KEY POINTS:
The rooms still bear a faint trace of a thousand unfiltered Gauloises but Le Pigonnet, the All Blacks home during their two stays in Aix-en-Provence, is still something of a jewel.
The gated hotel sits at the end of a long driveway less than a kilometre from Aix's historic old town, which is just 25 minutes north of Marseille, where the All Blacks play their World Cup opener against Italy.
Inside the players will find old Gallic charm laced with an ever-so-slightly fading grandeur.
Art adorns the walls of the reading room (unless they have taken French lessons the All Blacks might struggle with Le Figaro and Le Monde) and most rooms open on to a terrace that overlooks the hills that provide the backdrop to Provence.
The big house has magnificent gardens that once provided inspiration to local hero Paul Cezanne, the most famous artist of the region.
Cezanne's work was largely derided during his lifetime but has taken on a greater significance posthumously. He is said to have bridged the gap between 19th century impressionism and the new line of artistic enquiry brought in by the new century, cubism. There is a quote, attributed to both Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, that Cezanne was "the father of them all".
While tales of Cezanne's mastery of design, colour and composition might fly over, say, Byron Kelleher's head, it should excite Anton Oliver, whose love of art is well documented.
The All Blacks have a nutritionist, Glenn Kearney, who will no doubt advise against the wholesale consumption of Le Pigonnet's breakfast which eschews the standard bacon and eggs for great chunks of ripe cheeses and ubiquitous baguettes.
But you, the average punter on the tour of a lifetime watching both the All Blacks and seeing the French countryside, pig in. Fill your boots. Live the sort of life you'd lead if you could write your own script.
Or follow the scripts of others, including Mayle's acclaimed recollection of his first year living in Provence. Understand that when travelling through this region, and France as a whole, food isn't a means of refuelling, it is part of the fabric.
"His moustache, sleek with pomade, quivered with enthusiasm as he rhapsodised over the menu: foie gras, lobster mousse, beef en croute, salads dressed in virgin oil, hand-picked cheeses, desserts of a miraculous lightness, digestifs. It was a gastronomic aria which he performed at each table, kissing the tips of his fingers so often that he must have blistered his lips," Mayle wrote. It is easy to see why he is one of few Englishmen to be held in wide regard in this part of the world.
Your own chapter could start in Aix, just 15 minutes drive from the TGV _ France's wonderfully efficient high-speed train service _ where every second shop front along its leafy boulevards and around its plazas displays a sumptuous variety of foods.
Le Deux Garcons is the oldest and one of the best regarded eateries but you won't be struggling for choice.
Don't limit yourself to Aix though. Every town in the surrounding countryside is a postcard.
Chateauneuf-le-Rouge is the heart of Provence's gastronomical experience and hosts a festival every July to prove it. Fuveau, Cabries, Velaux. Wind yourself through the region.
But try to get a room in Le Pigonnet, though it might be difficult if the All Blacks are booked in at the same time. When asked whether the staff were looking forward to the All Blacks stay in September the previously bubbly receptionist took on a conspiratorial tone.
"I'm not allowed to say, we all signed something."
What, like a confidentiality agreement?
"The whole world might know but we can't say," was all she offered. Then she recovered her poise, smiled and said something like "but who cares''.
C'est la vie.
************************************************************************
Catching the light
Provence is an artist or art buff's haven, so that should keep Anton Oliver happy at least. It's all about the light, you see. As Andre Derain said: "This region is full of boats, white sails and multi-coloured crafts but the most striking thing of all is the light.'' Quite.
Along with Derain, such luminaries as Cezanne, Matisse, Dufy and Ziem compiled an impressive body of work in the region, celebrated in many of the area's galleries.
Vincent van Gogh had a brief spell in Arles commenting that "the future of modern art lies in the south of France''. Unfortunately his future was tainted by a violent argument he had with nudey painter Paul Gauguin. Van Gogh went insane, cut his ear off, died (in that order). Before the last two though he decamped to Saint Remy to convalesce in an asylum.
MARSEILLE: The Cantini Museum; The Grobet-Labadie Museum; Fine Arts Centre; The Ziem Museum.
ARLES: The Van Gogh Foundation; The Reattu Museum.
SAINT REMY: Van Gogh Art Centre; Auguste Chabaud Museum.
AVIGNON: Calvet Museum; Angladon Museum; Roure Palace.
AIX-EN-PROVENCE: Cezanne's Studio; Granet Museum.
TOULON: The Fine Arts Museum; Hotel des Arts; Old Toulon Museum.
SAINT TROPEZ: Annonciade Museum.
NICE: The Matisse Museum of Nice; The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art at Nice; The Maeght Foundation at Vence; The Picasso Museum at Antibes.
DIGNE-LES BAINS: The Gassendi Museum; The Valley Museum at Barcelonnette.
- Sunday Extra, HoS
