With the summer heat in Provence, I find that an apéro dînatoire is the best way to entertain. I prepare all the dishes in advance except a fig and onion mini puff pastry. Then, 30 minutes before guests arrive, I put out my spread and pop the pastry hors d’oeuvre …

A walk along the promenade at Les Lecques, around the little port and out to sea along the jetty has always been a family favourite, but I’ve always struggled to find a vegetarian lunch after our walk.  It’s a typical French seaside resort with all the menu choices the locals …

Provence is magical during the holiday season, and December is a wonderful time to visit the South of France.  The festivities begin in mid-November, running right through early January. The sparkling, festive ambience of Europe’s Christmas markets is legendary. The Strasbourg Christkindelsmärik is one of the largest in France, with …

Visit the lavender fields near Aix-en-Provence! Terre Ugo is a 7-hectare family farm located on the outskirts of Aix in Puyricard. In 2017, the family planted 30,000 organic Lavandin Grosso plants on a portion of the property. Now, during the peak of the flowering season, you can visit Terre Ugo …

If you are here because you have already read about my brief visit to Avignon, you probably recall that I spent a few days there last fall – my first trip back to France after 22 months of absence and my first visit to this wonderful city. Picking up the …

Diehard fan or not, you are likely aware of Bob Dylan’s success as a singer-songwriter and musician. However, it might have surprised others (besides me) when he won the 2016 Nobel Prize for literature “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” But, on the other …

Every summer, the Luberon village of La Roque d’Anthéron greets visitors worldwide for the International Piano Festival. In its 42nd year, the month-long festival starts in mid-July, and music lovers fill the stands at Château de Florans. For four decades, the acoustic stage, set under a leafy canopy of Plantanes …

Every time we come to Provence, we schedule a day for fun with cousin Annick who lives in Rognes, about an hour south of Sablet. She always comes up with new places or activities for us to experience, such as walking around Lacoste, climbing Mont Saint Victoire, and visiting the …

Virginie Van Der Wees lives with her young family in Rousset, a small Provencal village near Mont Sainte Victoire and a short 20-minute drive from Aix-en-Provence. She is a masseuse and a certified French teacher for non-French speakers. Beginning in 2018, Virginie organizes full immersion experiences that include hosting language …

What’s On in the South of France? During the summer in Provence and the Côte d’Azur, daytime temperatures range from warm to hot. So, you don’t need an excuse to laze by the pool. The lavender is in bloom at this time of year, and the sunflowers put on a …