Lured by a postcard to chase the light By Jennifer Chen, TODAY | Posted: 21 August 2008 1311 hrs
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PROVENCE, France: The south of France drew the brightest stars of the art world in their day. Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse and Van Gogh all descended on the region to capture its light on their canvas. And no doubt Peter Mayle with his best-selling series of travelogues sold many arm-chair travellers on the pool-side and idyllic boule-bowling and pastis-sipping days of the region.
I was drawn to Provence by a postcard I spotted at a souvenir stop during my drive through Burgundy. The picture was of the village of Gordes lit by the honey glow of dusk. It sat serenely on a hill, a Renaissance castle at its peak, and it was magnificent. It compelled a detour to the Luberon Valley even though my friend and I were rushing to reach Marseille, the administrative capital of Provence, in the south.
Provence is blessed with many such hilltop communities — constructed in medieval times in a bid to escape foreign invaders, the Saracens and Normans.
Gordes is deemed “le plus beauvillage de France” — the most beautiful village in France, and the magic remains despite the howling of the mistral, the bitterly cold wind that can rock fully-occupied cars.
It’s this wind that thoroughly dusts Provence to make way for the intensity of colour that the region is acclaimed for. The blue of the sky is a deep, inky blue, the stone walls of buildings a rich, heartwarming gold. The contrast of colours is stunning.
Gordes doesn’t have the big, farmer’s market or the bustling cafes found in the cities, but it’s a joy to walk through with its narrow lanes; intimate, enclosed spaces; and sparse human traffic.
We did visit the cities in the next few days, stopping by the university town of Aix en Provence to visit the fresh market brimming with stalls selling scarlet strawberries, rounds of cheeses, olives, herbs and handicrafts.
The city is closely associated with Cezanne as the founder of cubism painted some of his landscapes here. His studio, Atelier de Cezanne, is a highlight of Aix.
Art of another type can be admired on Cours Mirabeau, the famous tree-lined boulevard that is the city’s pride. On the wide pavements, students sit al fresco with their coffees despite the spring chill. Inside the cafes, a fair number of the beautiful young, berets and scarves fashionably angled, were primping themselves in front of the mirrored walls.
While Aix is imbued with the fresh, insouciant air of many of its inhabitants, Avignon’s place in papal history lends it a charming, elegant gravity. It was the centre of power for popes in the 14th century and today, the heavily-fortified Gothic palace that served as their temporary home away from Rome, the Palais des Papes, is a stately museum.
Avignon is beautiful to walk in, and refreshing, as the roads are not as narrow as those in other walled cities. There is a host of museums but new galleries are also popping up, making Avignon a worthwhile stop.
We never did reach Marseille, but with the sights we had seen along the way, we didn’t need to remember Provence. - TODAY/sh
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