Mount Sainte-Victoire

Friday 9 Nov-

SO this one time, I climbed a mountain. And it also rained.

No, no, this isn't that other time you're thinking of. This is a new time. A second time, if you will. Or actually, I have climbed mountains many times. And it also rained. Maaaaany times. But this is the first time in FRANCE so therefore it is new and cool and let's just get on with it, shall we?

Mount Sainte-Victoire, or La Montagne Sainte-Victoire, or [mo' sah vik-twah], or [la mo-tah-ñ sah vik-twah], if you wanna get all faaaaancy and pronounce it in French like that, is this bad boy right here:

It's Paul Cézanne's famous mountain, famous because he painted it, that is. Legend tells of a legendary mountain whose kung fu skills were the stuff of LEGEND!

(haha)

Anyway, you can see MSV from many places in Aix, and some people can even see it from their homestays! It looms over the town, this funny shaped rocky outcropping. So yeah, I get why Cézanne thought it was a cool thing to paint. I see you, famous mountain, I see you.

Lots of people I know have already climbed the mountain. Fun fact: I once, in casual conversation, mentioned that I wanted to "climb MSV soon," but was told that "well it's not really a climb, it's more of a hike." Whatever lady, whatever. Fun fact: my fun facts are often not very fun.

Continuing on.

As you will soon see, this person was clearly misinformed as I did, indeed, climb Mount Sainte-Victoire.

Me and another Steph went with two other girls, who I hadn't gotten to get to know very well. So not only was this some good time in the Great Outdoors, but also some bonding time with new friends :) After buying snacks, lunch, and stocking up on good ol' H20, we headed to catch the 11:15p bus. Which did arrive! But the bus driver said he wasn't going that way.

Um, strange.

There would be another one soon, he promised. So we waited.

We waited an hour until the next bus arrived. This one was ready to drive us all the way to the MSV bus stop, which was good because it was already after noon and, especially since the sun sets so early now, we didn't have much time!

If we hadn't been with the other two girls who had hiked it before, we wouldn't have known where we were going. When you get off at the "bus stop," it is literally just the side of the road, about thirty minutes outside of Aix. You have to walk along an unmarked road for fifteen minutes before you see anything that remotely resembles a trail. What you have actually arrived at is the parking lot, which leads to the reservoir for all the water in the Aix-en-Provence region.

Why is the water so blue? No idea. But we drink it!

the dam behind us

So we walked along the top of the dam to get to the trail. Along the way, we peered over the edge. It's a looooooonnnnngggggggg way down...

Successfully having frightened ourselves, we continued on towards the cloud-covered mountain. Soon, we said, we will be in that cloud.

At first, it was pretty simple, albeit verrrry slippery. The ground had a lot of clay, interestingly enough. As we went onward, I found myself thinking less about the kind of rock I was walking on, and more about which rock I would walk on next and would it please just magically lift me to the summit. That is to say, the path got harder.

We chose the blue trail. I'm not sure what the other trails are, which colour corresponds to which difficulty, but blue was just the right amount of challenge for me. We hit some rocky parts that definitely required a scramble or two. But overall, it was a trail like any other I've encountered (in the White Mountains) that went straight along the ridge and up to the top.

reservoir behind me, about 1/4 of the way up

on the ridge

steph, me, melissa

definitely in a cloud

yup, look at all that cloud on me!

below the summit; cloud-covered top of msv is behind us

that is also the invisible top of the mountain behind me

view of the valley!

The descent was tricky in its own way because it was so slippery, but it did go much faster! Steph and I slipped and fell twice each, and Melissa only once. It's okay though, it's only because she's climbed MSV before... sure, that's why ;)

We were also hustling because we wanted to make it down before dark, which we ultimately did! We made it to the base, got to the bus stop, and on the bus all before the sun set; but by the time we were in Aix, it was dark. Which is kinda sad to walk home all sweaty and tired when it's dark out. Like, world look at me! I just climbed a mountain! IN THE RAIN! I WAS IN A CLOUD! DID YOU HEAR THAT? IN. A. CLOUD.

But it's okay, I mean, it's dark. Instead of looking mountain-conquering-cool, I just look creepy as all get-out walking around, sweating on a 50° evening with a pink backpack.

Overall, much safer than when I hiked in Ireland (sorry, guys). I'm really glad I got to go hiking, since I missed out on the big family White Mountain adventure this year. So, maybe it's not the Alps. But this is my first foreign mountain, and I think that deserves something.

Like pizza?

Like the best pizza ever?

YES!

What pizza am I talking about? LET ME TELL YOU.

On Saturday, the day after our hike, me, Steph, and Melissa, went to get dinner. Now usually I'm not up for Pizza, but it's been raining like crazy in Aix (and in Avignon) so some warm yumminess was welcome. Pizza Capri is great and all, but this is très magnifique. The place we went to I'd never even noticed before. It's got lots of cool colours and has a yellow sign that says "Pizzeria." It has a name, too, I just forget it. But it also has a wood-burning oven, and we all know that just makes all pizza so much better. Ah, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Apparently, it's a thing to not have menus in Europe. Instead, the just bring the huge menu sign over to your table and you all look at it for a while. Once you've decided, the waiter comes back, takes your order, and brings the menu to the next people who need it. This place had one travelling menu, and another that was always on the wall - the pizza menu, of course.

me and both menus

steph's pizza; mine in the background

We ordered our pizzas - I got the Parma, which was like a ham salad on top of regular pizza - and also some drinks to celebrate our awesome victory over Sainte-Victoire the day before. Steph had heard of this drink called kir which is crème de Cassis and white whine. It ends up tasting just like rosé, in case you were wondering. But crème de Cassis is also really interesting. It is a liqueor derived from black currants, which are commonly found in English literature like Peter Rabbit and that's all I know about black currants. 

cheersing the kir

oh, also they gave us a whole bottle of cold water. that NEVER happens here!

After a delicious meal with great new friends, and a wonderful hiking experience together, Mount Sainte-Victoire is a good place in my book! No bad memories whatsoever :) In fact, I'd totally do it again sometime.

xxo, S