Travel another way

Travel notes from Michelle, one of our guests on the tour to Provence.

“Today, we were off to wine tasting (Chateau Neuf du Pape wine), then chocolate tasting.  What a yummy combination!  We have learned so much about the French culture just by hearing about how wine is made.  We had lunch in a small French village called Chateau Neuf du Pape; it almost feels like the back lot of a Disney tour.  It’s absolutely amazing!

Michelle, Kathy, the oenologist, Jeannie, Sandy, Sue and Pat at the winery of Chateau Neuf du Pape.

After lunch, onto the Bernard Castelain candy making tour.  Their chocolate was ranked #1 in Gourmet Magazines 2007 magazine.  Just as a point of reference,  Ghirardelli was ranked last, and even Hershey ranked above Ghirardelli.  Just excellent!

We saw our first rainbow in France; we would definitely travel with our tour leader Jacques again…she is wonderful, as is Valerie.”

Travel notes from Michelle L, Rhode Island, one of our guests on the tour to Provence.

“Began the day with yet another excellent breakfast prepared by Phillipe and Viviane (the proprietors at the hotel).  Then, we went to an olive oil factory and learned how olive oil is made.  It’s amazing, we take so much for granted.  We just pour the olive oil on our bread without thinking about the trees, the tending of the soil, the harvesting etc.  We should all be more grateful and aware of the labor that goes into each bite of food.

Then, onto Roussillon, a beautiful old village a top a stone ledge. Kathy and I bought paint pigment; then we all went onto the ochre trail.  It was bold reds and golds, much like Bryce Canyon without the spires.  Absolutely beautiful!

Then, if that was not enough, onto the nougat factory.  We learned how nougat was made, had plenty of samples :-)

Back at the guesthouse, I (Mitch) had the most wonderful, luxurious massage of my life.  What a wonderful trip; new places, new friends, new ways to be.”

Travel notes from Michelle, one of our guests on the tour to Provence.

“Today, the six members of our party spent our first day together.  Kathy and Mitch, Pat and Sandy, Susan and Jeannie spent the morning in the Avignon marketplace.  It was spectacular!   Second hand European clothes were wonderful; beautiful soaps, lotions, linens and to top it off….a parade went by!

We spent the afternoon in the Palace of the Popes.  There was a beautiful carousel in the middle of the square, and nearly all of us bought jewelry from a man who made original silver pieces…one of a kind.

Back at the guesthouse in the Luberon, we had a most delicious dinner beginning with salad greens, then 3-day marinated beef stew.  It was so soft and tender, you just lay your fork on the beef to cut it.

Jackie (we call her Jacques) and Valerie are wonderful.  Our rooms are all different, each more charming than the next.  We’re loving this trip.

(How lucky we are to be spending such a magical time in fabulous France with such wonderful women. We are so fortunate to experience the wonders of France and the new friendships we are forming. The wonders we see before us each day are an experience in itself but the frosting on the cake is to be with women who are kind, friendly, warm and most of all——fun. We are truly rich). We should be thankful for what we have each and every day…” Michelle

Today I decided to post the diary from Susan and Kathy who were our guests in Provence. They went to Paris on their own afterwards while Eppie adn Joan went to La Cote d’Azur and Italy. Tomorrow, I will post their comment about Italy.

From Susan and Kathy, Castro Valley, California.

We had a great time in Paris.  Our apartment was just as it was described—and with the 10 or so pictures we saw of the apartment, there were no surprises–except a pleasant one–we even had a bathtub!  We were never more than a 10 min metro ride from anything.

We spent Sunday at Versailles where they were having a special musical fountain display in the gardens—which meant they turned on the fountains and piped in classical music.  It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed it immensely.  Then on the way home, we stopped at the Eiffel Tower and saw it in all its night time glory–sparkles and all.  Yes, we had to go to the top!  The rest of the week was filled to the brim and we saw everything we had intended to see.  Thursday afternoon the weather turned very cold and by Friday AM, we were ready to leave Paris in a pouring rain.  It is good to be home—–Joan and Eppie–are you ready to come home yet?

