Letters Home

All of us were looking forward to the summer holidays. However, our needs and expectations differed. I wanted to see places and experience people and their traditions. After a busy year, Charl needed to rest and relax, and Zander had teenage needs.

Provence, in the south, of France, was high on my “bucket list”. The area is known for its sunny weather, colourful countryside, fresh farm produce and Roman ruins. Charl agreed to Provence on the condition that we stay somewhere by the sea to swim, sleep, and relax afterwards. With all the strikes at the airports, we travelled by car.

In this letter, I share more about our Provence experience. In my following letter, I will share more about the “relaxing part of the holiday”, which took an interesting turn.

Nougat from Montélimar

Our first stop was Montélimar, famous for its Nougat. The delicacy is made mainly of egg whites, lavender honey, vanilla and large amounts of almonds and pistachio nuts. We visited the oldest nougat manufacturer and museum. They own beehives next to the lavender fields and almond groves. As in the old days, the Nougat is still mainly made by hand.

Montélimar’s local market, with many fresh and lavender-inspired, products was an experience.

The old city of Avignon

When we drove into Avignon, we realized we had a problem. We were unaware of the art festival during the week of our visit. Temperatures were over 40 degrees, and we couldn’t find parking anywhere. It felt like Oudtshoorn’s KKNK festival in South Africa. We drove to our hotel on the outskirts of town for some time to think but couldn’t check in yet.

The hotel offered much-needed air conditioning, a swimming pool, a foosball, and a snooker table. I wanted to see the old city, but the men indicated no interest. Fortunately, they are almost always hungry, and the thought of food at the festival was good enough motivation for them to get on the city bus with me.

Lavender fields of the Lourmarin region

Of everything in Provence, I most wanted to see the purple-blue lavender fields of the Lourmarin region. The old hill town of Gordes, with views over the valleys, greeted us first. Further down the valley, the 12th-century monastery, surrounded by lavender, took my breath away. After we visited their gift shop, we walked around in a lavender scent.

From here, we drove through lavender fields to the village of Roussillon. The place is known for its red cliffs formed by the iron-rich colour pigment in the soil. The red, yellow, and brown shades formed a striking contrast with the lush green pine trees and were used to colour the town’s buildings.

A promise of ice cream in Lourmarin encouraged the men to travel even further. The lavender-flavoured ice cream was a first for me but surprisingly delicious. The shops offered French apricot-and-lavender jam, lavender syrup, and lavender shortbread. In the square, the French enjoyed the typical European summer lunch of melon wrapped in Parma Ham.

Van Gogh’s village of Arles

The Dutch Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles for a year in 1888 in search of the sun’s warmth. The tourism office has a walking route, enabling tourists to compare certain places in Arles with Van Gogh’s works of art.

We visited the street cafe in one of his famous paintings and the mental hospital where he lived in his last days. They maintain the garden to still look like his painting.

One of his most famous paintings is Starry Night which he painted along the Rhône River close to where we stayed. As I walked through the streets, I recalled the words of the song titled Vincent in my mind:

Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and grey
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul

Now, I understand what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now

Bastille Day in Marseille

Marseille left us with colourful memories. In the town centre is the old harbour with markets and street cafes. From the old port, we drove by bus along the coast to swim in the Mediterranean Sea. Charl and Zander waited a week for this experience. However, the beautiful beaches and turquoise water were worth the wait.

We experienced Bastille Day in Marseille. After the parades by the French military and other protection forces, people picnicked in the old harbour while waiting for the fireworks. The fireworks were launched from platforms in the sea and synchronized with beautiful music. It illuminated the beautiful stone walls of the old harbour and immortalized moments in my memory.

I share my photos in the video below.

Kind regards

Emsia