The quarries in Les Baux-de-Provence were once renowned for their abundant supply of limestone. Over 2000 years ago, the Romans made use of this limestone for rebuilding the Celto-Liguirian town of Glanum and for building the Municipal Arch and Mausoleum that still stand across from Glanum. The Roman city of Arles was built with limestone from these quarries.  Over a thousand years later, in the 11th century, the infamous Lords of Les Baux built their formidable citadel from the limestone in these neighboring quarries and, three hundred years after that, in the 14th century, the ramparts of Aigues-Mortes rose up from the ground with limestone…

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What does a town do with a vast web of stone quarries with a “Closed” sign on every door? The folks in Les Baux-de-Provence turned theirs into the largest permanent multimedia show in France. Carrières de Lumières (formerly called Cathédral d’Images) is a smashing success. Close to 400,000 visitors attended last year’s show. For over 2000 years, the quarries in Les Baux-de-Provence were a primary source of limestone for this area. The Romans exploited the quarries for material to rebuild the nearby Celto-Liguirian town of Glanum back in 200 BC and later the Municipal Arch and the Mausoleum that still stand across from Glanum. The…

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This article is part of a series about our ten favorite markets in Provence. Thus far, we have written about Aix-en-Provence, Apt, Cadenet, Cucuron, Gordes, Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, and Lourmarin. When we chose our top ten markets, we considered the quality and variety of the offerings, the friendliness of the vendors, and the ambience of the venue. Practical issues (e.g., traffic and parking) were also weighed, but, in the end, it was the market itself that mattered most. Get there early and avoid the inevitable traffic and parking challenges! These are the markets we visit again and again when we are in Lourmarin.  Saint Rémy comes alive…

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Vincent van Gogh is on my mind again these days. Those Don McLean lyrics—“Starry, starry night, Paint your palette blue and grey, Look out on a summer’s day, With eyes that know the darkness in my soul”—are playing over and over again in my head. (1) I have always loved van Gogh’s artwork—who isn’t moved by the sadness of Old Man in Sorrow, the humility of The Potato Eaters, the swirling shades of blue in Starry Night, or the striking beauty of his Irises—and, as a psychologist, I’ve long been intrigued by what demons may have plagued him. A few years back, in an Abnormal…

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Second of a two-part article.These chocolates are so delicious that most people say, ‘They are to die for.’ I would say, ‘They are to live for.’ Hope for a good long life, so you can try every one.   –My mother, 80-something C’est arrivé. The chocolates arrived just in time for my mother’s birthday. They were carefully packed with the knowledge that they would be traveling far from Saint-Remy-de-Provence and they arrived in perfect condition. Regular readers of The Modern Trobadors may recall that, last week, I wrote about my favorite chocolates in Provence: Joël Durand’s L’Alphabet des Saveurs. We have been to this renown chocolatier’s…

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First of two-part article L’Alphabet des Saveurs chocolates  Photo: 1j2M Some of the best chocolates in the world hail from France. In Paris, I think of La Maison de Chocolat, JP Hévin, La Durée, Michel Chaudun. But it is to Provence that I would head for my favorite: the best chocolate in the region is made by Joël Durand in the small village of Saint-Remy-de-Provence. We visited this alluring chocolate shop this past August. The number of times we have been drawn to Monsieur Durand’s chocolate shop has long passed double digits. This time we were en route from Lourmarin, the Luberon village we have…

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By Louis J. Salome Author of “Violence, Veils, and Bloodlines:  Reporting from War Zones.” As Christmas and Hanukah approach, many of us find ourselves madly wrapping packages to be shipped off to family and friends around the globe. Will we entrust our treasures to the oft-maligned but still remarkably reliable U.S. Postal System or to one of its chief competitors, FedEx, DHL, or United Parcel Service? After that decision, the rest is straightforward and familiar. Not so in France. Guest writer Louis J. Salome, author of “Violence, Veils, and Bloodlines: Reporting from War Zones,” describes the elaborate labyrinth he had to navigate when he went…

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