Our good friends Michel and Shirley have a wonderful home in a small village in the Côtes du Rhône region of France. They invited us to join them for a few days recently, an invitation we were happy to accept. Google maps told me that the journey from our home to theirs was approximately six hours and so we decided a stopover at the beach for a night would break up the drive nicely (read about it HERE). After a relaxing night in Beaulieu-Sur-Mer, we headed north to Sablet, France so that we could savor an enjoyable visit with good friends.
Sablet, France
We arrived in Sablet as scheduled, late in the afternoon. However, I had misplaced all the phone numbers to reach Michel and so I wasn’t quite sure exactly where to go upon arriving in the village. Michel gave me specific instructions not to attempt a drive directly to his home. “The roads are far too narrow – many cars scrape on either side. Don’t attempt it – park at the local bakery and head by foot”. I only had his home address plugged into the GPS and admittedly, I had the words of Barney Stinson ringing in my head “I shouldn’t attempt the drive… challenge ACCEPTED!” After creeping up, up, up, slowly, slowly, slowly – I made it to their home. Luckily I made it with all car paint intact – but it was close. I had been far too cocky and got lucky – I literally had centimeters on either side of my car at times. We found their home and discovered they were just out at the local market, preparing for our arrival.
Michel is a business man, blogger (his blog), wine connoisseur and a fabulous chef. He owns a restaurant that I’ve mentioned in past blog posts, Bistro des Copains in Northern California. Jen and I knew that we were going to be in for a treat if he was coming back from the the market with fresh groceries to make dinner. When they returned home, we walked in, unpacked and quickly settled in for an epic meal. Luckily, Michel and Shirley are grandparents of four wonderful kids – and so they were naturals with Julia, who instantly fell in love with them both. After a wonderful dinner, stuffed and tired from a long day – we turned in, excited about the following day. Even though we didn’t know the plans, we were still eager knowing that we would have an action-packed day lead by two wonderful guides.
Pan fried fish cooked by Michel
Filleted and seasoned with butter, oil and capers
Shirley made the most amazing strawberry and rhubarb torte
Cheese and baguettes for breakfast. Not something you normally think of eating at 8:00am. However, this rich indulgence seems perfectly normal when you’re in France…and when the cheese and bread are that good, you are happy to get your fill. After breakfast, but before I finished my last sip of coffee, Michel jumped up and declared that, “we will be leaving in ten minutes!” For me, this was wonderful – an early start to the day. For Jen, nothing could be more horrific. She rushed to get herself ready, get the baby ready, get the diaper bag packed, etc. and still make it to the car before we pulled away. Somehow she managed and we set out to the first of three villages we would see throughout the day.
The term, L’un des Plus Beaux Villages de France (official site) means, One of the Most Beautiful Villages of France. This is a formal classification, reserved for only the most special of villages that dot the landscape of this fantastic country. Of the 32,000 villages that make up the country, only 157 are classified as such. 15 of these villages are in Provence, where Michel and Shirley have their home. We were fortunate enough to see 3 of these impressive places all in one day.
One of the Most Beautiful Villages of France
The first stop on our tour was Venasque, a hill-top village at the foot of Mont Ventoux. Venasque overlooks vineyards of many types, including vast fields of cherry trees (a unique sight in a landscape otherwise dominated by grape vineyards). The cherry’s were just starting to come into bloom and so we stopped to take a couple pictures. This medieval town has only the remains of three Saracen towers from those times. A large church from the 11th century stands in the center of town, composing part of the unique beauty we discovered while there.
Approaching Venasque
Venasque sits high atop a hill
We passed fields of cherry trees
Michel in action, capturing images for his own blog
Julia and Jen in front of the remains of the medieval castle
The view of the valley below
Julia enjoying the scenery
A fountain in the center of town
We passed many bicycle tour groups in each of the villages
Michel strolling along with Julia
A street scene in Venasque
The villages main church framed behind a wonderful tree
A fountain in town, La Planette
Church in the center of town, dating back to the 13th century
Julia playing in the fountain
After leaving Venasque, next we drove to Gordes, a village with houses literally clinging to the sides of the Vaucluse ridges, overlooking the Cavaillon plain. The houses and narrow cobble streets are arranged in winding tiers all the way up to the [existing] Renaissance castle and church. Gordes is a village well known to artists, including Chagall (and others I don’t know and can’t remember). Before entering the village from the top and winding our way down and back… we needed to refill and refuel. Lunch time! Michel and Shirley selected a place they had dined before – a charming outdoor restaurant tucked behind a local gift shop. After a delicious lunch, we started winding our way through the streets of Gordes. Jen and I bought Julia a cute hand-made sun dress. We found some of the most picturesque scenes we’ve ever encountered. And right on cue for our magical family photo – Julia didn’t want to cooperate for a posed photo. At least I got some nice landscape photos.
