Le Mont Saint- Victoire

This weekend was one of those that makes the whole experience worth it- take two of our attempted plan to climb Le Mont Saint-Victoire, the mountain just outside Aix, famously painted by Cezanne. The forecast stayed good, so Alison came to stay Friday night, and Saturday we got up early in the morning and took the 6.30 bus to Aix. In Aix we stopped for a spot of petit-dejeuner at Le Pain Quotidien, an amazing breakfast bar, very Aix chic (Aix is named the Paris of the south, and the only other Pain Quotidien is in Paris). It has a long communal table and, wait for it....sugar free granola! I was in seventh heaven (my obsession with breakfast is not quite shared by Becca and Alison) and I had a coffee, and a 'parfait' of fresh fruit, granola and fromage blanc. 

After breakfast we wandered the market for a while, and then headed over to the bus stop to get the shuttle bus to the bottom of the mountain. It wasn't exactly well signposted but we set off on what seemed to be the most beaten track, and shortly rounded a corner to see this...

The sun was out and it was difficult to believe it was only mid Feb, and here we were, taking in the breathtaking view. The footpath crossed the bridge of the dam and wound round the water, and up through some scrubby woodland. The mountain is not accessible during the heat of summer because of the all the shrubbery- there is often a high risk of fires. It was an ideal time to walk it, because the day was mild, but not too hot, and the climb was difficult- before long we had stripped off all layers. 

However, we were not extremely well prepared for hardcore climbing- and eyebrows were raised when we trekked in the tourist office that morning in converse, with our Longchamp bags and asked how we could get to the mountain. 'Vous etes equippees?' (Are you prepared?) The woman asked, once, twice, three times. And when we got to the dam there was a signpost to the mountain that read, firstly 'this climb can be dangerous.' We had looked at the route and researched the time it would take, and given ourselves plenty of time and were halfway to the summit by 12, when we stopped for lunch. There are two peaks of Le Mont Saint-Victoire and climbing the first we were sheltered. However, as soon as we reached the summit of the first peak the wind hit us with such force we struggled to keep upright. We tried to continue for five more minutes but the path was becoming more uneven and the rocks were slippy. Without grippy footwear and two free hands, it seemed silly to continue despite warnings so we turned round and came back down. Though a little disappointed, it was a beautiful climb and we were all in agreement that it was the right decision to make. 

the view of the second peak from half way down the first peak