A photo journey through Provence.
After six months of living exclusively within the very small circle drawn around our home department of Haute-Savoie, we hopped in the car and traveled South!
And it is quite the insane concept to think that up until this very moment we had not gone any further than our somewhat frequent trips to the small mountain villages around our region of the Alps for six whole months straight. What a total 180 degrees from the life we left behind in Montana - which endlessly required frequent (& painful) travel by airplane and of course, putting on highway miles like it was our full-time job. Then we arrived to France, and there has been nowhere else in the world that we have desired to be other than here - the place that we have now adjusted to calling our “home”.
But all in due time…. we know that the travel would surely come back around - and it did. With the occasion to drive a few hours South and meet up with my parents who had already flown in and were hanging out along the Mediterranean coast. It was finally time to get out into the world a bit, and expand our horizons on what more life in France has to offer!
On the autoroute leaving Annecy we watched the jagged mountains fade into green rolling hills with picturesque orchards tucked neatly in between the grassy knolls. It’s an easy task to picture how the rural life during the Middle Ages looked here, as the remnants of such days remain a permanent fixture to the landscape almost everywhere you look. As we skirted the city centers of Lyon and Valence, the quintessential wooden alpine chalets transformed into stone maisons in a hacienda style with clay tile roofs - a sure sign that we had indeed departed from Reblochon country. Upon entering into the Rhône river valley, every corner of highway held a new surprise from picturesque villages and cliff-top chateau’s to the increased presence of cypress trees and olive groves that adorned the landscape under cerulean skies with the trademark picture perfect puffy white clouds. We were three hours into our voyage and had already felt a handful of moments where we were unsure if we were in France or somewhere between the rural corners of Central Idaho, Northern California, and even Central Arizona. The resemblance that persisted was interesting and bizarre, yet so familiar.
It was just after 1pm on Friday when we arrived into Aix-en-Provence. Where we found ourselves suddenly thrust into a bustling city center packed with live music, people drinking wine on expansive terraces and University-aged people ripping pastel-colored Vespa’s up and down the historic cobblestone rues. This was to be my first true experience of a French city - because Annecy can hardly be called a city, and while I have not officially been to Paris - I have read about the comparisons people draw between the two and I can sure see some resemblance. The retail shopping availability in Aix is vibrant and extensive, and while I am sure days spent shopping here are no short of fun - I had other objectives in mind for this particular adventure to the region of Provence. First stop being, the markets - Aix is very well known for its massive display of a Saturday Market and that experience absolutely did not disappoint! Stand-out moments include spotting the most gorgeous garlic braids intertwined with purple flowers (photo below), the dried lavender bouquets (one of which I purchased!), and of course the endless variety of handmade soaps. I could have spent much more time exploring the rows of stalls but there was an Iron Man event occurring in town this particular weekend so things were extra hectic. Although the time that we did spend in the centre ville held no shortage of incredible food, beautiful architecture, plentiful pedestrian friendly exploring and of course, rich history. And coming from the land of heavy creamy cheeses, it was so unbelievably refreshing to see menu’s with something other than fondue, tartiflette, and reblochon burgers on them!
After a full day spent wandering around the streets of Aix and even a trip to a nearby winery, it was time to discover the motive behind my choice of Provence for our first exploratory trip through France. I was interested in the landscapes, the ones that have for so long drawn the many incredible artists who all at different moments have found the inspiration here for some of their life’s greatest works. For the weeks leading up to this trip, I conducted extensive research on the Provençal region, the artists known to have frequented it, and their particular locations of preference.
As the sky ranged from a crispy solid blue to high aloft wispy clouds and the classic puffballs suspended over mountain backdrops, it became quickly apparent why this region has historically been so adored by artists of all mediums. Provence was on full display for us this weekend, as the Mistral winds gave little relief but offered crisp clean air and allowed the temperatures to remain comfortably cool.
Mid-May in the region of Provence, as it turns out, is absolutely gorgeous! I believe that we had timed our visit perfectly as we had beat the full blown droves of tourism and were welcomed into a landscape full of vibrant greens with wide arrays of flowers in full bloom (the iris has been one of my favorites this season!), and the lavender already growing in thick. I had mindfully planned for a long but full day spent wandering through some of the Luberon villages, a feat that is pretty doable given the longer days this time of year and the relatively short driving distances. I planned a couple of different iterations of the itinerary before landing on the couple villages we would prioritize, which mind you, is a very tough decision to make when there are so many incredible options. But, I ended up settling on a program that started off with the Sunday market in L'Isle sur la Sorgue followed by a quick drive to Gordes + the Sénanque Abbey, and Lacoste (!!). Lacoste was a special choice for me, as it is the home to the French SCAD campus - my alma mater. While at SCAD, in Savannah Georgia, I had wanted SO badly to study for a summer at the Lacoste campus, but it did not line up with my courses and my program schedule. This campus is specifically geared more towards the fashion design, illustration, painting and photography students and I had unfortunately already filled my needs for my fashion design courses and was focused on my fashion marketing and management requirements. It was devastating at the time, but life sure works out in mysterious ways as I felt as though I was able to make this full circle moment occur. While walking about the small village, I felt such a deep nostalgia for the SCAD student life which is something like the art version of attending Hogwarts - and seeing the students hanging out around the village that evening truly brought me such joy. That Sunday evening was really something special - we toured around looking at the beautiful SCAD buildings, sipped on yet another incredible bottle of local wine (which this one was from a small winery directly down the road) and ate some of the best tapas I have seriously ever had in my life, including a hot dog with BBQ pulled pork on top. c'était incroyable! The loop that day ended with brief visits through Bonnieux and Lourmarin, both breathtakingly beautiful and both for vastly different reasons.
( See and read more about moments in the Luberon villages & Provence by viewing the photojournal which is followed directly after this reading. )
The weekend came to a conclusion with a Provençal sunset witnessed over the fields of wineries, with the idyllic village of Lacoste perched atop the hill in the backdrop. This region no doubt holds an immense amount of beauty, character, and deeply rich history and I feel as though we only just scratched the surface with this one trip.
Monday morning we headed out of Aix by way of the backroads to the Northeast to make a complete loop of our weekend journey. Having unlocked a lot more of the France map, we were looking forward to this leg home because it would lead us promptly back into the Alpes as we followed the Durance river valley. Yet what we actually realized is that we were following the Route Napoléon. And yes, that Napoléon! We drove the supposed historical route that he had taken upon his re-arrival to France after being exiled to Elba Island with full intent to regain ruling power. This “3 hour” drive actually more like 4.5 turned out to be one of the more incredible highways we have ever driven in our lives. Bouncing through the petite alpine villages over cols and past gorgeous glacial-fed rivers, we had our jaws on the floor for almost all of it. It is hands-down some of the most gorgeous, lush, incredible country in the world with massive mountains towering and no shortage of amazing castles, chateaus, and even a cliff-top citadel in the unique town of Sisteron built alongside the river. All of it was absolutely unreal. If you ever find yourself in this area of the country with some time to spare, I can not recommend it enough.
Below, is a sampling of my observations from this adventure, as well as my latest YouTube video embedded into the page for your ease of viewing.
New areas of France explored, inspiration absorbed, and a deeper and deeper appreciation for the place that I now call home positively acquired.
Merci for your readership,
À bientôt !
