by Anne Woodyard | Apr 6, 2020 | Aix en Provence, Ambiance d'Aix, France, France travel, Markets of Provence, provence, Saint Sauveur Cathedral
As we’ve guided our guests through the beautiful town of Aix en Provence for the past 17 years, we’ve pointed out the many niches,
filled with Madonnas and saints, on corners of buildings, explaining that “in medieval times these comforting icons were installed during the plague so that the quarantined residents, unable to attend mass, could instead pray to these figures that they could see from their windows”.
Did we ever imagine that, once again, the world would be confined to their homes as we are today? France is currently on a 15-day lockdown in a bid to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
We can see the cathedral bell tower from Ambiance d’Aix, our home in Aix en Provence – do you think that would “count” as a prayer niche?!
One of the things we love about our French home is the sound of those church bells. On Wednesday last week church bells rang out throughout France for 10 minutes, beginning at 7:30 pm, as an act of solidarity and hope, and people were encouraged to light candles in their windows at the same time.
In secularized France, I wonder if many now look out their windows to the Madonnas and pray?
Even if not, those peaceful Mother and Child statues
seem to bless the lively squares below (can you spy the figure on the corner?).
I think of this one as the market Madonna.
A rare snow draped the shoulders of this one a few years ago.
Just around the corner from our home is this unusual Black Madonna,
on the corner of “scrape your elbows” lane – a cobbled path so narrow you have to hold your arms against your body as you walk through.
Pray we will, that this virus will soon be conquered,
and the calm Madonnas can smile down on busy-once-again squares!
by Anne Woodyard | Dec 2, 2017 | Aigue Brun, Aix en Provence, Aix en Provence market, Aix en Provence restaurants, Ambiance d'Aix, Bonnieux, Cassis, Cours Mirabeau, fountains, France, France travel, French Word a Day, La Ciotat, Le Riad, Lourmarin, Luberon, Pavilion Vendome, Place de Trois Ormeaux, provence, Roussillon, Santons, south of France, truffles
Thanksgiving Week, 2017
Aix en Provence, France
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
We’re looking ahead to Spring – Aix en Provence for the Easter Festival.
What’s first on the Aix to-do list when we arrive? Flowers, of course! And what a glorious morning we have for our first market foray! 
The usual produce, flowers, clothes and textiles fill stalls, and the annual Santon Fair is set up beyond the grand Rotonde fountain at the end of Cours Mirabeau – every imaginable figure for your creche scene.
Most of the week we’re walking around familiar lanes, but for a couple of days we rent a car to see friends further afield. After a near-freezing morning, we’re off to La Ciotat, where we’re surprised to see hardy souls braving the water – from stand-up paddlers beyond the waves, to swimmers and sunbathers. 
Our friends Jean-Marc and Kristin (author of one of our favorite blogs, French Word a Day) have recently moved here from a few miles away, and after that chilly start to the day, it’s turned out to be perfect for a garden lunch. Kirk channels Van Gogh in one of Kristin’s hats, 
and we while away the hours together in the sunshine.
After stopping for some big box store supplies outside of Aix while we have the car, we take a side road home and pull off to take in a glorious sunset.
One more day with a car, and we’ve invited new friends Jim and Brenda to see more of the area – the lush and varied Luberon north of Aix calls us today, beginning with ochre-toned Roussillon, 
always a favorite.
Rewinding south towards Bonnieux, we pause at Pont Julien, 
a hearty Roman relic that survived when new bridges perished in floods over the centuries.
Just down the road is bonnie Bonnieux, where we pause for a look across the rooftops and the lower church – 
to the valley beyond. A few elegant doorways from centuries ago attest to the former wealth of the village,
popular again since Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence. Pulling away towards Lourmarin, we’re grabbed with the sight of the village tumbling down its hill, framed in glorious autumn colors – wow!
Between Bonnieux and Lourmarin we stop for a half kilometer hike down a path beside an old mill trace to a stone bridge built by the pre-Luther Protestants called Vaudois. They left Italy where they were known as Waldensians and where they developed considerable skill as stone masons. 
