Day Sightseeing in Arles
ExploreJulie WhitmarshVillages Towns and Cities

How to Spend a Day Sightseeing in Arles

This week has flown by to the extent that it feels like someone has been playing with time. Whereas the days slipped comfortably by last week, these last seven days have hurtled past, with so much going on that it’s been hard to keep up. It felt like I’d stumbled …

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Provence Holidays Without Car
ExploreJulie Whitmarsh

Provence Holidays in the Luberon Without a Car?

Recently, I’ve seen quite a few questions about whether it’s possible to visit the Luberon without coming by car. The queries range from how to get to the area from airports across France to whether it’s possible to explore once they arrive. The simple answer to them all is yes. …

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Visit Château de Mille
Julie WhitmarshTasteWines and Spirits of Provence

Near Apt Visit Château de Mille for Wine and the Castle

Since buying our little place over six years ago, we must have cycled past the huge old barrel at the entrance to the Château de Mille hundreds of times and have always wondered what it is like, promising ourselves that one day, we would go and visit this ancient Domaine. …

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Cakes & CookiesChristmas & HolidayJulie WhitmarshProvencal RecipesTaste

Celebrating the Epiphany with Cake Brioche des Rois

The Epiphany in France is an excellent opportunity to make (and eat) cake. Although not just any cake, the day is traditionally celebrated with either a Galette or a Brioche Des Rois, recognising the 12th day of Christmas, when the three Magi arrived to offer gifts to the newborn baby. …

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Les Davids Organic Vineyard
Julie WhitmarshTasteWines and Spirits of Provence

Les Davids Organic Vineyard in the Luberon

We have watched, with some fascination, the construction of a new building at Les Davids, an organic vineyard and fruit and vegetable producer, set just below the main road, by the turning to Oppedette. For months there was large-scale construction of what was to become the new home for their …

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Nougats Silvain in Provence
Julie WhitmarshLocal Food ProducersTaste

Nougats Silvain Sweet Treats in Provence

Anyone who knows me will tell you I have a sweet tooth, the fridge always has a few little treats in it, there’s inevitably a great supply of chocolate in the house and of course, ice creams in the freezer. I have been known in the family, as ‘the fridge …

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Luberon Mines De Bruoux
ExploreJulie WhitmarshVillages Towns and Cities

Ochre Exploration Luberon Mines De Bruoux near Gargas

I have a confession to make. It’s been over 30 years since we first visited the area and over five (5) years since buying the house here, yet I hadn’t seen the incredible Mines de Bruoux, at nearby Gargas, until recently. Incredible Mines de Bruoux Typically when Ochres are mentioned, …

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Olive Harvest in Provence
Julie WhitmarshLocal Food ProducersTaste

The Joys of Our First Olive Harvest in Provence

We love our little house and the garden we’ve made here. I have a fig tree, a little cherry tree and even an apricot sapling, all in large tubs on the terrace, but the one thing that we don’t have is an olive tree. We planted one many years ago …

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Mas Des Infermieres Provence
Julie WhitmarshTasteWines and Spirits of Provence

Mas Des Infermieres Ridley Scott’s Domaine in Provence

Before we bought the house here, I used to get my ‘fix’ of Provence and the Luberon, reading Peter Mayle’s ‘A Year in Provence’ and watching the film ‘A Good Year’, based on one of his books, and set all around the area that we love so much. Directed by …

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SCAD Art Design Lacoste
Artists Inspired by ProvenceInspireJulie Whitmarsh

SCAD Discovering Art and Design in Lacoste

From time to time, you see something that makes you reconsider some of the decisions you’ve made in life, and a recent visit to the SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) campus at Lacoste, was one of those moments. It was the first stop on our day with the …

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