My Transplanted Provence

One of my favorite places to visit is the beautiful southern area of France known as Provence, with its blue sky, vivid bright colors, fragrant flowering plants, medieval villages perched on hillsides, olive groves, vineyards, Alpine foothills and, of course, the Mediterranean beaches near Cassis, Saint-Tropez, Cannes, Nice and further along the French Riviera into Italy. For a quick overview, see this short video.

The coast of Provence has some of the earliest known sites of human habitation in Europe. Primitive stone tools found there date back to 1.05 million years BC. This is patent evidence that even some of my earliest ancestors found the area conducive to settling down, finding food, building homes - although the earliest were cave dwellings - and raising families. Eons after these cave dwellers, the first pastoral peoples came, bringing flocks, agriculture and even industry. There is evidence that the first pottery production in France began in Provence, around 6000 BC. Various new peoples discovered the area, displacing or blending in with the earliest settlers until finally the two main groups were Celts and Ligurians.  Then the Ancient Greeks discovered the area and created their first permanent settlement at Massilia (modern Marseille), making it one of the major trading ports of the ancient world.

But where the Greeks would settle, the Romans would not be far behind. Ultimately the Romans would conquer the whole of Gaul, later to become France. When I first studied Latin, I well remember working my way rather tediously through selected parts of the Commentarii de Bello Gallico written by Julius Caesar about his experiences in the Gallic War, as well as his frequent references to "Provincia" (now Provence). Since Caesar's days, many peoples have come and gone in the area: some willingly, some not. The last warlike invasions occurred there on 15 August 1944 when the Free French, accompanied by other Allied troops, had to reconquer their own country. Nowadays, invaders come from all over the world, armed principally with their pocketbooks and credit cards, to enjoy "la belle vie" as it is thoroughly enjoyed there.


The last time I visited Provence was in 2009 when Healer Sis was visiting. While we certainly enjoyed traveling and seeing the beautiful sights, upon our return to Switzerland we realized that we already had a lot of the ambiance of Provence right here, but without the crowds. Vineyards and mountains are here in abundance. I have a lovely little beachfront right on Lake Geneva. Best of all, it's only a five-minute walk from here. As for other typical sights of Provence, such as lavender

and brilliant scarlet poppies,

I can see them every day as I ride my bicycle.

In fact, all I have to do is look out on my balcony

and I have my transplanted Provence right before my eyes!