Sitting in the north of the Vaucluse, on the border with the Drome, Mont Ventoux dominates the sky-line. This mountain, with its white-scree summit, is an iconic landmark and its profile is instantly recognisable from afar, even as far away as The Camargue. The Giant of Provence rises to over 1900 metres, (it’s been as … More Mont Ventoux and an unplanned ride
The first time we visited Provence, over 30 years ago, we arrived in a desperate effort to escape the rain that always seemed to dog our snatched, two week holidays in France. At that time we were simply ‘holiday cyclists’, and with a busy working life at home, we only really got out on the … More Cycling the back roads of Provence
After all the work that Andy has managed to get done over the last couple of months he has finally felt able to relax a bit and enjoy himself this week. That’s probably a bit unfair, as it suggests that he hasn’t enjoyed himself whilst he has been doing the work, which isn’t the case … More Enjoying winter days, and a bit more work
Over the last few days I have been asked the question ‘Why do you cycle?’ by a couple of people I’ve met and yesterday it was posted by one of the women’s cycling groups as well. It got me thinking about the reasons why, and I thought I’d share them with you, so hopefully you … More Slow Tourism and Active Travel by bike in Provence
I Mentioned in yesterday’s post about the story of using 2CVs to set the categorisation of climbs in The Tour De France. It made us realise the final climb back to the house can only be done in 1st gear, so is a Category 1 climb, and to be honest pretty tough at the end … More Fifi the cycle carrier
Since arriving back without Fifi we’ve been out on the bikes every day, just settling in and getting back under the skin of the area. It’s been a delight to be out on the quiet roads, just enjoying the peace that we find here. We both feel there is a simple and almost childlike joy … More A little cycle around Lioux
It would be fair to say that it has taken us a couple of days to settle down into life again in Provence after having spent 17 weeks in the UK (the longest time we’ve spent there since we bought our house here 4 years ago). Then there was the additional little spanner thrown into … More Back in Provence and a sensory massage
I have to start by saying that I really dislike January. I know it’s a a quiet time of year after the excesses of Christmas and a time for looking forward to the year ahead, also my birthday happens to fall within it too, but I still find it the most depressing of months. Despite … More Beating the January Blues in Provence
Time is a very strange thing indeed, I have been back in the UK for less than 4 weeks and although the time has flown by, it feels as if I have been away from France for so much longer. I am sure there is some psychological explanation for this, but I wouldn’t have any … More Settling in after a few weeks away…..
Sometimes it takes me a while to get round to doing something and this week I finally decided I would go and try out the Spa at Montbrun Les Bains. I say finally as our lovely neighbour had mentioned it to me 3 years ago, just after we bought the house, saying it was a … More An afternoon at The Thermal Spa in Montbrun Les Bains
Vaucluse Dreamer 