I’ve never seen anything quite like this before – simply stunning in person
Gordes – another angle
It almost appears to be sliding off the side of the cliff
Approaching the city wall – marked by the medieval castle
The main square, what we call a piazza… what do they say in French?
Further into the main entry point
Walking through the village
We had a great time walking around
The girls had fun
A scenic view, indeed!
View of the valley below
Loved this…
and this…
and of course, this!
The buildings in Gordes were truly special
Even the angels come here to day dream
A better view of the castle
Le Jardin – store in the front, restaurant in the back
Enjoying a wonderful lunch
Julia stopping to smell the flower with Shirley
Jen took a picture of me taking a picture of the village
Cheeeeese!
We eventually left Gordes and drove to Roussillon, a village far different than the first two. Along the drive in between towns, we passed a beautiful vineyard that I thought to be so typically French. But the real bonus was when we discovered a huge field of poppies, growing wild – we had to pull over and take some pictures.
Anyone up for a bottle of wine?
Large field of poppies
The poppies were growing wild
Roussillon screams its independence from other nearby villages by proudly brandishing peaks of vibrant red and ridges of bright orange. We were instantly reminded of Sedona, Arizona. The village sits atop the biggest ochre deposit in all of Europe and the result is a civilization built on bright orange clay-like earth. The village itself has since been shaped by the surrounding land and the homes, churches and buildings all marry this natural beauty perfectly. After a long time exploring, we stopped and had an a apéritif at an outdoor cafe.
Roussillon from slightly above
The earth beneath the village was wonderful to behold
The orange earth follows the bends in the road
The houses were painted to match the landscape and unique soil
Strolling through town was wonderful
Beautifully landscaped front yards
Julia started dancing to music she heard coming from a nearby store
Street scene
Julia snuggled up to me in a nice field overlooking the valley
Great bell tower
We found “cat-lady’s” home – we counted 8 cats just in this area
Stairway to heaven?
Now that’s the way to ride down a long set of stairs
Beautifully painted door
We had one more stop left – an abbey built in the middle of the 12th century. Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque is a working abby, where the local monks tend to large fields of lavender that they sell to subsidize the abby (along with tourist sales of tours and merchandise).
Abbey as we approached from above
Another angle
The monks “front yard”
Fields of lavender, not yet in bloom
12th century Abbey
Julia had fun
Julia thought this was the dog from, 101 Dalmatians
By the time we reached our “home” village of Sablet at the end of a long day, we were wiped out. But we were only half-way done! We had dinner plans with friends of Michel and Shirley’s – a couple that owns the local bar in town. We had just enough time to freshen up and then head down the street to meet them in front of their bar. We all shared a nice bottle of rosé over introductions and then headed out for dinner. I’ll feature this dinner, along with a few others in a separate “food” post.
Jen and I decided that we had so much fun on our first day, we needed to extend our two day trip into a three day trip and our wonderful hosts obliged us. Stay tuned for tales of glorious wine tastings, wonderful meals and impressive historical sights.
It’s been a long time since I completed a blog post. So long, that for some reason – I’m a bit nervous (strange, my friends will tell you that I love to talk about myself). So I’ve been procrastinating. I have organized my DVD drawer. I carefully tended to the plants (I’ve discovered I love gardening…in small doses). And the past few days, I have been playing Mr. Mom while Jen is in California for work. I have done just about everything to avoid writing on the blog for the past month… and the only thing I’ve come to realize is that I now have a mountain of work ahead of me.
