PROVENCE - PROVINCE OF LIGHT
Quelle région jouit d’une plus grande réputation que la Provence pour ses multiples jeux de lumière et sa lavande ! Ce n’est pas un hasard si plusieurs des peintres les plus célèbres comme Cézanne, Picasso, Chagall ou Vincent Van Gogh et beaucoup d’autres ont été bouleversés par ces paysages. Ils ont puisé leur inspiration dans le jeu du soleil avec ces paysages naturels variés. Quand on pense que Cézanne a peint la Montage Sainte Victoire (montagne de calcaire et de pierre) plus de 200 fois, on peut alors s’imaginer combien d’impressions la Provence a à nous offrir.
Mais l’ancienne province n’est pas attractive que pour les peintres. Toutes les expressions culturelles sont représentées en Provence. Que ce soit le théâtre, la musique, le folklore et sans oublier la cuisine. Là où les herbes de Provence, célèbres dans le monde entier poussent à l’état sauvage, le visiteur succombe au plaisir des papilles en passant la soirée à l’une des terrasses de restaurant (mais mais à partir de 20h00 uniquement) et en dégustant de l’agneau merveilleusement préparé avec un délicieux vin local. C’est ainsi que l’on apprécie la douceur de vivre à la française.
PROVENCE - PROVINCE OF SCENTS
Provence and the human sense of smell seem inextricably linked with each other. The herbal scents of rosemary, garlic and lavender are involuntarily pouring into the nose at the thought of the region in the south of France. Fields of lavender reaching all the way to the horizon coupled with the scent of lavender in the air are just one of the many aspects of this unique landscape.
CORRENS
Lush meadows, dense forests, water gushing fountains and a most delicious cuisine is what you find in Correns which is located in the "Provence Verte" the green Provence. It truly is a picture-perfect idyll - and France's first "organic village“. The path to this idyllic town leads through a bottleneck. The stone bridge in front of the village is so narrow that you’ll have to pay attention to not scratch the fenders of your car. Below the bridge the river Argens splashes in its blue-green bed with water so clear that you can count the trout from above. Correns is located in the heart of the "Provence Verte", which extends between the “Gorges du Verdon” in the north, the “Massif des Maures” in the southeast and the whale hump of the “Sainte-Baume” in the southwest.
Dense oak and pine forests cover the hills of the green Provence. The rivers here also have plenty of water in midsummer. The logo of the region is a green pond into which a drop of water drips, a proud reminder of the region’s wealth of water. Every village square is adorned with a splashing fountain. During the summer you won’t find this in any other region southern France.
You have to want to go to Correns. Souvenir boutiques, parking lots for buses or real estate agents are a rarity . The region is off the beaten track. Those not daring to leave the well-known Routes Nationales will miss the Provence Verte. "It's not by accident that you're getting to Correns," according to Monsieur Sadion, "You have to want to go to Correns." For those who have successfully made it over the bridge, the familiar French provincial mix of Hôtel de Ville (town hall), church, bar and boulangerie (bakery) awaits you on the village square. On the ocher facade of the town hall is written in large, carefully painted letters: "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité". From the other corner of Place Général de Gaulle, a Madonna statue smiles at you. In the morning, the smell of fresh baguettes rises up the nose. Students on the way to school greet with a kind "Bonjour, Monsieur" or "Bonjour, Madame". Marie-Ange has just pulled up the shutters to her grocery and the first customers at the store are engrossed in a morning chat.