Our trip to Australia ~ Days 1 & 2
Day 1: Adelaide and The McLaren Vale wine region We arrived from San Francisco after our 15 hour flight in the early morning, just as Sydney was beginning to stir. As we made our descent, the sun was a milky …
Cucuron, la petite village près de Lourmarin
Cucuron is a delightful, southern Luberon village just a ten minute drive from Lourmarin. Surrounded by rolling vineyards & olive groves, beloved for its charm and central ‘bassin‘, Cucuron has become a favourite of movie makers. Throughout the village, several …
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is a picturesque village, in the département Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, within the breathtaking Parc Naturel Régional du Verdon whose headquarters are in Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. It was our final stop on our exploration of Les Gorges du Verdon. Like Tourtour, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is also one …
Les Gorges du Verdon
I’m embarrassed to admit, that for all the time we’ve spent in Provence we had never been to Les Gorges du Verdon. And it’s not far from Lourmarin, only about an hour and a half, in the hills of the …
Lourmarin through the eyes of a child
Seeing wonder and excitement through the eyes of a child is truly magical, especially when their joy is about something you love too. Happy, giggling voices, looking at the world as you do but a little differently too. This is …
Busy building a house in Carmel-by-the-Sea
I’m finally writing my blog again! Thank you for being so patient, I know I’ve not written anything for months but life has been really hectic, and I’ve been somewhat pre-occupied with some big life events. Firstly we’ve been busy …
The story of Father Junípero Serra and the Carmel Mission
I have strolled through the beautiful Carmel Mission many times but when I visited it recently I felt as if I’d stepped through a portal and arrived in Europe. Maybe the sense of familiarity and the past was so profound …
Carmel, California and Lourmarin, Provence, the places I call home
‘Home is where the heart is’, or so the expression goes. My heart is somewhat fragmented, with those I love and the places I own spread across two continents. When I’m in one place, I think of the other. I’m …
Driving through France
We have driven through France, north to south and back, (about 1000km each way), more times than I can remember. As children, both our families took holidays driving through France, often headed for Spain. Slightly crammed between siblings, before cars …
The lavender of the Luberon, Provence
Throughout the Luberon region the landscape is peppered with fields of small, round shaped lavender bushes which for almost nine months of the year lie dormant like sleeping hedgehogs. In the spring they begin to sprout and from about the …