This afternoon we returned from the whirlwind of our Provencal and Parisian travels, but in even in my post-travel delirium, I could not wait to start sharing at least a few of the visceral reactions and memories from the trip.
I am glad to be back, but am also wistful because we easily took to the life of indolence, of daily hiking, Provencal market visits, and copious, fantastic FOOD and WINE. I will miss the fantastic raw milk (unpasteurized) goat cheeses so fresh you practically have to eat them with a spoon. I am sad that my pee will very soon stop smelling funny from all the early spring green and white asparagus I have eaten (which happens to be a Provencal specialty).
Our experiences ranged from the defining food-porn moments at 2-Michelin star restaurants (Le Cinq in Paris, and L’Atelier de Jean-Luc Rabanel in Arles), to very humble, simple pleasures of a butter-drenched artisanal croissant dunked in café crème first thing in the morning,
to roasted potatoes basted in the drippings from the spit-roasted chickens at the marketplace, to a perfect Nicoise salad and a pitcher of white wine served on a sunlit terrace overlooking the mountains after a nice, long hike.
Among others, our hikes/walks included the incredible Colorado Provencal, with its surreal colors of ochre deposits and quarries, the beautiful landscapes that inspired Cezanne and other painters in Aix-en-Provence, “winelist” walks in Gigondas and Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and the joyous spring walk across the Luberon valley, from the picture-perfect village of Bonnieux to Lacoste, right up to the castle of Marquis de Sade…
Over the next month, I invite you to follow along a series of stories and pictures, in order to see that wonderful world through our eyes in more detail. Allons-y!
Come Due Maiali / "Like Two Pigs" 
Welcome back! Looking forward to your other posts about the trip!
Btw, where was the last picture taken? Looks more like Utah than France to me, so I’m curious.
Thanks! The last picture is from le Colorado Provencal (an area around Rustrel), a hike we did on our last day in Provence. You can also get some of those surreal colors in and around Roussillon (the famous Sentier des Ocres).
We’ll have to go there some time. By now I’m so much an Italophile that I’m starting to neglect France…
Someday we must travel and eat together! Welcome home 🙂
Indeed! We must combine forces for the biggest eating coup Europe has ever seen.
that would be amazing 🙂
I must say that I laughed aloud at the ‘pee’ comment! Some would say, TMI, TMI!!, but I am sitting here nodding my head, since I am familiar with such a thing.
I am looking forward to your stories and postings about this wonderful trip. True, it was France, *ahem*, but since I quite like your blog, I will overlook that small fact. LOL! Kidding!
Welcome home!
I know that you must have had a wonderful trip…France is such a wonderful country to visit. I look forward to seeing more of your adventure.
French cuisine is truley spactacular. butter, butter and more butter how can you go wrong! I do prefer their wines over their food but a great culinary country non the less! Im enjoying the blog keep it up!
Actually, in the south of France it is primarily olive oil. I definitely prefer Provencal food over classic French (more zing and lighter!), and my heart belongs to Burgundies.
Cheers! Thanks for your kind comments.