Travel another way

I love my job because it offers a great variety of tasks: my favorite one being leading the tours, of course, because I enjoy interacting with my guests, sharing their joy and showing them wonderful new places.

However, most of my tours happening between May and October, many people often wonder what I do then. No, I do not sit and relax for 6 months ! It is in fact when I have to do the toughest part of my job: marketing, selling and organizing.

However, having started my company 6 years ago, it becomes easier and easier: I have solid contacts and partners, and “word-of-mouth” makes wonders ! Right now, my cooking tour is really successful and Belgium is getting more interest than the past years . Belgium 2010 is  a cultural tour with an optional  writing workshop. My new tour in Tuscany  is getting filled. As for Provence and the painting workshops, they remain the greatest hits !

For more information and availabilities about all our tours in 2010, check  www.frenchescapade.com

Picture info. 1. Visit of a ranch in Camargue / Provence 2. Picture by Jan Hagan

Designer Christian Lacroix was born in 1951 in Arles, Provence, and his fashion shows and collections were often inspired by Camargue colors, gypsies and corridas.

He opened his own fashion design business in 1987, sponsored by French luxury company Louis Vuiton Moet Hennessy. He became internationally successful right away, and later diversified his business by creating a line of perfume, linen, table ware and accessories. He even participated in designing of the interior of the Mediterranean TGV.

However , financial difficulties appeared in 2005, and today, the company was officially closed when no potential buyer showed up to make an offer to buy the famous brand name.

Cindy, you have no idea how right you are. We had to visit a supermarket today so that Hope & Pam, as well as Rosa and also Sarah could buy some extra luggage to carry home all their shopping!!!

We started the day by drinking wine!!!! Well, visit of Chateau Neuf du Pape village and of course visit of a cellar before the tasting of three Chateu Neuf du Pape wine, The very famous Cote du Rhone.

Linda, Sarah and Sue are very serious abut the swirling, an important step in the tasting.

A bottle in the US is at least $80 when it is only 30 euros here (about $45). Everyone bought as much as they could which is three bottles per person. Hope and Pam maxed out.

After all this wine, we needed some food. Sarah was wondering how she will finish her “little” salad.

After lunch a little dessert was needed. Why not some chocolate tasting? We met with Stephane, the chocolate maker at Castellain in Chateau Neuf du Pape for a little demonstration on how to make chocolate. We kept asking him questions and therefore got many more samples that we were supposed to.

Not sure the group will appreciate this picture on the Internet but I couldn’t resist.

Join us next year on this great trip to Provence. Sign up before Oct 30th and get $150 off.

Click here to see the details of the trip.

What are the specialties? Here are some of the specialties our group bought during their excursion in Provence :

Lavender of course: Fine Lavender is from Provence while the Lavandin can be found anywhere in the world. Everyone in the group bought  and bought and bought some lavender products, from soap to essential oils to hand lotion or shower gel. I think the 2 big winners (I mean buyers) were Linda and Hope.

But Lavender is not all. Today in “Les Baux de Provence” everyone rushed into the cookie store. The first reason was maybe to warm up since it was so windy out there but then everyone felt for the cookies. The nougat is of course the specialty of Montelimar in Provence. Prepared in Montelimar since the 17th century, the nougat combines artfully honey, sugar, egg white, vanilla, almond and pistachio nut in a recipe kept secret…. Its velvety frosting is due to the azymous bread in which the dough cooks.

“Calissons” is the specialty from Aix en Provence. Calissons are white diamond-shaped sweetmeats, made from ground almonds and candied fruits. it is a white cookie with an almond paste inside. Calissons were first prepared in Aix en Provence during the 15th century, and its name is said to come from the expression : Di Calin Soun, which means in the dialect : “they are a stroke”…

Not sure what Lynne and Pam bought but they seem very happy about it:

But there is more than food. What about the “Santons of Provence” From the 19th century, the Santonniers of Provence (santons manufacturers) started to introduce the village people of Provence in the nativity scene: the Water Carrier, the Lavender Lady, the Shepperd, the Cheese Maker but also the Bush Ranger or the Gossiper ! All of them are now part of the traditional Provençal crèche.

