The Trail's Our Thing

It’s been more than nine months since our last blog posting, written as our Summer 2006 trip was coming to an end. Our family has traveled back to Europe, but we just haven’t posted about it. Now we're getting ready for another summer in Provence.

Charley and I were back in Bonnieux last September and May for our Luberon Experience groups. We returned from our May trips just two weeks ago and really enjoyed our two groups. The flowers were wonderful at this time of year—irises, roses, broom, wildflowers, and especially the poppies. The poppy fields around Bonnieux were truly spectacular. One of the highlights of our weeks was a private tour at Chateau la Canorgue led by Nathalie Margan. Everyone also enjoyed our tour and lunch at Domaine Faverot with our friends François and Sallie Faverot.

Poppy field near Bonnieux

We use two vehicles for our Luberon Experience trips, and Charley and I both drive. This gives us more flexibilty with the groups, including the ability to split into smaller groups based on interests. Our first May week we had three people who were eager to do some hiking, and I was happy to help make this happen. We hiked at the Fôret de Cédres, from Bonnieux to Lacoste, from Gordes to the Abbaye, and up to the very top of the ruins at Fort de Buoux. The second week I took two couples to the old village at Oppède, and we climbed up among the castle ruins way above the village. I’m anxious to share this with Kelly, as the castle ruins weren’t accessible during our previous visits.

The chateau ruins at Oppède-le-Vieux (that's me there)

Here I am, ready to go, with everything I need for 59 days.

I’m going to be away from home for fifty-nine days.

Compared to our “long trip” (our 14-month trip to Europe in 2004-2005), this is a short trip. But compared to most American vacations, this is an extended vacation… a long time to be gone and a long time to plan and pack for.

Anyone else remember Parkinson’s Law? Mr. Parkinson wrote a famous best-selling business book back in the late 1950's, in the same era as the Peter Principle book. His law definitely applies to packing for a European vacation. His basic law was that “work expands to fill the time allocated to it.” One of the examples I remember relates to someone who needs to write and send a postcard. A busy person dashes into a shop, quickly buys a card, scribbles out a message, buys a stamp and sends that card on its way. They can accomplish this task in 15 minutes or less if that’s all the time they have available. But a person with much more time can make that simple task last for hours, maybe even all day. They take their time preparing to go out, visit a couple of stores, browse many possible cards, carefully compose their message and so on.

The amount of time you spend on packing can definitely expand to fill the time you decide to allocate to it. Some people are really into the packing and allocate lots of time. They start packing days—even weeks—before a trip and really get into the process. They make lists, stack up piles of possible clothes, evaluate alternatives, contemplate their luggage, buy all sorts of special travel gismos, and are all ready to go several days before the trip. On my first-ever trip to Europe, I traveled with a friend who not only had a list—she had a schedule for the trip detailing each outfit and accessories she planned to wear n every day. And of course she had a very large suitcase.

I’ve spent about a year in Provence over the past four years, but this is the first time here on my own. Actually, this is the first time I’ve ever traveled to Europe alone. I’ve traveled many, many times on business alone, and back in the days when I was single, occasionally I added a few personal days to a couple of business trips. I’ve been to a health spa for a week by myself three times, a very comfortable solo vacation. But I’ve never been in Europe alone. This is a very different experience for me, and I’m more than a little apprehensive.

My trip to Provence was uneventful-- just very long. It was 25 hours from the time I left home to the time I arrived at my B&B here in Aix-en-Provence. I flew Continental, through Newark to Paris—the least expensive option at a time of year that is incredibly expensive. I chatted with a very nice woman from North Carolina while waiting in Newark. We were surprised to discover our family trips were just the reverse. She was going to France to meet up with her husband and daughter who were finishing a French course in Sancerre, and in three weeks my husband and daughter will fly over to meet up with me after my French course. On the plane I sat next to a very interesting man who is a dean at the law school at the University of Pennsylvania, the school where I got my MBA. He was on his way to Russia for an alumni meeting.

