Maïté had left for Paris to do her apprenticeship at Ipsos, and thus occasionally came back to Aix to visit. During these times, as summer very slowly began to dwindle away, we decided to visit the remnants: those few provençial sites and villages, which we had never seen, or at least had never seen/experienced together.
Surprisingly, along our journeys, some of them spontaneous and others premeditated, we even discovered new and culture-saturated "off-the-beaten-path" towns, such as Miramas. Below are highlights of our encounters: brief accounts of our experiences, of course as always, accompanied by their pictorial journals on Picasa.
Provence Trips Overview:
[click on the bolded-italicised-title-links for more pictures]
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Saint Tropez: Cap Taillat [30 August]: A nice morning hike to
Cap Taillat, see some naked French people swimming, have a swim in the Côte d'Azur, see some naked American people swimming, then off to sightsee in the bourgeoisie town of
Saint Tropez – this is the life.
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Baux de Provence [26 September]: This medieval village,
Les_Baux-de-Provence, has a spectacular position in the
Alpilles mountains, set atop a rocky outcrop crowned with a ruined castle [
Château_des_Baux] overlooking the plains to the south. The village gives its name to the aluminium ore
Bauxite, which was first discovered there in 1821 by geologist
Pierre Berthier [I did not know this]. On this particular day, we went to see the
Medieval Festival - The Siege of the Chateau, a true delight of traditional and historical display of costumes, merchants, events, parades, catapults, fairy-girls, and even a
falconry show: a unique example of medieval history in Provence.
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Vauvenargues [2 October]: A peaceful and calming hike into the very near-by nature get-away village of
Vauvenargues is how we spent this day. At the foothills of
Sainte Victoire, this village is home to
Picasso's Castle and Picasso's Tomb as well: that is about as cultural as it gets. After that, there was only nature to enjoy, since the village is practically one street with scattered colourful houses on either side. After the hike, we finished up with a refreshing glass of
pastis of course.
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Salon-de-Provence, Miramas, & Martigues [3 October]: On this trip, we discovered the most, since neither of us had ever heard of
Miramas before. I worked near
Martigues, and always wanted to see it, so we decided to visit these towns surrounding the great
Étang de Berre [Europe's largest saltwater lake]. First stop:
Salon de Provence, we had time really only to see the castle [
Château de l'Emperi], which was the biggest in Provence during the 12th and 13th centuries. After this, we went to
Miramas only to find out that the older and more beautiful part of town was several kilometres away from the city centre. Solution: we
hitch-hiked! It was scary but worth it, the village was extremely cute and had astonishing panoramic views of the Étang. We also hitch-hiked our way back in order to catch
the last bus to our final stop:
Martigues. Nicknamed the "Provençale Venice",
Martigues is a point of passage between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Martigues [now Étang de Berre]. The charm of its canals, its docks and bridges made it "The Venice of Provence". Finally, after all the rush to catch our bus connections, sitting back in the bus, watching the sunset, we realised it was a successful day.
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La Ciotat: Calanque du Mugel [11 October]: We were running out of places to visit, and one day just happened to go to
La Ciotat. It was a greater experience, however, than the last times that we had gone there separately, since on this occasion we visited the beautiful
Mugel Calanque and the
Mugel Park Gardens [a huge impressive exotic-open-air garden], in addition to the village of
La Ciotat. Can you imagine having a swim in the Mediterranean sea in October, in burning sun!? Netherlands and Finland at this time were both at freezing temperatures. Next time we visit Ciotat, we need to go to the
Green Island [l'Île Verte] and
Figuerolles Calanque.
Sainte Victoire Sunrise [27 July]: On this fine July morning at Gare SNCF Aix-TGV, I witnessed the sun rising behind the silhouette of Sainte Victoire. I tried to get some "artistic" photos but I was too tired [it was 6:00am, and I had just come to bid Maïté farewell on her return to Paris].
Monaco & Monté Carlo [5 September]: This weekend [of my Birthday], I took an organised trip with George, simply because I have never been on this one with him. Monaco and Monte Carlo was the destination. Monaco is the second smallest country in the world; only Vatican City is smaller. Monte Carlo, which lies in the French Riviera on the Mediterranean Sea in Monaco, is surrounded by France and close to Italy. This chic-bourgeois city, often
featured in movies, is famous for its Ferraris & Lamborghinis, races [Formula One Monaco Grand Prix], casinos [Monte Carlo Casino], and the sun & surf. Travelling alone was not as boring as imagined, since I met some of the exchange students on the bus and we were soon doing a bit of touring together.
Benediction Calissons: Aix [6 September]: This Sunday afternoon, there was a very traditional and provençal festival in Aix: La Bénédiction des Calissons. A traditional festival where Calissons are distributed to the public, I was spectator to many provençal icons: The Guardians of Camargue [The Cowboys], Camargue Horses, traditional costumes, The Mayor of Aix-en-Provence [Maryse Joissains-Masini], The Queen of Arles [L'Arlesienne: Caroline Serre, a very pretty queen I must say], and finally I was privileged to hear the Occitan / Provencal Language. During the day, I also visited the antiques market, the book market, and the museum of tapestries. Sainte Victoire: Irish Lads [17 October]: We met an Irish guy and an Italian guy [who spent some time in Ireland] randomly one day while clubbing for Halloween perhaps, and we all decided to go together for a hike to Sainte Victoire. Although I had been there before, it was a refreshing hike, which reminded us all of how beautiful France was, and what it has to offer in terms of freedom and nature. It was the first time also that I climbed fully to the top, that is, to the Cross of Provence. It was so high, and steep, we had this feeling of "vertigo".
Arles-Camargue: Maïté
Sainte Croix: Plage de la Saulce
