The Old School Expat The word expat has always made me feel uncomfortable. It conjures up in my mind an old-fashioned view of a person. Someone who takes tea with the best china in their adopted country and then proceeds to whine about their surroundings. I am no doubt generalising, …

Ramp Pasta Made like Pate Nicoise: In Nice, they often make green gnocchi (Pate Nicoise) that simmers in the broth for the last 30 minutes. This year I tried something new, I made a classic Pate Nicoise (see recipe at the bottom), using wild ramps in place of the more traditional Swiss chard, and the results were stunning.

My visit to Fondation Carmignac, the newly-opened art centre at Porquerolles, last year was by far my favourite outing of 2018. I was lucky to get there just before it closed for winter, when lots of the exhibits went back to Paris. The centre re-opened with fresh artworks, on April …

Marseille’s super Musée Regards de Provence has been inspired by the MPG2019 Year of Gastronomy programme and is serving up two foodie exhibitions. L’Art Mange l’Art (until October 31, 2019) has a wide range of contemporary works, all food-themed; there is some witty photography (eg behind the scenes in restaurants) and …

By Vaucluse Dreamer: By the start of November, our little place was in a state of chaos in readiness for the work to start. The rooms were piled high with relocated furniture & building supplies and Andy had laid new Travertine floors throughout the 2 main spaces upstairs that would …

Admittedly, not everyone can manage a weekday dinner party with an hour (maximum) to prepare the meal before your guests arrive, but I like that sort of challenge. However, to be able to pull it off, you need to be organized. After many years of entertaining, there are several tips …

Hot Air Ballooning in Provence A couple months ago we were invited on a hot air balloon ride with AeroProvence. I think Tom, the owner, felt obligated with my enthusiastic likes and comments on all his Instagram posts of fields and fields of lavender. Experiencing a ride in a hot …

Exploring the Alpilles Established in 2007, the Parc Naturel Régional des Alpilles is a relatively new park. However, the mountain range itself is the result of millennia of continuous geological evolution. Artifacts from human settlements found in these hills date back to the Neolithic era. The Alpilles (small Alps) is a …

Just a skip down the road from our holiday rental in Ménerbes, we returned to la Bastide de Marie for the final evening of our yearly trip to Provence. And the meal won for best of the trip, though a couscous and garbanzo dish from an auberge in Brantes was …

The Fjords of Provence Just east of Marseille lays the charming coastal town of Cassis, nestled at the bottom of steep, vineyard-covered hills that come almost to the sea. It’s so adorably cute that you might think you are walking into a postcard. There’s nothing better than a stroll through …