I didn’t sleep much on the plane, but I never do. The worse part of the trip was the long wait between my arrival and my train to Aix-en-Provence—over four hours. It was very difficult to stay awake, and I shifted to various waiting spots in the station just to keep alert. I did sleep a little on the train. At the Aix TGV station, I wandered around a bit before I finally discovered where to catch the navette (shuttle), but then it was an easy trip to the Gare Routière (bus station) in Aix. I had planned to try to get a taxi from there, but it was horribly busy on a Friday afternoon and I never saw any taxis. I ended up walking to my B&B, about 15 minutes away. This was when I was very glad I had packed light!

I spent my first two nights at a chambre d’hôtes—La Maison de Carlotta—in the beautiful Quartier Mazarin, just a block or so from the fountain with the four dolphins. The B&B is actually a large two-story apartment in a big old building, the home of a delightful woman named Aline and her equally delightful daughter Carlotta. Aline has two B&B rooms, each with a private bath on the upper floor of the building, with the surprise of a tiny outdoor terrace just off the landing. Aline speaks very good English and was so much fun to visit with. Her home is both elegant and friendly, decorated with antiques. This has been a pleasant place to begin my stay in Aix.

La Fontaine des quatre dauphins

Today I’m going to write about my first two days at the French language school. Next time I’ll write about my experience living in a French home. There’s just too much to tell to put it all in one post. This has been a very intense couple of days!

Statue of Good King René on the Cours Mirabeau

I do know more French than the majority of Americans, but I really do not know much French at all. I can understand, speak and read a little French—enough to function as a tourist, but not enough to make friends with people who don’t speak English and have a real conversation. I need and want to make a major improvement, and that’s why I decided to go to a school. This was an ideal time for me to come, since Kelly is at a three week summer program of her own. And since our focus is Provence, I wanted to study in Provence. I considered a school in the Luberon, but I thought it would be better to be in a different place and to experience another part of Provence. Eventually I settled on IS Aix-en-Provence.

I took four years of high school French—goodness, that’s 35 years ago. We took some French lessons as a family before our long trip. And we took some lessons with our friend Elisabeth Widrow while we lived in Provence. Spending lots of time in Provence, and interacting with people in daily situations has helped me with my understanding, reading and speaking skills. But my knowledge and skills are very elementary and somewhat limited to tourist situations (restaurants, hotels, market shopping). My accent isn’t very good and my communication is all in the present tense. Hopefully all this will change in the next three weeks.

The school is located just outside the péripherique in a big old house on a quiet street. It’s a ten-minute walk from where I’m staying and a five-minute walk to the Place de Précheurs, one of the main market squares in the center of Aix.

At any given time, the IS school has about 120 students. Some come as a group and have their own classes. (There is a group here now from Princeton University.) Some come for three to nine months—for a major French study. Others—like me—come for a couple of weeks. The ages seem to run from older teenagers/college students to retired people. Some adults are here for their work, and others are here just for pleasure and to learn. Some are quite advanced in their French skills, and others come not knowing a word. Added to this diversity, people are here from many, many countries. Last year, the most students came from Switzerland. I was also surprised that many came from Sweden. The majority of students are not from the English-speaking countries of Great Britain, America, Canada, and Australia. Because everyone’s first language is different, ALL the instruction is done in French. We are learning French IN FRENCH!

It’s Friday afternoon, and I’ve survived my first week of French class. I had a nice lunch at La Brocherie with my friend Patricia, and then wandered back to the Carrefour Bar. This is an enjoyable spot to spend a sunny afternoon, sipping on a Badoit and using their free WIFI. I’m not really near the school, but when I arrived and started to sit down, I heard my name called, and another friend from the school (Annalise—Swedish) was finishing lunch at one of the tables. So I visited with her for a while before moving over here by the side of the building where the signal is strong. I like the feeling of belonging to a group here and having a connection with other people.

