Roussillon, Provence, France

Roussillon (but a few kilometers from Apt) is yet another of the hilltop towns that is officially designated as one of Provence's "Plus beaux villages". This small medieval village is located in a beautiful forest from which great cliffs of seemingly pure ocre suddenly appear. These hills have been mined for their marvelous red soil and minerals since Roman times, and there is ample evidence indicating that people lived in this area long before Romans arrived. It is only natural that the village itself is permeated with stone and cement structures having varying shades of ocre. Even the seemingly white altar steps in the ancient village church have flecks of ocre.

These pictures show the village streets and neighbouring valley in the overcast lighting of a late afternoon in late May. Reaching the castle at the highpoint of the village required a bit of a climb, but reaching anything required climbing or descending. Looking over the red rooftops, one sees the forest stretching for miles until the soil finally becomes suitable for cultivating the region's famous wines.

[Click here for pictures of Roussillon on another posting.]

Salon international des Initiatives de Paix, Paris

The Third International Exhibition on Peace Initiatives (3^e Salon international des Initiatives de Paix) was held this past weekend (May 30-June 1, 2008) in Paris at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie. The exhibition was spread over three floors, offering talks, workshops and about 180 booths with books, posters and opportunities to converse with people representing the many organizations. The themes were as varied as society itself. Some groups are devoting serious time and energy to encouraging us to be at peace with the environment, others are promoting such things as peace and reconciliation with family members, helping students deal with bullying at school, or discovering how peace can be promoted through excellent art or superb cartooning. There were also organizations concerned with justice, peace and nonviolence at the national and international levels, asking us to think seriously about disarmament, the abolition of war and fighting, and about finding ways to get governments to decrease expenditures on military hardware and weapons. Several groups focused on the increasingly severe refugee crisis resulting from war, political turmoil, changes in the environment, and natural disasters. Still other groups are thinking about economic injustices which lead to conflict rather than promote peaceful living.

One of my special interests is how the church (and religion generally) can contribute to the promotion of peace, both within local society and internationally. It was encouraging to see considerable attention being given to these initiatives, whether through individual denominations (e.g., Catholics, Quakers or the Centre Mennonite de Paris), through groups co-sponsored by various churches/denominations interested in ecumenical discussions, or by groups of individuals from within churches (the Franciscan Family or the European group interested in ‘Church and Peace’). Other displays called attention to conflicts in specific geographic areas, such as Israel/Palestine or Rwanda.

There is considerable interest in the promotion of peace through the public schools in Paris (or at least quite a few teachers took the time and energy to bring their classes), so it was wonderful seeing hundreds of orderly high school and junior high school students wandering through the exhibitions, taking part in impromptu theatre in the aisles, watching a puppet show on the history of the atom bomb, or sitting in small groups while their teachers led them through their reflections about what they had just learned about peace initiatives. If only this sort of education could be introduced with the same intensity in North America.

Lourmarin, Provence, France

Every time I think about another little hill village in or near the Luberon, I want to call it my favourite one. Lourmarin is utterly charming, home for about 1,100 residents, and the resting place for Albert Camus. But since Peter Mayle is now reportedly living here, I suspect it will become increasingly busy with English-speaking tourists. We went for the Friday market, which is one of the best in the area. It stretched for blocks and had none of the cheap trinkets or clothing found in too many Parisian markets. This seemed to be upscale, like the village itself.

Asparagus was looking superb, but we did not have access to a kitchen, and I was surprised to see garlic being sold before the stalks had withered. Since garlic is crucial to so many Provencale dishes, I guess they like to get the season started as quickly as possible. One vendor had an array of large bowls of ground spices, reminded me that we were in a part of France that has been profoundly influenced by Mediterranean cooking.

The village is surrounded by an old wall, which has (if I sensed things correctly) another lower wall just outside. One is able to walk between these two walls, one that is very high (formerly protecting the village) and one that is the more traditional garden height. A number of my pictures were taken while walking on this very special walkway. My little G9 is always in my pocket and served me well for these shots. I tried to capture a sense of the claustrophobia I experienced when crouching to get under the thick stone buttresses which went over the walk way.

Jardins, jardin aux Tuileries, Paris

People in France are passionate about their gardens and have been advancing the art of gardening for many centuries. The formal gardens of the nation's aristocratic dwellings have been cited, painted and photographed since being opened to the public, but there is also tremendous interest in the small private gardens within small walled areas or on terraces or patios. I cannot recall ever seeing an open market without at least one vendor selling cut flowers to those who have no garden.

This weekend (29 May-1 June 2008) Parisians can enjoy the fifth garden show for professionals (Friday) and the public (Saturday-Sunday), Jardins, jardin aux Tuileries (Gardens in the Garden of the Tuileries, just west of the Louvre Palace. This 'garden' is essentially a formal arrangement of large trees, but since there are so many thousands of tourists and visitors, there is no grass, only hard packed clay soil compacted with small stones. This was transformed in amazing ways for the garden show.

