Glanum a Roman oppidum, protected by its fortified walls once housed a flourishing community. The settlement stood on a hillside in the shadow of the rocky, crests of the Alpilles slopes. The Franks in 260AD destroyed Glanum and the population were forced to resettle on the valley floor, giving rise to St Remy de Provence.
Without water, movie stars and artists Palm Springs, California would not exist. In many ways neither would the Cote d’Azur town of Vallauris in France.
Le Vallauris owner Paul Bruggemans was born in Belgium where he studied culinary arts at the Ecole d’Hôtellerie et de Tourisme in Liege. Sunny California lured him away from overcast Northern European skies. In 1970, he and his partner opened Le St. Germain on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. Just two years, later they decided to open a second restaurant, but they could not agree on the location between Palm Springs and Newport Beach. The answer was decided by the flip of a coin – lucky for Palm Springs.
The 100-year old apple trees at Domaine Pinnacle were an afterthought. One could call the purchase of a farmhouse, built in 1859, a bit of a coup de coeur (love struck impulse). Susan and Charles Crawford have a particular affinity to Vermont’s Jay Peak Resort the mountain where they would religiously take to take their children for ski lessons on winter weekends from Montreal.
Nutmeg cannot resist creating these ABC lists for travel in a new location. It helps her to better understand the edible bits and traditions from the area. The following is her must know essentials for Portugal.
Atlantic coastline stretches just over 900km with vertigo inducing cliffs, creamy-sand beaches and big surf. World-class athletes dedicated to the “board” gather in seaside towns like Peniche to take advantage of the waves.
Black pork – porco preto is a Portuguese staple. The grey and black pigs graze on acorns.
Cod or bacalhau is deeply entrenched in the Portuguese national diet. Just as in Roman times the fish is dried and salted to preserve it.
was a gift – 963 AD
in 2014, it still is
This village first appears in written record in 963 AD, in reference to Lambert de Reillane who donated Ansoye lands to the Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Montmajour. This land in the Aigues valley belonged to his grandfather Foucher de Valensole.
Nutmeg’s family was visiting the California Desert for the first time in many years. On previous trips, they had ventured as far as a few sand traps and into the rough vegetation on the other side of out-of-bounds stakes at the golf course. This time, Nutmeg’s plan was to limit potential frustrations found on fairways and putting greens and introduce the group to the dusty dunes and hardy flora of the Coachella Valley.
Provence captures people with its amazing charms, and hidden adventures as soon as they arrive in this magical region of southern France. This is just the kind of place where you are not sure how the transformation happened, but all of a sudden you are a fan.
Maybe, it was your first aperitif of chilled rosé or a curious amazement as to why anyone might what to drink a cloudy yellow liquid called Pastis, but now you are an Wines of Provence fan.
Their eyes connected on a train headed towards the Champagne region. Before the weekend filled with bubbles supplied by the cellars of Krug and Dom Pérignon was over, Caroline Jones a proud Australian, and French native Thomas Bertrand had uncorked a little sparkle. Their long-distance romance bloomed and the now married couple lives between the vines at Domaine Rouge-Bleu a vineyard in the heart of Provence.
Provencal postcards are dominated by fields of purple-lavender rows, stoic sunflowers against cobalt-sky backdrops, gnarled grape vines burdened with ripening fruit and endless groves of olive trees. It is highly unlikely that demons, demigods, bat caves and sorcery are images that pop into your mind when a friend says they are going to Provence on holiday.
Whether you own a custom-fit, carbon fiber steed with electronic shifters or a three-gear cruiser bike with tassels, you have to admit that watching the Tour de France each July is addictive. The right to wear the maillot jaune is earned over the grueling, 21-stage race by the cyclist with the fastest overall elapsed time. The Tour de France television coverage is obviously inspirational for cyclists, but it is the panoramas along the route that make you want to book a plane ticket into Charles de Gaulle for your own France en Velo trip.
