Waking to a clear blue sky
(probably thanks to the Mistral still blowing too forcefully for any clouds to
have the time to materialise) we decided to swerve the dubious delights of the
Camargue and see where we could get to in Provence. Unsure whether we would
head straight to the Calanques, or maybe stop off somewhere beforehand, our
modus operandi for this trip got the better of us and we decided to have an
explore in western Provence first, perhaps visiting Aix-en-Provence itself
after a good few years of rolling past and saying we must!
Spoilt for choice of ACSI
sites in the area, Mrs B picked one that was a bus ride from Aix, to allow us
time to research how long we might need and what we would want to go and see.
Tipped off by our good friends Dave and Jan (who we were planning to meet in a
week or so further down the coast towards Béziers) that we might be up against
a busy period because of the Pentecost holiday weekend, we pulled in to Le Devançon
in the small town of Peynier and nabbed a very quiet and shady pitch. This site
is an attractive and small family run one, with a lot of attention to detail on
the styling, with upcycled furniture in the bar, and a complete avoidance of
the ‘serried ranks’ approach some sites have to laying out their pitches.
Our ‘research’ ended up
being augmented with a fair amount of chilling and before long we had developed
a routine of enjoying a morning walk into the picture perfect village for
shopping, meandering in the adjacent woods, lounging by the pool and generally
taking our time to decide what next. It’s a strange thing this rapid
acclimatization to a new ‘home’ – doesn’t always happen but if the vibe is
right, we find ourselves very quickly feeling comfortable and settling into
routines as if we’d been there for weeks!
It was just as well we had
chilled though, as first on our list of things to do in Aix was the Nazi/Vichy
transit facility at Camp des Milles on the outskirts of the city. Mrs B had
spotted this in some of her interweb research (our recent Rough Guide,
published in 2016 must have been compiled before it opened in 2012). It seems
fair to say that by and large the southern French swerve their complicity in
the establishment and running of the Vichy regime; something Camp des Milles is
clearly keen to rectify.
We decided to drive to the
Camp first thing after leaving Peynier, on the basis that it being France and an
established tourist destination, there would be lots of campervan friendly
parking, and then we could head over to the eastern side of Aix to a different
(closer to Aix) campsite overlooked by the heights of Mt St Victoire.
We made our way to the Camp
on the south west of Aix by using GoogleMaps to navigate the final few
kilometres, since there seemed to be a surprising lack of signage. Anyone
that’s used this App will know that it’s easy to be lulled into a false sense
of security, as it’s generally reliable (particularly for walking or bikes) –
but in a 7m camper sometimes a little sketchy – as it proved to be on this
occasion! Trying to get us to drive down what looked like dirt access tracks to
nearby allotments, we declined its suggested route and made our way back to a
main road to start again. Before long we could see the Parking sign opposite
the Camp but as we were about to turn in, just spotted a height barrier… and
the same thing at the adjacent public car park… Undeterred and convinced there
must be campervan friendly parking nearby – after all there’s always motorhome parking here in France –
isn’t there? – Mr B leapt out and nipped into the reception/entrance to the
Camp to find out where.
Returning with what could only
be described as a failed attempt to hide his incredulity, Mr B reported back
that there was no such parking and that we would have to find nearby on-street options
– sacré bleu! Located in what was, and still is in parts, a large industrial
area, we were lucky to find a space a short walk away and just off the main
road. We were also struck by the explanation by staff for the absence of
parking for camping cars (and the surprisingly small car park for visitors to
the Camp). Apparently there was an ongoing dispute with the local authorities about
access to land that had initially been set aside for parking following a change
of political leadership…
Ever conscious about
security when we leave the van unattended, we were more than a little perplexed
to see half a dozen fully armed soldiers patrolling and then getting into two
unmarked cars… It was only when we looked more closely that we saw a small
sticker across the bottom of the rear window, stating ‘Mision Vigipirate’ that
we felt marginally more relaxed but no clearer what was going on! And it was
only later when we had chance to look on the interweb that we discovered that ‘Plan
Vigipirate’ is France’s national security alert system that has been in place
since 1978! The current level of high alert since the Strasbourg shootings in
2018 is probably why we saw armed soldiers on patrol, but what exactly they
were doing near the Camp des Milles remained unclear.
Until that is, we attempted
to get in! With entrance to the camp through what could only be described as a
separate ‘perimeter’ guardhouse, with full body scanners and turnstiles not out
of place in an airport – or prison, we figured that the potential high risk of
attack from the Right/Nationalists etc. might explain the levels of security.
Having cleared the
guardhouse, we then had a sobering walk towards the actual entrance, with the
large ex-tile factory looming ahead in an entirely intimidating way, even
though it was bathed in glorious sunshine. We found it impossible not to admire
the persistence of the founders and their supporters in gaining permission to
open and run something the French state, let alone the region, is not renowned
for dealing with. In a nutshell, well before the Nazis occupied the south,
local French Vichy officials were complicit in (and sometimes, as we found out,
enthusiastically supporting and promoting) the Nazi genocide programme.
