Need some ideas for souvenirs and presents to take home? Check out Christmas Presents from Provence and kitchen essentials for an aspiring Provencal cook. Speaking of Christmas the “marchés de noël” starts up in every town and village in late November. Of course there is food, that pretty much goes …

November marks the start of the black diamond season in Provence (and other parts of France). Proof that good looks are not everything the Tuber Melanosporum or black truffle looks a bit like a lump of coal that sells for 1-2000 Euros/kilogram. Intensely pungent the ‘diamond of the kitchen’ has …

It is difficult to avoid the “Route Jean Moulin” signs on the roadways in Provence, France. We had to find out who Jean Moulin was. We learned about his involvement in the French Resistance, his political days and his challenging work to combine resistance groups during the 1940’s. Learn more at Ginger …

Lance Armstrong named his book It’s Not About the Bike, yet for Ken Wallace and Bill Flanagan it was 2-wheeling that brought them together. A shared passion for cycling, backgrounds in film (Ken and Bill) and Father Son Tour (Bill’s blog) appears like the perfect set of experiential ingredients to …

The article was previously published on Ginger and Nutmeg: The fruit is put into jail in May when the Manguin Distillery imprisons roughly 1400 pears in glass bottles in their orchard. Nutmeg had to see for herself how the new owners at this distillery were re-crafting a traditional industry into more of …

Take a stroll along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice and you can be almost guaranteed of a couple things all year long: sun and plenty of people watching. The song Nissa la Bella (Nice the Beautiful) makes lots of sense for this coastal city on the Mediterranean where the …

The Provence Gourmet shares his recipe for a traditional vegetable tian, baked in the oven in a casserole dish (oven to table). He serves this tian with fresh, simply prepared Mediterranean fish. If you are interested in cooking classes and learning some traditional Provencal meals, contact Gilles (Provence Gourmet) to …

Trailing her degrees from Yale and the University of New York, former actress Heather Robinson changed careers to become a travel writer. She has been living in France for over 14 years with her photographer companion. You can read more about Heather’s favourite spots in Arles and her “Lost in …

Famous artists such as Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso and Van Gogh captured the “painter’s light” and the stunning, natural beauty of Provence. Recently, we featured three talented artists based in the South of France a region that continues to inspire and bolster their creative confidence. In case you missed their stories, …

This article was previously published on Ginger and Nutmeg. Cistercian Abbeys Classified as a French historic monument in 1840 L’Abbaye du Thoronet restoration work started the following year and continues today. The Cistercian Thoronet Abbey is the third “sister” to abbeys Silvacane and Sénanque in Provence. These religious structures are …