WHILE WAITING FOR PROVENCE’S LAVENDER SEASON, ENJOY THOSE GORGEOUS POPPIES!

Posted on April 29, 2013January 23, 2016 by Susan Manfull

Lavender and Provence are inextricably tied together in the minds of almost everyone who yearns to visit—and revisit--Provence. What comes to your mind when you think of Provence? Someday I will survey people about the images “Provence” conjures up. But, in the meantime, I’ll put my euros on lavender as the first image that pops into the minds of most people. Rosé wine, pastis, truffles, bouillabaisse, markets, the slow pace of life, the mistral, and Cézanne—all certainly con...

CARRIÉRES DE LUMIÉRES: A COOL PLACE TO VISIT

Posted on June 17, 2012November 27, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Entrance to Carrières de Lumières © CulturespacesThe Carrières du Val d'Enfer--the quarries in the Valley of Hell--have provided limestone for over 2000 years. The Romans exploited the quarries for material to rebuild the nearby Celto-Liguirian town of Glanum back in 200 BC and later to create the Roman city of Arles. In the 11th century, the notorious Lords of les Baux built their formidable chateau out of limestone from these neighboring quarries. (Now referred to as the Chateau...

“VAN GOGH UP CLOSE” AT THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART: AN EXAMINATION OF LANDSCAPES FROM PROVENCE AND AUVERS AND A FEW STILL LIFES FROM PARIS, TOO

Posted on February 19, 2012December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Befittingly, perhaps, we arrived in Philadelphia to find frigid temperatures and falling snow, just as van Gogh had found in Arles when he arrived from Paris 124 years ago on February 20th. It took van Gogh only three days before he and his easel were en plein air, painting one of two pieces aptly entitled Landscape with Snow (1888).For us, once inside the stunning exhibition of over 40 of van Gogh’s paintings, most of which were painted in the South of France, our fingers quickly thawed a...

VAN GOGH’S LAST YEAR IN PROVENCE: REFUGE IN AN ASYLUM, STARRY NIGHTS, FIELDS OF WHEAT, AND IRISES

Posted on February 5, 2012January 3, 2016 by Susan Manfull

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 bee...

LA POSTE: MEDIEVAL PRACTICES STILL LURK IN THE FRENCH POSTAL SYSTEM

Posted on December 18, 2011December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

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 wr...

MONTE DOLACK: RETRACING FAMOUS ARTISTS’ FOOTSTEPS IN PROVENCE

Posted on January 16, 2011November 24, 2015 by Susan Manfull

If world-famous artists like Paul Cezanne and Vincent Van Gogh fell in love with Provence, Montana wildlife painter Monte Dolack says it's got something to do with the luminous landscape and the culture he too found so captivating during recent trips there. “There's a sense of wildness, but almost no natural forest. It's shaped because of people planting things, so it has a different look that's kind of intriguing,” said Dolack (who has stayed twice in our rental apartment in Lourmarin). “The...