Excursion to the villages of Luberon

Sunday, August 30, was our first day trip--an excursion by bus into the villages of the Luberon, the region to the north and west of Aix made of of three mountain ranges and their common valley. This is the area in which Albert Camus and Peter Mayle lived and wrote. The bus was large enough that each of us could choose a window seat for premier viewing of the countryside. Unfortunately the bloom of the lavender and the sunflowers was in June and July so those fields were now just rows of lavender plants and tall sunflower stalks going to seed. However, there were many many fields of grape vines. I took my Canon camera with me in hopes of getting lots of "magnificient" photos of the villages and the countryside in addition to any photos I would take with my phone.

Our first stop was at Isle Sur la Sorgue tucked on the banks of the Sorgue River. The town was bustling with both locals and tourists who were there for the weekly market of Provencal foods, crafts, and antiques. I took many many photos of the people, the stalls, the streets, the foods, and the waterwheels scattered across the town....all a treat for the eyes and the camera.

From there we motored on to Gordes and Roussillon. Gordes clings to rocky cliffs and showcases outcroppings tinted in all shades of ochre, red, greys, beiges, and terra cotta by the iron oxide in the soil. Yes, some of this looked exactly like the red dirt in Oklahoma where my mom was born! However, here the rocks were mined and ground into pigments for the many artists who painted here, including Marc Chagall and Victor Vasarely. The art stores now sell the pigments in all the colors of the surrounding area. I could not resist buying a set. The charming streets were narrow, winding, and pedestrian filled.

Roussilon also sits perched atop cliffs stained by the surrounding ochre earth. I must credit a very experienced bus driver who skillfully navigated the narrow roads from village to village. At one point he stood his ground in the village while a whole row of approaching cars backed up to make room for him to pass. Kudos Paschal! Our tour guide, Loni, provided an ongoing narrative complete with descriptions and historical facts.

Other stops inclued a roman aquaduct, Loumarin, and various roadside stops for photo opportunities of the countryside. At the end of the day we each had a collection of purchases. exhausted bodies, and tummies full of locally delicacies. I had my first taste of authentic French macarons.

I came home, bathed, and excitedly plugged my camera into my iPad with the new adapter cord I purchased just for this trip. All of my beautiful photos appeared one my one on the screen. I stared at them approvingly and then without carefully analyzing the next step hit DELETE thinking I was deleting them from my camera. I sat in horror as the photos disappeared from my screen to be now only a memory and a photo in my mind. So today I have for you only one of the photos preserved on my trusty iPhone......me with a delicious French macaron. Bon Appetit!

 

My first delicious macaron

 

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Diving into the culture

Friday, August 28

This morning we met our French teacher at a boulangerie at the end of the Cours Mirabeau. The school treated us to breakfast. The caveat was that we had to order in French and we had written quiz to further strengthen our French. I don't know how I got out of there without taking a photo of the showcases or of the pasteries! I had my favorite palmier. I love the cafe au lait; Judy wish it came in a 20 ounce to- go cup!

There is a large temporary iron sculpture at the end of the Cours Mirabeau. I couldn't find out who did it or where it came from, but it makes quite a statement This has become a good meeting place for our group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After class Elizabeth and I had a quick lunch at a Small diner near the school and then went to another gallery which is an annex of the Musee Granet. The 17th century building was originally a Carmelite chappel, but has been converted specifically to exhibit the collection of Jean Planque. At one time it served as art studios for the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.

Musee Granet Chappelle

Picasso

 

I liked this Picasso painting. Not usually a fan of Picasso.

At 6:00 we met our entire group again for Friday night drinks and to get a schedule for the upcoming week. Since we had had lunch, dinner became two glasses of red wine topped off with a stop at the gelateria on the walk home. I'm hoping that can translate to some kind of acceptable nourishment!

Some of my class mates.

Day of leisure tomorrow so we can catch up on sleep!

 

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The Ballerina

While walking the streets of Provence we came across this ballerina who was posing for photos, possibly for her portfolio or for a promotion. She was very graceful as she did several poses for the photographer.

The Ballerina

 

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Art in Aix

Thursday, August 27

Following a typical French breakfast each morning, we head off to the International Language Institute for three hours of French class. Then today the 17 of us met at La Bastide du Cours on the Cours Mirabeau (the main street of Aix) for a delightful lunch of salmon with garlic cream sauce. And, of course, there was a desert---this time tarte au citron--and expresso. (And did I mention wine with lunch?) The good thing about a nice lunch is that dinner becomes wine and cheese in a sidewalk cafe or on the patio at our hotel.

