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 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”.