A Luberon Experience
Monday, May 13, 2013
Delights in the South of France
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We'd love to hear from you! Join us on a summer tour on the Amalfi Coast, in Provence, or in Amsterdam/Belgium.
Our fellow
Slow Travel Tours members, Charley and Kathy Wood, have invited us to join them for a day of their
Luberon Experience tour, and it's just a gorgeous day to explore this enticing area with them.
We're staying in Lourmarin for a couple of nights, and buzz by the elegant chateau on our way to meet the Woods in Bonnieux.
After zig-zagging our way up and over the Combe de Lourmarin, we come out above the valley and snake down through upper-town Bonnieux to meet Charley at the Clos de Buis below, which they've filled with Luberon Experience guests for the week.
Several of the group are hiking with Kathy across the valley to Lacoste, crowning the opposite hill, and we'll meet them there later.
Our first stop is the peaceful Abbaye St. Hilaire, where Charley points out the WC - carved into the adjacent cliff!
The Abbey, with origins in the 1300s, was abandoned for decades, and is now being slowly and carefully restored by a family who is also living there.
We enjoy the views of farms below and cliffside gardens,
then pile back into the cars to meet the rest of the group in Lacoste, where we begin our tour above the town at the chateau, now used as an exhibition venue, that was the former abode of the Sade family...
yes, THAT Marquis was chased out of THIS town and imprisoned in the Bastille. Across the valley you can see Bonnieux to the right.
Beyond the sculpture, gleaming white-topped in the distance, is Mont Ventoux, a yearly fixture on the Tour de France.
Kathy shares the history of this now quiet and peaceful place, and we walk down through the town, which is mostly inhabited by students and faculty of the Savannah College of Art and Design... not even a bakery is here any more.
Next stop, our perennial favorite (we were here
last month, remember?) Roussillon.
The Wood's favorite Provencal artist, Francoise, whose shop is just on the left as you enter the village, shows us her work, and at least one Luberon Experience guest takes home a beautiful painting!
I love her patio - what a perfect place to sit and be inspired!
We're all roussillon colored as we sit down for lunch in Cafe des Couleurs,
then take time to stroll the lanes, a photo op at every turn, from the tower
to a poppy strewn cliffside.
A couple more stops with the group - the graceful arch of Roman Pont Julien,
and a hand- picked- by - Kathy poppy field, just right for a scarlet- surrounded photo. Once again, Mont Ventoux gleams in the distance.
Thanks so much, Kathy and Charley, for generously sharing a Luberon Experience day with us!
We take off on our own for a few more Luberon sights, such as Gordes, another of France's official "most beautiful villages" ,
and leave time for a wander around Lourmarin,
where our chat with a sidewalk guitarist leads us to his shop - he's also an artist! And while we browse and buy he entertains us with a Johnny Cash tune or two.
Each day's proving even better than we could have imagined - one unexpected surprise after another, with gorgeous weather as a perfect backdrop.
Labels: Gordes, Lacoste, Lourmarin, Luberon Experience, Roussillon
Antiques, Roses and Popes
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Delights in the South of France
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We'd love to hear from you! Join us on a summer tour on the Amalfi Coast, in Provence, or in Amsterdam/Belgium.
Our travels will make a grand loop from western Provence to the eastern Riviera and back this week, and today we turn east, passing by Les Antiques outside of Saint Remy, remnants of a flooded Roman city that were long buried under river silt until discovered in the 1920s.
The Papal Palace of Avignon, occupied by a succession of 7 popes from 1306 to 1417, is more a fortress than a palace,
but is unusually lovely today with an annual Festival of Roses, their scent and beauty filling courtyards and normally- empty rooms.
Audio guides in hand, we meander through treasuries, meeting chamber, past this window where Popes granted indulgences,
and climb up the tower, blown by a stiff mistral wind
as we look over the battlements to the city, the Rhone River, and hills beyond.
Then further west we go, to the beautiful green Luberon, where we'll spend the next two nights in the Bastide de Lourmarin.
Dinner tonight is at another favorite, Le Petite Maison du Cucuron, beside the iconic
bassin of the village,
where Chef Eric Sapet welcomes us
and serves a marvelous spring dinner.
Tomorrow we'll explore this beautiful part of Provence - now to bed!
Labels: Avignon, Le Petite Maison de Cucuron, Les Antiques, Papal Palace
From the Coast to the Hills in the South of France
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Delights in the South of France
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We'd love to hear from you! Join us on a summer tour on the Amalfi Coast, in Provence, or in Amsterdam/Belgium.
Who knows what a flat white is? Our friend
Lynn has written in Aixcentric that our local coffee shop, just around the corner, makes a great one - it's an Australian coffee style. Since reading that, I've been wanting to try a flat white for myself, so this morning we pick up a couple of pastries at the bakery across the street for breakfast and ask the Adrien at Coffee to Go to whip up one for me.
Isn't it pretty? Less foam than a cappuccino, but very creamy and satisfying - I'd order it again!
And now our Provence/Riviera private tour begins. We pick up our guest, Steve, at the Marseilles airport and head north for the mountaintop redoubt of Le Baux - erupting from the rugged cliffs in the distance.
Up the steep cobbled paths to the
Chateau de Baux we climb, stopping at Les Varietes for lunch.... Steve's first taste of the fresh flavors of the south of France, topped off with a signature sip of rosé.
Not a typical southern taste, but so unique that I just had to try it, my duck breast salad is served with foie gras ice cream!