After lunch we dove into the art scene of Aix at the Musee Granet, one of the top art venues with a permanent collection of paintings and sculpture from 15th century French canvases to 20th century Giacometti sculptures. In addition, they are featuring "American Icons", a selection of works on loan from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. There were works from Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Alexander Calder, Richard Diebenkorn, and others. Here are a couple of my favorites.

 

Alexander Calder

 

Richard Diebenkorn

From there it was on to the Caumont Centre D'Art where the featured exhibition was the works of Canaletto. He painted scenes from Rome, London, and Venice. An aside: I learned that the Rialto Bridge in Venice was designed by Antonio da Ponte......an ancestor????? The Hotel de Gaumont is a fully restored private mansion from the 18th century. The ornate living quarters, the harpsicord, and the harp were excellent examples of the aristocracy of the times. The gardens, where tea and wine were served, were expertely manicured. My wish for sometime in this life is to be able to play a bach piece on a harpsicord for just a few minutes. Perhaps someday............

 

Sitting room at Caumont Centre d'Art

 

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My breakfast faux pas

I've been having breakfast in our hotel each morning, usually cafe au lait , croissants, and yogurt. They are all set out buffet style similar to hotels in the U.S. Today there was a large bowl of brown eggs. I remember such bowls in Paris were filled with hard boiled eggs. Also, I often choose hard boiled eggs for my protein when we stay at La Quinta.

So....I took an egg, put it in one of those cute egg cups and placed the cup on the plate with my croissant. When at the table I tapped around the top of the egg just like I had seen in a movie once, and took off the top. However, instead of revealing a nicely cooked boiled egg, runny raw egg oozed all over my plate! The genial server came to my rescue, removed my plate and instructed me about the bowl of fresh raw eggs. Ther was a water bath that looked like a french fry vat and had nice little egg dippers hanging around the sides. You dipped your egg in, set the timer, and then removed it to the egg cup. I started over, took my egg cup to the table, tapped around the edge with my spoon.....just like the queen would do, and revealed a beautiful soft boiled egg. Another lesson learned.

Hot Water Bath for Eggs

Soft boiled Eggs & Croissant

 

 

Next it was off to the tobacco store to buy bus tickets, and then navigate the bus to the school. I did just fine in that department, even requesting the bus tickets in French!

 

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Orientation to Provence

WOW....What a whirlwind! If I don't write something every evening, I may not be able to recall what went on the day before! There is just too much to write about. So don't expect this to be a literary achievement....just a day to day report of my activities. And for heaven's sake, do not submit to Susan Klement for her to correct my punctuation.

I'm glad I arrived a day before everyone else because I had a good night's sleep on Saturday and was pretty well oriented by Sunday. The fountain in the center of town is the city's well known landmark and is truly beautiful.

 

I "tried" to go to Mass on Sunday morning but wasn't oriented well enough to find my way to the church on time. I ended up walking all over the place for a couple of hours and then returning to the hotel. My roommate, Elizabeth Ripp, arrived around one in the afternoon so we had enough time to explore a bit before meeting the entire group at 6 p.m. to head out for dinner.

 

Le P'tit Bout

 

There are 17 in our group (3 men) so it is a nice size. Our first dinner was at Le P'tit Bout in a limestone basement "cave" which was a lovely sitting. The salad was a "purse" of filo encasing goat cheese, tomato and pine nuts.. The main dish, small beef skewers, was served in an old fashioned canning jar with potato gratin on the side. And finally, a molten chocolate cake and expresso for desert. Looks like I won't be losing any weight! And yes, I'm photographing all the food.

 

Brochinettes de boeuf aux saveurs de Provence et gratin dauphinois

 

Quiche Lorraine et sa salade

Monday morning we attended a lecture by Claude Blanc about the history of Provence. Claude has 30 years of teaching experience in both France and USA so he knows his stuff. This was followed by a walking tour of the city and then (yes!!) more food. Lunch was the most wonderful quiche I've ever had and was paired with a lovely salad. I never eat desert at lunch but couln't pass the tiramisu. The expresso in the tiny cups is very French and VERY good.

After that big lunch (no doggie bags in France) we headed back to the hotel and got totally drenched by the rain. Lesson learned: always carry an umbrella. Our clothes dried on the heated towel rack while we took an afternoon nap. Later I walked to the main street and bought a couple of gifts at the open air market stalls.