Thank you all for a wonderful time in Provence.  We enjoyed being with you all and the memories will last a life time.  Jac and Valerie—you two rock!!”"

Here is a picture of Kathy and Susan in Provence

kathy and susan

From Joan D. diary, one of our guests who traveled with us to Provence before heading towards the Cote d’Azur.

Still in Monaco. It only takes 30 minutes to drive by and point out many landmarks. It also helps you understand the lay of the land. We knew after taking this tour that it’d be cool to head back to M-C after we toured the area around the Palace. We went to the Cathedral of Monaco where Grace Kelly married her Prince. (They are now buried there side-by-side)  We found this entire area – the hilltop overlooking the city- very beautiful and clean and wall-to-wall history.

We then took advantage of Monaco’s FREE city bus service and rode over to Monte-Carlo. By the way, there is 1 police officer per every 60 people in Monaco and thousands of surveillance cameras throughout the Principality, so as they told us on the tour train, “smile, you’re having your picture taken”. Sure enough, we didn’t see any gang types, beggars, gypsies, tramps or thieves. In Monte-Carlo I had to try my hand in the glamorous Casino, (as in Casino Royale). I played slots because you have to pay and get a line of credit just to walk into the ‘betting parlors’. I put my 20€ in the poker machine and doubled it when I got 4 kings. I cashed out and STRUTTED out a winner!

Eppie and I then walked next door to do a little (very little) shopping and then dined at Cafe du Paris, where I splurged and used my winnings to enjoy a glass of pink champagne. My overall impression of Monaco; it was more urban than I had thought it would be. Still, many parts were beautiful, scenic. I could live there. Apparently I am not alone in this thought as only a very small % of residents are native to Monaco. The weather is nice, the economy is strong, the streets are safe and clean and there’s lots of dogs. Oh, and there’s gambling and public transportation is free. What’s not to like?!  One more observation about France in general: we noticed on numerous occasions that VERY young kids (3,4,5,6) are just walking around without obvious adult supervision. Out of concern we’d watch the child to see if it was lost or wandering and sure enough, eventually an adult would come over and claim them. You never see a dog off a leash or without supervision, but kids we’d see running a block ahead of their parents. Funny in a peculiar way.
So back to Nice for the night and then we’re off to Italy on Monday.

Still from Joan’s diary, one of our guests on the Provence trip in October.

“It was with an enormous amount of anticipation on my part that we headed off to Monaco. While I woke up early, (giddy with excitement no doubt) mon ami Epifania slept until 10:30! By the time we were out of the room it was 11:30.

We walked a couple of blocks down the street alongside the water to the well known Hotel Negresco. We had thought about doing brunch until the 54€ price tag made us think again. We decided to save the € and the calories and went into a brasserie for tapas and cafe au lait. Then we made the 20 min walk to the Nice Ville train station and caught the local to Monaco.

Upon arriving, one could be impressed that the train station is new, sleek and built into the rock of the hillside overlooking downtown Monaco and its harbor. We walked from there to the Oceanographic Museum, no small feat. About 2.5 miles, the last 1/3 of which was up the hill on which the Princes Palace is located. But what a view! At the Oceanographic Museum you can get on the little tour trains that take you all around Monaco and Monte-Carlo. More tomorrow….”

Joan D. San Jose, California

Still from Joan’s diary D. from San Jose, California, one of our guests on our trip to Provence.

It was with mixed emotions that we said our goodbyes at the train station in Avignon. We had such a wonderful time and have stored away so many fun memories of Provence.