The exhibition itself packs
a truly visceral punch, combining individual stories of resistance and heroism
alongside harrowing accounts of the brutality of the genocide programme. Fascinatingly,
it also includes a psychological evaluation at the end that explores what it is
that makes some individuals resist, and others capitulate. Unfortunately,
whilst the rest of the exhibition includes translations in English, this
section doesn’t, although the really excellent 180 degree film at the end can
be followed with a smattering of French. The film also highlights genocides
more recent than the Nazi atrocities as a sobering reminder of a persistently dark
and evil side of human nature.
We discovered that the Camp
was unusual, in that it initially, between 1939 and 1940, housed around 3,500
artists and intellectuals, many of them German and Austrian, including Max
Ernst, who had fled to France as a safe haven from the Nazis in the 1930s, only
to be rounded up before the French surrender/armistice as ‘aliens’ at the start
of WW2, and then subsequently detained under the Vichy as undesirables. Many of
them were allowed to emigrate, mainly to the USA, following a lengthy
application process and often with some outside ‘help’ from those of influence.
Some of the original artwork can be found in the exhibition, as well as on the
walls of various parts of the factory that the detainees were held in.
Between 1941-42 Les Milles
was used as an internment and transit camp for Jews, mainly men, initially
awaiting visas to emigrate. As emigration became impossible, the Camp became a
centre of ‘rassemblement’ before deportation to the death camps of Auschwitz
and Dachau. And it was this period that saw local Vichy officials offering of
their own volition to send Jewish children as young as two to the camps,
without being requested to by the Nazis…
We spent three and a half
hours in the Camp (with only 23 other people over the whole day, we discovered)
and could have spent longer.
Notwithstanding the parking
challenges (extra odd when we also learnt that the Camp is a UNSECO
headquarters for its Chair of Education for Citizenship, Human Sciences and
Shared Memories), if you are ever anywhere near Aix, we’d thoroughly recommend
it from both a historical and contemporary perspective.
Each visit finishes with an
outdoor walk along a series of ‘memory’ boards that tell the tales of all types
of people who had a connection with the camp, ending on a sober note with a
single train wagon of the type that was used to transport detainees away to
further camps and ultimately their extermination. And on the side, the stencil sign that reads 8 horses or 40
people says it all…
The drive across the
beautiful countryside east of Provence towards Mt St Victoire was as
therapeutic as anyone could have wished for. And as we turned into the site in Beaurecueil
with the mountain of Sainte Victoire in the near distance, we felt ready for a
contemplative rest as we planned our visit to Aix itself.
We knew the site (Camping Sainte
Victoire) was small and we should have expected that being near to Aix it would
be busy – so we were lucky indeed to get one of only two remaining pitches in
the late afternoon of our arrival.
We were not so lucky with
the weather though, and just as one of Mr B’s holiday specials was being served
up outside, the skies darkened and rain began to fall. With the speedy
precision of a well-drilled military team (or so Mr B likes to think!) we had
the awning up and over us in double quick time, enjoying our dinner as the
heavens opened and the temperature plummeted. Retreating indoors to plan our
adventure day in Aix, we kept our fingers crossed for bluer skies the next day…
We clearly should have had
more crossed though, as the sunny thirty minute bus ride into Aix (oddly free
for reasons we couldn’t understand) terminated in a cloudy and then drizzly
day. Undeterred, we soon got our bearings in the old quarter, and decided that
the beautiful buildings and shady boulevards would be more enjoyable on a sunny
day – so we set off for a special treat for Mrs B – the (indoor) former studio
of Cézanne on the north side of the city.
After an interesting walk
and slow climb up the hill that used to mark the outskirts of the city in Cézanne’s
time (including passing our first ever sighting of an oak processionary moth
trap), we joined a small group waiting for the next timed session.
The studio, as you’d expect,
is not huge, so group size is limited to about 20 people at a time. Luckily for
Mr B (for whom art is not a strong point!) there was a group of American
tourists and guide having a special tour. All miked-up and with earphones for each
member of the group, the fact that the room was not that big meant Mr B was
able to listen in and improve his cultural capital yet again – this time
courtesy of the high level of interest in Cezanne amongst Americans. (We subsequently
discovered that it was thanks to a group of American art lovers that the studio
was saved from property developers in the 60s – thank you USA – not a phrase
that often passes Mr B’s lips!)
Eventually we were kicked
out to make space for the next group, and as we wandered back through Aix we
decided that in the event of being in the area again, we really must re-visit
the city and explore it more fully. As it was, those Calanques were calling and
we still hadn’t made it to the coast!
The next day (of course!)
was bright and sunny but we stuck to our plan to head further east, but to the
west of Marseille, to the delights and mystery of the ‘not’ Calanques as we now realised we should call them. With a
specific site in mind (small and family run – you get the vibe) we had misread
their reference to ‘direct access to the nearby calanques’, to mean ‘The’ Calanques,
east of Marseilles! But no, as we were rapidly learning, a calanque is just a
rocky cove, and not quite the same as the designated national park we had
initially thought we were heading to! Still, it looked interesting enough (and
there are no campsites in the actual Calanques!). And so, with excitement
mounting at getting to the coast at last, we set off with smiles on our faces…
S&J
No comments:
Post a Comment