When it comes to Provence, I always think of the colours, especially in late winter and early spring. It all begins in January, with the hillsides of the Cote d’Azur, turning bright yellow, with the sight of the Mimosa trees coming into flower. Then in February we start to see the first almond blossom around … More Joyful colour of the Judas Tree
When we first started visiting Provence, we would happily spend a couple of hours, sitting at a cafe or restaurant enjoying lunch, whilst we were out on the bikes. I remember the first time we came, arriving at Goult in the heat of the day, exhausted after what, at the time, felt like a long … More Irresistable Breakfasts
Ever since I was a child I have found the concept of borders, a little bit odd. More often than not, we have lived very close to a county boundary in the UK, whether it was Wiltshire and Gloucester, or Devon and Cornwall, where a wavy line, drawn on a map, marks huge changes in … More Hopping into ‘Haute Provence’
I can’t help but have rather a soft spot for Fontaine De Vaucluse. I can’t really explain why, but there is something about it that just makes me smile. The word Vaucluse derives from the latin ‘vallis clausa’ or ‘closed valley’ a perfect description for the setting of this village, that gives its name to … More Fontaine De Vaucluse.
It’s been such a strange and incredibly sad year, with so much of what we had considered a normal life, being turned on its head as a result of the pandemic. We were in Menton for the Fete Du Citron and Carnaval de Nice, as the impact of what was happening started to hit home, … More Events
We have always loved antiques, and even as a young couple, we filled our house with an eclectic collection of bits from antiques fairs and auctions. More often than not they had the bumps and bashes of a life, hard-lived, and needed a bit of work doing to them, to stop them falling to pieces, … More Brocanting is such a joy
There is so much that is uncertain at the moment, so I have set my self a challenge of doing an A-Z of things linked with our life in Provence during February with a new letter and a new blog each day. … More A little A to Z of Provence.
It’s only 6th January, but already feels, with everything that has happened, as if we are months into this year. It’s been a stressful few days trying to establish what is happening, following the latest announcement about lockdown in England, but yesterday everything became clearer, when Tom’s University confirmedthat as his course is considered to … More Epiphany Queen – Brioche des Rois
I have almost given up expecting that things will go to plan, especially this year, and this week was another case in point. It all seemed so simple – Tom would finish his online lecture with Uni at 3pm on Tuesday, by which time the car would be loaded, and as soon as he finished, … More Back to Provence for Christmas
There is always a point whenever we have worked on houses, when the niceties of life have to go by the wayside and you simply have to make do with chaos for anything from a few days to a few weeks. And this week Andy got to that point. Over the years we’ve become experts … More Not exactly elegant living in Provence!
Postcards from Provence and beyond 