We’ve just returned from our 3rd visit to the Cote d’Azur for our February fix of colour and fun at the Carnaval de Nice and (of course) the superb Fête du Citron that takes place in the beautiful setting of Menton from mid-February until early March each year. Menton’s Lemons …

Make Apt Home Base Apt is one of the larger centres in the Luberon and a great place from which to explore the hilltop towns, lavender fields, and vineyards of Provence. The weekly Saturday morning market in Apt is popular all year, it’s one of the biggest ones with stalls …

As you have probably guessed, I am a little bit restricted at the moment after my tumble a couple of weeks ago and am already missing being able to get out on the bike. I have very quickly realized that I am really not very good at being sedentary and …

In the last few years, Saturdays would normally involve a trip across to the wonderful brocante market at Villeneuve-Les-Avignon, arriving early and spending the whole morning just fuddling around the stalls, finding new pieces for the house, or simply letting our imaginations run riot with what we may be able …

Provence in Autumn Bizarrely we sense and feel the changing seasons more in Provence than we do in Devon. Back in Exeter, the proximity to the sea seems to soften the edges of summer as it shifts into autumn and likewise, autumn into winter. That’s not the case here. Today …

To Market in Banon Sometimes the best-laid plans have to be cast aside, and that was the case last Tuesday. After taking the dog for an early-morning walk and getting everything ready for a cycle out to Roussillon for breakfast, we started to get the bikes out, only to hear …

Relaxing in Provence Sometimes it takes me a while to get round to doing something and this week I finally decided I would go and try out the Spa at Montbrun Les Bains. I say finally as our lovely neighbour had mentioned it to me three (3) years ago, just …

Nice Carnaval In February 2018, for the first time, we found ourselves at Nice Carnaval – it probably sounds really awful, but we hadn’t really planned to go, only noticing it was on whilst we were planning a trip to the Fête du Citron at Menton for our wedding anniversary …

Hilltop Menerbes We often find ourselves sitting on the wall on the front edge of the pretty village of Menerbes, while we’re out exploring the area on our bikes. Like so many of the hilltop villages in the Luberon, it has an incredible view that stretches as far as Mont …

Last week Andy and I were sitting at Menerbes overlooking the view when two people on electric bikes pulled up beside us and were trying to identify the villages on the hills opposite. We got chatting, and they explained that they had just hired the bikes and one said how …