Today’s offering: This kind of travel is for me, a heady mixture of pure rhapsody, luxury and indulgence! Feasting doesn’t always have to be at a table. There are 4 other senses to be fed………
Tourtour, France is a small commune, I’ll call it a hamlet, in southeastern France. The tiny towns which surround it have a charm all their own, and the views from here are really quite amazing.
While we were at Domaine de la Baume, we took the opportunity to look around at several venues in and around this surrounding area. While, once you get settled into the environment at Domaine de la Baume, where you find yourself feeling hugged-in by all the comfort and beauty around you, we did push ourselves a bit to explore. I have to say that as I travel, I always have in the back of my mind the question, “could I stay and write a book here?” Hmmm…….. It is no wonder that this, as formerly home to the artist, Bernard Buffet, was such a source of inspiration for him.
Our outside venues included Aups and Villecroze. While we barely scratched the surface, we held true to our basic tenet that we didn’t want to short-change any venue by rushing to and from anywhere.
On Wednesday of the first week of our trip we set out a little further afield for the two hour drive for a visit to Saint Tropez. Perhaps nothing is quite as legendarily romantic than a trip to the coastline of southern France. (well, I can think of a few others, but, you know what I mean). We knew we had a limited opportunity here and had professed to return for a “real” vacation along this strip of iconic towns, the stories from which emanate down through the generations. However, we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to just come and see. We definitely weren’t among the “see and be seen” crowd.
We were lucky to arrive as the town was preparing for a huge regatta, Les Voiles de St Tropez 2015 and, honestly, after the terrible weather tragedy just a couple of days later, we were incredibly lucky to have come here just when we did.
Things were certainly dazzling and buzzing. The town was vibrantly full, everyone gazing at the amazing collection of yachts gathered in the harbor for this big racing event. And, as is always the case in France, it seemed like the number one priority for everyone was sitting outside in cafes, eating and drinking. Haven’t the French just made this an inimitable way of life? Throughout this entire trip we found ourselves wondering how this country’s economy functions when, at all hours of the day and night, there are multitudes of people sitting outside and happily imbibing. Is it any wonder that we all want to join in? One thing I love about France is how there are chairs everywhere, in Paris and outside, where people go to sit in the sun. No one steals them, like you think might happen in New York. They are just for all who need those all those rays of sunshine (like someone I know.)
You have to remember, when observing this, that in many venues in Europe, the weather is on the cusp of turning. While we were told by one Provencal resident we got to talking to at the train station, that at Christmas, they eat outside in shirtsleeves – a vision that was instantly burned into my brain, we all know that just a bit north, and in and around Paris in particular, the weather can and does turn decidedly wetter and might I just say, gloomier, and right about now. So, perhaps you may attribute all of the out-of-doors activity to the impulse to enjoy every moment of nice weather while you can.
Here are some photos which do a pretty good job of capturing the allure here:
in town:
the French obsession with Foie Gras is evident everywhere
flowers are always a magnet for me
some dogs just have the life
can’t venture to say how old this olive tree must be
I have to say it is always fun for me to observe the people in towns such as this. You can pick out the uber wealthy, some in their amazing clothes and then some who prefer the camouflage of the rustic, I’m-really-a-vagabond look. The many dogs here just have the life! On the way back out to collect our car, I captured in my head, but not on my camera, an image of a beautiful woman who was probably around my age, or older in a most gorgeous navy blazer, decorated perfectly with a bright orange-patterned Hermes scarf around her neck. This may sound dated and ordinary, but trust me, she looked smashing! Instantly, I thought to myself, oooh, how perfect, and I made a mental note to copy this, as I wandered away in my jeans and old Ralph Lauren sweater. Geez, who can compete with that? This was just the picture of Saint Tropez I kept in my head and now I wish I had for here.
And, market day in Aups – completely charming:
this is, I’m guessing, a 24-30″ Paella pan – got lunch?
Photos from Villecroze:
A Potter and his Kiln:
On our last day there, David mentioned to us to be careful when walking around the area around dusk when George asked him about all of the gates. “They are because of the wild pigs”, he said. Here is the only shot I got of one of them, sadly as we dressed for dinner on the last evening and George spotted about 10 of them come out for their own dinner right below us. Too late to the camera!
I consider this all to be akin to sending myself a postcard………..