“Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” HENRY JAMES
For Jacques and his family and friends, summer afternoons are often celebrated with games of boules.
The game of boules, otherwise known as pétanque, is perhaps the sport that is closest to French hearts. Similar to Italian bocce, the French version is traditionally played with metallic balls on a dirt surface beneath plane trees, with a glass of pastis at hand.
In France, the local boulodrome is a social focal point in southern France. It’s no surprise that a day of Boules with Jacques Pépin is more than the game. It’s all about friends, family, food and drink. The photo gallery below showcases one such afternoon.
As on so many other occasions, the festivities included one of Jacques’ hand-drawn menus (shown in the gallery).
LEARN MORE ABOUT BOULES
Learn More From Wikipedia [*]
“Boules (French pronunciation: [bul]) is a collective name for a wide range of games similar to bowls and bocce (In French: jeu or jeux, in Italian: gioco or giochi) in which the objective is to throw or roll heavy balls (called boules in France, and bocce in Italy) as close as possible to a small target ball, called the jack in English.”Learn more on Wikipedia.
*Quotation above is taken directly from the website cited and is the property of that source. It is meant to inform the reader and to give credit where it is due.
Learn More From Good Life France [*]
“The chances are when you are in France you will either want to play boules or you will be invited to play boules whether you want to or not! The game is traditionally played with metallic balls on a dirt surface (as long as it’s flat and level) with a glass of pastis or wine at hand.”Learn more on Good Life France.
*Quotation above is taken directly from the website cited and is the property of that source. It is meant to inform the reader and to give credit where it is due.
Learn More From Garrett Wade [*]
“A common game you encounter at parks or at the local community club is bocce, where teams looks like a variation on bowling. Although the influx of Italian immigrants across the US in the 20th century helped amplify the presence of bocce, this type of game has been in the United States for hundreds of years. Even George Washington had a bocce ball court in his Mount Vernon home. He played the British take on the game, which was called “bowls”. Part of the game’s popularity is that it is accessible, requires few pieces of equipment, and one can play under different rules without compromising the fun aspects of the game. “Boules”, or petanque, is a French game that closely resembles the commonly known bocce. But, its rules allow for a greater diversity of playing surfaces and sizes, which results in anyone’s backyard or local baseball field to make a perfect location..”Learn more from Garrett Wade.
*Quotation above is taken directly from the website cited and is the property of that source. It is meant to inform the reader and to give credit where it is due.
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