Impressionist paintings with bold colors, sunlight, lavender fields,
medieval towns clinging to the sides of mountains and crowned by
crenellated castles – we had many images of Provence as we planned our
trip. Traveling off-season, we found all that we expected, except of
course the lavender isn’t in bloom. We did find sunny if brisk weather,
absolutely no crowds, great food, and wonderful scenery.
We flew from Boston to Marseille via Paris, and then took a 40-minute
bus from the Marseille airport to Aix en Provence. We wandered the
curving streets of this university town and in the local market, after
studying the six or seven types of seasonal mushrooms, twelve types of
olives and displays of lavender soaps and sachets, bought the first of
many goat cheese and bread picnic ingredients. That evening we met up
with our friends Tony and Erika, and explored the North African area of
town, where we had a wonderful Tunisian meal.
The next day we took off for 5 days of exploring small Provence towns
from our B&B base in L'Isle sur la Sorgue. Our first stop on the way to
Isle was in Arles, one of the largest cities in the area, with a
wonderful Roman amphitheater and narrow streets that somehow accommodate
cars and pedestrians. After exploring the amphitheater we went on to Les
Baux, a charming hilltop medieval city with views over buttes and
limestone cliffs. Though surrounded by parking lots that attest to how
crowded Les Baux must be in the summer time, we found only a few
souvenir shops open and noticed only a handful of other tourists. In
fact, throughout Provence many of the homes have been purchased by
foreigners and are unoccupied off-season, so the medieval streets have
an unworldly sense of quiet as we wandered around.
After some interesting wrong turns trying to follow the
“representational” map sent by our B & B hosts, we arrived at the
charming B & B we’d chosen in St. Antoine, just outside of Isle Sur
l’Sorgue. Our hosts warmly greeted us and we all had tea together,
practicing our limited French and getting their hints about places to
visit while in Provence.
Breakfasts at the B & B featured wonderful artisan breads from the
local bakery, different each day. We convinced ourselves that each loaf,
whether filled with olives, nuts, or seeds, was healthy and had no
cholesterol.
We started the next day at the nearby open air market in Apt. Like
the market at Aix, displays were brimming with the fresh fruits and
vegetables that shape French cooking, as well as olives, cheeses and
more handmade soaps and sachets. After picking up the requisite picnic
ingredients (yep, more bread and cheese) we headed to Simiane-la-Rotonde.
One of the most beautiful villages we visited, this town was even
quieter than Les Baux – only one shop was open in the entire place. We
wandered up and down the tiny streets, had lunch on the stairs of a
shuttered maison, and marveled at how little the town seemed to have
changed in 600 years. During the afternoon we explored small roads and
towns around the Gorges de Oppedette, which are deep canyons which catch
the light and shadows in limestone cliffs. That evening we returned to
Apt, which was very quiet after the bustle of the morning market, for a
drink and dinner – crepes in a 17th century renovated building.
The next day, Sunday, we headed into Isle Sur l’ Sorgue for its
widely known antiques market. A huge variety of furniture and
bric-a-brac, and of course the obligatory fruits, vegetables, artisan
cheeses and olives, filled the sidewalks of half the town. Isle is built
around a series of canals, which still have the waterwheels that once
were part of an extensive mill system here. After wandering around (and
once again picking up picnic goodies) we went on to Fontaine de Vaclus,
a lovely town at the foot of the Sorgue river with lovely views up a
hillside which was crowned by a ruined castle that looked like something
out of a fairytale. We spent some time watching kayakers practice on the
river, and then went on to visit Gordes, another beautiful hilltop town
and the Abbey at Senanque. A highlight of the afternoon was Rousillon,
where the houses are made of stone from the surrounding gold and ochre
hills, bringing a warm glow when caught by the afternoon sun. It was the
only town we saw that wasn’t made of the warm white/yellow limestone
that is the basic building material of most of Provence.
Late in the day we arrived at Lacoste. This was one of the most
ancient and picturesque towns that we visited. As the sun was setting,
we made our way up the hill along cobblestone streets, going under
gothic arches and peeking in the windows of some of the restored but
uninhabited homes that we passed. At the top of the hill are the ruins
of the former chateau of the Marquis de Sade (we should have suffered
more going up the hill), which have now been converted by Pierre Cardin
into an open-air theater. We saw only one person in the entire town – an
American who appeared to be a caretaker for several of the residences.
The challenge of being in small towns off-season is that most
restaurants are closed. Isle Sur l’Sorgue had few options, and the ones
we tried weren’t brilliant. We felt vindicated in visiting patisseries
as needed.
