It’s all wrapping up now…I’m done with finals, and this Saturday, I leave my Aix for a 2 week adventure with my good friend Leah before finally returning home. But for my last weekend in France (I can’t actually believe I just typed that), I had some classic day trips Aixploring Provence…
Friday, we had a CEA trip to Château La Coste, a vineyard not too far from Aix. We all had a picnic lunch before seeing where the wine was made, enjoying a wine tasting (of course), and doing a walking tour around the grounds. Château La Coste invited many artists to come visit the large vineyard grounds and make whatever kind of art wherever they wanted, wherever the land spoke to them. There were statues of wolves, an interactive almost playground exhibition, and a cave made from oak trees. It was a charming way to spend a sunny afternoon.
Saturday, we were up bright and early for our last CEA trip! We headed to Les Baux-de-Provence, a medieval fortress. The views were incredible, but they don’t capture the hell that was the wind up there. Les Baux is famous for its wind, and I’m not kidding when I say there were tears (wind-induced, of course).
After, we headed to Carrières de Lumières, a multimedia art show set to music, housed in an old quarry. It is difficult to explain how wonderfully amazing this was. The exposition this time (it changes every year) was centered around the works of Chagall. There were 12 “chapters” over the 40 min sequence, and one, for example, was centered around the ceilings he painted at the Paris Opera House. This piece that you would have to go to Paris to see ordinarily was literally projected on to the ceilings, which were, you know, 30 feet above your head. Meanwhile, opera music is playing over the speakers, and images of the seats are projected onto the walls, and then larger images of the ceiling paintings are on the walls, and they are animated so they move, and you feel so small, and around every corner you look there is a difference facet of the work being explored. It was being immersed in the art itself, up close, personally, as if you were swimming around in Chagall’s brain when he was considering how to make his works. It was stunning.
After, we headed to Mas (which means “farm” in the Provençal regional dialect) de la Pyramide, owned by 91 year old Lolo, whose family has owned the farm since the time of Louis the XIV; he still has the original deed with the stamp of the sun king! Lunch was a three hour affair, with ratatouille, cheese, plenty of bread, pâtés, and, of course, rosé wine. It was a bit sentimental, as our farewell lunch as a group, and afterwords we wandered around the farm, annoying chickens and geese.
Finally, we visited Mausole St Paul, the asylum where Van Gogh voluntarily interned himself for the last few years of his life and painted over 200 paintings, including my personal favorite of all time, Starry Night.
And on Sunday, we were up early yet again. Megan, Matt, and I, had decided to visit the Camargue, the area a little south of Aix, know for the wildlife. Camargue touches the Mediterranean sea, but is better known for its national park, a swamp land. We had the great pleasure of being guided by a former CEA student who showed us the bulls, birds, flamingos, and classic white Camargue horses. The wildlife was amazing and surprising, as one just never really associates swamps with France.
In the center of town, Saintes–Maries-de-la-Mer, we had lunch in the sun, picked up some gelato, and walked around on top of a church with a stone roof. Then we attended the Course Camarguaise, bull fighting games where around 12 men attempt to rip a string off that has been tied around the bull’s horns. The bulls are not killed at the end, and for our part we didn’t see any men hurt at all, either. The course is a well-loved event in Camargue, and people follow the bulls from arena to arena based on which is the craziest! We had a fantastic time, but being in the front row gave me a bit of anxiety when one of the bulls escaped the arena (don’t worry, all of the seating area was built high above and barred against the games…).
My CEA group has been traveling so much, particularly since spring break. I’ve certainly been far from home myself, so enjoying our last weekend together felt like coming full circle, the first time we had all spent a weekend together in months. Studying abroad has been a tremendous time of personal growth for me, and I have cultivated a sense of independence, but I have so enjoyed the company that has surrounded me: getting lunches in the park, drinking wine and watching movies, or running around France until we’re exhausted. None of my aixperiences would’ve been the same without the 17 other crazy people I have come to love in such a short amount of time, and I’m already sentimental that time is nearly over.
Emily Sakowitz 