Thanks again Jackie and Valerie for everything. Check their site to travel to France at www.frenchescapade.com

Now we leave Provence and travel east through the Cote du Azur to Nice. Nice (pronounced Neece) is 3 hours east of Avignon by train – we traveled through Marseilles, Toulon, Cannes and Antibes to name a few. We followed the shore most of the way once we hit Marseille, so the views were great. When we arrived in Nice we could tell immediately that we were back in a big city. What a crowd! We grabbed a cab to our hotel ( Le Meridian) which, to our delight, is across the street from the Mediterranean. We learned to our extreme dismay that cabs to Monaco, which is about 13 miles away, cost 80€, which = $120.00. I’m not sure how to say HOLY CRAP in French, but I was ready to look it up. Since it was already 4:30 pm we decided to stay in Nice for the evening and take a train to Monaco/Monte-Carlo for 4€ the next day. And I’m so glad we did.

We strolled down the promenade (you do that in France, stroll. In San Jose you walk, in New York you hustle, in Texas you mosey, in France – you stroll ) So we stroll past some high-end shops and then some not-so-high-end shops until we arrived in an area that was clearly gearing up for a busy Saturday night. It was like a pedestrian boulevard with many restaurants and sidewalk cafes. We ate early by european standards-7:30 is usually the earliest restaurants begin serving. But that is when the staff is charming and friendly and takes time to describe things. Its been my observation that usually each waiter has about 12 tables, so after 8:30 when the place fills up you rarely see them.

So while we’re sitting at this cafe having dinner we can see vendors and shoppers and people walking their dogs all filling up the street. By the time it 9:00 the place is beginning to bustle. Eppie and I started to walk (strolling doesn’t work off your dinner, but walking does) all around without paying particular attention to where we were as long as there was a lot of light and lots of people. We end up hiking up into an old section of town, up a hill on very narrow streets with a lot of young people hanging out in these hole in the wall pubs and bars. It reminded me of Monmartre. We followed someone who was walking his dog as far up as we could go, there was either a castle or a church up at the top but whatever it was it was closed. We got a little nervous – the streets became as narrow as hallways and they were crowded with pub crawlers.

We finally made our way back to a very large plaza that had a crowd standing around one end. We sauntered over and discover a young man, probably mid 20’s, had rolled a piano onto the plaza and was playing these concertos and sonatas beautifully. It was awesome. Of course people were filling his tip jar. It was very nice – here we were watching the result of thousands of euros worth of piano lessons for the amount of a small tip. Soon after this concert was over we headed back to the hotel and called it a day. Tomorrow – Monaco

From Kathy and Susan, 2 of our guests on our tour to Provence with French Escapade.

Hi all–tonight is our last night in Provence and the gods are sad.  After a week of beautiful weather, we returned to our farmhouse about 4 pm, sat ouside and talked with a few people and then it started to cloud over.  Now it is raining quite hard and thunder and lightening right over the hotel—-quite spectacular.  It is about 6pm now, Susan will have a massage at 7pm and then to dinner at 8.  Last night we had dinner here also and had duck–it was delicious—-what a tough life!!

Today we went to the Alpilles (small alps) to a quarry which has an underground light and music display of Van Gogh paintings projected onto huge slabs of stone.  It was pretty neat.  Then onto the medievel village of les Baux de Provence which is perched on the side of a rock mountain with the remains of a medievel castle topping it.  They have displays of catapults which was very impressive and the medievel knight giving the demo was really cute and quite funny.  The view down into the valley was awesome with its patchwork quilt design of olive tree orchards and grapevines.  Lots of shopping or just sitting and people watching.

It will be a sad day tomorrow to be leaving this wonderful place.

Love to all. Kathy and Susan, Casto Valley, California.

Still from Joan’s diary, one of our guests on our tours for women to Provence.

Cathedrale D’Images is one of the most incredible things I have seen and I can only hope to describe this with some accuracy. We drove about 40 min through the town of St. Remy to the village of Chateau des Baux. Another medieval hilltop village built in stone surrounding a huge castle. This area is very rocky, there are enormous cliffs of solid rock.  Very close by (15 min walk) there is  a quarry that excavated the stone for about 100 years. The remains of the quarry include a vast stone ‘cave’ dug into the hillside. This site has been transformed into Cathedral D’Images. (Google it!)

