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THE AFFLUENT TRAVELER
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Off The Beaten Path
Like any good tourist, I’d done my homework
before my trip. I studied Van Gogh’s sunflowers,
researched Chateauneuf du Pape wine tours and
read
A Year in Provence,
Peter Mayle’s amusing tale
of a bumbling expat fumbling his way through France.
I’d planned to drive from the vineyards of Avignon to
the lavender farms of Sault, from Tourrettes, a perched
village overlooking the Alps and Gourdon, a town
with sweeping vistas directly above the Loup River that
served as a backdrop for Hitchcock’s 1955,
To Catch
a Thief.
While the “Super Tourist” in me wanted to see it
all, I quickly realized that my cram-it-all-in-wham-bam
itinerary was more suffocating than satisfying.
Speeding through the South of France was akin to
rushing through a 10-course Michelin-starred meal.
True enjoyment, required a languid pace, giving oneself
time to experience, relish and reflect. I vowed to give
up on my carefully planed itinerary, let loose and
embrace a “French Slow” lifestyle. These are a few of
the highlights I experienced.
What this impressionable young lady experienced that
month went beyond classroom textbooks, history
lessons and grammar drills about the passé composé.
Paris was intoxicating; the city a sensory overload of
culture and history. There was an undeniable romance
to every parkette, cemetery and public café.
Now as a well-traveled, discerning adult, having
gone back to France several times since those early
teenage years, I am
still
utterly smitten by her
indefatigable charm.
On my most recent trip to France, I opted to break
out of the Paris parameters and head out on an iconic
road trip through the rolling fields of Provence. A
scenic region in the southeast, the classic French
countryside of Provence boasts sleepy villages, Roman
ruins, unparalleled wine tasting, spectacular dining and
a rich history of inspiring artists like Cézanne, Picasso
and Gauguin. From Cannes, the Mediterranean mecca
for moviemakers, to the markets of Marseille, to Saint
Rémy de Provence (where Van Gogh painted one of his
most famous paintings,
The Starry Night
), there’s no
shortage of celebrated places to visit.
Photo Credits (top of page, left to right):
©PHB.cz (Richard Semik) / shutterstock.com;
©Michal Krakowiak / istock.com