We were greeted with an area on the hard ground that was covered in grassy sod which outlined each of the globe's continents. This was in keeping with this year's theme focusing on how plants have traveled from one part of the world to another. Avid gardeners would pause and admire rare plants brought here from exotic climes. Sitting directly on the compacted soil of the Tuileries would be long flowing streams of water nourishing tropical plants requiring wet feet. Misters would emit delicate sprays of water which protected other plants or added bits of fog to a Japanese fountain, moss was brought in and added to dozens of large displays. Some of the trees imported for the occasion would surely require small cranes for moving. When I was trying to catch my breath afterwards, someone reminded me that 'this is Paris', the city which once turned the entire Champs Elysee into a wheat field. Of course this made international news, but it shows the extent to which some government officials support gardening endeavours and garden extravaganzas.

But other things caught my eye as well. Someone created the outline of a golfer finishing his swing. This was achieved with a metal mesh frame into which one inserts lots of moss. Since Vancouverites have all the free moss they want, I started thinking to myself . . . .

One garden shop cleverly wrote plant names and prices on an old laurel leaf, which looks more natural and is certainly ecological. Janice wanted a picture of the beautiful metal sculptures of chickens and a rooster, all created from scrap metal by an artist in Zimbabwe. Since the day was heavily overcast and since the flower displays were under the dark shade of the large plane trees, lighting was nearly ideal for photographers trying to capture at least some of the beautiful colours of the orchids, lobelia, and hydrangeas. I enjoyed watching two professional photographers take pictures with equipment I will likely never even touch. They worked so quietly, quickly, efficiently, and when they were obtrusive, managed to set up and smile in ways which made you want to cooperate fully.

I suppose there were quite a few gardening innovations and hybrids being introduced, but one idea that was new to me was the display of metal columns in which the metal was hidden, being covered with grass--sod placed absolutely vertically all around the structures. How one mows this grass beats me, possibly with a scissors or electric trimmer? Then, just to add to the novelty, the artist added a window in the column showing a plant on the inside, having a lighter contrasting colour.

Gordes, Provence, France

One of my favourite old hilltop villages in Provence is Gordes. This ancient site once had structures built of flat stones without cement, much like those seen in parts of Ireland. Some were still in use in the early 1800s. The present village has been extensively rebuilt, its infrastructure appears to be modern in every respect, its restaurants excellent (one offered a menu dinner for 94 Euros or about $150), property prices are now exceedingly high, views are stunning as one overlooks the valley, and the village is equally attractive when seen from the valley or the road wending its way upward. That afternoon we experienced very high winds which just ripped through the narrow streets, sweeping up the valley and through the village with such force that you held onto things tightly. This was a warm wind, unlike the cold Mistral from the north (consequently virtually no hill villages face north). So many women lit candles in front of one of the church's various statues that I took a picture. The church wall is suffering from dampness affecting the soft stone and plaster, yet the faithful come faithfully. I hope that the village leaders will now see fit to devote some resources to maintaining this lovely church, for one cannot imagine the village without it.

Ansouis, Provence, France

 We spent one week in Provence, staying seven nights at Un Patio en Luberon in Ansouis, a 16th-17th century building recently renovated. Michel most willingly spoke French with utter clarity, offering us excellent ideas for day trips and things to see, and warning us away from some of the tourist traps promoted so enthusiastically by American writers. Once in the Luberon, we focused primarily on the hill villages, those small but fascinating villages seemingly made solely of the light and somewhat soft local stone. I will be creating a number of blogs on these villages. They seem to have begun as modest hilltop fortresses which protected locals from northern bandits and warriors. Huts and then modest houses would eventually be built within easy access to the safety of the castle's tower. However, in the 19th and 20th centuries, these villages fell on hard times economically, and were severely depopulated until perhaps 30-40 years ago when visionaries devoted resources to refurbishing the infrastructure. In each village we saw evidence of recent excavation for new drainage/sewage, of electric and phone lines, artisan shops, and places which support tourism and locals alike. The tile roofs fascinate me, as workmen create layer after layer of tiles and cement. All of this initially seems exceptionally sturdy, but one eventually realized that the several Mistral winds from the north, the rains and temperature changes take their toll of the soft stone masonry, and cracks inevitably appear and require attention--constant attention.

The castle in Ansouis is no longer open to the public, for it has recently been purchased by a doctor and will likely be refurbished. The fortified church was open only on Sunday, the somewhat modest market is also only once a week, and there are relatively few shops (1 each of restaurant, bakery, news stand, bar, tea house), no bank or bank machines, no gas station or school. So it is a very quiet sleepy sort of place, ideal for peace and quiet. Evenings could hardly be nicer, with the clouds overhead, the village bell tolling on the hour and half-hour (7-10 both morning and evening, with a perfectly-tuned minor third overtone).