Instead of dinner, Elizabeth and I went to the Casino, the local grocery, and purchased wine, cheese, and fruit. One has to place produce on a scale and select the item on a video screen and then a price tag is ejected from the machine. Grocery lesson number one. We sat on the patio of the hotel and had a very nice time visiting as a few other hotel guests joined us.

 

 

 

 

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Beginning the Journey

I left Phoenix at 7:40 on Friday evening and arrived in Marseille at 6:10 on Saturday. There is a anine hour time difference. The flight to London was 9.5 hours. Then a quick change of terminals an flights plus a 2 hour flight to Marseille. I had arranged for a taxi to pick me up at the Marseille airport and drive me to Aix. All went very smoothly and I was at the Adagio Aix-en-Provence Aparthel by 7:30 or so.

The hotel is well located near the center of the old town and within walking distance of lots of restaurants, shopping, outdoor markets, and services. Althought it was early evening, I unpacked and then walked into the center of town. I'm always amazed at the number of people roaming the steets, sitting at cafes, and window shopping in touristy places. Although the shops were closed by now, there were scores of people out. I found a ZARA store right away (one of my shopping destinations). It was interesting that Apple has a huge store right across from the main rotunda Place De Gaul.  Its at least 5-6 times the size of the one in Tucson with all glass front facing the city's main fountain

I am sharing a studio apartment with Eliabeth Ripp from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The room is small but efficient. As with many European hotels, there is a place near the door for you to insert your room key; that turns on the electricity. There is plenty of closet space, a nice little kitchen, and (hooray) a bathtub with shower. AHI gifted us with a welcome package---two bottles of wine, pasta, sauce, salt and pepper, rice, chocolate, cookies, tea bag, and trail mix. Why do you suppose we got two bottles of wine and only one teabag??????? Hmmmm. No problem. I brought teabags and Starbucks Via with me.

Not sure how much cooking will get done in this small kitchen, but it has everything we need.

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Packing my Bags

Packing is. Bitch! There is no other way to put it. And packing for a month is even more challenging. Ok men, I know you don't have this problem so you can quit reading now. However, for women it is more challenging. I want to be fashionable and yet comfortable, to pack enough but not too much. And I can't deal with wearing the same thing over and over and over! So I made lists, and more lists, and edited. I'm probably taking too much, but I still have room to add purchases for my return.

I highly recommend Packing Cubes for such a trip. Mine are zippered mess top cubes in various sizes that fit perfectly into my suitcase ( mine from e-bags.com). They cubes prevent your stuff from moving around and keep things in order if your bags are inspected. I use one for pants, one for shirts, one for sweaters to layer, and one for underwear. Once you arrive at your destination, they can easily be popped into a drawer for easy access. I use small make-up bags for everything else. In my carry-on I have my iPad, pajamas, meds, and an extra set of clothes "just in case". Now.....just to pop these all into a suitcase, double check my list, and I'm off!

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What is in store........

Four weeks in Provence seems like a long time, but I'm sure I will barely touch the surface of all I hope to experience. In addition to the language study provided at the International Language Institute, there will be lectures on the culture and on wine, cooking classes, expeditions to the Luberon, Avignon, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and Marseille. There are optional art classes and hiking for those interested. And of course, there are the markets and the museums! We also have some "free days" to explore on our own. What would you do if you were in France?

Since I've never studied French before, I spent the last several months listening to the Pimsleur French Language series---ninety lessons in all. I also took a few private lessons with a local teacher. Still have a long way to go, but for one who never studied French before, at least now I have a foundation. Below you see my computer (with lesson and dictionary), my iPad (with iTranslate), and print outs of verb conjugations. I've found many many resources on the Internet and I'm thankful for all those. I especially recommend the Michel Thomas series that I got at my local library. He focuses more on verbs and the structure of the language whereas Pimsleur is totally an intuitive oral approach.

 

Morning Coffee and Study Time

 

 

 

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Embarking on Adventure

In one week I will be leaving for a month in Aix-en-Provence to learn the language and the culture of France.  It was last August when I first heard about AHI  Travel and the Lifestyle Immersion program they offer in France.  I was particularly interested because of language component of their program which includes French lessons four mornings a week for the duration of your stay.  I signed up right away and the last year has been filled with preparation and anticipation.  Although I am by no means a "journaler", I hope to document my stay in order to have a record of my journey.  I'll share it with a few of you and hope that you will vicariously share in my experience.

Lavender Fields of Provence