Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Le Vent Rend Fou

Translation: The wind makes you crazy

Here in Provence, we are treated periodically to the crazy wind that comes in from the north/northwest, called the Mistral. It can blow for one day or many and after several days of the constant onslaught, it just plain wears you out... or makes you nuts. After trying to navigate one particularly nasty mistral in Isle sur la Sorgue, I ended up with vertigo for several hours afterward and really thought I was going bonkers until someone assured me that this feeling is common. Local lore says that if the wind lasts for more than one day, it will last three. If it continues longer than three, it will last six. After that it's a nine-dayer. By the time we get to nine days, which I've never experienced, everyone in Provence would be completely off their rocker and the psych wards would be overflowing, I'm sure.

Here in Aix en Provence we are partially protected from the wind because we are situated in a valley. Don't get me wrong, we get the Mistral, but in Arles or Avignon, for instance,  it can be far worse. If you're the economical type, there you can treat yourself to a free, full facial exfoliation simply by situating yourself properly during the mistral and its ensuing blowing sand.

The mistral wind has truly moulded the landscape of this region with its ferocity. In many places in Provence our trees grow at a slant because of the wind's force. Growers anchor their fruit trees on 3 sides to guard against toppling, and farmers plant rows of Cypress around their fields to protect against its violence. Traditional Provencal architecture has also taken the wind into account. Farm houses, particularly in the Camargue, are built facing south with very few or no windows on the north wall, and our bell towers are often fashioned out of lacy iron so the wind can blow through them rather than blow them over.


Yes, the Mistral can be a bad thing. In the summer when the landscape is hot and dry, it can pick up a spark and turn it into a ferocious and devastating fire in minutes. I was having dinner near Martigue one night last summer as one of these balls of fire roared past us. Everybody told me not to worry because the wind would move it south so fast it wouldn't touch us. They were right, it didn't, but an entire town  that was unfortunate enough to be in its path had to be evacuated. And the Mistral can turn a perfectly warm, inviting Mediterranean sea into an ice bath overnight with no thought at all for anyone's weekend beach plans.

There are good things about the Mistral however. The mistral is precisely the reason that Provence is Provence. First and most importantly, it helps us grow great grapes! But also, this cold, dry wind generally blows away the clouds and clears the air giving us the exceptional Provençal light that so many painters have spent decades trying to capture on canvas. Though the winds generally come in winter or spring, on a hot summer day a mistral can drastically change the temperature and the humidity in all of 5 minutes. The first time I felt this I was sure I was going to see a major tornado blowing down the Cours Mirabeau (a natural thought from one born in "Tornado Alley") and I got out my video camera in anticipation.

And the Mistral brings gifts. I have received several pots, laundry baskets and mop buckets that have blown in from elsewhere, as well as some completely useless things like (ick) various and sundry socks and underwear.

Several weeks ago after a particularly maniacal three day mistral, I opened my terrace door and found this.



Yes, a another gift from the Wind Gods. The barbecue grill had blown in from somebody else's terrace and landed smack dab in the middle of my terrace, on its feet and in perfect working order (I did put the grill on straight for the photo). The mistral also brought a gift for Arthur-the-Cat. You can just see his ears peaking up from that cozy comforter that landed so conveniently on his chair and which he accepted as if it were his due. Of course Monsieur Mistral also brought all the other debris that is laying on the terrace and I'm finally getting around to cleaning it up today so I can do the planting.

I don't need this present since I already have a little one that is just the right size for me and my little terrace but I'm leaving it exactly where it landed, at least for a little while.  I'm thinking that the next wind might drop a couple of steaks or some nice, fat sausages directly on the grill. Come to think of it, I'd better get the fire laid in advance for this great moment. 

And if I'm really lucky, or unlucky depending on where I'm sitting at the time, this might blow in as well.


The guy above and behind me stores his bike on the roof. There is another one on the roof above that. If the Wind Gods stay with me, my terrace should be their direct target. 

But now that I look at this photo, I realize that my neighbor's lush forest of pot plants has disappeared. Pouf! Gone with the wind. Well shitballs, I wonder who got those?


