Tuesday, April 8, 2014

A Weekend in Provence

Saturday, April 5, 2014
Saturday is market day in Apt. We decided that both couples should explore the market on their own and we meet back at the apartment at 1:30. The market was spread all around the town and included not just fruits and vegatables, but meat, cheese, bread, desserts and clothing. All the streets around our apartment were crowded and it was fun to be part of the throng. When we returned to the apartment about 12:30, Lyn and Don were already back and we discovered that both couples had purchased bread and cheese. It made for a wonderful lunch.
After lunch we drove to St. Remy. Most French towns have an "old town" section in the middle of the city that is a warren of "pedestrian only" streets that go off in all sorts of directions. The church/cathedral sits in the middle. St. Remy is like this. It was a sunny day and it was nice to leisurely stroll aimlessly along the streets, exploring in all the shops.
From St. Remy we drove to Les Baux de Provence, a small village perched on the side of an impossing hill with an old castle perched on top of the hill. Les Baux is suceptable to very high winds and Saturday was no exception. While the Johnson's visited a chateau in the village, we went to the Carreries de Luminairies at the base of the hill. Carreries de Luminairies is a multimedia light show that is projected on the walls and floor of the abanded rock quarry in the side of the mountain. Rock was taken from this quarry many years ago to build Les Baux. Because it was taken out of the side of the mountain, removing the rock created huge rooms with ceilings that lay in a very randon pattern. The light show is an impressive production, the images being projected on all of the exposed walls and floor simultaneously accompanied by classical music that pours from speakers mounted throughout the quarry. You are completely surrounded by sight and sound. The show we saw was a retrospective of the works of the late 19th century artist, Gustav Klimt. The production lasted almost an hour and left us in sensory overload.
Sunday was a lazy day. Don was not feeling well so we took Lyn with us to Buoux, a village near Apt for lunch. Lynda had read about a restaurant in Buoux that was suppose to be very good. It was. All three of us had wonderful meals but the real suprise was after dinner. As we left the restaurant the chef was there to thank us and accept our compliments. Lynda then pointed out to Tim a couple of horse drawn carriages sitting in a sheltered area. Before we knew it, the chef had taken us to a garage that had over 20 similar carriages, all in mint condition, packed into the garage. Each carriage had a sign identifying its place of origin. Most were from the United States, with one being from Detroit. We excitedly told the chef that we lived near Detroit but we don't think he understood us. We returned to the apartment and spent the rest of the day reading and catching up on laundry.
Monday Don was feeling somewhat better and joined us on our trip to Aix en Provence. We had nothing specific to see in Aix but it seemed to be a "must see". The drive from Apt out of the Luberon mountains into the relative valley around Aix was scenic and fun to see except for Tim who was driving. Cours Mirabeau is the main boulevard of Aix. Its about a half a mile long with a very small road running down the middle and wide sidewalks fronting beautiful 17th century buildings. Cours Mirabeau is anchored at each end by lovely fountains and there are two additional fountains in between. Interestingly, one side of the boulevard is dominated by cafes, restaurants and shops. The other side of the boulevard is predominantly banks. It was sunny and 77 degrees so sitting in a cafe sipping a Pastis and watching Aix en Provence pass by was a real treat. As we said, there was nothing specific to see but we enjoyed watching it all.
As we finish this particular posting it is Tuesday. Both couples need to pack and we need to ready the apartment for our departure tomorrow. We may take a final drive through the Provencal countryside. Lyn and Don are riding with us into Paris tomorrow. They have a hotel in Paris for several days. We will be moving into our Paris apartment tomorrow preparing for the arrival of Jil, Rob, Madison and Jocelyn on Thursday morning. We have thoroughly enjoyed our week with Lyn and Don but eagerly look forward to Paris and the Phillips. When we next talk with you it will be from Paris.
Au revior Provence!

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