Pondering Provence

A Quintessential Provençal Scene

Ahhhh, mid August.  Here in the mountains I’m already chagrined by a certain crispness in the air.  Fall and the first snows won’t be far off.  The weather has been glorious lately but I’m still longing for a blast of furnace-like heat, sweltering days that force me to retreat beneath a shade tree until the delightful oppressiveness of the day subsides and I can emerge to take in perhaps a cultural site or just sip a perfectly chilled glass of rosé on a terrace.  The desert isn’t far from where I live now and certainly it provides plenty of warmth.  But I am thinking of Provence.  Sun-drenched days, shady plane trees, a plethora of cultural offerings, delicious wines and so much more.

We are approaching le quinze août after all, the holiday of all holidays for Europeans.  Many people don’t even know that August fifteenth marks Assumption, a Catholic holiday that is hardly celebrated in Europe except for the fact that most everyone has the day off.  People typically take a whole week off around August fifteenth (if they can’t manage the entire month!).  So you can imagine it is the big vacation week of the summer, the biggest of the year in fact.

I have been in Provence during this period many times, battling crowds at the renowned markets of Saint-Tropez and Ilse-sur-la-Sorgue (you have to arrive early at these and most others).  Yet somehow I always managed and it was always worth it. 

But traveling to Provence in the fall offers a whole other experience.  Yes, you might still have difficulty reserving a table on the patio at the famed Oustau de Baumanière, but you won’t encounter the throngs of tourists that invade this most delightful region of France in July and August.  You’ll still find the weather to be glorious and the cultural offerings just as exciting.

Bea (on the rt.) with Le Mont Sainte-Victoire, Cézanne's Mountain, in the Distance

So why not consider a small, escorted tour composed of fellow travelers of discriminating taste?  I recently became in touch with Beatriz Ball, founder of Golden Bee Tours, a Brazilian-born woman that boasts a huge passion for France, especially Provence.  

The Golden Vineyards of Provence in Autumn

Since Bea’s Provence Arts and Scents Tour for the third week of September has sold out, she has decided to offer it the last week in September as well.  The highlight of this tour is certainly a guided visit to “Picasso-Cézanne,” a much-talked-about exhibition at the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence that explores Cézanne’s influence on Picasso.  Being ferried about a beautiful place with a delightful lady in the know—now that’s what I call a real vacation.

Bea, a recent guest on Travel Fun, chatted with me mostly during our interview about why so many artists have been lured to Provence over more than a century.  “I remember being so impressed with the quality of light the first time I traveled to Provence many years ago,” Bea said.  Indeed the skies are so clear and vivid that they offer up a kaleidoscope of colors that changes throughout the day.  Certainly this is largely why Picasso, Cézanne and countless other artists sought to capture this region of France on canvas.  “The region celebrates your senses,” Bea added and I concurred.  It didn’t take much for my thoughts to drift off to the ever present crick-crick-crick of the cicadas, the wafting smells of rosemary and thyme, the taste of a rich tapenade spread over crusty bread, the feel of rubbing a sprig of lavender between my palms, the vision of Abbaye de Sénanque in all its Romanesque splendor on a late summer’s afternoon.

Ah—haaaa.  Mid August.  I should either book a flight to France or go buy myself a nice bottle of Bandol and a few olives.  No wonder it has captivated so many people for so many years.

Thank you to Bea and LCI/CDT VAR for the use of the above images.