Dear Friends of French Affaires,
Our weather in the US in February is literally all over the map. Howling winds and cold bursts in Texas, frozen roads in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, unpredictable days in the Carolinas.
France is about the size of Texas (and Dallas and Paris occupy about the same location respectively). The south of France has typically cool days, lower sixties during the day time, and clear skies. The lovely azure blue of sky and sea. Hence, Cote d’Azur.
French Affaires has two trips planned for June and September in Provence and in the Var (Cote d’Azur, or Riviera). Maud and I decided this February period would be a good one to visit and do the necessary research (on fait des repérages). Restaurants, transportation, hotels, museums, excursions (favorites and new ones). I arrived by plane at Nice and Maud by TGV from Paris.
You can see the photos at Instagram (French_Affaires). I am sending out a Newsletter to report on that and also because I believe this new French Affaires offering will be popular in years to come. We are focusing on the corridor from Monaco to Cannes, and the perched villages above the coast. There you find stunning views of the Mediterranean, and the favorite haunts of artists (Renoir, Chagall, Matisse, Picasso). Museums honoring their work dot the landscape.
There are also famous places like Grasse, the Perfume Capital of France. The Lerins Islands off the coast of Cannes and Antibes. The Gardens and Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in Cap-Ferrat, Villa Kerylos in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Cocteau’s Chapel St. Peter in Villefrance, and of course the Garnier designed Casino Monte Carlo.
So, it’s not all Bain de Soleil and the Cannes Film Festival! A very rich tapestry of sights and smells. (And sounds; we were in Nice for Mardi Gras).
I then spent some days for myself in Aix-en-Provence, visiting the language school we love, friends at Chateau Fonscolombe (where the June trip will be staying), checking out two vineyards in Le Tholonet, and completing a circuit of villages perchés in the Luberon that I had not yet seen.
But the highlight for me was spending Ash Wednesday visiting the Basilica honoring Mary Magdalene in St Maximin, and climbing “the paths of Kings” to the cave where she spent her last years. The grotto Sainte-Baume, the most visited pilgrimage site after Santiago and Rome, towering over the Provence plains below. Saint Louis, two Popes, and many other French Kings walked the same dusty trail that brought me to the summit, and with them, pilgrims from all over the world.
I want to dedicate a special tribute to that pilgrimage site when I figure out the best medium for doing it. It cannot be described easily. This link is one among many https://www.saintebaume.org/home/ to help you envision it. I continue to process a future “Sacred France” offering that would focus on Provence and the arrival of Christianity in France.
In that spirit, it is left to me only to wish all French Affaires pilgrims a rich and most blessed Lent, as we all make our way to the Cross of Life.
Your fellow pilgrim
Chris