine

and oak trees and the ever present

Garrigue, the hardy shrubs of the

Mediterranean. The Var is the area

which suffers most bush fires during

summer and autumn.

● There are 1 million inhabitants that

represent 20% of the Provence-Alpes-

Côte d'Azur region and live in 19% of

the region's land area.

Toulon, Antiquity

Toulon or its former

name Telo Martius

was a shelter and a

Greek vessel center

snail farm.

Old regime revolution:Vauban fortified the city

and built a prison.

During the old

regime, Toulon was

one of the main points

of departure and

arrival of the French

military or colonial

expeditions.

Napoleon Bonaparte

won his rank of

brigadier

Toulon todayToulon has 600 740

inhabitants. It is a major

town located on the

Mediterranean coast in the

Var department. It is

situated around a rocky

bay, sheltered by limestone

relieves of the “Faron”,

crowned with ancient

fortifications. The sheltered

position has given rise to a

large harbour and Toulon's

role as home to the French

naval fleet.

Pétanque

The name « petanque » comes from « pes

tanché » which means « feet stuck to

the ground ». The legend says that a

disabled man who couldn't move

played with his feet stuck to the

ground.

« Pétanque » is a sport which is practiced

in the South of France, on a ground

hard-packed surface. The players, with

three boules each are divided into two

teams A little wooden ball (the

cochonnet) is thrown out as a target, at

a distance of 6 to 10 meters. While

pétanque was once a masculine sport,

it's now practiced by all, male and

female.

The “longue” is another type of game

wich is played in by doing three steps

before throwing the ball.

RUGBY

In my department, there is one big

rugby team situated in Toulon.

Football

We have a team in Marseille called

“OM”, which won the French

championship in 2010 and was

champion of the league cup in

France.

Tennis

In the Var, we have got some famous

tennismen such as Fabrice Santoro

(in the upper right corner).

1/Santons of provence :

Santons are small hand-

painted,terracotta nativity

scene figurines produced in

the Provence region of

southeastern France. In a

traditional Provençal

crèche, there are 55

individual figures representing

various characters from

Provençal village life such as

the scissors grinder, the

fishwife, the blind man, and

the chestnut seller.

2/Traditional costume :

The Peasant of the eighteenth century

wore the pants with stockings or

leggings, a skin vest and a jacket with

two tails. The only thing that went

through the centuries has been the

taillolle (taiolo), wool sash, usually red,

which he wore at the waist. The post-

revolutionary panties took time to win

the campaign. Point for political

reasons, but simply because the

panties were adapted to daily activities

"in the fallow fields, mud and snow."

Only the pants in the Camargue was

quickly adopted as an indispensable

garment work.

Paul Cezanne:

The nineteenth century was dominated in painting by the

romantic and impressionist Paul Cezanne who was able to define a new genre. He was born in 1839 in Aix-en-Provence, in a wealthy family. He studied literature at the request of his father in law. But soon he abandoned a legal

career. He went to study painting in Paris. He died in Aix en Provence on Octover the

22nd, 1906.

Marcel Pagnol

Marcel Pagnol was a writer who was born in Aubagne on February the 28th in 1895. Son of a teacher, he quickly developed a passion for the classics. He was a French novelist, playwright and filmaker.

Frédéric MistralFrederic Mistral was a writer and

lexicographer of French Provencal (Occitan), born on

September 8, 1830 at Maillane (Bouches-du-Rhone), where he died on March 25, 1914

and where he is buried. Mistral was a founding member of Félibrige, a

member of the Academy of Marseilles in 1904. He

received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Alphonse Daudet

Alphonse Daudet grew up in Provence. He subsequently went to Paris and quickly found some literary popularity. First a journalist, he wrote his tales of Letters from My Mill (1866). He wrote fanciful tales and novels.