Do you know the way to St. Paul de Vence?
July 21, 2002 | 12:00am
You know you’ve reached Provence when the air becomes pregnant with possibilities.
There is the possibility of bathing in the storied beaches of the Riviera; of trekking the mountains of the interior; of exploring perched villages; of savoring hearty Provencal meals al fresco in gardens overlooking the Mediterranean; of enjoying the scent of flowers, herbs and perfumes wafting in the air in Grasse; of hang-gliding along the gorges of the interior; of parasailing along the Cote d’Azur. It is no wonder then that we all shared a sense of anticipation as we drove up into the driveway of the Auberge du Columbier in Roquefort les Pins.
Roquefort les Pins is a small town nestled in the hills thirty minutes north of Nice. Its closest neighbor is the town of Grasse, the center of the perfume industry in France. In my reference book, the auberge or inn was described as follows:
"This old stagecoach stop from Nice to Grasse (once a two-day journey)... makes a pleasant base from which to explore the French Riviera. The auberge was modernized in 1980 but preserves its old charm. Today it has a swimming pool, a tennis court... and a restaurant which is renowned for its cuisine and its specialties de la maison."
What made the auberge even more pleasant for us third-worlders was the room rate of slightly over US$70 per night inclusive of breakfast.
Our rooms were very large and well furnished; in fact, the room my wife and I shared had a large balcony where we could enjoy our meals al fresco. Unfortunately, the room also overlooked the main road, which was heavily traveled even in the wee hours of the morning. Nevertheless, this was a minor inconvenience given the overall facilities of the auberge, its excellent restaurant (where we ate one of the best meals of our trip) and its proximity to Nice, Grasse, St. Paul de Vence and the Gorges of Le Loup and Gourdon.
The day after we arrived in Roquefort les Pins, we decided to drive up to the town of Grasse, through the Gorges du Loup and then onto St. Paul de Vence. But the first order of the day was to replenish our food supplies and find a self-service laundry. Now the latter is very important if you want to save yourself a few hundred dollars in laundry bills. I once spent almost two hundred US dollars in laundry bills in Paris for four bags of laundry. Unfortunately for all of us, an hour of searching for a laundry capable of finishing it the next day was impossible and we therefore had to do the laundry ourselves. So we drove on to Grasse with our laundry reeking in the back of the van.
Grasse lies in the hills of Provence facing the Mediterranean, surrounded by fields of flowers, lavender, mimosa, jasmine and roses. Grasse has been the center of the perfume industry in France since the 16th century when Catherine de Medici set the fashion for perfumed gloves. At that time, Grasse was also the center of the leather tanning industry.
This all makes sense somehow. Tanning leather must stink, so what better way to hide the stench than to smother it with perfume? The tanneries have gone but the perfume houses still flourish. No doubt during those days of once-a-year bathing, the demand for perfume far outstripped the demand for leather. Otherwise, how can one explain the demise of the tanning industry and the continuing dominance of the French perfume industry?
There are a number of sights to see in Grasse; among them the Place aux Aires and the Place du Cours. However, I am sure that hardly any tourists get to see these spots because they end up spending all of their time in the Musee Internationale de la Parfumerie and the Villa Musee Fragonard where you can buy perfumes at a fraction of the cost you would pay elsewhere.
The Gorges de Loup were created by the river Loup, which rises behind Grasse and cuts a deep path to the Mediterranean. Along its route are dramatic cascades and spectacular views and the perched villages for which the region is famous.
St. Paul de Vence is probably the most famous and most visited city in the South of France, and justly so. Its 16th century ramparts overlook fields of cypress and olive trees. The village has been heavily restored but the winding streets and the medieval buildings are authentic. The creative instinct of the artists who were attracted to the village and populated it – building galleries, studios and boutiques in their wake – has transformed St. Paul de Vence into a beautiful and very popular tourist destination. Besides the town itself, the two most famous sights to see in the village are the Foundation Maeght and the Colombe d’Or.
The Maeght was built in 1964 by art dealers who have transformed this gallery into one of Europe’s finest museums of modern art. There are paintings of Miro, Chagall, Bonnard, Braque, Kandinsky and others, and sculptures by Arp, Calder, Miro, Giacometti and Hepworth.
The Colombe d’Or is an inn which was patronized early on by Picasso, Soutine, Modigliani, Signac, Colette and Cocteau. They often paid for their meals and lodging with paintings which now form the priceless collection that diners see around them. Be aware though that you will have to pay an arm and a leg for the privilege of dining in such exalted surroundings and that you will have to pay even more to stay in the inn.
South of Roquefort les Pins are the cities of Nice and Cannes. Nice is the largest resort on the Mediterranean coast, the fifth largest city in France and the capital of the Cote d’Azur. It therefore has all the attendant ills of any large city. Nevertheless, Nice has attracted visitors for a long time because of its temperate winter climate. Anyone who has endured a hard winter can understand why such a climate can be so attractive. Nice also boasts a grand boulevard called the Promenade des Anglais, with famous hotels like the Negresco and luxury boutiques on one side and the Mediterranean on the other.
