Col du Granon After a somewhat perilous, 25 minute, hair pin drive, climbing high above the Serre Chevalier Valley and Chantemerle, where we’re hoping to ski next year, we arrived at the Col du Granon. We’d been recommended to go …
Standing proudly on the hill above Briançon is its’ historic city, Cité Vauban. Named after its’ designer, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633-1707) a celebrated architect and military engineer for King Louis XIV, Cité Vauban is now a UNESCO World …
Next year we’re hoping to ski in the French Alps. Although we ski each year in California’s beautiful Lake Tahoe, it’s been over 26 years since we were on our skis in Europe. The French Southern Alps, Les Hautes-Alpes of …
As we packed our bags to return to Lourmarin, we found this letter, written by our young granddaughter, earlier in the summer on the day we were leaving Lourmarin. She had been keeping it safely hidden in her little whicker, …
La Maison Empereur La Maison Empereur is the oldest household store in France. Situated in the Noailles district of Marseille, it was founded over two hundred years ago and incredibly has been run by the same family since it first …
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 …
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 …
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 …
‘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 …
We decided we’d like to explore a little more of the region beyond the Luberon and spend a few days on the Côte d’Azur. We were in search of a quiet, boutique hotel, one that offered good food where we …
