By aixcentric It really is the best time to hit the coast. You can drive there! You can park! Enjoy empty beaches, restaurants and art gallery! In fact this photo shows the world-famous celeb-magnet Pampelonne Beach last week…not a footballer, WAG or starlet in sight. Just us, Explore this Post …

New Year rolls around again and I’m truly determined this time to add a different fitness regime to my life….. My previous New Year experiences have included the usual joining the gym, but oh what a yawn that is!  I’m simply not a gym girl – it’s truly dull in …

By aixcentric In this week of commemoration, remembering those who perished at Auschwitz, it is fitting to honour those people, living and working in Aix, who helped save Jewish families, at great personal risk. They are designated ‘Juste parmi les Nations’. There are 25,000 worldwide, 3,700 in France and more …

Here is another Provence biking route from Hannah Reynolds and John Walsh the authors of France en Vélo – The Ultimate Cycle Journey From Channel to Med – St-Malo to Nice. Sault to Forcalquier 33 miles/53 kms Le Tour de France visits Provence most years, often with Mont Ventoux as …

This month I went back to school … to wine school. Now, I have little regrets about my university days, but if I had to name one it would be my lack of involvement in university life. I was busy juggling full-time study with a part-time job, saving for my next …

By aixcentric 2015 will see the production of ‘Les Insépérables’, a film on the early lives of Paul Cézanne and Emile Zola who famously met at school in Aix. Cézanne will be played by Guillaume Gallienne and Zola by Guillaume Canet when shooting starts in September. Filming will take place …

Serious athletes often push their physical boundaries to new extremes; climbing higher mountains, running longer distances, or entering Navy Seal inspired team-relays on muddy courses… Now, serious wine buffs can compete too! Connoisseurs who are looking to close their personal “wine gap” by moving beyond buying familiar labels and ‘trusted’ …

“To Joan. A loaf of bread, a jug of wine and thou, plus a house in Provence.” ~Dedication: The Provence Book. It was a perfect Provencal day, where the cobalt-blue morning sky turns white by noon under the sun’s intense rays. Nutmeg arrived at Provence Paradise, an enclave of self-catering …

Fancy a walk through lavender fields? Do you want to get away from the crowds on the coast? Did you know there are 60 kinds of orchids in one national park? In two recently published guidebooks Walking in Provence East and Walking in Provence West by author Janette Norton, you …

Ok, I’m dreaming about Starbucks. I know I know…… I should never say such a thing like that when I’m in France surrounded by the highly sophisticated coffee drinking society of Aix. It starts early with a small black (ordered as un cafe, mainly served in a cup but sometimes …