The walls of the cave are enormous, 50 feet tall. You enter into the dark cave and upon these massive walls are projected images of Van Gogh’s art and some background on the artist. This is all set to dramatic classical music. On one wall you see a self portrait of Van Gogh (20′x30′), on the adjoining wall is a close up of his eyes, 30′x40′. Then the images change to the days when he painted in Provence. And then to his tormented final days in Auvers. 

There were images projected on close to 25 walls, plus some on the floor, all of it on a very large scale. Between the images and the dramatic music you get sensation of being in the paintings. It is truly remarkable and quite  moving. It gave me goosebumps. Joan D., San Jose California

Still from Joan’ s diary (one of our guests on our tour to Provence).

After our field trip to the manade in Camargue (see previous post), Jackie drove us about 15 min to Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, a town right on the Mediterranean. This town is a favorite with the French people because it is sunny, beautiful, simple and NOT touristy. Les Saintes Maries de la Mer is also known as being the town where all the gyspy folk gather. (I was SO excited to hear about the gypsy people that I was singing ‘Gypsys, tramps and thieves…’ in the van.) Les Ste Maries de la Mer has lots of seafood joints and of course beef. Now before you say ‘oh no, they ate Gastion’ you should know that bulls compete from age 3 to age 12 or so. They then ‘retire’ and go on to live to old age, dying at 18-22 years of age. Only the least aggressive bulls, the ones that never quite measure up as a competitor or a stud, go off to slaughter. Its a very small percentage, and because of that, the meat from the bull is considered a regional specialty. Also, when a champion bull dies, he is buried in a deep grave, standing up, facing the ocean. Its considered an honor to be buried this way. (Maybe I should change my final request to include a beach chair and a good book.) So yes I had bull for lunch, along with the local rice. Hey, I’m allergic to seafood so when in Camargue….

After lunch we drove just a few minutes to Camargue Parc Naturel (Nature Reserve) where we met up with an ornithologist (Fred) who took us on a walk around the a bird reserve. We got to see many species- herons, ducks, egrets, swans, vultures, storks, owls, coots, and hundreds and hundreds of pink flamingos!! This nature reserve/aviary started about 30 years go in the marshy area once known for hunting. Now it is home to tens of thousands of birds, some of which come and go with the season and others who like it so much they just stay. The center is also where all rescued and/or injured birds are taken for treatment, convalescence and in most cases eventual release back into the wild. The only birds in cages are those requiring special care. Many birds throughout Europe are tagged with leg bands, so when they see a new face in the crowd with a black leg band they know he came from Germany. That way researchers can track migration trends. It was yet another interesting day here in France.

Pink Flamingos in the Naturel park of Camargue

As a final note I’d like to mention that we had another Wonderful dinner back at La Bastide du Bois Breant, our Inn. I guess it was only fitting that since I had bull for lunch that we all had duck for dinner, followed by Profiteroles au Chocolat. Sorry mes amis Daffy and Donald, but dinner was delicious! Joan D from California.

Still from our guest’s diary: Joan, San Jose, California.

Dedication: to Nancy L., whose voice I heard, smile I saw, joy I felt during today’s trip. You would have had a blast.

Today was quite a day. I have to say that when Jackie put together this Provence tour, she must have figured all of us would be doing the ’sitting by the river at a little cafe sipping Cafe au Lait or Pastis’ thing on our own in Paris. (Correct assumption) Therefore, she makes sure we experience things we NEVER would have experienced if we took larger, more rigid tours. Or if we had come as individuals just traveling the world.

