Paris to Provence

Blog by K - images by C

Our time in Paris seemed to fly by, but we were also ready to head south and into the countryside. Chris picked up where he left off four years ago, not missing a beat driving from the wrong side of the car and on the opposite side of the road, over 700km from morning until late afternoon. We also made good time, possibly matching the TGV speeds on the straights! Now thanks to my binge watching of Drive to Survive, I can confidently make reference to Pierre Gasly - although I think Chris takes his driving more seriously.

The villa we rented is just out of St Remy de Provence, our favourite village that felt like it was getting overly crowded last time we were here (about 6 years ago). Having stopped in there for lunch, though, it seems to have quietened back to its hidden gem status of how we remembered it from earlier trips. Actually, it is where we honeymooned, so it will always hold our hearts. Could not pass our fav chocolatier extraordinaire, Joel Durand – we had his K&C chocolates for our wedding. So we stocked up!

Yesterday we visited the ancient walled city of Avignon, known for being the palace/fort that protected many a pope in the early 1300s. Eventually, the Popes returned to Rome, and the French Revolution claimed Avignon as its own, although you can still really feel the “Italianness”. In the local market, we followed standard protocol, purchasing linen outfits and Chris now proudly wears a hat. We are embracing (or is that embarrassing) Provencal life.

Avignon

Our local town is Maussane, a tiny village that punches well above its weight in the food stakes. The town has a postcard perfect square so even if the food was not good you wouldn’t care. This weekend they seem to be having their own; how do I say…Maussane Moomba festival. They close off the only road into town, and it would seem all the residents either have a float, a dance number or some short, bordering on dangerous, audition piece for France Has Got Talent. We watched Father Son “whip offs” with a mixture of fear and amusement. Google tells me that the origin of this festival is to celebrate St Eloi, who was known for his hard work and patronage of donkeys. Not sure if something got lost in Google translation or if the festival content is just reflecting the changes since 600AD.

This region has inspired so many artists over the years, none more famous than Van Gogh.

Our villa has 360-degree views of this extraordinary landscape, rich in olive groves and vineyards; also including the beautiful village ruins of La Baux, which light up when the sun goes down (which is around 10 pm here). Last night was also a clear night, so the sky was full of stars – I think Vincent would have been happy. I know we were.