It’s our first day waking up in Aix-en-Provence. Aix would be a great place to hang out all day, but we’re going to hit the road. There’s just too much to see and do in this part of France. Today we’re going to drive to Arles, and on the way, we’ll make a stop at a place called “Daudet’s Windmill.”
This part of France is great driving country. If we drive south from Aix, we come to Marseille. The Luberon mountains lie to the north. A lot of English speakers know the name “Luberon” from Peter Mayle’s memorable books about an englishman adapting to life in rural France. (Starting with “A Year in Provence“).
Go East, Young Man
Today we’re heading east. It’s a scenic drive through the country. The terrain is mostly flat until we skirt the Alpilles range of mountains. It’s a mix of oak trees, olive trees, and rocky outcroppings. Scrub brush called “maquis,” (pronounced “mack-ee”), line the roads.
If the term, “Maquis” sounds familiar to you, maybe it’s from a Travel Letter written about a visit to the French Resistance Museum in Lyon. French Resistance fighters here became known as “Maquis” because they’d ambush Nazi’s by jumping out from the maquis on the side of the road.
We’re on our way to Arles, but first we’re going take a detour slightly north toward the small town of Fontvieille. There’s a famous French writer who made his home there for a while.
Among his writings is a collection of short stories entitled, “Lettres de Mon Moulin”, (Letters from my Windmill). The windmill is just outside of Fontvieille, so we’re going to go check it out.
Alphonse Daudet
The writer’s name is Alphonse Daudet. He was hugely popular in France in the 19th century. The locals here have made the windmill at Fontvieille into a little Alphonse Daudet museum.
I’m familiar with Alphonse Daudet because some of his writing is simple, direct, and easy-reading for someone who’s trying to learn french. I read a few of Daudet’s stories for reading practice when I was trying to improve mine.
One story, “La Dernière Classe,” (The Last Class) was especially good. It took place in 1871, at the end of the Franco-Prussian war. Seems like France and Germany, (or “Prussia”, back in the day), have always been fighting each other. I don’t know how many times the area between them, Alsace-Lorraine, has changed hands. In 1871, it was France’s turn to lose.
The person who tells the story is a young schoolboy. He was on his way to school. He was late, as usual. As he walked through a village on his way to school, he noticed some odd things. Something wasn’t quite right.
La Dernière Classe
When he reached the school, instead of being scolded or smacked with a ruler for being late, the instructor, Monsieur Hamel, was nice to him. Not only that, but Monsieur Hamel was dressed in his good Sunday outfit. Something was definitely up. Then he found out…
Monsieur Hamel started the class by quietly explaining that France had lost the war with Prussia. Since France had lost, orders had arrived from Berlin that instruction in all French schools in the area would be done solely in german. Whoa.
Monsieur Hamel then solemnly informed the class that this would be his last day instructing them. This hit the young lad like a ton of bricks. He thought to himself,
“Ma dernière leçon de français!” (“My last lesson in french!”)
“Et moi qui savais a peine écrire!” (“And I barely even know how to write!”)
Then he started thinking of all the times he did everything he could possibly do to avoid doing his lessons. He thought of all the time he’d wasted by being late. Or skipping class altogether! Monsieur Hamel didn’t make it any easier on him.
He said, “It has been our misfortune to always postpone our lessons for tomorrow. Now the Prussians can say to us, ‘You claim to be French, but you can neither read nor write your own language!'”
It was rough that day, going through lessons in the old classroom. Everyone was miserable. Not just because of what was coming, but also because of the squandered opportunities of the past. The day passed. The last lesson was taught. And that was that.
Well, we won’t be squandering any opportunities today — we’re going to Arles!
To be continued…
Interesting!