My mother might not approve as some of my relationships these days start via social media – a tweet, a Facebook “like.” That is exactly how we ended up on a rocky trail bordered by the Durance River and cherry orchards with our new friend Charmaine. We spent a Tuesday …

Aix’s Hotel de Ville The Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) and the busy square directly in front date from 1741 a time when Aix en Provence was the capital of Provence. The building was constructed for meetings between consuls and the Town Council. Today, the building remains the place where …

Aix en Provence is often referred to as the city of water. The Romans settled here in part due to ready access to natural springs. As the town began to take shape during the Middle Ages, there were hundreds of fountains created for domestic use. Today there are only about …

Château Pesquié is Provencal postcard perfection, with the soaring limestone summit of Mont Ventoux as a backdrop and a leafy canopy of plane trees shading the entranceway to the bastide. The Provencal name pesquié is a derivative from Latin “pescarium” meaning fishpond or basin. This region may be one of …

Just tell me there’s a bullfight close to Uzes, and I’m there. As usual, there’s always a party that makes the corrida even more fun. Arles, a town less than an hour down the road that’s mostly famous for being one of Van Gogh’s “hangouts”. The Feria du Riz, the …