Episode 39: The Luberon: Place of Beauty and Stone
Next Instalment from the Padova to Paris Journey Podcast Series - Part 15
Welcome to Episode #39:
This weeks share is a day driving through the region of the Luberon Mountains in Provence. A visit to Menerbes, the place of truffle and vin. We enter the tree lined village to marvel at the plane trees and to wander the paths and streets of the medieval village. The views are magnificent from this grand location. It is a day of beauty and vision taking in the rural atmosphere of cherry orchards and vines that are waiting to unfurl, and scenic drives in Lacoste, Bonnieux and Apt. A beautiful prelude to the days ahead before the family catch the TGV to Paris for the finale of the journey from Padova Italy to Paris, France.
Maison de Dora Maar, Menerbes / Michelle Johnston
Walking across the front entrance, a cobbled path I stop and examine the architecture. The girls wait patiently with their coats pulled tightly, they are most happy to wander the road and the walkway just looking. They get me, they know that art will always have its way, opening me, pushing me. It is underneath everything, pulsing like a beating heart. Standing by the edge, the stone wall that reaches to our waists is enough to protect the road and the ridge. Beyond are houses and perhaps a church that continue around the perimeter. I wonder who held these stones in their hands and how long ago. There are walls of it, and houses naturally built above the rocky hillside. Beyond are terraced gardens, neat olives and cypress. This place reminds me a little of Orvieto Italy in that way. The houses seem private, mysterious, ancient. The wind continues to whip around us yanking my cap from my head. Fortunately it just misses landing over the stone wall and stops on the ground close to my feet. Laughing and nearly falling over from the wind current I pick it up and wander the pathways around the village, admiring the beauty, taking photos here and there, just happy to be a part of the scenery”.
Shownotes:
Visit: The Luberon: Heart of Provence
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
The Good Year (film 2006) by Ridley Scott, book by Peter Mayle
The Luberon Garden by Alex Dingwall-Main
Chateau la Canorgue; the Vineyard and Estate where parts of the film The Good Year were filmed
Nicolas de Stael - In Provence by Hotel de Caumont Centre d’Art Aix-en-Provence
Late Winter in the Luberon Region / Michelle Johnston
Further Reading:
Finding Dora Maar: An Artist, An Address Book, A Life by Brigette Benkemoun
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: A Memoir of Picasso, Provence, and Douglas Cooper by John Richardson
A French Garden Journey by Monty Don