A mountain in Beaulieu-Sur-Mer, not completely unlike my mountain of work
It’s not that I’ve just been procrastinating. We’ve been busy. I mean, very busy. Albeit, busy doing more of the same (traveling, eating, drinking, etc.) – but still always experiencing something new. So, please grant me the excuse of allowing the experience to get in the way of the blog – just this one time! In the coming days and weeks, you will hear of our wonderful trip to visit our good friends in France; the visit from Jen’s family and the upcoming visit with my parents. I’ll toss in a few food posts and hopefully a feature on where we’ve been living (which has been in the pipeline since I started this blog). So let’s get this party started… no more delays. And so, it begins with a trip to France…
When I last left you, my sister and her family had come to visit. We had a short window between their departure and the arrival of our next guests, Jen’s parents and sister. The timing was perfect, because good friends of ours, Michel and Shirley arrived at their home in Sablet, France just days before this brief “window”. They had graciously invited us to their home and we both jumped at the chance to see France through their eyes. We decided to take the circuitous route, passing by the sea and staying overnight in a small town along the French Riviera before joining them in what could easily be called, vin de pays (wine country).
Scenery along the drive
The drive from our home to the French Riviera was only a few hours (we were pleased to learn this – we hope to embark on a repeat journey while we’re here). We first passed through a small portion of the Italian Riviera before crossing into France. The landscape was stunning – windy roads encased by a vast ocean on our left and coarse mountains to our right.
The plan was simple – stop by Monte Carlo, Monaco for a little while before continuing to Beaulieu-Sur-Mer, where we had made hotel reservations. My secret plan that I kept to myself was also simple. Take Jen and Julia to the world-famous Monte Carlo Casino and win thousands of dollars in mere moments while they both waited and applauded. Needless to say, when I presented that plan I was shot down. Strange, I always thought I could sell anything. Something about a baby in a Casino… blah, blah, blah.
View as we approached Monte Carlo
A gold yacht?! You may think “tacky”. I think “baaaallllleeerr!”
We had gotten our typical late-start from home and so by the time we got to Monte Carlo we did not have enough time to properly enjoy the city. We were hungry and eager to stretch our legs, so after a brief drive-through we pushed on to Beaulieu-Sur-Mer, vowing to come back when we had the time to really enjoy Monte Carlo (also, when I had my tuxedo so that I could do my best Bond impression).
I chose Beaulieu-Sur-Mer to stay overnight because Michel had recommended Villefranche-Sur-Mer, the neighboring town. I liked his recommendation based on the town’s size, proximity to Nice and Monaco, and hotel availability. It fit snugly into my travel plans and so I booked a nice seaside hotel with views of the ocean and mountain. It wasn’t until I arrived that I realized I actually booked in the neighboring town. Oh, well – c’est la vie (that’s life). It turned out to be a nice blessing, because “our” town was beautiful and couldn’t have made for a better overnight stay.
View of the marina from our balcony
View of the mountain from our balcony
Our pool that we didn’t have time to use
Same marina view at night – loved the night sky
Same mountain view at night
Upon checking in, we asked the young lady at the front desk where we should eat lunch. She stumbled over her answer and said that “maybe you could go to the marina, or maybe you could go into town” but she wasn’t quite sure which way either of those things were (FYI – the marina was literally across the street and town was ten minutes north by foot). I quickly dismissed her recommendations and we ventured off on our own (ever get that “this person has no idea” feeling before they’re even done talking?). Maybe it’s the language barrier you say? I hope not – she was from Southern California.
Jen and Julia in front of the marina across from our hotel
A different marina nearby
Making me wish I knew how to sail
We took off in the direction opposite of her suggestion and found ourselves in one beautiful setting after another. My camera flashed on Julia and the scenery like I was a photographer from the National Geographic (sadly, my pictures turned out to be of slightly lower quality). We made our way into the center of town and purchased a bottle of wine to enjoy on our balcony later that night. We ate a light snack in lieu of lunch and continued to explore on our own whilst waiting for our restaurant of choosing to open their doors for dinner. We found a Casino (a-ha!) and I was able to convince Jen that a few hands of blackjack were just what the doctor ordered! Julia was asleep in her carriage and it was just the angle I needed to close the deal. Sales record intact! Sadly, it was closed for renovation – a disappointing turn of events that cost me hundreds of euro’s (or saved me, depending on your view of gambling).
A park we passed
Kissing my baby
Wonder what that says, too bad it’s in French
Oh, it says “wet paint”!
Julia’s favorite flower is a rose
We found a casino! Too bad they were closed
Dusk sets in as we walked home after dinner
Street scenes in the evening
Boat scenes at night – we enjoyed walking past all the docked yachts
We ate a delicious dinner at, La Pignatelle, which I’ll feature in a separate piece on some of our favorite French dining experiences. Finally, we strolled home and enjoyed our balcony before turning in to bed.