Rosa was very interested by the tiny ones but did she have time to buy them? She wasted her time at the restaurant for lunch and missed the “Santon Museum” in les Baux de Provence.

Tomorrow, we are going to Chateau Neuf du Pape for wine tasting and chocolate tasting, so there will be more shopping. Stay tuned!!!

Visit our complete itinerary at www.frenchescapade.com

New tour, new group. We have spent only 2 days in Provence and so much shopping already.

Yesterday we visited Andre, an olive oil maker at the Clos des Jeannons in Gordes, in the Luberon, Provence. But how is olive oil made?

In Provence, harvesting normally takes place around November.

Using traditional methods, this will be done by hitting the olive branches with long sticks, thereby forcing the ripe fruit to tumble onto nets spread on the ground beneath the tree.

After harvesting, olives must be taken to the mill for processing as quickly as possible -  within 3 days to get the AOC (Apellation d’Origine Contrôlée, which is a label of quality from France). Leaves and twigs are removed, the fruit washed, then the olives – pits included – are ground into a paste … using huge millstones.

Yes, the pit is included because it contains a anti-oxydant that will preserve the oil. No preservatives are added to the oil.

A first centrifuge at 4000 rpm will separate the solid (skin, pit) from the liquid (water an oil) and a 7,500rpm centrifuge will then separate the water from the oil.

The best quality oil is made from the “first cold press”. In other words, it must be derived from the first pressing of the olives. And cold pressed olive oil means the olive paste must be kept under 27C (80F)  for, if too much heat is used, the oil chemistry will change.

Our group (from the left: Linda, Lynn, Rosa, Pam, Hope, Sarah, the olive producer Andre, Sheila and Susan…and all our bags full of olive oil !!!!!)

If you are interested in joining one of our tours, check www.frenchescapade.com

Six American ladies managed to hide a big surprise to Sharon on her birthday. She had been told she was going to travel for a week, but she had no idea what her destination would be until she finally got to San Francisco airport, from where she flew to Marseille. But it was not her final destination: Barbara, her girlfriend, took her on a train ride to Avignon, where 5 friends of theirs were expected them.

                                               Carol and Sharon in Chateau-Neuf-du-Pape

 Allison was also there and joined the jolly group along ! Everybody had a great time, visiting the area (hilltop villages, ranches, markets …) and enjoyed the Bastide in Luberon.

                                                                  Sharon, the birthday girl !

  Allison, chocolate-tasting in Oppede                   Ready to board the van for another fun day!

                                                The whole group on the ranch in Camargue

For more information about our tours in France, Belgium and more, check www.frenchescapade.com

Women from Canada and from the USA have joined me this week to tour Provence. Provence is known for its breath-taking sceneries, its historical hilltop villages and its art. We saw all that, but its natural beauty was at the heart of this week’ s delights.

Camargue is always a highlight, with the visit of Thibaud Ranch, where Olivier and his friends always put on a show just for us.

Roussillon with its ocher walk is a kind of fairy land, with magical colors.

In Les Baux, houses are nested in cliffs around the medieval castle, or down below the village walls.

In Saint Remy de Provence, Van Gogh also discovered the beauty of nature and depicted it on many of his paintings. We visited the hospital where he stayed and painted a few months before his death.

We took pictures of all of that, and we will again tomorrow, when we will admire the Pont du Gard, one of the most impressive roman ruins in Provence.

To find out more about our coming trips, visit www.frenchescapade.com

The Chateau-Neuf du Pape is the most famous Cotes-du-Rhone wine.

So what is the grape used in this wine? Is it merlot? Cabernet?…Not at all. That was a trick question because 13 different types of grapes are used in Chateau-Neuf du Pape wine. The king of the grapes is the Grenache, used for both white and red wines. Up to 8  types of grapes are used to make the red wine and five for the wine.

There is no rose wine in Chateau Neuf du Pape.

For the red wine: Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre are the most common. Each wine maker in this village will have his secret blend: they can add more types of grapes as long as they belong to the list of grapes recognized by the AOC (Applelation d’Origine Controlee which is a label of quality) for the Chateau Neuf du Pape wine. That is why you can taste wines in every cellar in this village (there are more than 320!!!!) and not taste twice the same.