The following day we started at Carpenteras, hoping to see the 13th
century synagogue. (In the 14th century the Roman Catholic church had a
series of internal conflicts, and for a time established a papal
residence in Avignon. The Popes of Avignon protected the Jews who were
at that time being persecuted by the French, so Carpenteras, Avignon,
Cavillon and Isle Sur l’Sorgue attracted Jewish refugees from throughout
the region. ) Unfortunately, our guidebook had the opening hours wrong,
and the synagogue was closed. Fortunately, a fabric store with beautiful
Provencal fabric was open, so the trip was not wasted. We went on to
Vaison-la-Romaine, site of the ruins of a roman settlement, and picked
up a bottle of wine at Chatauneuf de Pape for the evening. After a stop
in Uzes to visit the incredible chateau there, we ended the day at the
wonderful Roman bridge, Pont de Garde. An engineering miracle, the huge
bridge still stands, and we crossed it as the sun went down over the
river.
On our final day in rural Provence, we headed for Cavillon – and once
again, our trusty Lonely Planet guidebook had the opening hours wrong,
and it was closed. We went on to Beaucaire, and explored its incredible
11th century castle, complete with crenellated towers, prison, and huge
dining halls. We had a picnic at the Roman arch at St. Remy de Provence
before heading into Avignon in the afternoon. The narrow streets of
Avignon and many one-ways presented a formidable challenge, but our
intrepid friends found the parking garage with only a few curses and
extra gray hairs.
Avignon is a beautiful city full of beaux arts buildings,
small museums in 16th century mansions, lovely shops, and the incredible
Palais des Papes, the
largest Gothic palace in Europe. We learned a lot about the papacy here
– at the banquet to celebrate Clement VI’s coronation in 1342, the menu
included 118 oxen, 1033 sheep, 1195 geese, 7428 chickens, 50,000 sweet
tarts, and 95,000 loaves of bread. So much for vows of poverty – the
folks that lived in this mansion had armies of personal servants and
employees that helped them run the huge bureaucracy of the Church.
In Avignon, we also discovered the world’s best patisserie, with
sinfully decadent chocolate pastries of many kinds. We felt quite
virtuous for limiting ourselves to one a day for the two days we were in
Avignon – plus one for the train trip to Paris, of course!
Paris is a truly delightful city. The strict zoning prohibits tall
buildings, the wide avenues and excellent transit system makes the city
feel more comfortable, accessible, and human-scale. The Parisians were
friendly, the prices were … oh well, you can’t win on all fronts.
On our last visit, we stayed in the 5th arrondissement (The Latin
Quarter/Left Bank). While we liked staying in a nice quiet neighborhood,
getting anywhere required at least one Metro change, sometimes two. This
time, we stayed in the Marais at Hotel Jeanne d’Arc,
www.hoteljeannedarc.com.
Not only was this hotel conveniently located, it also was comfortable,
quiet, and near food markets and superb restaurants.
Since we had been to Paris just a few years ago, we were able to be
selective in what we decided to see – instead of falling victim to
trying to accomplish too much. We selected neighborhood walks in the
Marais, Montmarte, and around La Rue Mouffetard. We visited the amazing
impressionist collection at the Musee D’Orsay, as well as the Asian
collection at the Guimet, (which was closed during our last trip), and
the Carnavalet, which houses the history of Paris in a wonderful
mansion, conveniently just around the corner from our hotel.
We very specifically decided to avoid getting sucked into the Louvre.
We spent days there on our last visit, and while we could easily have
spent more time there, we were wary of getting “museumed out.”
We also went to see the new Mitterrand library. It’s a tradition
among French presidents to leave their mark on Paris – and the late
Francois Mitterrand was no exception. This massive structure was the
work of architect Dominique Perrault, and has been widely criticized by
both Parisians and visitors alike. While we usually enjoy bold modern
architecture, such as the Pompidou and MIT’s Stata Center, this complex
exemplifies the worst aspects of urban architecture, making Boston’s
City Hall Plaza seem like a warm, fuzzy environment. The complex
consists of four inelegant monolithic towers at the corners of a square
parcel. These towers are reached by trekking across an endless
wind-swept featureless ‘deck’ At the center, between the towers, spaced
too far apart, was an inaccessible sunken forest – invisible until one
is almost upon it. One cannot escape the overall feeling that the
architect intentionally created an environment that not human scale.
It was very refreshing to be in a place where everyone was as
disdainful of George Bush as we are. Now we are home, and have to
re-adjust to the reality of post-election America....
