Right about now, when the days are dark, dreary and rainy (January
can be completely gorgeous or dreadful here in Atlanta and this year,
it's both), our thoughts begin to turn to all things French:
specifically
our fun little trips to Provence and Paris.
Our fingers start itching to pull up the Air France website to confirm
seats on the 9 p.m. flight that leaves from Atlanta (our favorite
flight...) and we secretly start packing our bags.
- The perfect shade of blue on a crusty old French door. Where else but in Provence...
We
pine for the scent of lavender in the air and the way the light looks
different in Provence. We make mental lists of what we need to stock
up on in the Provencal markets: gorgeous linens, espadrilles, olive wood
serving pieces, fun jewelry and soaps galore. We fantasize about the
cheese platter at a certain restaurant we all love. Seriously.
- A typical French market, abundant in all delicious things.
We
daydream of waking up to roosters crowing and the gentle hiss of hot
air balloons gliding by the house. Some of us run to our well-worn
copies of anything by Provencal celeb Peter Mayle (of "A Year In
Provence" fame and a local resident of the Luberon Valley.)
And
when we think about the City of Lights, we start obsessing about flakey
croissants nibbled while meandering over Le Pont Neuf and
mouth-watering and cozy meals at small, charming restaurants bathed in
the glow of the Eiffel Tower. Oh and museums galore and sight-seeing
like crazy.
- Perfectly perfect croissants.
- One of about a zillion gorgeous floral shops that dot Paris.
Sounding good? So what are you doing May 2-10? We have a couple very rare openings on our
May 2013 Paris-Provence trip. Can we entice you? Keep reading...
First
question: who goes? Well, we've seen trips with grandmothers, mothers
and daughters, aunts and nieces. We've had delightfully rowdy groups
of sorority sisters celebrating forty years or more years of friendship.
- A lovely and lively group on the beach at Cassis.
We've
had CEOs, artists, home-makers, frazzled mothers of young-ish children
and irrepressible travelers of all ages who just want a taste of the
delicious French lifestyle. We very frequently have people who don't
know each other but form deep bonds and friendships around a Paris
bistro table or on the terrace at Les Murets. We kiddingly say it's a little bit like grown-up camp...except in France.
- Dinner on the terrace at Les Muret
Next question: what do we do? What don't we
do? We're pretty high-energy which means the agenda is packed full of
lots of fun things to do. In Paris, you'll call an elegant 7th
Arrondisement apartment home, complete with views of the Eiffel Tower.
- Your Parisian home for three days...
The
itinerary is ramped up because the City of Lights waits for no-one and
we have a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time. Agenda:
Up early. Croissants? Check. Museums? Check. We have some ideas and
welcome yours. Ours include L'Orangerie, Musee D'Orsay and a personal
favorite, Le Musee du Rodin.
- We love the Bateau Mouche tours, especially the evening ones with champagne...
Ready for lunch? We've got that covered. Shopping? Ditto (including plenty of places unfrequented by tourists) Antiques? Of course. We're headed to the famous Puces to explore, covet and drool. (And, if you've got your own agenda, we're happy to help you do that, too.)
- Crunchy antiques at the famed Les Puces.
We might let you rest for an hour or two before opening a bottle of bubbles pre-dinner.
- We might head to a quintessential Parisian cafe for a restorative coffee or a little glass of wine...
- Paris at sunset. Is there anything more glorious?
Our
three days in Paris simply fly by and before you know it, it's off to
Provence via the TGV's spectacular scenery show that illustrates
France's huge range of beauty. One minute you're staring at the
tri-color rooves of Burgundy and the next minute, you're racing by olive
groves.
Home base in Provence is Les Murets, a beautifully set
rambling French country house. Ann rebuilt and designed it so it's got
all the little creature comforts you're used to plus a huge soupcon of
Frenchy charm.
Did we mention the pool, tennis court and terrace?
And what to do in Provence? Oh my, where do we begin?
The
days begin on the early side (so much to see and so little time) but a
snapshot would be this: a light breakfast served at home (sweet and
juicy Cavalier melons, still-warm croissants and farm-fresh organic eggs
are all part of the Les Murets petit dejeuner.)
- One of our hidden jewels of a lunch spot in Provence.
Our
adorable driver, Christophe, comes to fetch us each morning with his
bright smile and completely charming and perfectly French-accented
English. And then off we go to explore the Luberon.
We
usually squeeze in a local market for wares of all kinds (these are
addictive, we warn you...) followed by a long and leisurely lunch
featuring the freshest, most delicious fare you've had and all washed
down with crisp Provencal rose or white. The afternoon might bring a
wine or olive oil tasting, a visit to a cultural site or some gentle
meandering.
We
should mention that if sitting by the pool with a chilled wine bucket
and War and Peace (or a pile of trashy gossip magazines) sounds like
paradise, we are happy to arrange that for you.
And
each evening, we congregate back at Les Murets for a catered dinner
served al fresco and by candlelight. Has dancing been known to happen?
Games played? Maybe even a little midnight dip or two in the pool? Yes,
yes and yes.
We've
had guests crying and clutching the door on the morning they must leave
- and we completely understand why. It's a week in heaven by anyone's
standards and it will leave your heart full of happy memories and a
yearning forever for all things French.
In the meantime, give us a call or send us an email. We'll try to save a spot for you.
- See you in Provence...
Ta ta.
