PRIVATE DRIVER

We added a private car to our list of transportation after two days in Les Baux.  Sometimes the time element ( bus schedules) comes into play for how one wants to spend the day. With 3 people to split the private car bill the bus was ruled out as we would only have that day to explore the lavender region allowing more time in Marseille the next day. 

A private driver  picked us up after an early breakfast in his beautiful new shiny black SUV and jettisoned us some 50+ miles to the quaint mountaintop town of Sault (pronounced 'SO') in Provence.

A couple of grey hairs may have been added to my head as this young whippersnapper driver was not only in a hurry, he texted and fiddled with his sound system the entire trip but we did get to hear the type of music he listens to each day.  Julien Doré being amongst his favorites.* It was a good diversion to say the least.

The countryside was almost a blur and I have no clue how  cyclists maneuver those windy hill roads with crazy fast drivers especially in the late July heat.  


The roads aren't very wide and it's a long way down.

Impressionist Lavender field at the right speed... the driver's intention of course!

Well, we did arrive in such good time we were a bit too early to check in to our rooms which were still being cleaned so we left our bags  to explore Sault before lunch.  

Sault's streets are so narrow cars have to park on the sidewalk, 




                                                                         
 a penchant for periwinkle / maybe that's to match the lavender? s

interesting architectural features on every block... 

And of course a lot of lavender products in the shops.

Let's wait until after lunch in the next entry to talk about lavender...

 'Til then au revoir.

*Link to mix of Julien Dore's Coco Caline

  

OUTSIDE CLASS, THE BEST

This past Friday was one of those bittersweet days. You see more often than not social activists who put in countless hours as grassroot organizers do not usually get to see the fruits of their labor. Progress and change tend to move slowly.

Through what I call the second half of my life I have been lucky to meet a lot of folks who are passionate about creating change. And as any grassroots group participant knows it's not just one person but the collective group of concerned citizens who help to bring about change. 
Such was the case of this special outside classroom dedication with the help of the Ringstrom Family and Friends, the La Crosse Friends of the Marsh and both corporate and individual donations, for our marsh's newly built limestone amphitheatre equipped with refurbished telescopes named in honor of Karen Ringstrom (1953-2015), someone who loved La Crosse and its natural beauty and worked hard to preserve it. Karen lost her battle to cancer in 2015 and her wishes for donated monies after her passing were to go to the La Crosse Friends of the Marsh. She would  wholeheartedly approve of this classroom project. 

The 100+ folks including family, friends, community members and our local officials were in attendance despite the looming rain clouds and heavy mist. 

A new addition to the Ringstroms

Chuck Lee, President of Friends
of the La Crosse  Marsh

Moderating the dedication was Chuck Lee, President of the La Crosse Friends of the Marsh who accredited and praised many for the new out of doors classroom for its conception, design, funding and construction as some 6,000 students visit the marsh annually from around the Coulee region.

Mayor Tim Kabat

La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat spoke of his encounters with Karen first with the electronic bill board ordinances. He fondly referred to her as a "rabblerouser."  We all chuckled over that one as Karen was known to be persistent and some even referred to her as bossy. It was these traits which probably helped the Mayor know to ask her to join the City of La Crosse Planning Commission. Unfortunately, her time was limited on the commission.

Maureen Freedland

Karen's long time friend Maureen Freedland shared responsibility for guiding her friend towards the electronic bill board issue and other projects. And while it was too late to prevent the highway billboard from across the marsh, thankfully due to the collected petitions the city passed an ordinance preventing any other electronic billboards from being erected. 

Karen was also a moving force in C.A.R.S. Citizens Acting for Rail Safety and the effects of the unsafe rail traffic of hazardous materials such as crude oil through the marsh and city. Senator Baldwin even recognized Karen's contributions* by presenting her with a special marsh photograph.

Senator Baldwin (l)  presents photograph of Black Tern, an endangered marsh bird species, to Karen
 taken by  C.A.R.S. member Al Stankevitz.

Karen's husband, Jim spoke about the efforts of so many who made sure this project could happen.  Burdensome permits from county, state and federal had to be filled out with the help of others besides utilization of a grant and numerous donations. Jim thanked everyone. He lightheartedly told us of Karen's dark side about being a 'coffee snob' and how one day he came home to carpenters raising kitchen cabinets less than an inch to accommodate a new super duper coffeemaker.  Eyeing his discontent, she retorted that this was just the price of the privilege of living with her. We all laughed! 

Jim invited all of us to join him in a catered lunch and to take time to view the photo journeying of the amphitheatre project from beginning through fruition besides photo books of Karen's involvement in various projects.  

Karen's environmental activism will continue as we will be ever vigilant to maintain the beauty of this place we call home. 

* Karen's Recognition link re: Senator Baldwin 's Rail Safety Bill

A LOT OF SAINTS

TBT (Throw Back Thursday) One knows they are in a Catholic country when there are a lot of saint names . One such small town St.- Rémy will remain a special memory for this past summer.