They all have in common to be have a velvety quality, could be spicy, with flavors of prunes, have a high in alcohol percentage and to have aged for a long time (2 years).

We went to “maison Bouachon” for our tasting in Chateau Neuf du Pape. Florent, the  sommelier, was very friendly and knowledgeable. He shared with us the 3 techniques of tasting wine:  swirling, sniffing. tasting.

Another great day on our French Escapade tour. For more details about  our itinerary, click here.

We are having a new tour, this time we are not in Belgium anymore but in Provence, France.

What comes to mind to everyone when talking about Provence? Lavender…

So, since there is no lavender in Sept, we went to the lavender museum. They taught the group the difference between lavender and lavandin because guess what? What you see everywhere, in your garden, in the fields, is lavandin, not lavender.

The main variety of Lavender cultivated in Provence is in fact not Lavender, but a sterile hybrid plant called Lavandin.

Lavandin is very rare in the wild and results from the cross-pollinization of True French Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and Spike Lavender ( Lavandula latifolia ). This rarity is because both True Lavender and Spike Lavender grow in distinct territories with little overlap,  between 500 and 600 metres where both plants can grow and the opportunity for Lavandin to occur.

Not only does the Lavandin produce 4 to 6 times the essential oil of True Lavender (though not of the same high quality required for perfumery or aromatherapy), it can also growth at lower altitude (easier to cultivate everywhere) . Therefore, most farmers decided to adopt this new plant as their crop of choice. They therefore decide to clone it and reproduce it by hand.

While lavandin is a hardy plant, it is also sterile and therefore must be reproduced with cuttings rather than seeds. These plants have larger leaves, longer stems, and larger flowers that are pointed at the tip. Because the flowers are beautiful, vibrantly colored, and long-lasting, they are often used in herbal crafts and potpourris.

Here are a few pictures of our group at the Lavender museum:

Our group in front of the old lavender distillation alambics (Sally, Sheila, Susan, Aimee, Brooke, Angellea, Katura and in front,Nancy and me.  I am wearing  a lavender shirt of course!!!).

Sheila and Anjellea were the biggest shoppers!!!!

Ok, this is not a woman from our group but a mannequin with the outfit that women were wearing in the 19th century when harvesting  lavender by hand. Women would harvest 700kg of lavender a day!!!!!

That is it for now, more tomorrow: stay tuned!

If you want to be part of this adventure yourself, check the itinerary at www.frenchescapade.com

Travel notes from one of our guests on the Provence tour with French Escapade.

“Today we ventured into the marketplace in Gordes , a medieval hilltop village listed one of the  most beautiful in France. We had a terrific time hunting and gathering gourmet goodies for a picnic lunch. Our feast, with delicious food, charming company, and laughter, was one of many highlights during this idyllic day.

Our Olive mill visit was delightful and engaging…and followed by an impromptu cherry picking outing at the invitation of the farmer/Olive producer.

We ended our day with a visit to fields of lavender…actually “lavandin” as we learned from our ever-informative and always entertaining tour leader extraordinairre, Jac.

I should mention that some of us experienced an amazing dinner featuring several local specialties at our fabulous “Hotel de Charme” in Luberon: goat cheese salad, garlic guinea hen with ratatouille, a cheese board featuring 6 different cheeses and profiteroles-cream puffs with ice cream covered with hot chocolate.” Laurie

To join our women-only tour to Provence in October at 40% off, visit www.frenchescapade.com

Travel notes from one of our guests on our tour to Provence with www.frenchescapade.com

“This is my first blog entry ever. It’s a perfect fit, as it is my first ever trip to France, too. I got off the phone with my mom and my husband, and I’ve told both of them that I have fallen in love with France. I even found a dream studio loft to purchase above the Farmer’s Market that we visited yesterday in Isle sur la Sorgue.

I have laughed more in the last couple of days than I have in many years. And, for the first time in years, my shoulders are not tied to my ears; they have dropped inches from the relaxation. My tourmates are dreams, and any fears that I had about going on a trip with nine complete strangers have been completely assuaged.

We visited a winery, where the sommelier taught us all the ins and outs of wine appreciation. We enjoyed lunch at an outdoor cafe, walked through quaint and quiet streets snapping photos of places one usually sees only in dreams.

