The South of France has always been a magical destination for painters; Van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse, Cezanne, Picasso, and so many more have been inspired by the bright Mediterranean light and vivid colors. The first time I visited, it all became clear to me, and I too, was held captive by this spellbinding landscape.

Riding in the TGV from the greyness of Paris, you have a strange sensation that you’re slowly (or in this case, 200 mph) approaching a land of Oz of sorts. Fields of lavender and sunflowers make a dazzling quilt interspersed with row upon row of deep green vines and olive trees almost as old as the dirt at their roots; villages rise from the ochre hills around them like some giant’s sandcastle creations. Nature is creatively coerced into Cartesian order under a sky so blue that you feel like laughing.

Everything the light touches turns brilliant and bold and you can’t help but understand the magic.