Event Previews & Reviews from Provence

More than just an exhibition of photography, Les Recontres d'Arles is a three month long photography festival, with seminars and workshops that takes over the city of Arles each summer. 

In September, the tranquil countryside of Provence undergoes a dramatic change. Heads pop up in the vineyards, farmers stoically take over the departmental roads with tractors pulling the harvest to the coopérative. It's the month of the Vendange!

At this time of the year (May) the local vineyards look spruced up, the leaves green, the paths cleared of weeds, the tiny grapes ready to develop. It is just a matter of time and patience, a little rain and lots of sunshine, before the September harvest can begin. A perfect time, so a French national wine association must have decided, to celebrate what is and what is to come, by creating a day of the vineyard and the wine - La Fete de la Vigne & du Vin.

The black bull is pawing the ground and bellowing in anger. A man darts past the bull, deftly plucking a tassel from its horns and sprints away. The bull charges across the sandy arena, almost catching the man before he leaps over the head-high barrier to safety. As the bull crashes into the wooden fence behind him, music from Bizet’s Carmen blasts out and the delighted crowd applauds the bull’s spirit and the man’s bravery.

One of the most pleasant ways to spend a vacation in Provence and learn something to boot is by signing up for one of the cooking schools in the south of France. There is a wide choice of schools and courses, some of which are booked a year or longer in advance.

One of the great pleasures of spending time, even for a day, in Provence is to visit a local market. Practically every town or village has a weekly market - sometimes more often - where fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese and roasted chicken, herbs and olives, t-shirts and flip-flops are sold.

When driving through Provence you may stumble upon a large flock of sheep, guided by its shepherd and driven by a trio of smart dogs. Much less common than a hundred or even fifty years ago, these flocks nevertheless subsist in the same way as they did then. During the winter and spring months they remain in the lower regions, during the summer and autumn the return to higher altitudes. The long trek from low to high, and vice versa, is called La Transhumance.

After the dark month of December, the first sign of new life, a prelude to spring, is the blossoming of the mimosa trees. In southern Provence, you can see the flowers appear already in January. In February, the blossoms reach their peak. Against the backdrop of the still barren oak and chestnut trees, the mimosa stands out in its golden beauty.

It's the beginning of October and the crazy summer crowds appear to have left the port of Saint-Tropez. The painters still display their art, but in a month they too will take their easels elsewhere, perhaps working on next year's supply.