Oh yes, we dreamed about going to Provence! Do you have the same idyllic connotations with Provence? – magnificent views, greenness, violet of lavender and stone houses that date back to the middle ages. Calm and idyllic life? When I hear ‘He lives somewhere in Provence’ I imagine a person sitting on a terrace of a beautiful house, eating a croissant and drinking coffee admiring the sun and the views. Seems like a perfect place to write a book in. That’s how I seen Provence when I try to imagine it.
That’s what I dreamed about when we got invited along with a group of journalists on a press tour to the very place. Discovering France and it’s charms is still a fairly new thing to me. It’s not Spain which I have visited on numerous occasions and feel like it’s my second home. It’s not Italy which I haven’t visited so many times, but also feel at home in…. How else can a person who loves pizza and pasta and even learned Italian back in the day and now parla italiano un po’, feel. Obviously great! 🙂 With France it’s a different story. France wasn’t my favourite place to go for a while…Because he French are snobby, they don’t know any languages apart from their own and when you try to speak English to them, they don’t take it well. Because in many restaurants the menu is in French only and they’re not willing to help you at all, because Paris is expensive and they don’t smile as often as Spaniards do and aren’t as easy-going. But despite these opinions some of which are true and some are not, I liked walks around Paris and an undiscovered French Basque Country (perfect for surfers!) and later on I also loved Normandy and Brittany. This time I had to leave all the fun from the trip to Łukasz since unexpected cough, running nose and fever effectively kept me at home with Maks. What did I do then? I listened to Łukasz’ story and like chronicler, today I will take you to charming Provence. And yes, I know what you feel since I haven’t been there either!!! 🙂 And I feel envious as hell! 😉
What’s particularly charming in Provence are the landscapes and all the pretty cities which we love and always look for on our trips. I never loved anything more than walking tiny alleys and getting lost in them. This time Łukasz got the opportunity to get lost in Les Baux-de-Provence, and then in Arles a place that Vincent Van Gogh loved! I always got fascinated by such places and loved imagining how life looked there years ago.
LES BAUX DE PROVENCE
Medieval Les Baux-de-Provence is fantastically located. The city is tiny (a few hundred inhabitants), located among the rocks with beautiful views around and stone streets in it. It’s considered one of the most picturesque towns of France and it’s hard not to agree with that! I guess it looks best from a distance, however I won’t mind strolling around on its streets either! The ruins of 10th Century Chateau des Baux castle tower over the town.
The area in also known for wine, but that’s enough for a separate entry, Charming little shops of Les Baux-de-Provence offer souvenirs with lavender soap being a must! Works perfect at our house – the bathroom smells like lavender and I have my own substitute of Provence 😉 Ok, let’s stop the talking for now. See it for yourselves! 🙂
Les Baux-de-Provence also has something special for all painting lovers – – Carrières de Lumières where you can see the works of masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo or Rafael in intriguing surroundings (a quarry which produced limestone for many years). All paintings are displayed in large sizes on stone walls and the place itself is France’s biggest multimedia installation. The subject of screenings changes, however not too often. Works of renaissance masters will be displayed until January 6th 2016. Even the pictures look stunning!
If you’re planning on staying around for longer, check Baumanière.. It’s a hotel complex with SPA, swimming pool, beautiful grounds and two, supposedly great restaurants. Location among the rocks is really impressive! That’s were Łukasz, the lucky guy, had his lunch and enjoyed sun while I served the cough syrup and performed nebulisation on Maks – how unfair is that?! 😉 Ok, right now let’s all prepare to sigh and envy him! 🙂
ARLES
I’m generally envious about the trip to Provence but what makes me envious the most is Arles. Even my mom envied him as she’s been into painting and painters for many years. Why? Because Arles is known for two reasons:
1) It used to be called small Rome and houses an impressive antique amphitheatre from 1st century B.C.
2) It’s the city that Picasso and Paul Gauguin both loved many years ago while Vincent Van Gogh spent his last years here, and reportedly it was here where he developed his distinct style and painted many of his well-known works.
Therefore the amphitheatre in Arles is a must. During Easter and in September …corridas take place there, while in summer they put on spectacles. It’s also worth taking a walk in Vincent Van Gogh’s footsteps. In many places you could see his works reproduced depicting specific buildings, cafes or hospitals which makes it an even more interesting experience. You can see the same place on Van Gogh’s painting and in reality. Like a trip back in time.
Before the trip, it’s worth reading a little bit more about the time Van Gogh spent in Arles – at that time, he painted such famous paintings as ‘Sunflowers’ or ‘The Night Cafe’ and even though he considered Arles weird and ugly in the first place, over time he found amazing light here along with beautiful landscapes. It’s hard not to believe him looking at the pictures! Below, you can see some of the places nowadays and on Van Gogh’s paintings. ‘Cafe Terrace at Night’, ‘Hospital in Arles’ which shows former Hotel-Dieu hospital in which the painter received psychiatric treatment. Right now the building houses Van Gogh foundation.
And after a walk, the best thing you can do is sit down in one of the cafes and have a glass of French wine… 🙂
Les Baux-de-Provence and Arles are surely the most charming places Łukasz was able to see in Provence. Maybe I’ll get there at some point as well but first, in the end of May we’ll be looking at another part of France – we’ll show you the most beautiful places in Normandy! 🙂
* we were invited to picturesque Provence by Local Tourism Committee Provence-Alpes-French Riviera together with Atout France – French Tourism Development Agency.
Łukasz’ stay in France was also supported by Visit Provence and Alpes de Haute-Provence.
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