Mike and Shelley's French Adventures: Beautiful Days with Cezanne

We had a wonderful time visiting with John and Raleigh. They arrived from Paris early in the week and drove over to Cotignac. Thankfully, the weather has been perfect – sunny and warm.

While there are no big events to report, we’ve enjoyed low key days filled with talking, walking, and eating wonderful food. We can’t get enough of sitting on the patio overlooking the valley on these long days.

We showed John and Raleigh around Cotignac, shopped at the Tuesday market, and enjoyed lunch outside at the local creperie.

We’ve all pitched in with making meals. John made great green beans to accompany Mike’s fish dish. Raleigh and I are masters of huge salads with fresh goat cheese among the greens and olives. Tonight Mike and John are grilling fresh veggies on our new grill. Raleigh shared the basics of painting with me so I can do more of that throughout the rest of the year. I’m looking forward to that!

We’ve had long hikes in the hills around our house and Raleigh has joined me on my morning walks, too. We walked to St. Joseph's Monastery which is up in the hills behind our house. It's a lovely walk through vineyards. Later that day John even christened the swimming pool with the first swim of the season!

John and Raleigh drove to Nice on Wednesday to see the Matisse Museum and enjoy a day along the Mediterranean. Mike and I had a quiet day around the house with a late afternoon stroll into town for a few items at the store and, of course, a coffee at a café. It’s not possible to walk to town without being enticed to sit in one of the outdoor cafes. Now that the weather is warmer, it’s the ultimate in relaxation to simply sit in a café.

Yesterday was our one big excursion. The four of us drove to Aix-en-Provence to experience Cezanne. We arrived with just enough time to walk to his atelier which he had built specifically for his use. It was the last studio he had before he died. We were all moved by it. It is only one large room on the second floor. Thankfully, it has been preserved just as Cezanne left it. His coats and hats are on a hook on the wall. His painting smock still has paint stains on it. All around the room are the props he used in his paintings. With only a casual familiarity with his work, you can glance around and recognize items from his paintings.

His easel was there with a few sketches on the walls. One side of the room is an enormous window that let in a room full of light. There were photographs of Cezanne and some of his works that made it easy to relate to the items in the room, as well as appreciate the scenery we were to see a short time later. While it was fun to see his things – as he left them – we were all captivated by the feeling still in the room. It was palpable. Maybe it’s too strong to say that his spirit was there, but there was something there that conveyed his essence.

After a wonderful lunch in a sidewalk café, we jumped into the car to drive the road that Cezanne used to paint many of his works. The narrow road wound through the Provencal countryside as we left Aix. The hilly road was lined with the tall pine trees that are featured in so many of Cezanne’s works. We rounded a sharp bend and there – in front of us – was Mont Sainte Victoire, the mountain that was central in so many of his paintings. The distinctive shape was just as we’d seen it in the photographs of some of his paintings in his atelier. The mountain loomed bigger that I expected. We were there in the middle of the afternoon so the light accentuated the bright white of the limestone. Cezanne had the luxury of capturing it in the soft morning light and the warm glow of the afternoon sun.

It was easy to see why he was captivated by it and the contours that the changing light brought out. It was a lovely drive knowing we were literally walking in Cezanne’s footsteps. We saw the café that he frequented and we had our own stop for a coffee break further down the road. The day ended with a nice dinner at a local restaurant that is situated in a vineyard. All in all, it was a lovely day.

On the last day of John and Raliegh's visit we went to the market in Dragignan. It was a very nice market and we enjoyed shopping and coffee in the square with sun and a cool breeze. On our way home we stopped at Chateau Roubine which is a Cru Classe winery. The wine was excellent plus Mike helped us learn more about the vineyards. We had seen red roses at the end of the rows of vines. Mike asked about the roses and it turns out they are used as an indicator of disease. The roses contract disease first and tell the vinter if the vines need to be treated. We had good wine and learned something new, as well!