Later, we nearly drowned in a pot of chocolate as the chocolatier showed us all of the secrets of chocolate.

Driving home, we sang to Abba, car danced like Queens, and laughed some more. We’ve just finished up our evening meeting, and will be walking to “old” Maubec, where we will feast on more local food… I am seriously thinking about not going home; my heart feels at home, here. I can say (for the first time in years) that I am happy, well, and good. A bientot… “Amanda

If you want to join of our tours to Provence at 40% off, check www.frenchescapade.com

Today we started our Provence tour with our group of 8 American women. We picked them up at the Avignon airport and drove them to the wonderful guesthouse in the countryside.

Here are the travel notes from some of my guests:

Renne wrote: “We’ve arrived – warm welcome at the mas – beautiful rooms…each one different – took a walk in the woody park (with views over vineyards up to the Luberon mountain range). We had aperitifs and kirs, melonade (melon liquor at 12% alcohol) and wine to fortify ourselves for tonight’s mistral (very cool wind typical in Provence) waiting for a wonderful dinner and delighted to be here!  Pete and Ann, I wish you could share this – sort of reminds me of the finca and Chantilly – the smells – the antiques….thinking of you – a dream come true”!  love, Renee

Our next available tour to Provence will take place Oct 12-19 and we have 3 more spots at 40% if you sign up before June 30. Check www.frenchescapade.com

                                                                               Views of Cannes and Festival Award

From May 13 to 24, international film stars will take over the glamorous Mediterranean resort  where they will meet in the prestigious Palais du Festival but mainly in lavish parties in the luxurious hotels .

It all started in 1946, and the first selection included Billy Wilder’s “Lost Weekend”, David Lean’s “Brief Encounter”, Roberto Rossellini’s “Rome Open City”, George Cukor’s “Gaslight”, Walt Disney’s “Make Mine Music”, Alfred Hitchcock’s “Notorious”, and Jean Cocteau’s “Beauty and the Beast”.

This year’s  jury will be headed by French actress Isabelle Huppert, only the 4th woman to hold the presidency for over 6 decades.

                                           Isabelle Huppert holding the Cannes Festival Palm Award

Here is the official selection of the movies in competition:

• “A prophet”, France, Jacques Audiard
• “Agora”, Spain, Alejandro Amenabar
• “Antichrist”, Sweden/ Denmark/ France / Italy, Lars Von Trier
• “Bright Stars”, Australia, Jane Campion
• “Broken Embrace”, Spain, Pedro Almodovar
• “Enter the void”, France, Gaspar Noe
• “Face”, France/ Taiwan/ Netherlands/  Belgium, Tsai Ming-liang
• “Fishtank”, UK/ Netherlands, Andrea Arnold
• “In the beginning”, France, Xavier Giannoli
• “Inglorious Basterds”, USA, Quentin Tarantino
• “Kinatay”, Philippines, Brillante Mendoza
• “Les herbes folles”, France/ Italy, Alain Resnais
• “Looking for Eric”, UK/ France/ Belgium/ Italy, Ken Loach
• “Maps of the sound of Tokyo”, Spain, Isabel Coixet
• “Spring Fever”, China/ France, Lou Ye
• “Taking Woodstock”, USA, Ang Lee
• “The times that remains”, Israel/ France/ Belgium/ Italy, Elia Suleiman
• “The whit ribbon”, Germany/ Austria/ France, Michael Haneke
• “Thirst”, South Korea, Park Chan-Wook
• “Vengeance”, Hong Kong France/ USA, Johnnie To
• “Vincere’, Italy / France, Marco Bellochio

Pixar 3-D movie UP will open the festival on May 13th, an unusual event as it will be the first time an animated movie will be shown for the opening. The results will be anounced in the evening of May 24th.

Video introducing the 2009 festival/ Film samples /In French with some English

The French Riviera has always been  a magnet  for American stars  coming either to   the Cannes film festival or to luxry resorts like Nice or Monaco, but  Provence only  attracted European artists and  painters before the 1950s. It was only in the 1980s that  British and American stars moved to the heart of Provence: le Luberon.