My view of Aix from my spot at le Carrefour Bar

So! (Or should I say, “alors”…) I wanted to tell something about my living arrangement, which is a different aspect of my immersion experience here in Aix. The IS school offers a couple of different options. You can stay at a hotel or rent an apartment (either on your own or through the school). You can live in some sort of student accommodation. Or you can stay with a French family—with no meals, with kitchen priviledges, with breakfast only, or with breakfast and dinner.

Staying with a family was the least expensive option, and adding breakfast and dinner didn’t add much to the cost. The school does recommend the family option, since this gives you another environment in which to speak French and to connect with the local culture. I decided to board with a family and to include both le petit déjeuner and le dîner. This more economical approach enabled me to come to the school for three weeks instead of two, but it was also the part I was most apprehensive about since it it had a lot of unknowns.

Sunday morning back at the Carrefour Bar…. I can smell the chickens roasting down the street, and people are out enjoying a beautiful day and picking up some groceries for their Sunday meal. I just finished doing my laundry at a little place down the street and have settled in here at “my” café for a couple of hours before my trip to Bonnieux.

Each week the IS language school offers a variety of optional activities and excursions. This has turned out to be a very enjoyable supplement to the program—a way to get to know other students away from the school, see some of the surrounding area, experience more of the local culture… and of course, to practice French.

This past week I participated in three activities through the school program: a hike on the Bibémus plateau, an evening of pétanque and a BBQ, and a trip to St. Tropez and Cap Taillat.

Eight students from the school went on the “randonnée” on Thursday. We met our guide Lionel in front of the tourism office, and then boarded a public bus. Lionel has a little business to take people on hiking excursions around Aix. I don’t think any of us really knew what to expect. I thought it was a hike on Mont Sainte Victoire. George from Scotland was really confused. He thought it was a walk around Aix! He arrived in street clothes and shoes (including a long-sleeved shirt) and didn’t bring any water. (Fortunately I had brought four bottles of water and was able to give him one—I really needed the other three bottles as it was very hot!) Our group included two Swedes, two Swiss, one Spaniard, two Americans and one Scot. We did our best to talk mostly in French, and Lionel’s commentary was all in French. Occasionally we talked among ourselves in English, which seems to be the common language everyone is proficient in.

The hike had a theme of Paul Cézanne, the famous Impressionist painter associated with Aix-en-Provence. We took the bus to Le Tholonet, a small village a few miles outside the city, passing through a beautiful alley of plane trees and catching just a glimpse of the chateau. Our route took us up on the plateau de Bibémus on a fairly steep and rocky path that took us up through red-tinged rocks and pine trees. This was a favorite place for Cézanne to paint, and when I went to the Cézanne exhibit in Aix last summer, I saw an entire room of paintings from Bibémus. Eventually we arrived at a beautiful viewpoint looking out to the end of Mont Sainte Victoire and the isolated reservoir at its base. We rested and enjoyed the view while Lionel told us more about Cézanne’s painting in that area. Eventually we emerged on a forest road, and I have to say that we were all shocked—after our hour of exertion—to spot a woman pushing a baby in a buggy on the road! Apparently the plateau can also be reached by a car and is a favorite place for people to come for a shady walk.

Our view of Monte St. Victoire

In my khaki capris and practical walking sandals, I’m definitely not a jet-setter. Despite this, St. Tropez really appealed to me! On Saturday we were lucky to be there for the big weekly market at the Places des Lices with its rows of shady plane trees. The stalls were arranged in aisles in a grid pattern. On this hot summer morning, the market was absolutely teeming with people, and we were glad a helpful man in a jewelry shop had suggested we carry our backpacks in the front.

Many stalls sold the usual produce and other food items, and the red fruit was especially vibrant at this time of year-- cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines. Yum! But there were also lots and lots of stands selling clothes, beachware, and other accessories. As always, I adored the colors of the market of Provence.

See for yourself!

It’s a small world… un petit monde!

It’s Monday afternoon and I'm writing from-- where else-- the Carrefour Bar at the Place d'Arménie in Aix-en-Provence. I just had lunch with Trishmael from Slow Travel and her husband Gary who are here in Aix for a conference, and now the café has become "mon bureau" (my office) for the afternoon.. The waiters are getting to know me, and I do like the feeling of having a regular place to come and enjoy "la joie de vivre" in France.

