Provence is located in southeast France from Marseille in the west to the Italian border in the east and from the Mediterranean in the south to the southern Alps in the north. Think vineyards, lavender, and olive groves with deep blue skies and brilliant colors. Imagine paintings of Cézanne, Renoir, Matisse, van Gogh, Monet, and Picasso. Imagine cuisine with olives and olive oil, garlic, sardines, fresh fish, fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables. I do not eat tomatoes in the U.S. because I simply do not like the taste. But I love the tomatoes of Provence. Think cities that date back to the times of Rome. Think of people who are friendly and love life. This is Provence, and I love it.
After spending two and a half weeks cycling in the Alps and the Pyrenees, where I dragged my rear end up more than one or two
HC climbs, I planned a week of downtime in Provence. I am staying at the
Monastère de Ségriès near Moustiers-Ste-Marie, where I am taking an intensive language offered
Crea-Langues. The course is total immersion: twenty-four hours each day and seven days a week. I am with 18 other students (the maximum number of students is 20) who are from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, the UK, and the US. Everyone speaks at least functional French (even me). We are divided into four different classes. The professors are wonderful, and it's amazing how much you can improve your French in a week or two. We have classes in the morning and outings in the afternoon: mountain biking, hiking, visiting a truffle farm, sailing, canoeing, wine tasting to name a few. Although this is my fifth stay at Crea-Langues, I'm not in danger of setting any records. This is the thirteenth time for one of the Belgian students.
I have managed to get a few rides in this week. The lavender is in full bloom on the plateau surrounding Valensol. No photograph can capture the true color of the lavender fields. And of course, there are the requisite fields of tournesol or sunflowers. Tournesol means turn to the sun.
Tomorrow, Serena (voice of my GPS) and I off to the Alps.
Provence is located in southeast France from Marseille in the west to the Italian border in the east and from the Mediterranean in the south to the southern Alps in the north. Think vineyards, lavender, and olive groves with deep blue skies and brilliant colors. Imagine paintings of Cézanne, Renoir, Matisse, van Gogh, Monet, and Picasso. Imagine cuisine with olives and olive oil, garlic, sardines, fresh fish, fresh fruits, and fresh vegetables. I do not eat tomatoes in the U.S. because I simply do not like the taste. But I love the tomatoes of Provence. Think cities that date back to the times of Rome. Think of people who are friendly and love life. This is Provence, and I love it.
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