The 1st century Pont Julien in the Luberon Provence
InspirePaul ShawcrossProvencal History & Traditions

The Pont Julien at Bonnieux

The Luberon in Provence is best known for its beautiful ‘villages perchés’ which visitors flock to in large numbers especially during July and August. Many are unaware of the existence of Pont Julien and indeed some visitors simply stumble upon it while visiting the most well known of these villages, …

READ MORE  The Pont Julien at Bonnieux
Discover Provence Lavender @AboutProvence
Carolyne Kauser-AbbottExploreGuided Holiday Tours

Discover Provence Top Picks in Provence

Sarah Pernet spends her days guiding visitors around Provence. Her company Discover Provence founded only four years ago, has already achieved Trip Advisor certificates of excellence and Rick Steves’ stamp of approval. You can read the full story here. We asked Sarah to share her Perfectly Provence picks with readers: …

READ MORE  Discover Provence Top Picks in Provence
Real Luberon Lacoste Village
ExploreSophia van Woensel-Mose

Provence: Falling for the Real Luberon

Before we moved to France I had read Peter Mayle’s account of his idyllic year in the Luberon region of Provence, and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, when planning our great escape from the grey-skied rat-race that is the City of London we never contemplated moving to the Luberon. Somehow it …

READ MORE  Provence: Falling for the Real Luberon
Lacoste Luberon Villages #Lacoste #Luberon @VaculuseDreamer
ExploreJulie WhitmarshVillages Towns and Cities

L is for Lacoste in the Luberon

We’ve been back home for a week and our tans are fading, so it’s time to return to my own A-Z of the Vaucluse as a way of helping to keep me going over the next few weeks until we travel down for another visit. This week I move onto …

READ MORE  L is for Lacoste in the Luberon
Discover Provence Sarah and Rick Steves @AboutProvence
Carolyne Kauser-AbbottExploreGuided Holiday Tours

Discover Provence Tours with Locals

It must have been a bit of a letdown for Sarah Pernet, the founder of Discover Provence, to meet with travel guru Rick Steves one week and myself the next. It is obvious why Discover Provence (established 2012) is on Mr Steves’ radar, this young company has achieved the number …

READ MORE  Discover Provence Tours with Locals
Calanque En Vau Calanques Provence
Carolyne Kauser-Abbott

Discovering Provence as Retired Expat

Journalist/Writer Anne-Marie Simons and her husband Oscar (retired international banker) have lived and worked in the US and Europe. They could have chosen anywhere to retire but decided on sunny Aix-en-Provence. Anne-Marie says, “Our choice of Aix-en-Provence was a bit of a stab in the dark but has worked out …

READ MORE  Discovering Provence as Retired Expat
Best Ice-Cream Provence
AixcentricRestaurant RecommendationsTaste

Just the Best Ice-Cream in Provence in Ansouis

This Wednesday, April 15th, L’Art Glacier reopens after its winter break. This is a restaurant tucked away on a wooded hillside near Ansouis and is well-worth seeking out. It has a fabulous terrace which overlooks the Luberon and its ice-creams and sorbets must be the best ever! Explore the original …

READ MORE  Just the Best Ice-Cream in Provence in Ansouis
Provence village Market Puyricard @DreamyProvence
Markets in Provence and Cote d'AzurMy Dreamy ProvenceTaste

Market day at my favourite local Provencal village

Ten minutes drive from the centre of Aix and we are in the countryside.  All around this town there are little villages where daily life seems a whole lot slower and simpler than its larger neighbour.  The stunning ‘travel book’ villages are further away and if you need a slice …

READ MORE  Market day at my favourite local Provencal village
Roussillon Red Cliffs
Barefoot BloggerExploreGuided Holiday Tours

Roussillon: For Art and Authors

The red hills of Roussillon appear seemingly from nowhere as you ride along the winding road of the Luberon. Once you see it clearly, you know this tiny village is special. “How is it possible that so much red is in one place?” you say to yourself. The towns nearby …

READ MORE  Roussillon: For Art and Authors
Black Diamonds Truffles
Carolyne Kauser-AbbottLocal Food ProducersTaste

Les Pastras Gourmet Pursuits Unearthing Truffles

Chicago might seem like a world away from the pastures of Provence, but Lisa and Johann Pepin tell me that adjusting to life in the south of France was relatively easy. They left corporate jobs (public relations and finance) in Chi-town, as only 30-yearolds can do, with the confidence that …

READ MORE  Les Pastras Gourmet Pursuits Unearthing Truffles