I was here at this same café on Sunday, staked out at a table by the side of the building, catching up on e-mail. I had started a load of laundry at a “laverie” just around the corner, and it was about time to hustle back and move my clothes to the dryer. There was another woman, blonde and a bit older than me, by herself at another table. I had noticed her here earlier in the week and thought then that she was maybe British. But then on Sunday morning I heard her talking on a cell phone and she was American. So as I was getting ready to run back to the laverie, I thought I would ask her to watch my things and preserve my table.

I approached her and asked if she was American. And could she watch my things for a minute?

Of course, she was happy to. She introduced herself with her first name.

I said, “I’m Kathy. I’m here for three weeks studying French.”

And she said... “Are you Kathy Wood?”

Mon Dieu! What a shock! At first I thought she might be someone from Slow Travel who might even be reading my blog. But even stranger, she is a woman from the Knoxville area who a mutual acquaintance at home had been trying to connect me with. She used to live in Aix and occasionally bases here for some international work. In our e-mail that very morning we both had a message from this mutual friend giving us each other’s contact information!! And there she was at the same café at the next table at the very same time—in this city of over 130,000 people!

Wow.

On Sunday afternoon I drove back to Bonnieux for the night. Our friend Pierre, owner of Le Clos du Buis, had invited us to a big party, and we were actually very honored to be included. The party was to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Le Clos du Buis, which is one of the B&Bs we use for our Luberon Experience weeks and a very special place. We like Pierre and his assistant Sophie very much, and since I was not too far away in Aix, Charley and I thought I should make a special effort to attend. Sophie is a neighbor of the friends we housesit for. They were also invited to the party and invited me to spend the night.

The Clos du Buis in Bonnieux

I left Aix about 2:30 pm for the beautiful drive to Bonnieux. As usual, I took the back route described by the Winns in their Provence Byways book. It was absolutely peaceful and beautiful, especially the section through the vineyards near Rognes.

We’ve started into our second week of French lessons. A few of last week’s students have left and a few new people have arrived, but my group of five remains intact: Urs, Karl-Heinz, Lydia, Suzanne and me. And our teachers are still Christine and Sonia, who alternate every other day.

Karl-Heinz, Lydia and Urs... three of my four classmates

We are each talking more in class and talking longer. At the beginning of last week we were introduced to the “passé compose” and then on Friday the “imparfait.” So now we can talk correctly about things that happened in the past. Instead of saying “I go to Bonnieux and it is beautiful,” I can conceivably offer a more intelligent comment like “I went to Bonnieux and it was beautiful.” The challenge is to be able to put all the right words together when you are talking spontaneously. C’est très difficile!

The focus at this school is on conversation and pronunciation… at least on my level, not much on the writing, spelling, accent marks etc. In my class (elementaire), our goals are fairly simple: to be able to talk about our activities, our backgrounds and experiences; to express ourselves using some sense of time; to understand similar communications from others; and to read and understand some simple texts.

Another one of the beautiful fountains in Aix

During our long trip, we met a man—a retired psychologist from Scotland—who lived in the small village in the Corrèze where we stayed for two weeks. James came to France not speaking any French and not knowing anyone. He told us that he wanted to put himself in a situation that was “uncomfortable.” I think that his objective was to stretch himself, to grow, to make sure life wasn’t too easy. It was an interesting way to approach retirement, and Charley and I have discussed James and his philosophy several times since the time we spent with him.

Now I find myself in a situation that is very much outside my comfort zone for these few weeks here in Aix. I’m far away from my precious husband and daughter, in a city where I have only a few recent acquaintances, living as a boarder in someone else’s apartment, in an environment where absolutely no English is spoken. Going to the school is a very positive experience, but the living experience is definitely stretching me. It’s not a bad experience—it’s just… well, definitely uncomfortable!

