Le plus beaux villages de Provence

The most beautiful villages of Provence 

May 2017 

We've wanted to visit Provence for a while, so took a long weekend to explore the Provencal countryside. 

We left our booking a little late, and that weekend happened to be a public holiday in France (Ascension Day) so our accommodation options were limited, as were our hire car pick up locations. So we ended up staying in a minimalist, dingy and quite run down apartment hotel right near the airport on our arrival - not ideal but at least we got to watch the entertaining French tv show Le Zap! The next morning was a 45 minute taxi to our hire car location on the other side of the city. Not quite ideal, then again we couldn't really complain - we were spending time in the warm Provencal sunshine on holiday! 

Saturday - Les Alpilles 

We decided to stay away from major cities as much as possible so I navigated us along the smaller roads while Rach drove us towards the hinterlands. 

We headed north along small roads, stopping for our first croissant breakfast (a mandatory start to every day on holiday in France) in a small sleepy village of Cadolive. We kept going north and the countryside began to open up, stopping for cafe au lait on the main street of Le Puy Saint Reparade late in the morning. 

Our first destination was Le Baux, a small village dramatically perched on the side of a hill/cliff in the Alpilles (the little Alps). After some issues with the parking meter - this was very busy village - we walked up to the top to explore. It was by far the busiest village we encountered on the trip, with small cobbled streets and great views across the valley. We had our first proper Provencal meal - I had vegetables and cod with aioli sauce, while Rach had goats cheese on toast with salad. All washed down with a carafe of wine - though as Rach was driving, I had to shoulder the burden of most of the red wine. 

Le Baux

We continued on to a nearby village to quickly check out Le Moulin de Daudet - a windmill made famous by the writer who moved into it in the 1860s. He wrote a series of famous short stories of Provencal life while living there, which I read just before our trip to get a better idea of the place. We had a quick drink in the local village (Fonvieille) afterwards.

We'd booked our accomodation at a nearby village and drove there. When we arrived, the owner very apologetically told us there had been a problem with the booking with her limited English. My rudimentary French was enough to understand that Booking.com had problems with its booking system, and she very kindly let us stay and have a drink of water while we talked with Booking.com on the phone. They eventually arranged another place for us to stay, which turned out to be just as good, if not better. 

Mas Guiraud

It was called Mas Guiraud - a big old farmhouse (called a "mas" in French) converted into accommodation with a pool, nearby huge fields of grapes. After a quick dip in the pool we drove off to get some dinner. We ate a delicious dinner in a tiny village called Argilliers - I had duck breast with goats cheese and honey, while Rach had beef and morelle sauce. The restaurant was built into the side of the village church! 

Argilliers

Rach just saw someone else's food coming out of the kitchen.

Sunday - towards the Luberon

We started with a hearty breakfast in our Mas of croissants, coffee, juice and bread then set off the next morning. 

En route we decided to take a slight detour to drive through the small cities of Tarascon and Beaucaire, perched on either side of the Rhone River. They were both very picturesque, with tiny streets that were clearly designed before cars - several times we squeezed through streets with a few centimetres to spare on either side of the car. 

Then it was off to L'Isle sur La Sorgue - a town on an island in the middle of the Sorgue River. There was a big market there that day, so we parked up a little outside the town to walk in. As we left the car, a middle aged French couple walked past us, the man looking a around a little confused. The woman walking in front of him sighed and said in a very loud but defeated tone of voice "on est perdu!" Or in English "We're lost!".

L'Isle sur La Sorgue 

The town was packed. It was very pretty, surrounded by the river on all sides. Its old streets were lively, full of people and market stalls. We managed to dip our feet in the water, which despite its looks was surprisingly ice-cold and actually left your feet in pain after a few minutes of submersion. 

Lunch was a delicious glass of wine each at a Marchand de Vins (wine merchant), along with a selection of cheeses and charcuterie. And we bought a nice chopping board while there which we brought back to London with us. 

We continued on to the Luberon, a national park area full of picturesque little villages. And it did not disappoint. 

