It has been 8 days of fabulousness.
The sun has shone continually, we have only had one downpour, during the night though, and a very entertaining but dry thunder storm where lightning lit up the sky for a few hours, but still the heat remained.
When I woke this morning I looked outside at yet another sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky, but there was a noticeable difference.
The wind which has been a welcome breeze in the 30 degree heat for the last few days but has now developed into the classic 'Mistral' which I have been told can blow strong enough to take the ears of a donkey! That may be true but I wouldn't really want to hang around to see that!
There was a russet tinge to the trees this morning and on our way to the village there was movement among the vines which have been drooping closer and closer to the ground for the last few days, we are on the cusp of the vendange!
For our last day in Provence we headed off to the historic town of Saint Remy de Provence, a convenient 10 minutes away crossing one of the loveliest plains filled with olive groves, forests of pine, orchards of laden apple and pear trees, poly tunnels filled with herbs, fields of melons and verges of bamboo which seems to grow profusely around here and provides great privacy from inquisitive passers-by!
One thing I will say about the southern French is that they are a very discreet people or maybe they don't want the tax man to see what they're up to!. Wealth is never on display here like it is in Ireland, you never know how big someone's house is until you actually drive up to their door.
The French do love their privacy and security though and you will find houses hidden from view and surrounded by banks of high foliage, evergreen trees, yew trees, wire fencing, high stone walls and high solid metal manual or electrified gates. Even houses along the roadside have few windows facing outwards, all the action goes on behind the scenes....unlike Ireland where houses are constantly on display for all the world to see.... 'look at the big fancy house I built'..... no doubt the bank probably owns the greatest share of it!
Apparently he predicted the second world war, the atom bomb and the death of president Kennedy....apparently!
It is also where the famous painter Vincent Van Gogh was hospitalised and received treatment in the psychiatric centre at Monastery Saint Paul de Mausole....and we all know how that turned out!
Van Gogh was one of the few painters who truly captured the essence and light of Provence in his paintings and as I sit writing this I too am gazing at the 'Starry Night'
Every Wednesday Saint Remy holds an outdoor market so huge that it brings the town centre to almost a halt or at best a snails crawl.
Arrive early is my advice! if you want to get parked!
At the very centre on the main square you will have the sellers of clothes and materials with traditional Provençal table linens in white and creams, linen smocks, blouses and trousers in vibrant yellows and reds.
You will also find the sellers of the latest leather in belts and jackets even Serge Gainsbourg would be proud to wear, along with the usual imitation leather handbags and purses favoured by the north Africans.
There are also stalls filled with olive oil soaps, salad bowls, fruits bowls and innumerable receptacles, spoons and forks carved from the wood of the olive tree, lavender is sold 10 different ways from essences, oils, dried in bags for your linen drawers to bunches you can hang around the house. There are hunting knives, handmade ceramics and pottery, the odd antiques stall and the sweet vendors.
You will usually find a chanteuse standing on the corner opposite the cafe, microphone in hand and her music on Karaoke....she is entertaining, can hold a tune and you can even buy her c.d!
Away from the main square and in the narrow streets around the hotel de ville are the food stalls...the reason we have come here!As we return to the grey autumn weather of Ireland we want to bring as many reminders of our time here back with us so I buy goats cheese, foot long batons of Arles cured sausage, the kids favourite!, jars of pistou rouge, tubs of tapenade noir and tapenade verte, bottles of locally pressed olive oil from the valley of Les Baux 15 mins away from where we stand, bottles of 2014 vintage vin rose, bags of nougat, jars of lavender honey and a quick stop in a wee shop for boxes of Poulain chocolate...makes the best hot chocolate you ever tasted!
This year I have learned to pack wiser as last year a much prized bottle of wine was taken from me at the airport.. NO CARRY ON LIQUID ALLOWED!! so our bottles are wrapped in plastic bags and shrouded in layers of t-shirts and towels in preparation for their journey....lets hope the baggage handlers are in a good mood tomorrow!Tomorrow we leave early in the morning and head down the auto route to Nice toting our souvenirs and our sun kissed, but still red, bodies onto the Belfast flight.
As we lift off and head out over the azure blue of the Mediterranean sea before banking north and heading towards chillier climes we will already be planning our next trip! Until then adieu!
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