workshop information
post trip: paris | post trip: provence
Quintessential Provence: 11-18 Mai 2008
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Day 1: Sunday May 11
Bienvenue à Aix-en-Provence! After you’ve arrived and settled in to your ideally situated hotel in the center of town, come join us for our champagne reception at 17h00 in your new surroundings. As the evenings are long and warm at this time of year, we’ll take a pleasant stroll down the Cours Mirabeau on the way to experience our welcome dinner on the delightful terrace of a restaurant bien Aixois. Apéritif + Dinner
Day 2: Monday May 12
After breakfast, enjoy our personalized visit of Aix this morning. Your guide will help you appreciate the history and the architecture of this charming town and you’ll understand why two of its most famous citizens—Emile Zola and Paul Cézanne—wrote about and painted this town their entire lives. Have lunch in a restaurant of your choice before we head for the atelier Cézanne which displays the objects and furniture used by the artist in his still-life paintings. Lunch
Day 3: Tuesday May 13
Tuesday is market day in Aix and the town comes alive with cheese, vegetables, flowers, spices, bread, pottery, jewelry and art. Spend your morning roaming the city to your heart’s content, enjoy the open markets on the Place Verdun, visit the many marvelous art galleries and boutiques. In the afternoon, the curator of the recently renovated Musée Granet will give us a private tour of the museum. This evening, we are invited for an apéritif in the home of a renowned Aixoise artist. Aperitif
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Day 4: Wednesday May 14
We’ll discover some of the specialties of the region today
with a visit to a Santon artisan, the fabrique de bonbons
where Aix’s trademark calissons are made, and end with a
dégustation de vin of Provençal wines. In the afternoon,
you’ll be free to visit Aix’s very own spa, les Thèrmes Sextius,
built on the vestiges of the old Roman baths. Lunch
Day 5: Thursday May 15
The breathtaking coastline directly to the south will be the focus of our jaunt today. As we wend our way to the relaxing port town of Cassis, we’ll see Cézanne’s beloved Montagne Ste-Victoire before passing through the very areas in which Marcel Pagnol’s fictional character Jean de Florette tried desperately to create his dream of life in the country. The startling beauty of les Calanques—the majestic limestone cliffs which form seven natural deep rocky inlets between Cassis and Marseille—is not to be missed. You can relish a bouillabaisse on the port and shop in the typical boutiques before your boat ride to the Calanques.
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Day 6: Friday May 16
You’ve heard of those lush lavender fields and seen pictures of the brilliant red poppies of the Lubéron about which Peter Mayle wrote so lovingly. We’ll explorethe markets in Lourmarin, where Albert Camus lies in rest, before enjoying lunch in the brightly colored town of Roussillon with its astonishing outdoor ochre mines. Breathtaking Gordes and the Abbaye de Sénanque, one of the last living abbeys in France, are on the agenda before we returning to Aix. Lunch.
Day 7: Saturday May 17
Would you like to discover the secrets of la cuisine provençale? You’re invited to participate in an extraordinarily unique experience in the home of a local chef. Join Chef Marc Héracle in his elegant château 20 kms outside Aix for a cooking class this morning. After your meal preparation, you’ll visit the beautiful grounds of this family-inhabited chateau, walk the gardens and visit the orchards. You will then savor what you’ve prepared under the shade of the linden tree in his courtyard.
If cooking isn’t your tasse de thé, would you rather play golf? If you like the impressionists’ paintings, then sample the magnificent golf course of Chateau l’Arc and tee off with the French.
Cézanne’s beloved Sainte-Victoire mountain will be just in front of your eyes at the tee 1 and 5.
We’ll finish our séjour provençal with a champagne aperitif de clôture together this evening before you set out for your final Provençal dinner in your favorite restaurant. Apéritif
 
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Day 8: Sunday May 18
Return to SRQ today unless you have more time to spend in the area. We’ll help you figure out options and give you suggestions.
* = no group meal today
† = optional activity w additional cost