Domaine de la Baume
Today’s offering:
Probably you would have to have just a little question about going to a town that no one you know or some people who know Provence hadn’t ever heard of……..
What is so very joyful about my oh-so-lucky travel experiences at this stage in my life is when they present you with the most remarkable of surprises. Your heart lifts up and you are enveloped, yet again, with wonder and gratitude at all the beauty that exists in the world outside of your own little home base. I found myself in these moments of first impression, working to suppress the urge to try to imagine just how many other places I haven’t seen are “out there” and just emerge myself into this minute, this place……..
Such is my impression of our visit to Tourtour, Provence and the venerable Domaine de la Baume. Here is a destination that can be best described as a feast for all senses.
I’ll have to tell you that my life at home gets so crazy sometimes that I find myself unable prepare in detail for my upcoming vacations abroad. Actually, I confess, that I secretly do this a little bit on purpose because I really adore the surprise element of my destination – as long as I trust whoever has chosen my venues, I actually like being somewhat blindly exposed to a new venue in a substantively unbiased manner.
not what I expected to see
On Monday morning as we left Paris, the weather had clouded over a little but still was dry . We boarded the train at Gare de Lyon, where I was perplexed at the sight of a Starbucks at the center of the main platform. This ran completely contrary to how well the French have kept their turf pretty much intact in the face of the attempted invasions of US marketers. There are so many French companies who can handle that central venue quite well, thank you – such as Paul. So, if I could say I had a vote in this presence, I’d veto Starbucks from the French landscape. Let’s just say that if the landscape of the major cities in the world becomes one mix of the same companies, including every major retailer in America, I’ll be very unhappy. Once again, I’ll evoke Kathleen Kelly in You’ve Got Mail to defend agains the ” theme park, multilevel, homogenize-the-world mochaccino land” that she attributed to the Upper West Side of Manhattan, but I’ll call it apropos for the world cities landscape as well. Let’s keep each city special, and reflecting its own roots and home-country companies and, in the case especially of Paris, of its remarkable collection of small, specialized retailers, who make the experience so unique and wonderful. Ok, well, you get the point.
I love riding the train in Europe. It is indeed an experience that you can’t find in the US. Nuff said. In my experience, once you pull out of the station in the major cities I’ve been to, you get a glimpse of the gorgeous rural landscapes which surround them. This was true quickly as we set off to the south in the direction of Gare des Arcs Draguignan. Along the road, I enjoyed trying to snap the collections of the happy cows and some of the outlying areas en route to Provence:
miles and miles of gorgeous farms
Our station:
By the time we had met our driver and taken the somewhat random-looking drive up to Tourtours, it had begun to rain in earnest. In fact, when we arrived, it was pouring heavily and we were in need of shelter from the car to the entrance. We stepped inside to what I will call the wine room and were warmly greeted by Caroline. (Car-0-leen). We were checked in and decided that, it being tea time, we would take a gander. Our first introduction to the cuisine of Domaine de la Baume.
All of my first impressions here included the word “jackpot” as that little place deep in my chest sang out “ooooo!” and my spirits lifted immensely. I knew we were in the “hands” of “special”.
our first introductions to the pastry of Chef Elodie
First view from our room:
Dinnertime beside the fire, on our first night:
We began to feel the cozy arms of this place wrapping around us. I uttered for the first of many times to George, “I could live in this house”.
Tuesday morning brought clearer skies and our first opportunity to look around the property. First though, was breakfast:
among the warm offerings:
Daylight views:
Our first morning brought along this sentiment: Can there be any more reassuring feeling when you are traveling than to feel – “wow, these people really know what they are doing!”
Off to explore the out-of-doors (how I knew I was in the right place):
Later, we went off to visit the charming hamlet of Tourtour:
afterward, at the potter:
Everything here can be included in the realm of the word: delightful!