Photobucket

20 comments:

  1. You are just too funny. Only you would find a grill on your terrace, standing upright, ready to 'cue. Obviously you've done something right, in this life or the one before it. xx

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    1. We'll know I've done something right if those steaks arrive this weekend!

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  2. What a lovely post! Right now we could do with a bit of Mistral to blow those rainy clouds away.

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    1. I know, isn't this dreariness getting old? I'm finding myself cooking all the time and then feeling the overwhelming urge to eat it all, rather than give it away.

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  3. I love your idea of the mistral providing a free exfoliation. Maybe your neighbor took in his/her plants before the Mistral built up to its full force. I can't wait to move to Provence and experience all of this first hand.

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  4. You painted a lovely picture of the mistral, and now I understand the benefits and the downside. Here, in SW France we don't have a mistral, but we do get some mighty winds, and our houses are built with their backs to the direction (North) of them. We were going to open up a window in the north facing wall to make a kitchen door, but after a bout of severe winds decided that it was not a good idea, and that the original builders knew what they were doing when they made the entire wall virtually windowless. But we have never had anything 'handy' come our way as in your BBQ! All we do is lose tarpaulins!

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  5. Mistral facial?? Love it. You may be on to something.

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    1. I think I am on to something. How do you suppose I could market that?? :)

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    2. Ask a scarf stylist...anyone who can get people to pay for that can come up with anything...

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  6. Great post, I loved the barbecue landing on your terrace. Did you lose anything to the Mistral?

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  7. Sounds like more fun than searching for treasures in the secondhand markets. You never know what might blow away from or land on your terrace. And you don't even have to get on a bus!

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  8. remember the film chocolat?
    hope johnny depp gets blown in your terrace ;)

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  9. We get a lot of wind here too in Montpellier, but with nothing like the intensity of the Mistral in Provence. I've never had a barbecue land in my garden for example, you jammy wotsit!

    Mind you, if it's not the Mistral, we get the Tramontane from the other direction. It's all go! :)

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  10. I’ve been in Provence when the Mistral blew through! While planning our trip for March I read about the nasty Mistral, how it blows up fast. Living in “Tornado Alley” and understanding the danger of high winds I didn’t want to get caught out in this which is exactly what happened. We were driving from Nice to Avignon and stopped at one of the small towns to visit a church. That is where we met your famous Mistral! Thanks goodness is was of the one day variety. Nothing to spoil a beautiful trip! Hope you get lucky and those steaks end up on that grill!
    Hope your week is beautiful......

    ~Emily
    The French Hutch

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  11. and I thought that we got a lot of wind here..... My hair dresser in the UK had her trampoline (that the kids use) lifted high over her hedge into the neighbours garden, thankfully other than a slightly mis-shapen trampoline no damage was done. People wonder why I refuse to go out on my bike when it is windy!! Keep well Diane

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  12. I have been in Provence during the Minstral and feel like some of that craziness stayed with me. We also have a strong Northeastern wind here in Switzerland called La Bise, like a kiss of death.

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  13. I know the Mistral is a strong wind and I felt it many times when visiting family in Provence. But, I’ll tell you we have stronger winds here sometimes. Just last Thursday a strong wind came from Alabama and a house was swept off its base, destroyed 2 cars and landed in pieces in a field nearby. Well I guess it was a little tornado – but we get quite a few here in Georgia.

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  14. Hi, Just clicked on the link to your blog from "finding me". Really enjoyed reading your entries. Especially the renovation house. I am in awe of your talents.

    I will be back.

    Denise
    love from England
    denisefrombolton.com/

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  15. Morag here from New Zealand, Delana.
    what a lovely blog you write, inspiring to say the least. I have just entered the world of the blogosphere and am trying to make mine much more interesting!
    Why indeed should a 50 something lady NOT move to France?! I am 62 and adventuring in the Med this summer, you don't know of anyone who needs an energetic "Jenny Anything" to help them for a couple of weeks in July do you? I have been let down by a host and now have a gap to fill in my itinerary! Help anyone!
    Great blog, great lifestyle, go for it:)
    Morag

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