A dream fulfilled: An escape to the south of France (Last part)

By Cherie Mercado Santos

Last part

The moment the sun rose on that lovely Sunday morning, my husband Mike and I were halfway through our breakfast at our charming hotel in Aix en Provence and ready to explore what’s said to be two of the most beautiful villages in France.

That hotel, Le Mas d’Entremont, was our perfect home base while we were in Provence. Besides its rustic beauty and sprawling gardens, the farmhouse estate is only a few minutes away from Cours Mirabeau and an easy drive to southern France’s picturesque countryside.

We bid Le Mas d’Entremont goodbye that morning after Nicolas, its owner-cum-front-desk receptionist, advised us to head to the villages of Lourmarin and Roussillon.

The trip to those villages took us past vineyards, olive groves, medieval structures and stretches of raw vegetation, with the Luberon mountain ranges as a constant backdrop.

There was no trace of the rain that, some had predicted, might fall that day, though the sky was covered with a thin blanket of clouds. The sunshine was constant and the breeze was cool.

The scenery was fantastic; I felt like I’m part of a Paul Cézanne painting.

The drive to the villages was more enjoyable, thanks to modern technology. We had set on default to type “VILLAGE CENTER” in our rented car’s global-positioning system (GPS), whichever town we ended up in. No more looking at big, foldable maps that cover the whole dashboard and asking strangers how to get back on the right track.

We had no exact destination. The first sign we decided to follow said, “Château de Lourmarin.” It felt exhilarating not to have an agenda and simply allow the road to lead us where it may.

Chateau de Lourmarin

The Château de Lourmarin may be constructed between the 15th and 16th centuries—it’s the first of its kind in Provence to be built in the Renaissance style—but it remains relevant today, thanks to the vision of its last master, who loved the arts and saved the structure from demolition.

The château and everything in it—the stone walls; the thick wooden doors; the heavy, chunky metals—are cold, yet strangely inviting. Details, such as the remarkable fireplaces and the intricate stone staircase, showed proof of the dedication of its restorers. It had witnessed religious wars, territorial disputes and plagues. It had also housed refugees, priests, royalty, knights and artists. It had been threatened by fire, violent occupation and demolition.

In 1920, a wealthy industrialist named Robert Laurent-Vibert, known for a famous lotion for hair-loss prevention, saved the château, then in a state of disrepair, from becoming a stone quarry. Being a patron of the arts, Vibert commissioned his artist-friends to restore it.

He enjoyed the now-restored château until he passed away in a car accident in 1925. He left the château and his art collection to the Academy of Arts and Sciences of Aix en Provence on the condition that it continues supporting young artists.

Now a working museum that still holds old Provencal furniture and ceramics, the chateau houses the foundation’s art scholars. We chanced upon some young people and their teachers leaving after their practices. During summer, they mount concerts and art exhibits.

Lourmarin village center

A few minutes away from the château is the Lourmarin village center. While strolling on its narrow streets, our eyes were transfixed on the Mediterranean architecture, the lovely restored houses and the well-shaded public squares.

It’s hard to miss the tributes to Lourmarin’s most celebrated resident, the late Nobel laureate and philosopher Albert Camus.

We had al fresco lunch amid the mild bustle in the square. Pretty much all the action happens in the village center, in towns such as this.

Though we were told that it could get pretty quiet and sleepy, that day we saw Sunday life, Lourmarin style.

This village is where some families moved to after they decided to retreat from the rat race and uproot themselves from the big city, retired, or took a vacation.

We saw endless streams of chubby and wobbly toddlers, and babies on strollers or body slings, followed by seemingly very relaxed parents.

There were as many dogs as children. These dogs were held on a leash with their respective masters while taking a weekend stroll or window-shopping for some household necessities or local delicacies.

There were small groups of morning hikers checking out the lunch fares in the cafés. And the charming stores that lined the narrow streets, mostly manned by their respective owners, each had signature chairs outside their doors.

It took us hours admiring every vine-covered structure that houses either a gallery, café or shop. We couldn’t resist the inviting facade of every shop, and leisurely checked out each one. We even bought a few souvenirs.

People seem to be in no hurry in this pleasant village. I looked at the various scenes happening around me and captured them as mental postcards.

Then it was time to move.

Rousillon

The drive to Roussillon showed us the most number of iconic French windows during our trip to southern France.

Roussillon possesses an atmosphere and charm that’s different from Lourmarin’s. This village is bursting with vibrant colors and stunning views that we admired to our hearts’ content at various vantage points.

I felt the need to paint the terrific landscape, as it presented the vast, green Luberon valley, the slopes of Luberon valley and the rocky plateau of the Vaucluse.

And then I remembered: I don’t paint. I just had to commit all I saw to my good old memory bank (let not amnesia strike me).

Apart from its landscape, Roussillon’s uniqueness and fame lies in its ocher cliffs and quarries.

These chunks of orange hills made this place a magnet for ocher dye in the 18th century.

The textile industry was booming then, and mining and quarrying intensified until the early 20th century, when Roussillon was exporting 17 different shades of ocher to different parts of the world. In 1930, ocher-mining and quarrying was banned to protect the place from total degradation.

To pay homage to the village’s history and to serve as a reminder of ocher commerce and the efforts of conservation, a special museum, called the Conservatoire des Ocres et des Pigments Appliqués, was built.

But even if you don’t get to visit it, a simple walk around the village square, along narrow centuries-old streets, would make you realize you’re never far from structures with facades in varying shades of ocher.

An easy trek to the main square gives you a wide range of restaurants with panoramic views of Luberon, including the village’s famous ocher cliffs.

We took our time, had local rose wine, stopped at every scenic spot, read every monument marker and explored every narrow alley.

It was almost sundown before we drove back to Le Mas d’Entremont, exhilarated over the beauty of just two of the many captivating villages in this part of France.

Cherie Mercado Santos is a television news reporter and anchor for the last 20 years for the top three broadcast networks in the Philippines—GMA, ABS-CBN and TV5. A nature-worshipper, Mercado loves traveling and communes with nature as a way of deep prayer. She is the proud mother of two daughters, Christiana and Anabella, and happily shares life’s journey and travel adventures with her stockbroker-husband Mike Santos.