The mistral, the legendary strong wind of the south, is definitely gusting today, and oh do we feel it atop the rock! The medieval "big guns" are firing rocks to the valley as we approach the plateau.
From this perch the medieval lords of Le Baux could spy the approach of enemies in the distance,
and any who dared to make it to the top was generally gotten rid of by being thrown off the cliff - no mercy from the bad boys of Le Baux!
Traces of elegant Gothic windows remain in the fortress/ chateau walls, rising out of the rugged cliff,
and below the more- recent con- struction of the town clusters beneath the ancient ruins.
We take our time descending, peeking into shops and a peaceful hillside cemetery.
A short stroll down the road are the old bauxite quarries, which for the past decade or so have been transformed into a fascinating light and sound multimedia spectacle. Van Gogh, Venice, or Australia, among others, have been featured in the past. This year we are enveloped in Monet - water lilies around and beneath us,
Renoir - thirty- foot- tall dancers surround us,
then Chagall images floating by on the walls. The Carrieres de Lumieres show changes each February, and is a don't- miss for us each year.
The sleek and elegant
Du Coté des Olivades in Paradou is a perfect stop for Steve's first night in Provence - with views across the olive groves to Le Baux,
and a wisteria shaded terrace beside the pool and gardens.
A favorite awaits tonight - our much-loved Bistro du Paradou, where we've enjoyed delicious feasts with friends for decades. There's a full house tonight -reservations are essential here!
The main course this evening is Poulet de Bresse - France's "gold medal" chicken. Simply prepared - just rotisserie grilled - it's amazingly good, and accompanied with the creamiest Gratin Dauphinois (scallopped potatoes) we've ever tasted.
And the cheese course - a total wow, as usual! They generously leave it at our little table too long... we all make pigs of ourselves!
Welcome to Provence!
Labels: Bistro du Paradou, Carrieres de Lumieres, Chagall, Coffee to Go, Du Cote des Olivades, flat white, Le Baux, Monet, Renoir
Spring Days in Aix
from Easter Sunday to May, 2013
Aix en Provence, France
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We'd love to hear from you! Join us on a summer tour on the Amalfi Coast, in Provence, or in Amsterdam/Belgium.
We're back - and that impossibly blue sky stops us in our tracks once again as we're walking to the apartment from the airport shuttle bus, towing our suitcases.
There's been so much to do as we've been getting ready for two tours, and working with clients towards future ones, so I never had time to finish our tales of the last trip, and must tell you at least about the Easter Monday concert at the cathedral. Billed as "the Joy of Easter", it was presented by the cathedral organist, and after several pew- shaking pieces from the organ, she presented one friend or group of friends after another... a mens ensemble, then her husband, who played, accompanied by the organ, on a saw, then a hurdy- gurdy ---has the cathedral ever been filled with such sounds before??
And the piece de resistance? An historically dressed group of hunting horn enthusiasts.
They stand with their backs to the audience to play, since the horn is held over the shoulder with the flare facing backwards. Although this video is dark, you'll want to hear
the unique sound of these brasses, played without valves - just the shape of ones lips creates the correct note.
Now fast forward to May, where we've arrived on a bright spring morning, with a new-to- us request on our Brussels layover. As we waited by the gate for our connection to Marseilles, we were called over the loudspeaker, and two officially dressed agents asked us to come look over our checked luggage. What??? So we stood by as they went through our suitcase in a private room. What caused this? A can of paint which, along with a tube of grout and a few other D-I-Y products, put an alert on our suitcase. Was our paint water-based? Yes - and it's a good thing, since we now know that oil-based paints can NOT be brought into the European Union!
So we and our bags got on the plane and made it quickly to Marseilles, then Aix, where the streets are MUCH fuller than they were in early April... and the Petite Train now chugs through the narrow lanes, introducing tourists to the sites.
Paint, clothes, and all else safely tucked into
Ambiance d'Aix, we head out to take care of errands before our Provence/ Riviera tour starts tomorrow. A combo entertains a plaza full of aperitif- sippers in front of the town hall,
and the sun illuminates the beautiful facade of the post office, an old man depicting the staid Rhone River, and a young female, one leg racily slipping over the side, the rowdy Durance River.
We're delighted with a nearby restaurant we've been wanting to try,
Le Poivre d'Ane. It's too cool to sit outside, but our table by the open front door, beside a big window, gives us the al fresco feeling we enjoy, and dinner is just superb... beginning with first courses garnished with beautiful flowers, which our server encourages us to eat.
We're so pleased with the place that we make reservations for us and our tour guest for next week - it's good enough to share!
Labels: Aix en Provence, Hunting Horns, Le Poivre d'Ane
Several of the group are hiking with Kathy across the valley to Lacoste, crowning the opposite hill, and we'll meet them there later. 
The Abbey, with origins in the 1300s, was abandoned for decades, and is now being slowly and carefully restored by a family who is also living there.
We enjoy the views of farms below and cliffside gardens,
The Wood's favorite Provencal artist, Francoise, whose shop is just on the left as you enter the village, shows us her work, and at least one Luberon Experience guest takes home a beautiful painting! 
I love her patio - what a perfect place to sit and be inspired!
We're all roussillon colored as we sit down for lunch in Cafe des Couleurs,
then take time to stroll the lanes, a photo op at every turn, from the tower
and a hand- picked- by - Kathy poppy field, just right for a scarlet- surrounded photo. Once again, Mont Ventoux gleams in the distance.