This low, short bridge over the insignificant Aigue Brun stream has as an anchor on the right, a stone concave fan. Those Vaudois cut and laid those stones with such skill that the bridge still stands after about 500 years.
Last stop, chic Lourmarin, with its eye-catching chateau. 
The guys pause for a coffee 
while Brenda and I peek in the shops.
Mt. St. Victoire greets us in the sunset as we approach Aix, 
where a surprise awaits us. Our friend Xavier told us to call him when we got back since he had something to bring us. He’s a collector of contemporary art, but has saved for us a piece from his parent’s estate that he gave to them years ago – of a place he knows we enjoy. Venice! 
We’ve been looking for something for this corner – how nice to have a piece with a personal connection!
Friends and family make life so delightful….the family arrives tomorrow!
by Anne Woodyard | Jul 28, 2017 | Aix en Provence, Aix en Provence market, Ambiance d'Aix, France
July 15, 2017
Aix en Provence, France
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
How about celebrating Mozart in the matchless city of Bath, England in November?
Always au revoir (until we meet again), never goodbye…I walk through the market just one more time, 
taking in the sights 
and smells…a bittersweet stroll. 
Yes, I’ll be back, but I always hate to leave!
Jean-Marc and Kristin e-introduced us to new friends, and we invite them over for a late morning nibble – 
it’s truly a pleasure to meet Dorothy and Steve, and we hope we’ll get to see them again sometime when they’re back in Aix for a visit.
Then it’s time to pack up and clean the apartment for the next lucky renters, walk to a nearby courtyard for a late string quartet (the gorgeous Fauré #2 in g minor for piano and strings – listen to it if you can!)
and bid farewell to lovely Aix – 
we’ll be back as soon as we can!
by Anne Woodyard | Jun 6, 2017 | Aix en Provence, Aix en Provence market, Ambiance d'Aix, Brahms, classical music, Festival de Pâques, France, Pavilion Vendome, provence, St. Jean de Malte
Easter Week 2017
Aix-en-Provence, France
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
We’re looking ahead to summer – why not join us on the fabulous Amalfi Coast , in Provence, or Amsterdam?
Yesterday we came back from L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in time for an evening of organ and string quartet in the peaceful elegance of St. Jean de Malte, in the Mazarine District. On the way back to our apartment we detoured, drawn to Place Richelme by the strains of Mozart….and found a “You’re the Maestro” event – as the Knights, a talented group from New York City, played the overture of The Marriage of Figaro. As we watched, a gentleman of a certain age masterfully took charge,
then a lady waved her dog’s paw to conduct, a lively young man jumped around on the podium as he took his turn, and from a window high above a mademoiselle aerobatically conducted 
as the orchestra turned to face her. What fun – you never can tell what will happen on the streets and squares of Aix!
Today we’re shopping for a picnic in the garden…some hearty prosciutto here, 
fruit there, 
popped into our market basket to enjoy by the blooms in Pavilion de Vendome. 
More music awaits us tonight – but first, an Aperitif Dinatoire (that means enough finger food to make a dinner!) at our home.
We’re delighted with this evening’s performance – entitled Brothers and Sisters. Four groups of siblings, in a variety of combinations, entertain us with Schumann, Brahms, Franck, and a world premier of Thierry Escaich’s String Sextet – 
the composer taking a bow after the musicians at the end. And the finale to this evening? A streetside crepe filled with nutella – yum!
by Anne Woodyard | May 26, 2017 | Aix en Provence, Ambiance d'Aix, Cours Mirabeau, France, Martiques
Monday, April 10, 2017
South of France
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
We’re looking ahead to summer – why not join us on the fabulous Amalfi Coast , in Provence, or Amsterdam?
Here we are, back home in Aix en Provence (by the way, there are still summer weeks available at Ambiance d’Aix if you’d like to enjoy the South of France for yourself!) – and what should we see but a fascinating vintage carousel set up by Good King René at the top of Cours Mirabeau? 
Now there are carousels at BOTH ends of the Cours! This one is such fun to watch, with its beautifully crafted pieces – a vintage mini-steamship, a biplane, and more…. there’s a designated line for those who want to ride in the rocket, which rises as the carousel circles, so that the occupant is above the ornate top, looking out over the bustle of the street – oh would our younger grandkids love this!
