It’s May and the poppies are blooming in Provence. Their tiny black faces almost obscured by their bright red hats, delicate, vibrant, petals wafting in the breeze. Last year I was in Lourmarin admiring them. This year I should have …
These are unprecedented times. As I type those words, I cannot help but think of another unprecedented time when the world faced a different peril. I’ve often wondered if I’d been alive then, would I have had what it takes …
Imagine staying in a glorious 19th century Provencal country estate surrounded by mighty cedars, olive trees and resplendent vineyards framed by the rolling Luberon hills of the Durance Valley. Transformed in 2013 by architect Alexandre Lafourcade, Domaine de Fontenille is …
It’s December and people everywhere are getting ready for Christmas. After weeks of blue skies and gentle warm days it’s raining where I live in California and temperatures have plummeted. The puddles are splattered with the last remnants of autumn …
It seems extraordinarily fitting that today November 11th, Remembrance Day, I should be writing about our recent visit to World War I memorials of the Somme in northern France. Thinking there was little time to spare I’m ashamed that we’ve …
Since opening in 2012 the stunning video art show at Carrières de Lumières has entranced millions. Situated just steps from the medieval perched village of Les Baux-de-Provence each year, the work of the Masters is splashed across the cavernous walls …
Why Shutters and Sunflowers? Sunflowers are synonymous with Provence, their bright smiling faces adorning paintings and postcards throughout the region. With brilliant yellow petals, sometimes known as rays, their resemblance to the summer sun is unmistakable. Stunningly beautiful these dazzling …
I’m often asked why I called my blog ‘Shutters and Sunflowers’. To me they are both so defining of Provence and indeed much of France. Throughout this beautiful country many of the buildings whether historic or recently built are adorned …
L’Auberge La Fenière is a delightful hotel with an award winning, Michelin star restaurant and bistro run by renowned chef Reine Sammut and her daughter Nadia. On the outskirts of Lourmarin it’s one of our favourites. We’ve enjoyed their delicious food …
If you get the chance to go to L’Isle sur la Sorgue do visit the stunning candied fruit shop of Lilamand Confiseur. The little sister to the one in Saint-Rémy de Provence, where the business was founded by Marius Lilamand in 1866 …