In 1988, Peter Mayle, in his delicious book  “A year in Provence”  started to  praise this authentic rural area, rolling between Avignon and Apt, where he had bought his famous house in Menerbes; he unfortunately had to sell it because of nosy fans driving up his alley any time of the day or of the night. He still owns a house in the area but he prefers not to disclose the location

John Malkocich has   a summer house  in Bonnieux, a village just 5 miles from Ménerbes, where he grows his own wine.

John Illsley, the guitarist of Dire Straits, picked a more southern place, in Les Baux, south of Saint Remy de Provence. The village houses are nested in the rock cliffs in a troglodyte way; at the top of the village , a medieval castle offers the greatest view on the Alpille and Camargue towards the Mediterranean Sea.

As for Tony and Ridley Scott, they have owned a house for over 10 years in the same area, and they hosted Brad and Angelina last year, when they were cruising the area in search of the perfect hiding nest.

Indeed Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have bought a 44 million  euros estate, Chateau de Miraval with  a AOC Côte-de-Provence vineyard, near Brignolles.  They often fly their private helicopter to reach the close-by French Riviera when they feel like seing their friend Bono or  in Cap-ferrat or Saint Tropez. Beside the vineyards,  13 different types of olive trees are grown on the property, amidst a forest and a lake.

So why do they pick France? Most American stars do not only come for the charms of the French countryside; they are attracted by stricter French laws protecting their private lives.

Useful links to click on:

• Tour in Provence with French Escapade : stay in a charming villa in the heart of Luberon, near Ménerbes and Bonnieux ! Daily visits in small groups of 8 to Les Baux, Saint Remy, Avignon, Camargue, Gordes, Roussillon, L’Isle sur la Sorgues ; product tasting: wine, chocolate, olive oil, … Last minute offer on June 20-27 trip: 50% off. Check the “dates and rates” page.

Provence is the perfect inspiration for many painters. If Cezanne  and Van Gogh are the first names you would associate with the South of France, Picasso was not indifferent to its charms and spent a lot of time in Provence and the French Riviera..

In the beginning, the Spanish painter would often visit friends in the area before he eventually moved  there,  where he  painted some majors works inspired by the spirit of the place.

Here are his Provence landmarks:

• In 1912, he stayed with Braque in Sorgue near Avignon and painted “L’Arlésienne”
• In Vence , he would often meet Matisse
• In Saint Tropez,  he drew the “Odalisque” sketch
• In 1919, he stayed in Saint Raphaël for a while.
• In 1923 and 1924, Cap d’Antibes and Juan les Pins were his summer destinations, where he painted “Paul as Arlequin”
• In 1939, he spent some time at Man Ray’s home in Antibes and painted ” Antibes port at night”
• In 1946, he stayed in Menerbes , the village made famous by Peter Mayle’s books.
• In 1948, in Vallauris, he discovered the art of ceramics 
• In 1955, he moved to Cannes. There, he worked on his series “les Ménines” and also did  “Peace and War “ 
• In Les Baux de Provence, he acted in a Cocteau movie.
• In 1960, he finally moved  to Mougins, his last residence, near Aix en Provence, where he could see Cezanne’s dear Mont Saint Victoire. He died therenin 1973.
• He is burried in the park at his Vauvenargues Castle, in Mougins.

After the extremely successful “Picasso and the masters” exhibit  this fall in Paris,  mentioned on this blog on November 25, 2008, Provence will celebrate Picasso in 2009.

Here are the major events:

• May 25 – September 27: Picasso – Cezanne exhibit at Musée Granet in Aix en Provence
• May 27 – September 25: temporary opening of Vauvenargues Castle (reservations required)
• March 28 – June 28: Picasso 1945-1949 exhibit, 200 pieces from the Happy Years, at the Picasso Museum of Antibes .
• Starting February 29: the Cathedral of images in les Baux de Provence will project Picasso’s  works in the amazing quarry used as an exhibition room. Always a superb experience!

Both our regular tours and painting trips in Provence include Les Baux de Provence, Menerbes, Avignon, the Cathedral of Images and Sorgues.

Our painting teachers in Provence; For 2009: Jann Pollard; in 2010 Victoria Brooks

Poster for the new show at the Cathedral of Images, Les Baux de Provence.

Painters and art lovers                can discover                   Provence                    through           art, gastronomy     and painting workshops               organized by          French Escapade.