Laurianne @toctocMarseille
Carolyne Kauser-AbbottExploreGuided Holiday ToursLocals Travel Tips

Holiday Planning and Guided Tours in Marseille

As France’s second-largest city after Paris, Marseille appears overwhelming with well over 1 million people in the greater metropolitan area (1,831,500 January 2011 census). Marseille has been a port city since 600BC when the Greeks established a trading base in this location. Positioned on the Mediterranean Marseille has long been …

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Grimaud Castle #Grimaud #CotedAzur @DreamyProvence
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Grimaud my favourite village near the sea

Contributor blog post by Jill Cowdry: A favourite run by car in Provence is the twisty road sweeping through pine, oak and chestnut trees from the A8 (Aix to Cote D’azur highway) down the D558 to the sea. It’s a little heartstopping in places (if you don’t like heights) but …

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Hi Hotel Nice #Nice #CotedAzur #FrenchRiviera @DreamyProvence
Hotels Provence & Cote d'AzurStay: Accommodation & Rentals in Provence

Glamorous Nice and a funky little hotel

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. …

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Visit Arles Provence @LostinArles @HeatherRobinson
Carolyne Kauser-AbbottExploreLocals Travel Tips

Ask a Local: Why Visit Arles?

Much like her decision to follow a good looking French photographer to his native land. The couple were struck by a coup de coeur (love struck) when they spent one fateful night in Arles in 2003. You can read the full story in Heather’s blog post here. Whether you are …

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Provence Villages Saorge #Saorge @unxplorer
Rental & Self-Catered Properties in ProvenceStay: Accommodation & Rentals in Provence

Saorge: A Little Mountain Town with a Big Heart

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 …

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Roasted Leg of Lamb @ProvenceCook Provence Recipes
LambMain CourseProvencal RecipesTaste

Paul Cezanne Inspired Recipe for Leg of Lamb

The climate in Provence is not well-suited to cattle farming, so sheep and goats have roamed the hills and pastures in the region for centuries. As a result, Provencal markets are filled with an endless selection of goat (chèvre) and sheep (brebis) cheeses, and you can always find lamb in …

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Fall bounty @CuriousProvence
Ashley TinkerMarkets in Provence and Cote d'AzurTaste

September Harvest

The mornings are crisp all of a sudden. The days are still hot. The harvest, of just about everything, is in full swing. I went for a walk and followed the smell of a skip full to the brim of grape skins before I stepped into the leaking juice running …

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Les Deux Garcons Cours Mirabeau #AixenProvence @PerfProvence
ExploreProvencal History & Traditions

MFK Fisher’s Cours Mirabeau: Unchanged Over Time

Reading MFK Fisher’s Two Towns in Provence, you might be surprised that it was written so long ago. The Cours Mirabeau, the cultural center of Aix, looks much like it did when Fisher and her two daughters sought solace at Les Deux Garçons or ambled down the boulevard so many …

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Cezanne #AixenProvence
Artists Inspired by ProvenceInspire

Over My Dead Body: Musée Granet Fulfills Its Destiny with Cézanne

You can believe there was a lot of competition and jealousy among artists in Aix. In fact, the poster boy for Aix-en-Provence, Paul Cézanne, was spurned by fellow artist and curator of The Museum of Aix from 1892 to 1925, Henri Pointier. Pointier, who never excelled to the degree that …

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Painting in the South #Artists #Provence by Duncan Barker
Artists Inspired by ProvenceInspire

Painting the South

The south is a world of light. Luminescent brightness is the first, clearest and most lasting impression it makes when you arrive, and its absence is what hits you when you go back north. For a painter, the challenge is somehow to evoke this world using colours and canvas. It’s …

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