provence culture Archives - Curious Provence

The Bells of Bonnieux

September 22, 2020 by ashleyt 8 Comments

Our Experience with the Church Bells of Bonnieux

Vincent gils bonnieux carillonneur. Church bells of bonnieux. — Vincent Gils, Carillonneur (bell-ringer) of the Èglise Haute de Bonnieux.

Recently, we stayed in the hilltop village of Bonnieux in the Luberon valley of Provence where we were treated to a singular sensory experience. We reached out to Vincent Gils, the only carillonneur (bell-ringer) left in the Vaucluse area and one of few left in France.

Vincent’s father, Bernard, taught him to ring the bells. Before him, his father was the custodian of this church, at the summit of Bonnieux, with 900 years of history. His father says that “Pour moi, mon clocher, c’est un piano volant” (for me, my bell, is like a flying piano). Nowadays, churches in France have automated bells. However, in Bonnieux, bells are rung by hand for mariages, baptisms, funerals and religious festivals. Vincent has been doing it for the last thirty years. He agreed to allow us to witness the ringing of the bells as he was on that day going to pay homage to a villager, a good friend, that passed away that week.

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Le Temps Retrouvé Heritage Festival in Les Alpilles

March 5, 2020 by ashleyt Leave a Comment

Le Fête du Temps Retrouvé can be badly translated as a festival of “time regained” or “time found again.” Essentially, it’s a festival that aims to transport you back to a bygone area that celebrates village community, savoir-faire (craftsmanship) and recreates the atmosphere of the previous century.

This heritage festival occurs every year at the end of August in the town of Maussane-les-Alpilles. I have to say that it’s one of my favourite festivals. It’s usually on the last Sunday of the month. If you miss it, there is also a similar festival called Journée à l’Ancienne in Eygalières in the Autumn.

Le Temps Rétrouvé is mostly on the Main Street in Maussane-les-Alpilles where you’ll find all the stores have stands in front of them celebrating traditional craftsmanship. For example, even the hairdresser is dressed in vintage clothes and has a display of beautiful vintage scissors and shaving implements. You can easily spend the day wandering the stalls, having a pastis at the local café and people watching. See end of article for more festivals in Provence.

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Must See in Provence: Abrivado-Bandido

July 18, 2016 by ashleyt 8 Comments

Abrivado-Bandido in Provence: A Village Event

This past weekend, in our small town, there were constant animations of live music, parades, and lots and lots of bull running to celebrate Bastille Day. While visiting Provence, you must see one of these abrivado-bandido events.

Before the weekend tall steel barriers were installed all along the main road to protect against charging bulls. Announcements in just about every language are made to let people know that you just might find an enormous black bull on the road!

The abrivado-bandidos in Maussane occur in the late morning rather than in the evening. This is ideal as, although the young kids who’s job it is to try and stop the bull are younger, it doesn’t attract the heavy drinking pastis atmosphere of the older youths; leading to some pretty dangerous behavior! Last year, we lived in Noves and oh my the whole village smelled like aniseed. Not that I’m anyone to judge with my copious rosé drinking…

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Transhumance St Remy de Provence

May 16, 2016 by ashleyt 4 Comments

**The next Transhumance in Saint Remy de Provence is Monday, May 21st

This morning Robin and I drove over the Alpilles to see the Transhumance pass through the town of Saint Remy de Provence. The Transhumance is when, in the Spring, the sheep from the southern plains are led back up to the cooler mountains to graze on the fresh grass there. There are 2000 sheep that pass through the small town of Saint Remy; it’s quite the site to see!

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