We really didn't have what you might call 'down/free time'  and we all helped plan the trip. There was just so much we wanted to take in and not miss betweens meals and an afternoon nap our days flew by.  So I opted on a a couple occasions for some down time to just skip an evening meal with my 2 traveling companions as I just got tired of eating. It was not until Les Baux, a Wednesday, where we actually had a free morning and I decided on a solo field trip to the nearby town St.-Rémy, the next town north.


The front desk clerk had mentioned that Wednesdays were the largest market day in the region in a town some 20 minutes by bus. I was game as my memories of market days from other country travels were unique cultural experiences. Sally really wanted to return to the Les Baux's old city area although she offered to go with me, I knew her heart really wasn't in it and  I knew her brother would gladly accompany her. So after breakfast I caught the bus heading north for a mere 2.5 euros The plan was to try to return by lunchtime but they should definitely start without me.

The bus arrived close to the schedule and we sped by vineyards and olive groves as the driver skillfully maneuvered sharp S pin curves down the hills. We arrived in the projected 20 minutes but once in St-Rémy, the traffic from market day guests slowed to a crawl. The main downtown street is a one way due to its size and for traffic flow. We had to circle the entire loop before the one busstop. It did definitely made it easy to know where to wait for the return bus.

Market Day took over the entire downtown as it encircled its shops also meandering through all its tiny side streets. Throngs of people both locals and tourists filled the walkways. 

Heirloom tomatoes

So much to look at -

Cheese rounds

fresh, dried, preserved foods, homemade medicines...

dried mushrooms

household fare  


clothing,  

Tempted

antiques

jazz, rock,folk , it was there...

Art and street music...

Would I leave without buying anything?

OK, I did make a purchase of some old keys which will make their way into some future art project. 

Time sped by, my eyes were tired and the next bus was due. Traffic had increased and sure enough I could have had more time to look around as the bus was a good half an hour late but it was great to take a load off my feet and sit down. 

This tourist did enjoy her morning in the quaint town of St. Rémy on market day... 

CARRIERES de LUMIERES

 Perhaps the most common question asked regarding my French adventure was, "What was your favorite part of your trip? 

My answer really has to do with something I had never done before and the reason we detoured to Aix du Provence to visit Les Baux's  Les Carrières de Lumières, Quarries of Light. When researching special art exhibits in France, this particular exhibit had received great reviews but I had no clue what was in store for us. 

Oh, I have visited a quarry before but never the inside of the cave created from the removal of the stone nor experienced a multi media presentation inside such a cave. (This particular quarry mined limestone. ) I had actually envisioned walking through a normal gallery space with projected 3-D art works and in the evening presentation viewing the presentation sitting outside on chairs watching a power point on the side of a cliff but this perception was way off base.
Sally and I did a double viewing and went to see the 2017 Quarries of Light "The Fantastic and Wonderful World of Bosch, Arcimboldo and Brueghel" which runs until January 2018 in the afternoon and then returned in the evening with Jim for the Revue of past featured artists including Chagall, Raphael, Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Klimt and Vienna.  

one could walk into an open part of the quarry

Thank goodness for sweaters as the contrast from the heat of the day and our 10 minute walk into the cave's cool interior was quite a shocking change in temperature.  The enormous cavernous space could hold a lot of people. There were no chairs. Even the couple hundred visitors who were there for during our visit spread out like ants on individual missions as each meandered through the space/ stood still.  Each wall, floor/ ceiling had a different projection as a dozen + slide projectors worked furiously accompanied by the same booming musical selection, mostly classical, resounding through the cave.

One could leave the dark cave and enter an open part of the quarry for a break/ to read info about the artists/ producer for a refreshment/ bathroom visit.

The photos will give you an idea of how small we were compared to the walls and even then the depth perception escaped my lens.

Bosch born at the dawn of the Renaissance in the Netherlands  came from a family of painters, painted in the 1500's and was one of the last artists to use medieval symbolism in his work.

 Arcimboldo an Italian trained in tapestry and stained glass, did cartoons and went to do portraits for the Habsburg Court of Ferdinand in the late 1500's. His claim to fame are people drawn using fruits and vegetables as their features.

Brueghel was born in Antwerp, Belgium but grew up in the Netherlands studying for some time in Rome. He is known for his attention to detail.

 Evening Review...

The music truly enriched the 3D multi media presentations and I wanted to provide a video clip to give a sampling of my most favorite  stop in Provence but the clip was too big. One became part of the exhibition. It was mesmerizing.

I faded before the end of the evening presentation as each artist's presentation was about 40 minutes in length. I treated myself to a solo walk without the crowds ambling back to the hotel by the light of the moon while the past hours of classical music replayed with the masterpieces in my head. It was definitely a once in a lifetime day right there in the heart of the Arpilles Mountains bordered by vineyards, olive trees in Provence's Les Baux...