A Magical French Sculpture Park

Charente-Maritime is a small département in western France, wedged between Bordeaux to the south and Brittany further north. It makes up part of France’s Atlantic coastline and is best known for places like the fortified seaport of La Rochelle and Île de Ré, a favorite vacation spot for Parisians seeking sun and sea.

Charente-Maritime also hosts Rochefort, where artisans painstakingly recreated Hermione, the frigate that Lafayette sailed to bring aid to the American Revolution. And it was on the nearby island of Aix that Napoleon last touched French soil before his exile in St. Helena.

But not all of Charente-Maritime’s charms are seaside. If you go inland a few miles, you’ll find a little-known treasure: one of the world’s great sculpture parks, Les Lapidiales.

A History of Stone

The region has been a source of stone since Roman times, and near the town of Pont-d’Envaux sits an abandoned quarry that has been worked since the 12th century. It is in a quiet area, in the middle of a forest—not a place you would visit unless you had a reason to.

In 2001 Alain Tenenbaum, a local artist, created that reason. He had the idea of turning this quiet spot into a sculpture park. So he began raising funds and when he had enough he started inviting sculptors.

One of the features of the quarry is that it is full of vertical walls, perfect for carving. Tenenbaum separated the quarry into zones, each with a different theme, then let the sculptors have at it. The walls of the quarry are big—some as high as six meters—so the carvings are very large.

Step by step, year by year, the quarry was transformed. Dozens of sculptors from around the world came and carved, each leaving their mark. And the results are quite extraordinary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHPBfVfXEeQ

But there’s one problem: the quarry has run out of space.

A Galaxy of Art

So Alain Tenenbaum, never one to rest, had a new idea. He would create a sister site, La Galaxie des Pierres Levées (the galaxy of raised stones.)

Near Les Lapidiales, Tenenbaum built his new sculpture park, this time in a large field. The theme is world culture, featuring art from the five continents. Tenenbaum has arranged hundreds of stone pedestals in the form of a spiral, as his idea is to create a showcase of art, expanding ever outward like a galaxy.

Every year, 5-7 sculptors are invited to be artists in residence. They are given a monolith—a block of stone about 2.5 meters high. This they carve over a period of several months, and the resulting sculpture is mounted on one of the pedestals in the galaxy. To date there are over 60 completed sculptures, with the goal of eventually having 2-300.

World Culture

The program began in 2012 and each year artists are invited from a different part of the world, such as the Caribbean and the Baltic Sea—this year from Japan and Korea. They do their sculpting at the entrance to Les Lapidiales, so you can admire their work as it takes shape, and sometimes have a chat.

The goal of the program is not only to create new art for the Galaxy, but also to share the culture of the artists’ home region. So during their residency, they visit local schools to discuss their country and its culture, sometimes accompanied by poetry readings or short theatrical productions.

Today Les Lapidiales and La Galaxie des Pierres Levées attract over 75,000 visitors a year, but they are big enough that they are never crowded. This is certainly a unique spot to consider for visitors to this western corner of France.

 

A Gem on France’s Mediterranean Coast

It’s one of the prettiest towns on France’s Mediterranean coast and one of the country’s sunniest. But while international tourists flock to Nice, Antibes, and St-Tropez, lovely little Sanary-sur-Mer remains relatively undiscovered.

Sanary was founded as a fishing village in the 16th century. Fishermen still ply their trade there, and today the town is a popular retirement destination for the French, with its bustling shops and cafés and one of the best weekly markets in France.

Read all about this pretty coastal town in Perfectly Provence!

A Dog’s Life in France

Ever since we got married, Val and I have had a dog. First there was Rodin, who moved with us to Switzerland when we took jobs there. Then there was Lucca, who flew back and forth from California to Provence when we started living there part-time. Now it’s Mica, our cute little border collie mix, who has traveled between our two homes plenty of times. 

Mica’s not crazy about the long flight (neither are we), but once she gets to France she loves her life there. And we love our life with her–she keeps us active, helps us meet people, and shares her love all around.

I’ve written a fun little article about having a dog in France that you might enjoy, in France Today.

The Beating Heart of St-Rémy

St-Rémy has a lot of great cafés and restaurants, but there’s one that really stands out: the Bar-Tabac des Alpilles.

It’s not just that the food is good, it’s also that it’s comfortable any time of day. Whether it’s a coffee and croissant before hitting the weekly market, a glass of wine in the afternoon, or a delicious meal, you can find it here. And even more, it’s an important part of the local fabric of St-Rémy, while also being welcoming to tourists.