Gordes

First was Gordes, which dramatically spread out and down a steep hillside. We decided to explore Gordes properly the next day, but how about that for a nice photo stop! We had a quick look at the nearby Abbaye de Senanque, famous for its bright lavender fields - but unfortunately we were a few weeks too early and it was just green. 

Lavender!

From there we drove through the pretty countryside filled with cherry trees, olive trees and vineyards. I even managed to steal a few cherries, reminiscent of our last trip to the French countryside last year!



Then to Rousillon, our accommodation for the night. The woman at the reception could speak only a few words of English so my limited French skills came in surprisingly handy. After a bit of lounging by the pool and reading, we went to explore the village properly. 

The village of Rousillon itself is 50 shades of red, due to the ochre mining nearby. The main buildings are near the top of the hill, clustered around a pretty, old fashioned square. The road wends further up the hill, towards a church looking out off the cliff. Just like with Portofino, the early evening (around 6pm onwards) are the best times to explore the big tourist draws of small villages - all of the day tripping tourists and coaches are gone for the day.

Rousillon

In French, the sign reads: Please respect this 169 year old vine! Do not pick the grapes. 

We had a delicious dinner at Le Grappe de Raisin, an unpretentious but top quality restaurant. I had a Provencal platter with outstanding tapenade and roasted guinea fowl, while Rach had fillet mignon of pork. All finished with a creme brulee which somehow we didn't have to pay for.

Delicious meal at Le Grappe de Raisin

We sat out by the pool with a bottle of wine, enjoying the warm evening air and the clear night skies.

Monday - the Luberon day two

Croissants from the local boulangerie again kicked off the day and we drove south. We looked in at the markets in Lauris which were tiny and quiet, then had a quick coffee across the road in the cafe before making our slow way back to the north. 

A stop in the village of Loumarin, another picturesque medieval village - but this time not perched on the side of a hill! The village felt small but lively in parts. We had a panini to eat, pestered by dog Cachet, a terrifyingly squash-faced French bulldog belonging to the cafe owners.

Loumarin

Onwards to Bonnieux, a village this time perched on a hill. We had a beer and pizza with stunning views over Provence countryside after wandering down then up then around the village. 

Bonnieux

Lacoste from afar

Onwards to Lacoste - probably the emptiest village of the lot we saw, and possibly the most beautiful to walk around. The village was made infamous by the Marquis de Sade who got up to all sorts of depravities in his castle overlooking the village in the 1770s. 

Walking through Lacoste

After a return to the hotel for an afternoon by the pool again, we went onwards to Gordes - this time to properly walk around it. The village was probably the most touristy of all apart from Les Baux but was quiet in the early evening (see Rousillon above) and full of tiny winding alleyways and streets. We had a quite average dinner before heading back to Rousillon for a cheeky dessert and wine back at Le Grappe de Raisin.   

Gordes, redux

Rousillon by night

Tuesday - Pont du Gard and exit 

We had only had half a day so made the most of it with an early start. After a quick croissant stop we set of for the Pont du Gard. This is a massive, 49m high Roman aqueduct built around 2000 years ago. It's the biggest remaining aqueduct and one of the most well-preserved. It was part of a 50km system designed to carry water to the city of Nimes, built to amazing precision - the bridge itself was designed to descend only 2.5cm along a length of 245m to allow the water to flow. The whole water system descends only 12.5m over a distance of 50km, which is pretty astounding when you consider the technology they had.

Then it was back to the car and we motored back to Marseille. 

Merci beaucoup pour une excellent sejour, Provence! Nous reviendrons!

Flying trip to Malaga

May 2017 

When Rach's job sent her to Malaga for four days' work, we had the opportunity to spend a quick weekend there tacked on to the end. So why not?

Cymru bound (Wales!)

May 2017 

Road trip!

It was Early May Bank Holiday and we had decided to spend it in Wales to visit Mike's Aunty, Anne. This was Mike's first visit - I had been last year with Mum.

Off we trundled in our hire car; first night in a remote Welsh village pub and the second with Anne in Tenby. Mike was our driver and I was navigator (read: Google was navigator). Our first destination was Rhandirmwyn, a small village in the north east of Carmarthenshire. We made a pitstop in the Victorian tearooms in Abergavenny to refuel on Welsh cakes and tea. Delish!