We’re always looking for new day trips to recommend to our renters, or to include on our Music and Markets Tours based here, and have had Martigues on our list for a while – so off we go, heading west around the Etang de Berre beyond the Marseilles-Provence Airport. We’ve seen photos of the town on Instagram, and as we walk into the historic center from the waterside parking lot I’m in search of what I remember admiring on the web….not this (yet another town that’s the “Venice of….”- in this case the Bouches -du-Rhone Department ), or this, pretty as it may be. 
Years ago, when we were shopping nearby to furnish our apartment, a restauranteur told us we had to see the “Mirroir des Oiseaux” the Mirror of the Birds, in Martigues…I imagined it was a pond or lake in the countryside, but no, it’s that photo I’ve seen on Instagram – 
right in the middle of town! Yes, this, is the prettiest spot in Martiques, for sure. I’m glad we’ve seen it, but I wouldn’t choose this as a day trip – not enough to enjoy here.
We take the long way home, around the Etang (salt-water lake), and wind uphill, intrigued by a walled village above – St. Mitre les Remparts. 
Is there anyone home? 
We see scarcely a body in the entire hamlet – just the curious cat above!
So now we’ve seen Martiques for ourselves…and another village, previously unknown. There’s always something waiting to be discovered!
by Anne Woodyard | Aug 16, 2016 | Aix en Provence, Aix en Provence market, Ambiance d'Aix, classical music, Food and Wine, France, Pavilion Vendome, Saint Sauveur Cathedral
Late July 2016
Aix en Provence, France
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
How about celebrating Mozart in the matchless city of Bath, England in November?
As I gathered the photos for this post, I realized that nearly all of them were about music or markets – no wonder we were inspired to name our tour company Music and Markets while here in the summer of 2002! The charms that drew us then still do! Although my delayed flight kept me from arriving in time for the market today, there’s still music right next door, and even though I’m jet lagged, how can I resist?
As I listen to the wonderful Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra, and their guest soloist, I walk around and take in the beauty of Saint Sauveur Cathedral, pausing in the oldest part, the baptistry, its Roman vestiges combined with elegant additions through the centuries.
France is experiencing a summer heat wave, which means I’m out early for errands on Friday – walking by the post office I notice many windows open to draw in as much cool air as possible before shutting tight in the heat of the day.
Our shutters are still open, but will be closed as soon as the burning sun hits them.
The market looks more beautiful than ever, and once again I’m amazed that this bounty and beauty is spread out EVERY day, just steps from Ambiance d’Aix!I stay inside til the air cools a bit, then enjoy an evening walk, circling through the buzz of restaurant – filled Place Cardeurs.
Saturday morning the BIG market returns (three times a week, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, it spreads throughout multiple squares and streets,
but there’s a produce market on Place Richelme every day).
First stop, the flower market, 
then home to plop them on the mantel, 
and out again to shop for lunch and dinner before walking to meet Kirk, who flies in today. These zucchini beignets, 
plus a fragrant melon and paper thin slices of prosciutto will make a perfect welcome-back lunch.
One stall after another begs for a photo – look at me, look at me!
Here’s my haul: this bowlful of yumminess will do just fine for lunch and dinner, no?
Sunday’s full of more Aixoise charms – an afternoon concert at the church, a stroll to Pavilion Vendome with friends
before dinner at our house, then a walk to Jas de Bouffan, Cezanne’s family estate, for an open-air showing of The Horseman on the Roof, 
some of which was filmed right in Aix.
More market bounty awaits us, delicious for both eyes and mouth, at a Monday night dinner at a neighbors home,
and the next day vendors tempt us with more summer tastes 
and colors. 
Just loving life in Aix en Provence!
The best way to describe us (Kirk and Anne Woodyard) is that we're interested in the stories that make the places we visit come alive.
We've visited Europe more times than we can count, learned some entertaining stories there, and met some warm and helpful people who also enjoy the wonders of music and life in Europe. Between our music-related travels, we split our time between our homes near Washington DC and in the the south of France. We look forward to sharing these stories and friends and experiences with you.