Sitting at your table, you might hear Americans on one side of you discussing their travel plans and, on the other side, there will be workers unwinding after a long day. Patrick, the owner, calls his place “A mix of modern tourism and local identity.” It’s family-friendly, and I often see kids there with their parents, having a Coke or a juice. It’s a must-stop for your next visit to St-Rémy.

Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!

See the Best of Provence in One Week!

Provence is one of the most popular regions of France, and for good reason—think fields of golden sunflowers and lazy afternoons sipping rosé. Visitors flock to two main areas, the glamorous Côte d’Azur in the east, and the lavender-scented western part made famous by A Year in Provence.

These are so far apart that it’s hard to cover both in a week, so I’ve written a guide to the western part, home to famous towns like Avignon and Aix-en-Provence. It provides you with an itinerary with a mix of historical sites, charming hilltop villages, and some of the best restaurants in Provence. The stops are in no particular order, so you can mix and match as you please.

Read all about it in Frenchly!

The French Pharmacy is the Traveler’s Best Friend

Let’s say you’re vacationing in France and have a medical problem—not a serious one like a broken leg, but still something that needs attention. Maybe you’ve fallen and scraped your leg. Or maybe you’ve got a scary-looking rash, or a headache that won’t go away. Your dream vacation is ruined! Where can you turn for help?

You might think of finding a doctor, but that’s hard to do on short notice. Instead, go to a pharmacy, the first line of defense in the French healthcare system. The staff there will be able to help you with many of the problems that might occur during your vacation.

French pharmacies can be a traveler’s best friend, but they are different from American pharmacies, and it’s important to know the differences.

Read all about it in Frenchly!

 

Trouble in Paradise

Imagine the scene:

You are in a giant storage facility in middle-of-nowhere Provence. It’s a blazing hot day and you’ve just gathered some items from your storage locker.

You are about to leave when suddenly the power goes out. You find yourself in the dark, your wife is trapped in an elevator, and there is no one in the building to help.

You suddenly feel very far from home.

Ah, isn’t travel fun? Yes, this is what happened to Val and me last summer and, happily we lived to tell the tale. But it wasn’t easy! Burly firefighters might have been involved.

Read all about it in Frenchly!

A New Life in France: A Photographic Journey

Jamie Beck was a sought-out photographer working for top brands like Cartier and Veuve Clicquot. She had legions of Instagram followers and what seemed like a rich, fulfilling life. But something was missing.

As Beck tells us in her brilliant new book, An American in Provence:

“I had it all. A ‘dream life’ with a cool job, amazing clients, luxury trips, designer clothes, a cute little vintage Mercedes convertible, a house in the Hamptons, a French-looking apartment by Riverside Park, and I could eat at any restaurant I wanted, any night of the week in New York. Why on earth was I so unhappy?”

Beck realised that all the personal sacrifices required to “make it” were squeezing the life out of her. Photography fed a deep artistic need, but working for others year after year, adapting to their needs and their timetables, had extinguished her creative spark. She desperately needed a break.

And so she moved to Provence. And now has written a book about her life-changing experiences in this magical corner of France.

I really enjoyed An American in Provence, with its fabulous photos and compelling story. Read all about it in France Today!

Prehistoric Cave Paintings in Marseille

In 1991, Henri Cosquer made a remarkable discovery: he found a grotto filled with prehistoric paintings. Even more remarkable is that the cave is only accessible via an underwater passageway.

Cosquer was a professional diver, leading underwater tours near Marseille. He also dove for pleasure, exploring the nooks and crannies of the rugged coastline.

One day, Cosquer noticed a narrow underwater passageway. Intrigued, he followed it and found himself in a labyrinth of tunnels going here and there. Over multiple dives, he followed these tunnels until, one day, he surfaced inside a cave filled with prehistoric paintings.

This has now been recreated so you can visit it (no swimming required, thankfully.) The French are brilliant at this, having previously recreated the caves at Lascaux and Chauvet. It’s a must-see sight in Marseille, and is an easy walk from the Old Port area.

Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!

Part-Time Living Abroad

Have you ever dreamed of living abroad, sipping a glass of wine in a charming café, or maybe on a sandy beach?

It sounds appealing, but it’s hard to pick up stakes and move to a foreign land. Who wants to leave their friends and family behind? And what about doctors and dentists and all that?

One way to have the best of both worlds is to live abroad just part of the time, becoming a part-time expat. That’s what Val and I do, and recently International Living Magazine convened a panel of part-time expats to discuss their experiences.

I was honored to be one of the panelists, along with others who make their overseas homes in Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica. If you’d like to hear what we had to say, just follow this link.

Happy dreaming!