I’ve also kind of found myself this week without a “friend” at the school. Patricia—my Canadian friend—was just here for one week and flew home on Sunday morning. Markus—my fellow-boarder at Isabelle’s house—is back in Switzerland, surely enjoying gourmet food and wine. George—the Scottish man who was unprepared for the hike—was also here for just one week. I’m a bit adrift at this point without a “buddy” to team up with for lunches and activities. The truth is that I’m feeling a bit lonely!

Annalise at L'Atelier de Cézanne

On Wednesday morning another student at the school-- Annalise from Sweden-- suggested that we visit ,the L'Atelier de Cézanne that afternoon. I like Annalise very much, and I'd been wanting to visit Cézanne's studio, so this sounded like a good plan to me. We took a bus from the school, which wound up through apartment complexes into a part of Aix we hadn't seen before. An older woman showed us the right stop to get off the bus.

L'Atelier de Cézanne is a quiet spot just up the hill from the centre ville of Aix, now set among much more modern buildings. But here in the early part of the 20th century, in the last few years of his life, Cézanne came to paint and create his final masterpieces.

Our teacher Sonia told us that for many tourists, the L'Atelier is the biggest disappointment of Aix. They go expecting to see works of art by Cézanne, and find something very different. So Annalise and I weren't disappointed-- we had no such expectation. Instead, on the second floor of a small building, there is a big room full of light. Around the room are pieces of furniture and a variety of objects, just as they were left by Cézanne. Many of these same objects-- a table, a vase, a small statue of a cherub, a bowl-- were incorporated into his paintings. There was some fruit... but I can't imagine that these are the same pieces of fruit from 100 years ago!

When we first arrived, we just looked around and read a laminated paper about the studio. A woman was giving a very energetic talk to another group of visitors. We looked at the objects and flipped through a display of reproductions of some of Cézanne's works that were painted here. An American man came in, looked around, rolled his eyes, and said, "Okay, fine...check this off the list."

Fortunately Annalise and I hung in there. When the woman finished her presentation, we approached her with a question about something we had heard her say, and soon she had launched into another very discussion and attracted another group of visitors around her. Her talk was all in French, though illustrated by the paintings and the objects. Annalise is two classes above me in French (she speaks perfect English as well), and I think she followed much of the discussion. Perhaps I understood about half. But most of all I understood and very much appreciated the passion of this woman for her subject matter. Afterwards, we followed some paths through the gardens, where apparently Cézanne got some inspiration for the background of a few of his paintings. The gardens weren't very interesting, I'm afraid.

The entrance to L'Atelier (photos not permitted inside)

Would I recommend L'Atelier de Cézanne for visitors to Aix? If you are very interested in Cézanne and understand a reasonable amount of French, I would say yes. Go, look at the objects, and most definitely, hang around to listen to the guide. If you have very limited understanding of French, this is not a good use of your 5.5 euro. You will be finished there in less than 30 minutes.

This past Monday I met a virtual friend from Slow Travel-- Trishmael from Baton Rouge-- and her husband Gary here at the Carrefour Bar. Trish is no longer just a virtual friend-- she's one of many wonderful people from Slow Travel that I've met in person here in Europe and in the USA. Trish is here to sample Provence while attending a conference, and they're staying just a few blocks away at La Maison de Carlotta where I spent my first two nights. I really enjoyed our visit-- just too short. And they brought me a big bag of pecans! We're thinking of hosting some French friends for an American dinner one night, so perhaps a pecan pie will be on our menu.

Thursday afternoon I was here once again at the Carrefour Bar. When I arrived. I wondered how the rest of Trish and Gary's week had gone. It would have been good to see them again, but I knew they had much less time than me-- and much of Provence to experience for the first time. A few minutes later I looked up from my ordinateur... and voila! There were Trish and Gary! They sat down and ordered coffees, and we finished up our visit. I asked Gary to take this photo of Trish and me:

Trishmael and Kaydee at the Carrefour Bar

Trish said this was the first time Gary had ever taken a picture with a digital camera... he did great, didn't he? I think Trish and Gary will definitely come back to France, and I foresee much more travel in their future.