Just about anybody who lives on this planet and goes to the movies would have at least heard about Cannes and its famous film festival. The first festival took place in 1946 and for almost 20 years, the festival remained a small and exclusive affair until the arrival of Brigitte Bardot. This sex kitten turned the festival from an artistic event into a media circus and somehow started the tradition of publicity hungry starlets baring their boobs (and more) for the cameras to get their 15 minutes of fame. Despite all the hoopla, the glamour and the enormous publicity, Cannes’ true business is to provide an international marketplace for filmmakers, which it does successfully every year.
Aside from the festival, there is not much of interest to see in Cannes. A simple drive through the Boulevard de la Croisette would be enough, unless you are interested in tracking celebrities or rubbing shoulders with the hordes that descend on Cannes and, for that matter, the whole Riviera during the summer. One drive through and then it is best to avoid the place altogether.
In 1956, Brigitte Bardot, world-famous French sexpot, filmed the movie Et Dieu Crea la Femme (And God Created Woman) in St. Tropez. Her then husband Roger Vadim, charter member of La Nouvelle Vague, the new wave of filmmaking, directed the film. The film and BB, as Bardot was known in France, jump-started the fortunes of what was until then a sleepy fishing village. The town gained a reputation for hedonism brought on by the wild public behavior and love affairs of BB, Vadim, Sacha Distel, and other French celebrities. Today, St. Tropez’s has more yachts than fishing villages. And what luxurious yachts these are! (Some of them surely cost more than the annual budget of a small third-world nation.) As a consequence, the cafes along the harbor have become centers of celebrity watching, which means it is a bitch to come here during the high season unless you love being overwhelmed and jostled by huge crowds, which stay up all night.
There is another St. Tropez, however, which is hidden away from the tourist hordes and the people watchers. These are the private beaches. In one of them lives Brigitte Bardot. Bardot, whose allure stemmed from the promise of wild, uninhibited, sweaty, down and dirty, no-holds-barred sex. She is now pushing 70 and has become an ardent animal lover and animal rights defender.
She is a shadow of her former sex kitten days and is starting to look as wild and as disheveled as the animals she has assembled around her. She still maintains an estate in St. Tropez with her umpteenth husband and her ever-increasing menagerie of animals, which is driving all her neighbors to distraction.
Further to the west is the town of Arles, famous for having been the residence of Vincent van Gogh in 1888 to 1889. Arles’ position on the Rhone makes it a natural gateway to the Camargue. A bastion of Provencal tradition and culture, its museums are among the best in the region and tourism is now its main business.
Two years ago, I took my two sons to Arles and we all stayed in a small hotel called the Hotel d’Arlatan.
"Built on the Basilica and the Baths of Constantine, the hotel is a veritable architectural patchwork. The unique hotel, owned by the same family for three generations, is regularly restored and renovated. It would indeed take a book to describe the Arlatan’s bedrooms."
Rooms cost from US$70 per night. The hotel is located right in the middle of Arles and is within walking distance of all of Arles’ attractions, such as the Espace Van Gogh which is housed in a former hospital where the artist was treated in 1889. It is now a cultural center devoted to his life and work.
Ardes’ Roman Amphitheater is one of the best preserved monuments of Roman Provence. In summer there are bull contests in the 20,000-seat arena. The top tier provides a panoramic view of Arles. The Palais Constantine was once a grand imperial palace. Now only its remarkably well-preserved Roman baths remain and give an idea of the luxury that bathers enjoyed. Eglise St. Trophime, with its ornate and main portal carved with saints and apostles facing the central Place de la Republique, combines a 12th century Romanesque exterior with superb Romanesque and Gothic cloisters."
Arles is also a great base to see the attractions of Nimes with its Roman Amphitheater and its Maison Carree; the Roman aqueduct at the Pont du Gard which, at a height of 160 feet, is a marvel of Roman engineering; and Les Baux-de Provence with its ruined citadel overlooking the Val d’Enfer (the valley of hell).
From the valley of hell to the sophisticated centers of debauchery that get you there in the first place. From wild gorges and mountain top aeries to cities that have been civilized for over two thousand years. Provence has it all and you do not have to be a billionaire to enjoy its pleasures. Just have the sense of adventure to find them.
Auberge du Columbier has 18 rooms, 2 suites, with telephone, bath, slower, WC and TV. Price: $30 to $60 (as of summer 2001) for single; $60 to $80, double; $80 to $130, suite. Meals: Breakfast $8. Facilities: Swimming Pool, tennis court, parking. Nearby: Nice, Grasse, gorges of Le Loup and Gourdon, Saint Paul de Vence, 18-hole golf course in Valbonne.
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