Today was not a “tourist” day, today was a “field trip” (pun intended) and there was a test!! How many of you knew that France has cowboys?  Yup, cowboys. And horses! Lots of white horses, the majority of which are wild. What do the horses do? They herd the WILD BOOOLS. (That’s bulls with a french accent) I am serious. Thousands of ‘em. Camargue is about 90 min drive south of our tiny village of Maubec and is technically not in Provence. It’s a delta region situated where the Rhone River empties into the Mediterranean. The land is very marshy and has a high salt content, so farming is limited to rice and occasionally wheat. Here, farmers are ranchers. We went to Manade (ranch) Thibaud. He was a very simple, local farmer who agreed to show us around. He had us hop into the flat bed trailer hooked to his tractor and we zoomed off into yonder fields.

Okay, more like crawled, but there’s a good reason for that. He took us out to watch cowboy-mounted horses ’select’ bulls to separated from the herd. (By the way, not for bull fighting purposes, but for another type competition). The horses will select a bull, break into a trot and the bull will start trotting to get away from the horse, then the horse gallops and the bull runs away, usually off to join another bull off yonder. But wait! That bull off yonder has a bell around his neck! That’s because he has been observed to be a natural leader in the herd and therefore is considered head boool. So after the horses select 5 or 6 bulls, all of whom run away from the horses and begin to gather around their leader with the bell, the head bull leads them to the trailer to get them loaded up to go to the arena for “race Camarguaise”. This is a local competitive sport where the only one who might get hurt is the human. So apparently only the most aggressive (and therefore most competitive) bull will attempt to escape the horses. These bulls are then trucked to the nearby arena and have tassels tied to their horns. (How humiliating) The object of the sport is for these 18-29 year old skillfully trained (hotties) men to take the tassels off the (really angry) bulls without getting, well, you know, KILLED. Young boys of 9 and 10 go off to special schools to learn how to be good bull detasselers. Mr.Thibaud said they have to be good at running fast and jumping really high so they can leap out of the ring for safety. (The men, not the bulls) Wusses. Anyway- so here we are, out in Messuier Thibaud’s field (I did mention that this is a field trip) on this flatbed trailer and sure enough we’re transported into the movie ‘City Slickers’ and all these bulls get herded in by beautiful white horses ridden by Camargaise cowboys. Yeee-Ha!!.

One guardian “cow-boy” from the manade Thibauld

So sure enough the horses would be milling around and the bulls would be trying to avoid them. Then, a bull would be bold enough to make a break for it – and it’d be over. Horse 1, bull zip. By the way, the ranchers breed their bulls to their cows but its more like letting nature take its course than like matchmaker international. Incredibly, the ranchers name ALL the bulls. So when the horses select a particular bull and begin to trot after the bull (who is trying to act like ‘who, me?’) The cowboy will call out the bulls name. (that’s why they need the cowboys) That way the other bulls know to go off (quite relieved) in another direction while “Javert” gets escorted off to join the bull with the bell. The bulls are kept out in the fields away from humans, horses and dogs. They naturally shun the company of others and they are not fed or supported in anyway other than receiving veterinary care. They eat grass and stay outside 24/7/365. This keeps the bulls ‘wild’ and aggressive. I’d be aggressive too if I had to sleep outside. According to Mr. Thibaud no 2 bulls look exactly alike, so that’s how they know their names.

Wild bulls from the manade Thibauld.

After our tractor-tour we then walked way out to another field to see the “best bull”. We were behind fences now, so it was ’safe’… or so it seemed. As we were hiking out we kept dodging piles of bull-stuff. Mr. Thibaud explained that the reason BS was on our path was because his Best Bull would break out of the pasture he was kept in, hop the fence, swim across a creek, hop another fence and hang out in the field closest to the barn and other bulls and cows. Every day this bull does this and everyday they move him further away to keep him aggressive. We all cooed “oh, but he must be sooo lonely” but let me tell you- this Bull – his name is Gastion – looked pissed off to see 8 women hanging out by ‘his’ fence. The other bulls were ignoring us, and when Mr.Thibaud said ‘Gastion is the 4th bull from the right’ we saw many thousands of pounds of snorting bull just staring at us. When we learned that the fence we were standing at was the one he jumps over every day, we weren’t quite as tickled. But man was this fun. Reminded me of my childhood, hanging out in the pastures belonging to the nearby stables waiting for anything on 4 legs to get close enough to the fence for me to jump onto. We walked back to the van and piled in and Jackie drove us about 15 min to Les Saintes Maries de la Mer. (to be posted tomorrow). From Joan, San Jose, California

