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Revisiting the Provence
As a child, my family pretty much vacationed at the same two places in Southwest Florida. From the time I was four until even today, there was always Maderia Beach and Lido Beach. The comfort in these types of vacations was that every year we could relax, explore the surrounding areas without the rush that we’d never return again. We developed a game for finding those hidden gems about these places. Now that I am older and practically exploring completely new territory as an expat everyday, this last trip was a bit of reprieve from the total submersion into the unfamiliar. Once again, we revisited Southern France – this time equipped with our mountain bikes, this time with more French under our belts and this time to awaiting happy and healthy friends and family.
Last year we stayed with Gisela but since she has a listing on the web, she’s been booked solid this Summer. It was so good to dine with her on her new Terrase: ‘kraftig’ red wine, cold chicken and tomatoes from the region hit the spot for us. 
It never ceases to amaze me how informative she is about the region – giving tips, helping us with the French language and letting us in as to where the grapes are good for a-picking. Gisela also arranged for us to stay with here about 400 meters away from her house at this beautiful bed and breakfast villa called Mas du Magnolia, a sort of grand hotel of B&Bs. The owners ‘escaped’ from Paris (as we understood it) and one of them is a landscape architect, having designed around 22 golf courses in his career. The couple is extremely friendly and know how to present an excellent breakfast. I even learned what is a coddled egg :yum: We stayed in the Picholine room, so cute with the walls covered with fabric.
During our week long stay in the Provence we managed two mountain biking trips. We started at Menerbes and attempted to navigate the blue/orange and blue/white signs but they only lead to the major cities. It’s best to bring a topographic map like those provided by www.ign.fr If you are up for some vertical challenge, solitude and Mother Earth serenity, definitely ride the ridge of the Petit Luberon. Absolutely beautiful and a spectacular view. We stared from Vidaque, the western entrance and rode through the park to the east entrance and then through Bonnieux. I wish we could have stopped there longer, because it a place that needs exploring. But next time with a girlfriend.
We had our first experience with a 4-day long Mistral, which blew away all cloud cover and any chance of rain. Even though the sun shined, the cloudless night and heavy winds brought the temperature down much cooler than we anticipated and made it less appealing to change into a swimsuit let alone jump in 17 °C water. But the weather was perfect for another ride from Croagnes to Sault and back. I recommend riding to Sault by bike because the scent of lavender in the air is heavenly and the incline is not so bad. We are already planing our next mountain biking trip: attempting the Mont Ventoux, the “Giant of Provence”.
the Provence
source: colorsofprovence.comAlthough I don’t recommend watching the film, “Das Parfum”,for the story, half of the movie takes place in Grasse and gives one a good idea of the landscape we saw last week -minus the blooming lavender, it was harvested in early June. Still Grasse is too far east (near the Italian border) from where we stayed, so we didn’t visit the town.
We arrived at Gesela’s around 7 pm and enjoyed an apéritif, namely Pastis, which is an anise-based drink common in the Provence. We also met Alex’s brother and his brother’s girlfriend. Yes, ironic that both brothers would vacation at the same time and in the same small town, nevertheless, a long story. They stayed in Gesela’s guesthouse while we bunked in Gesela’s spare bedroom.
siebenschläfter or fat dormouseGesela is Alex’s 70-year old cousin and truth be told, she doesn’t act ‘old’, whatever that means. She’s full of energy, engaging, and a wonderful hostess. She gave us plenty of tips of what to see and where to park. As the five of us ate dinner on the front porch under the growing full moon, she spoke of the Siebenschläfer, or edible dormice, who live in the trees and reek havoc during the night. She is not a fan of Siebenschläfers and I have to admit the sounds they made at night left me a little paranoid too.
the CalanqueWe stayed with Gesela for four nights and visited many of the small towns, such as, Cassis, Sault, Gordes, Roussillon, Tarascon, and Beaucaire. We also saw the Roman aqueduct, Pont-du-Gard, and the Palace of the Popes in Avignon. We were sure not to miss the beaches on the Mediterranean with a stop at Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer and hike over the Calanque between Marseille and Cassis. I hope to go into short detail on our adventures in a little while…
home again
We’ve returned a day early from the Provence. Thierry had to return to work a day early so it didn’t feel right that we stay another day. Although, we were so welcomed by his family it really wouldn’t have been a big deal. Even his mom started to cry when we said our goodbyes -she’s so beautiful and sentimental.
Our vacation in one word: peaceful. Especially the last 4 days -no machines of any kind rumbling in the back ground. I will give mini reports in the following days. I’m not sure how I will group it. Alex and I took over 140 pictures and I also dabbled with the video camera. I’ve got in my mind some kind of video collage with music in the back ground. Anyone got any suggestions on video editing software I should use? Freeware is preferred :help:
The things that surprised me:
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France and the U.S are quite similar:
- Recycling is hit or miss, I was disappointed that we threw away the plastic drinking bottles on our vacation
- Drivers leisurely use turn signals or will final turn them off, especially the left blinker, 20 minutes later.
- I encountered my first stand up toilet at a French reststop. Yes it was the ladies room, and no I didn’t use it.
- The bread is better in the Provence, but the croissants were less than our expectations. Actually, Alex’s expectations.
- My tolerance for alcohol has increased 5 fold.
- After all the winding roads, I believe I’ve gotten over motion sickness. I was able to read 100 pages of John Irvin’s “Widow for a year” in the car ride home.
For now, it’s back to the sounds of city life. I actually missed it a little.
