I’ve been a bit quiet recently, for good reason! One month ago today, we welcomed our baby girl Charlotte (aka Lottie) into the world. What a wonderful, scary, exciting, emotional four weeks it has been and this little princess already has her doting parents wrapped around her (teeny) fingers. We …

Contributor blog post by Jill Cowdry: All aboard…. time to jump on the TGV ..my favourite way to travel.   Aix to Nice close to the dreamiest of coastline.  Via Toulon then a brief diversion inland to vineyards near Draguignan, it meanders snake-like with great ease close to the coast. …

Some of you remember PigPen in the Charlie Brown cartoons who always had a cloud of dust following him. Well, the Barefoot Blogger has a little cloud that has “trouble” written on it that seems to hang over me. My friend, Geoffrey, used to be the one who always came …

Contributor blog post by David Taylor: Domaine des Andeols is a boutique hotel less than two kilometres from the village with six stylish rooms and two restaurants. There are beautiful grounds including a large Olive orchard and lavender bushes plus a superb ‘Plane’ tree which houses one of the restaurants. …

After spending four weeks in a tiny town in Provence near Aix, my husband, son, and I decided for a change of scenery. We packed up our many, many suitcases into a clown car-sized Peugeot, and drove two hours northeast to the picturesque mountain town of Saorge. I’m willing to …

How do you test a hotel’s 5-star rating? Forget about checking for dust on picture frames — deliver a thunderstorm in the middle of a meal service. L’Orangerie’s terrace was brimming with lunchtime customers enjoying their market-fresh plats du jour and local rosés when the typically far-reaching view of the Luberon vanished …

Before my recent trip to Provence, I didn’t know much about the area other than it was known for its lavender and pastis. It’s only 3.5 hours from Marseille to Nice, so I figured it couldn’t be that hard to find a place to stay. Despite its relatively small size …

When we travel, we usually shun hotels. Sure, there’s a lot to be said about room service and having someone make your bed every day, but with the advent of Airbnb, HomeAway, and other vacation rental websites, we’ve opened our eyes to a new way to live like locals.  Why …

Most foreign house hunters do not realize that they can hire a buyer’s agent in France. They only ever encounter real estate (listing) agencies, either online or on the ground. French estate agents are hired by vendors to find a buyer and get the highest possible price. Vendors usually list …

Rebecca Ronane has looked “reinvention” in the face more than once in her lifetime. She has had to refocus her career goals several times; from a one-time dream of acting Rebecca became a travel tour director and an English as a foreign language teacher. Now, Rebecca is helping women redeploy …