Joan and Eppie

Travel notes from Joan, San Jose, California.

“Today we began our day in Gordes (silent ‘es’) visiting an olive farm and mill (moulin). The owner/farmer/operator showed us his olive crop, and explained harvesting and pruning and overall care of his crop. He invited us into his mill and took the 8 of us through the process of making olive oil. While his mill is very small compared to huge commercial mills in Spain, it is typical for Provence. He mills not only his own oil but also for several other local olive growers. This was fascinating and interesting.

Joan and Andre, the olive mill owner

Our host Andre Horard spoke only French and Jackie interpreted. It is great that Jackie has arranged all of these intimate tours with private farmers and business people. Both Andre and Florent (from the winery) shared local and personal family history that really adds a lot to the tour. We get to see and learn things that the larger tours don’t get to. After learning the processing and grading of olive oil, Andre invited us to sample his variety of oils and tapenades. He even served some wine, which he doesn’t make, but it goes well with his olives!

The group acting silly!

After this we traveled 30 miles to the hilltop village of Roussillon. (Google it!) This tiny 18th century village is famous because it is a striking red color. There is a high quantity of ochre in the rock and soil and it makes the landscape red, gold, orange, terracotta and pink. And since the locals would build using whatever natural resource is available, the whole town is reddish. Beautiful.

Joan in the ochre canyon, in Roussillon.

After a hike and a few hours walking around the village we hopped back in the van and drove to St. Didier to attend a tour and demonstration of Nougat making. Nougat is a specialty confection of Provence. St. Didier is a quaint, non-touristy 18th century village where the Sylvain brothers Pierre and Philippe operate a farm where they grow their own almonds and keep bees for their honey and make a premier nougat. Trust me, I stood in their kitchen and ate it while it was still warm. Awesome! Some of that is coming home, too. With all this sampling, who can find room for dinner? Well, I managed.

Nougat tasting

Nougat making demo

Dinner time with our small group (no bigger than 10 including our guides) is always a fun social event filled with stories and joking and laughter and (amazingly) not a lot of wine. Jackie and Valerie tell us what we’re doing the next day and answer many questions we have about the menu, food, customs and history. They shared their stories from growing up in Belgium (Jackie) and Southwestern France (Valerie). The end of another great day in Provence.”

From Joan’s diary

Salut! Our Wednesday began with a visit to Pont du Gard. This is truly a world class sight to see. This still-intact bridge is actually part of an aqueduct that once was 31 miles long and was designed to bring water from the city of Uzes to the city of Nimes. Most of it has been destroyed over the  centuries. Where it crosses the Gard River it stands 150 ft tall and is 825 feet long. A series of arches on 3 levels, Pont du Gard has been considered an artistic and architectural masterpiece since it was built 2000 years ago by the Roman Empire. The museum was very good and did a good job presenting all the information. Hearing and reading about all of the excesses and opulence of the Roman Empire, and how the abundance of water for use in the Roman Baths, for (over)  consumption and often ‘just for show’ reminded me of current day Las Vegas. They say it took 1000 men 5 years to build!  One of our group is an engineer and she stayed the whole day to learn and admire  this incredible structure. 