I like running into people I know here in Aix!

The IS school organizes their basic program around two week terms. Every other Monday they start a new term and new students arrive and are sorted into the proper classes. Although a few people (like my friend Patricia from the first week) come for just a week and some come for longer, it seems like most people come for two weeks. The classes stay more-or-less intact for the two weeks and with the same two alternating teachers. Today was the last day of the term.

Our class of five has been a great group, and we’ve had a lot of fun together. We really liked the two teachers Sonia and Christine, and II like the approach of having the two teachers who alternate. They’ve coordinated well together, and we get the benefit of two perspectives. All the teachers have been excellent. They're technically good, and they make the learning fun.

Notre professeur Sonia

Et notre professeur Christine

Isabelle had a dinner party last night, for thirteen people, one of which was me. This was a special meal requested by Christine, who is leaving on Sunday to go first to New York and then back to St. Barts.

When Isabelle first mentioned the couscous dinner, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go. Actually, I was dreading it, especially after the dinner the other night with Christine, her friend Sabrina, and the ex-mairie. I was beginning to cast about for possible alternate social plans that would enable me to excuse myself from the dinner, even if I just had dinner on my own at the Carrefour Bar and perhaps went to a movie afterwards. But then Isabelle told me her friend Catherine would be there, the one who was so warm and friendly to me the night I arrived, and I felt I would at least have one friend. The evening was important to Isabelle, and I knew it was also a unique opportunity to be part of a French social gathering.

When I arrived at the apartment that evening, the dining room was already prepared. I brought Isabelle a small potted plant as a hostess gift, trying hard to be a thoughtful guest. Isabelle had extended the dining table and brought in another smaller table at one end and it was all very festive. She had set a really beautiful table, with decorations that included leaves and long green peppers.

Isabelle's beautiful table

The group began gathering about 7:30 pm, and I came out of my room to join the others. I wore my only “good” outfit—a brown top with a matching, long flowing shirt. Much to my surprise, Isabelle had complimented me on this outfit earlier in the week and also the brown wooden watch I'd bought at a market this past May for only five euro. I hoped I wouldn’t die of heat. Fortunately Isabelle turned on the ceiling fan about halfway through the dinner, the first time it’s been used during my stay.

On Thursday I e-mailed our friends Cynthia and Ian, who recently moved to the town of Bandol on the Mediterranean coast.

“Any chance you’d like some company on Saturday or Sunday?” I wrote. I closed my eyes and prayed, “Please let them say yes, please let them say yes….”.

The truth was that I needed the company of good friends... a change of scenery… the opportunity to speak English over a leisurely meal… croissants for breakfast… and perhaps even a long, hot shower.

Lucky, lucky me. My prayers were answered. After the strange and very awkward experience of Friday’s couscous dinner, I had a wonderful weekend with Cynthia and Ian in Bandol.

Cynthia and Ian are the now former owners of La Bastide Vieille, the very special house that our family rented when we lived in Provence during our long trip to Europe. I first met Cynthia in the fall of 2003 when we began corresponding about our six month rental, and we stayed overnight with them in the house when we arrived on October 2, 2004. They quickly became good friends, a relationship that deepened when our family assumed temporary care of Cynthia’s dog Juno, a very sweet blind poodle. We’ve managed to be together several times over these years, and keep in touch by e-mail. Last September they hosted lunches for our Luberon Experience groups at La Bastide Vieille, a highlights of those autumn weeks. We were surprised when they wrote us a month or two later to say that they had decided to sell the house. The ownership of such an old house in the country had become way too much work, and for their retirement years they wanted a change, an apartment on the coast, right in a town.

Cynthia and Ian enjoying their new life in Bandol

The house sold all-too-quickly (and it’s still available for rent, by the way), and less than a month ago Cynthia and Ian moved into an apartment in Bandol, a town of about 8000 between Marseille and Toulon, further east around the coast from Cassis. It’s in the department of the Var, still Provence but a very different Provence.