Paris & Provence

Paris is our favorite city, yes it even beats out New York, and Provence is an area we hold special in our hearts - two places we return to as often as we can. The beauty of each is breathtaking and the light is indescribable. The only other place we've found light comparable to the south of France is here in the Hamptons, perhaps it's the combination of sea air and a lush landscape. 

Here is the second part of our trip summary from 2006. This should, in fact, have been the first installment, but I've reversed them here. Enjoy the trip!

Our Trip to France in a Very Large Nutshell

Our two week trip to France was wonderful - so many memories, so many beautiful places, such good food and fabulous wine! 

Paris was heavenly!  We stayed at the Hôtel de Lutèce on the Île St. Louis which was ideally located in the center of Paris, on an island in the middle of the Seine – neither right bank nor left bank, we had our choice.   
It’s charming and quiet, residential at its core, with picture-perfect cafes at its west end, facing the flying buttresses of Notre Dame on the Ile de la Cité.  
 We walked and walked, with no destinations in mind, enjoying the beauty of a city so much older than ours. Walking along the banks of the Seine at night, with the muffled city-sounds above us and then eating dinner at 10:30 p.m. in a restaurant, on a barge, rafted to the left bank, watching all the river traffic passing Notre Dame and listening to a young chanteuse sing La Vie en Rose …  that memory is ours for our lifetime. 
The train trip south from Paris to Nice was a pleasure as soon after leaving the city limits and for the next five hours our views were of the rolling hills, plains and finally the coastline of France.  The TGV is a high-speed train that is comfortable, clean and quiet.  Traveling at over 180mph, the only interruption to our napping reverie was the occasional seconds-long “whomp” of another TGV passing in the opposite direction at speeds equaling our own.
Our destination was the village of Eze, just east of Nice.  The Château Eza, perched over 1300 feet above the Mediterranean, was magnificent and breathtaking in all of its medieval and natural splendor - in the hazy sun or in the clouds.  
  

 Above the Château, there’s a “Jardin Exotique” (exotic garden) to stroll through with beautiful statues of young girls sculpted from stone that matched the mountain in color, if not texture.  Looking at the faces of several brought the word siren to mind - a young woman who would sing with enchanting sweetness luring us, this time, back to land.  

This was and is a photographer’s dream!

Swimming in the Mediterranean at Eze Bord de la Mer was also one of the trip’s highlights.   
The air at the sea was dry and warm, the sea was refreshingly cool and blue, and the sun was shining brightly.  
From the water, we could look straight up and clearly see the Château perched above all else and when we looked again, it was lost in the clouds.  For both of us, we savor the memory of our lunch – cold sweet melon, salty ham and chilled Chablis – all taken under the sun by the sea!
 Memorable as well, albeit vividly different for each of us, was the trip down to the sea and the trip back up!  Did you ever see the movie “It Takes a Thief” with Grace Kelly and Cary Grant?  It has a scene in which Kelly and Grant are being chased on a road that is clinging to the side of the mountain, with no guard rails and hairpin turns every 800 yards.  Well, Peter liked emulating those driving skills and speeds in our 5 speed stick-shift Renault Laguna, forgetting that their scene was done safely on a blue screen in a studio in Hollywood.  As I’m “here to tell”, you know the end to our story.

The Mas des Carassins is a former farmhouse and where we stayed in St. Remy de Provence.  It’s charming and has a simple but delightful garden where we took breakfast each morning and enjoyed wonderful dinners, by candlelight, at night.  It’s also well situated to explore the area which we did two of the three days we were there. 
 We visited the Popes’ Palace in Avignon, where the Popes lived for most of the 14^th century, and walked the famous Pont d’Avignon, which in fact is the remaining half of a bridge. 
  Another day, we drove to Gordes, a pretty village on the southern edge of the Vaucluse plateau, photographed the nearby picture-perfect Abbaye de Senanque, and walked through the restored Village of the Bories, a group of stone dwellings assembled with no mortar.  People lived in these tiny structures between 2000 B.C. and the 18^th century!
 Our last stop of the day was Les Baux, a medieval, fortified town just south of St. Remy.  Les Baux lies on a plateau which was raised from the sea by the combined pressures of the Alps, to the east, and the Pyrenees, to the west; we even saw impressions of seashells in some of the walkways and stairs!  The views from the castle, out over the valley filled with olive groves and cypress trees were spectacular, but it was also hot.  Sightseeing is work.  So we concluded the sightseeing segment of our trip and hurried back to the Mas to do what we’ve come to love – relax.   
A quick dip in the pool in the garden and a nap, poolside, under the Provencal sun, with a warm breeze passing over us returned us to a blissful state and is one of our enduring memories.

Of all the medieval villages we saw or stayed in, we liked Vaison la Romaine the best as it’s more an active village than a tourist attraction.   The old village on the hill overlooks the new village in the valley below and beyond is a small range of mountains behind which the sun set each evening.  We stayed in a Bed & Breakfast, called l’Evêché, in the old village and that was the view from our bedroom window.  
 The house fascinated me with its small rooms, quiet courtyard and compact stairways all connected with a labyrinth of narrow halls.  Every wall was covered tastefully, ceiling to floor, with books, museum posters and original art – I could have lost myself there for days just taking it all in. But we were here for something special - a week-long cooking class with Patricia Wells.

If any of you are planning trips to Paris or Provence you might also like to check out French-Word-A-Day, Kristin has posts with comments on what to do in Paris as well as Aix-en-Provence. Additionally, The Provence Post is chock-o-block full of information and suggestions about every aspect of Provence. À toute à l'heure!

Comments

[Paul Angotta]

These pictures make me feel like I am there - thank you so much for sharing this wonderful experience with all of us.

[Mary]

So glad to read your "second instalment", Claudia. I will always remember the beautiful Jardin Exotique photos you shared with us at OWS.

[Barbara Andolsek Paintings]

Also check out Lynn McBride's Southern Fried French site. They are Americans living there as well... Milles merci for taking me on your trip with you. Your words painting pictures as well as your wonderful photographs. I feel refreshed! I'm such a romantic.