The next day, we departed and headed for Michel and Shirley’s home – two hours north of our current location. We had coordinated our arrival for late afternoon, allowing enough time to travel the twenty minutes southwest into Nice, France for lunch and exploration. I parked in the center of town and we got out and enjoyed wandering from one end of Avenue Jean Medecin (Nice’s main street and shopping corridor) to the other. Since Nice is the fifth most populated city in France, a few hours would not be nearly enough to explore properly – but perhaps enough to get a bit of the local flavor.
Nice from afar
You can see the city is quite grand
We followed Avenue Jean Medecin all the way to it’s end, where it nearly intersects with the sea. We strolled through the markets they have set up (we were very impressed with the French markets throughout our entire time there) and ended up on the beach.
View from the Place Masséna
The Basilique Notre-Dame de Nice is the largest church in Nice
A market was set up besides open-air restaurants
“Can I pull this off?”
Beautiful array of flowers
Large selection of fresh vegetables
Aromatic spices available for purchase
As you may know about Nice, the beaches are not at all nice and sandy, but rather awash with large stones. It’s charming simply by it’s uniqueness and what’s better – Julia could have all the fun in the world without getting dirty!
Playing in the rocks…errr, playing on the beach
“Look at me!”
“I’m going to throw it”
“I really am…”
“Nah, just kidding – here you go”
Julia teaching me how to use the camera
Behind the scenes of our photo shoot
Mom and daughter having fun
After lunch on the beach (sandwiches on French bread – my pick, not Jens. I’d tell you a mini-battle raged over my selection of lunch, but Jen will be mad at me – so it never happened) we walked around a bit more before getting back in the car and departing for a few days with Michel and Shirley. So far, we were loving what France had to offer. Much more to come, stay tuned…
We knew the deadline was coming for months… January 3rd was staring us in the face for a long time. January 3rd rustled up feelings of excitement (me and Jen), nervousness (Jen…ok, me a little) and stress (mainly me).
It got here before we were ready. We still had a list a mile long on January 2nd and I don’t think either of us were as prepared as we thought to say goodbye to our friends and family. Jen’s girlfriends threw an incredible send-off hosted at Mike and Aubrey Ciatto’s home.
Aubrey and Mike’s beautiful home – nice touch with the flag
And then… all of a sudden, we woke up on January 3rd. We hugged our first set of goodbyes to my parents, Julia’s “Pop-Pop and Grandma” in Darnestown, and got a little misty when my usually stoic parents both shed a couple tears.
Next, we started our entourage-like caravan with Jen’s family and our massive amounts of luggage to Dulles International. Dom had the foresight to make a move that helped with our travel more than he may have known. He flagged down a caddy to assist with our ample amounts of luggage (four massive checked bags, two massive carry-ons, four personal items, a stroller and a car seat). This patient gentleman asked Jen to stand in an unending line, while he escorted me to the front to unload our luggage. He told me to guard my luggage while I waited for Jen to wind her way through the line and meet me so we can check in at our proper place in line.
“Arrivederci“
When no one moved after 15 minutes, it became quickly apparent the flight was delayed. Actually… not delayed. Non-existant. The plane was still grounded in Sweden due to “technical errors” (must have been a new Boeing Dreamliner).
Picture this… Jen is standing in line, behind about 40 very upset, very impatient travelers. I am standing at the front with a mountain of luggage to meet her. After some time, I started to inch my way toward the first class line and acted as if I belonged there. As soon as a spot finally became available, I walked right up and asked about our options. We were put on a flight with a sister airline departing immediately that got us in Milan only three hours behind schedule. I heard a rumor it was one of the last flights of it’s kind and given the fact that they could only help about one person every 20 minutes, I am fairly certain we procured the last three seats on that plane (I know, I should probably feel a little guilty about this… but most of you know me well enough to know that I don’t).
We were escorted to security by Jen’s parents, “Nonno & Nonna” and her sister, “Zia Jess” and the second round of tearful goodbyes commenced. Dom gave us an encouraging look and with the confidence and support of the whole family, we rushed to make our plane.
We touched down on January 4th weary, smelly, hungry, and over-tired. But we were also very excited and thrilled.
We realize this is a very long and detailed post. It is our first on this blog (or any blog), so fear not – I’m sure that due to time constraints and a sheer lack of will power, most future postings will be much shorter. So hang in there and please continue to read about our tales. We hope that blogging about our adventure is as fun for you to read as it will be to write and experience.
