Monday, May 28, 2012

Rescued!

Today is Pentecost...another reason for a national holiday or jour ferié.  So, I decided to go for a hike from Aix across the flanks of Mt. Ste. Victoire to a little town called Le Tholonet where I could catch a bus home.  A friend told me it would take about 2 hours and I checked the bus schedule before I left...slathered on sunscreen, filled a bottle of water, and grabbed my camera and the topo map...off for an adventure.

Leaving Aix en Provence on the Chemin de Bibémus...this was a beautiful country lane that leads out of the city up on to the plateau de Bibémus.  The bird song cheered me along as I was passed by huffing and puffing cyclists and the occasional car.

I didn't realize this until I got there, but Chemin de Bibémus ends at the Bibémus quarries where Paul Cézanne painted.  Unfortunately, the quarries weren't open today (it being a jour ferié), but here's the entrance...
We saw one of the paintings he painted at the Bibémus quarries at the Orangerie in Paris...


The view of Mt. Ste. Victoire is quite beautiful.  You can easily see what inspired Cézanne....
I headed up to Barrage Zola, which was designed by the father of Emile Zola and is no longer used for water supply.  The canyon is a spectacular location...a great spot for a civil engineer to decide to build a dam...isn't that how it always works?

Wildflowers were blooming...


My deviation to visit the lake took me off on a different track and my walk turned into a long hike on a glorious hot day!  As I dropped down into the village of Le Tholonet I passed the cemetery, which was fascinating.  I hope this isn't inappropriately indelicate, but I was so impressed by the beautiful memorial displays on the graves...so I took some pictures...you can't seem them unless you zoom in, but there are lovely ceramic roses on some of the graves...


Finally in Le Tholonet I found the bus stop and waited...and waited...and waited...the day was gorgeous...perfect temperature in the shade with a lovely view up the road...

and waited...when it dawned on me that it was a jour ferié and maybe the bus schedule that I had looked at was wrong.  Just as this occurred to me, a woman that I know from the french conversation class that I have been doing walked by across the street and offered me a ride!  Rescued!  Saved from a 6 km walk back to Aix!  And, I had a nice conversation (in French!) with Marie and her mother as we drove back to Aix.  

Sunday, May 27, 2012

C'est Sud!!

C'est Sud!  A weekend festival of dance and music in the streets and public venues of Aix en Provence...all free!  Today, I stumbled upon dancers from Ballet Preljocaj, Aix's world famous dance company.

What I found most impressive about all of this art-in-the-street was not just the high quality of the work (which was excellent!), but the number of people engaged in the performance...each performance was surrounded by a huge, attentive and appreciative audience....
 
 
 


In the evening, there was music and swing dancing...I especially loved that Roi René created the backdrop for the stage at the top of the Cours Mirabeau...




Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Hotel des Colonnes...Riez

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Sunday, May 20, 2012

Le Mistral...wind and rain

The forecast today called for rain, but it didn't specify how hard and how windy!  A Provencal rainstorm accompanied by the mistral wind is spectacular...when viewed from the warmth and comfort of a 5th story apartment.

Alas, the Route Cézanne Piétonne...walk along the route de Cézanne with no cars and accompanied by artists and musicians presumable was cancelled.  I am disappointment, but in replacement I've had a day at home with Josie eating popcorn and watching star trek, which is just about as fun.





Saturday, May 19, 2012

La nuit des musees...the night at the museum

All over Europe la Nuit des Musées is being celebrated!  Free museum admittance and performances for the evening until 1am.  Tonight, I started at the Natural History museum which is on our street in the next block.  There was an amazing band playing some funky fun music set up in the courtyard...


The musicians are Yancouba Diebatté (or Diabate) who plays the spectacular African harp called the kora, Dimitri Reverchon, the amazing percussionist and Emmanuel Soulignac on bass.

I listened for a while, but knew they would be playing several sets this evening, and I wanted to make it up to Cézanne's studio before it got too dark.  So I headed up the hill and out of the old city center to the north to reach the studio.  they had projection set up outside in front of the building displaying a slide show of Cézanne's work...lights in the trees created a magical ambiance.

After the tour of the studio, I wandered through the garden a bit, but it was very dark and their lights didn't extend very far (must come back in the daylight!).

Next stop was the Tapestry museum where they have a modern art exhibit called "Take me to the river" that is a collection of the work of 20 different artists from 13 different countries...photography, sculpture, mixed media, etc. etc.  Very fun!  but, best of all was the small group of modern dancers/artists who were performing/improvisation among the audience of the exhibit...
Here are two of the dancers...and some of their props...buckets, cups, bottles, squirt bottles, water..it was very interactive..

and yes, one of the dancers is wearing a speedo, flippers and playing the saxophone...

this photo actually captures all three of the dancers...the woman in the background, the man on his knees wearing a white hat with a red pompom on top and flipper man.  

It was wonderful!  they were fantastic.

Back to hear more of the band, then home to our apartment where with the windows open I could listen to their last set that went until 1am!