The rest of us moved on to the medieval village of Gordes.  Settled around 1300, this walled village is built around a large Castle which was built upon a MASSIVE rock atop a big hill over looking plains, lavender fields and vineyards. Man, what an impressive sight. The best (only) way to get a picture of Gordes is to take it from a distance of 2 or 3 miles.  Gordes is famous and regarded one of the most impressive villages in France. Walking around inside the village I felt like I was trespassing on a movie set. I kept looking around expecting to see a knight in chain maile clanking through the narrow streets. It was very cool. Picture Robin Hood, “Ever After” or even “Romeo and Julliette” and you can imagine what its like.  The streets are so narrow, maybe 8 feet wide. Only foot traffic of course, and the streets are all shadowed by the height of the castle.  Only the signs promoting an art gallery, a bakery or post office (even Pizza!)  held me in the 21st century. No meals or activities here, just strolling and soaking up the experience.

As if this wasn’t enough, on our way home we stopped at a Lavender farm and spent an hour learning about the process of farming, harvesting and processing pure, fine Lavender, which, to my surprise, is indigenous only to Provence. If its not from Provence, its not fine lavender. We are definitely learning new things every day.

Out to dinner in the nearby village of Isle sur la Sorgue. Back home to watch a little CNN. Joan D., California

While on our tour in Provence, I lend my pen to some of our wonderful guests. Yesterday, it was Joan.; toady Kathy and Susan want to tell you about their stay with us.

“On Monday we went to the town of Chateau Neuf du Pape (new chateau of the popes—-the French Popes summer home) which is world renowned for its wine.  We went to a small winery and the owner gave us a tour and taught us the finer points of wine tasting.  I even had some and learned about swirling, smelling and “arches and legs”.  Lots of laughs accompanied the tasting.  A wonderful lunch in an outdoor cafe and then we were off to make chocolate with a delightful chocolate maker.  Dinner at a restaurant near the farmhouse and the end of a busy day.

Then, Tuesday, we spent the morning with a local producer of olive oil.  His passion for everything olive was contagious.  I did not know that olive oil is made from the total olive including the pit!  And then, of course, we were able to sample lots of olive oil.  Noon, found us in the town of Roussillon where the scenery is gorgeous with its red cliffs of ochre and lots of shops.  Then we were off on a windy road to the village of St. Didier where a family owned nougat shop is found.  We were able to see nougat being made and sample as much of their nougat and other specialties as we wanted.  The almonds and honey used to make the nougat are grown by the family locally so the ingredients are very, very fresh.  Back to the hotel and again a nearby restaurant.”

Susan and Kathy, Castro Valley, California

Wine-tasting in Chateau-Neuf-du-Pape.

Yesterday we spent the day in the town of Avignon, during the morning we went to the largest open market in all of Provence. Awesome. Everything from Herbs and linens to clothing, antiques and baby pigs and goats.

In the afternoon we went to the old (medieval) city of Avignon. It’s contained within a totally intact wall that’s 3 miles long with 39 towers and 16 gates.  The massive Palais de Papes (palace of the popes) is inside the gates. We walked around the village and through the Palace. It was another beautiful sunny warm day.
  

We are staying in the tiny village of Maubec-au-Luberon, at the base of the foothills to the Luberon. Picture old (1800’s) french farmhouses with blue shutters and lots of flowers and that’s where we’re staying. Its like being in a painting or postcard. All in all we are having a lot of fun as a group. 3 sit-down meals a day seems indulgent.

Anyone know the fat grams in rabbit? That’s what we had for dinner last night. (Tastes like chicken)  How is it that I feel so bad eating cute little wabbits when I don’t feel nearly as bad eating 3 pounds of stinky cheese with 4 loaves of bread? Kerri, you’d be in cheese heaven.  We’re in the van on our way to Chateauneuf-du-Pape, (its the name of the village) to visit wineries that make Chateauneuf du Pape wine and to go to a chocolatier to learn and participate in making chocolate. Can you picture Lucy and Ethel at the candy factory? I’m going to sign off and watch the great local landscape. Stay tuned. Joan

From Joann, California