Provence
Research
In preparation for my Mom’s and my trip to Provence, I read Peter Mayle’s best selling memoir A Year in Provence. To give you a short synopsis of the book, Mayle documents his and his wife’s first year in Provence after moving from London in the late 80s. Not only was the book hilarious, I often found myself relating to experiences he encountered (even 30 years later) and the adjustments expats have to make when moving to France. From ridiculously long meals to entertaining visitors from back home, I think I could have written the book myself.
Driving
After reading many guide books, my Mom and I had decided ahead of time that to make the most of our time in the South of France, we needed to rent a car. Since my Mom flat out refused to drive, I was left with the daunting task of driving in a foreign country. Please keep in the mind that at this point I had not driven a car in 5 months.
So when our train from Switzerland arrived in Aix, we picked up our Fiat (it was an automatic - thank goodness) and headed into town to check into our Airbnb. Before we got into the car, I gave my Mom (and myself) a little pep talk and said that as long as we do not end up driving down the Cours Mirabeau we will be fine. As I explained to my Mom, the Cours Mirabeau is a famous street that runs through Aix and normally has a market going down the middle of the street with many tourists.
Well, within 15 minutes and the help of GPS I had somehow managed to get us on the Cours Mirabeau. It was my worst nightmare. With French street vendors yelling, I was panicking. All the side streets to turnoff were closed and bystanders were laughing at us. I could see them mouthing “stupid Americans”. My ego was hurt. In a last attempt to get off the street, I resorted to taking the Fiat down a sidewalk. And that is how our time in Provence began.
Our Trip
From then on, things took a turn for the better. Our Airbnb was in a magnificent 17th century building in the heart of town. We spent our days in Provence driving to different small towns and enjoying the spectacular scenery and incredible food. Our stops included a trip to the L’Occitane factory, Verdon Gorge, Pont du Gard, and the beautiful lavender fields that were unfortunately not in bloom. We visited numerous small towns including Moustiers-Saint-Marie, Roussillon, Lacoste, Ménerbes, Gordes, and Avignon. Everything about the region of Provence was beautiful, quaint, and full of culture. I can certainly see why Peter Mayle decided to move there.