The Life and Times of Duke Fluffington

Act 1: Arrival and our hero's first trial

Once upon a time, there was a hamster named Duke Fluffington, the first of his name.

 

He came from a long line of proud, fluffy hamsters.

Duke came to live with the Burtigans in Kensal Green, and there he presided over his land and house, 'Fluffington Manor'.

One day the Burtigans went on an adventure to France (without our young hero). He, instead, stayed with an old friend in Brixton. During his stay, Duke let himself out of his cage and went on his own adventure. Which soon became misadventure, and Duke became trapped in a rat trap.

Unperturbed, Duke dusted himself off and continued living, chuffing and eating many treats.

Chuffing

verb. To scuff up one's sawdust to make oneself a comfortable nesting-place or bed.

Act II: Our hero's second and third trials

Too many treats and not enough chewing left Duke with an unfortunate set of teeth. A visit to the vets courtesy of friends Stacey and Blair soon sorted that.

 

The Burtigans then set off on another adventure to Turkey. Within days, Stacey and Blair reported that Duke's eye was popping out of his head. Duke was not happy. A trip to the vet provided no certainty as to why this had happened. They tried to manually maneuver the eye back in. That didn't work and Duke was still not happy.

Lots of messaging back and forth narrowed the Burtigans' options down to one: wait until the next day and if he wasn't better, put him to sleep. No more suffering. That and the little critter was costing them a lot of money! The alternative was to have an operation to remove his eye which would cost £150.00 (the price of 15 hamsters), and no guarantee that he would make it through.

With heavy hearts, the Burtigans accepted that the mighty Duke had reached the end of his journey. But Duke Fluffington had other plans. A confident vet and sympathetic friends (who insisted on picking up some of the bill) made the decision to give the surgery a go. And gosh darn it, if he didn't pull through.

And so he lived to (mostly) see another day. Introducing, The Dastardly Duke! Survivor of rat traps, dental distress and major surgery.

Act III: Life and afterlife 

Incidentally we believe that Duke overheard our decision to put him to sleep and he started biting us a LOT harder.

Over dinner with our lovely friends one evening, we were discussing Duke and I lamented that I would never get to have another hamster again in New Zealand since there are no hamsters in the land of The Long White Cloud. Davide jokingly suggested that we should have him taxidermied one day. Everyone laughed except me - a genius idea! 

Life continued, Duke chuffed along merrily until one fateful day when Mike caught the flu. Sadly shortly after, so did the mighty Duke, and it finished him. I tenderly took him from his cage, wrapped him lovingly in paper towels, slid him in a Glad Zip Lock Bag and placed him gently in the freezer. For safe keeping. When a respectful amount of time had passed, I inquired about taxidermy. For the princely sum of £300, the prospect of bringing our friend home with us one day seemed suddenly out of reach! 

My 30th birthday rolled around and Mike had a present idea that he had to tell me in advance. I protested because I love surprises but he insisted, if I wasn't onboard, this wasn't going to happen. I conceded and Mike explained that he'd found a DIY mouse taxidermy class, contacted the teacher and she had agreed that we could BYO hamster! £30 each was a much more palatable price and we signed up.

Photo and instructions on How To Taxidermy Your Hamster are provided here, so you too can play along at home. 

Step 1: Thaw Your Hamster. 

Just enough so you can feel the skin slide. Tick.

 

Step 2: Slice and Dice

Step 3: Take it off! 

Step 4: Don't lose your head! 

Keep the skull intact.

Step 5: Rub a Dub Dub.

Step 6: Blow Dry

Step 7: Get Into Shape

Step 8: It's a Stitch Up! 

Step 9: Ta Da!

The transformation was complete! Duke and his new friend courtesy of Mike's handiwork, The Mouse, were immortalised forever (or however long a DIY-taxidermy job would last). I was delighted.  

We went on to have another lovely hamster, Lord Fredrick Fluffington (or Freddie) to carry on the proud heritage of dear Duke Fluffington.

 

But Duke Fluffington's story didn't end there, for we were yet to get him back to NZ! But that's a 'tail' for another day.