Category Archives: Tourism

Secrets of St-Rémy #5: Favorite Hiking and Biking

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Val and I live part of the year in St-Rèmy-de-Provence, a charming town between Marseille and Avignon. I’ve written a guidebook about the area, An Insider’s Guide to Provence, where I share some of our favorite things to see and do. Now I’ve put together a series of articles I call Secrets of St-Rémy, based on that book.

St-Rémy sits at the foot of a small mountain range called the Alpilles. They are criss-crossed with hiking trails and quiet country roads, perfect for hiking and biking. And the surrounding countryside is nice and flat, ideal for easier walks and rides. Val and I have favorite routes that we look forward to every year.

Want a cool, easy walk on a hot day? Or one with fabulous views that will get your blood pumping? Or how about a bike ride to an airport where you can watch gliders take off and land? I’ve got all these and more!

Read all about it in My French Life!

See Prehistoric Art by Torchlight

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The Grotte Chauvet 2 is one of the wonders of France. Called “the cave of forgotten dreams,” it is the near-perfect replica of a grotto filled with paintings made more than 30,000 years ago—the oldest ever discovered. Not only is the art recreated, but the entire cave is replicated down to the smallest detail, with stalagmites and stalactites, and bear skulls scattered on the ground. Walking through it, and seeing paintings of lions and rhinos, is like stepping back in time.

And now there’s something new—tours by torchlight. Small groups are led by guides armed with torches, viewing the stunning artwork in their flickering light. Visitors can see the paintings as our ancestors did, with the works coming to life as the shadows play on the walls’ nooks and crannies.

Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!

 

8 Fabulous One-Day Jaunts from Paris

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Let’s say you are planning a trip to Paris because—as the saying goes—Paris is always a good idea. You’d like to include some day trips from the city, ideally to places you can get to without renting a car. (Have you ever driven in Paris? Not advised.)

I’m here to help! I’ve got eight great day trips for you, full of history, art, beauty…and a few bubbles.

Read all about it in Frenchly!

 

Trouble in Paradise

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Imagine the scene:

You are in a giant storage facility in middle-of-nowhere Provence. It’s a blazing hot day and you’ve just gathered some items from your storage locker.

You are about to leave when suddenly the power goes out. You find yourself in the dark, your wife is trapped in an elevator, and there is no one in the building to help.

You suddenly feel very far from home.

Ah, isn’t travel fun? Yes, this is what happened to Val and me last summer and, happily we lived to tell the tale. But it wasn’t easy! Burly firefighters might have been involved.

Read all about it in Frenchly!

Amazing Prehistoric Art in France

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prehistoric drawing cave of lascaux representation of a horse world heritage

Would you want to visit a fake cave? Isn’t that like going on the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland and saying you’ve been to Switzerland?

In France, the answer is non. The French have created brilliant reproductions of three caves full of prehistoric art, each one so perfect you think you are in the real thing.

First is Lascaux, with its famous pot-bellied horses and “Sistine Chapel.” Then there’s Chauvet, with its spooky bear skulls on the ground, staring up at the lions and rhinos on the walls. And now a new cave has been opened in Marseille, with paintings of—astonishingly—penguins! It seems that during the Ice Age, all sorts of surprising animals lived in and around France.

I’ve written up a description of these three amazing caves, any one of which could be a highlight of your next trip to France.

Read all about it in Frenchly!

Prehistoric Cave Paintings in Marseille

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In 1991, Henri Cosquer made a remarkable discovery: he found a grotto filled with prehistoric paintings. Even more remarkable is that the cave is only accessible via an underwater passageway.

Cosquer was a professional diver, leading underwater tours near Marseille. He also dove for pleasure, exploring the nooks and crannies of the rugged coastline.

One day, Cosquer noticed a narrow underwater passageway. Intrigued, he followed it and found himself in a labyrinth of tunnels going here and there. Over multiple dives, he followed these tunnels until, one day, he surfaced inside a cave filled with prehistoric paintings.

This has now been recreated so you can visit it (no swimming required, thankfully.) The French are brilliant at this, having previously recreated the caves at Lascaux and Chauvet. It’s a must-see sight in Marseille, and is an easy walk from the Old Port area.

Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!

Part-Time Living Abroad

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Have you ever dreamed of living abroad, sipping a glass of wine in a charming café, or maybe on a sandy beach?

It sounds appealing, but it’s hard to pick up stakes and move to a foreign land. Who wants to leave their friends and family behind? And what about doctors and dentists and all that?

One way to have the best of both worlds is to live abroad just part of the time, becoming a part-time expat. That’s what Val and I do, and recently International Living Magazine convened a panel of part-time expats to discuss their experiences.

I was honored to be one of the panelists, along with others who make their overseas homes in Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica. If you’d like to hear what we had to say, just follow this link.

Happy dreaming!

Secrets of St-Rémy #1: The Must-See Sights

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Val and I live part of the year in St-Rèmy-de-Provence, a charming town between Marseille and Avignon. I’ve written a guidebook about the area, An Insider’s Guide to Provence, where I share some of our favorite things to see and do. Now I’ve put together a series of articles I call Secrets of St-Rémy, based on that book.

I think the best part of St-Rémy is just wandering its winding streets, but there are three sights I recommend that every visitor see—the outdoor market; the asylum where Vincent van Gogh was treated, combined with the van Gogh walk; and the Roman sites of Glanum and les Antiques.

Let me tell you more about them in My French Life!

The Underground Wonders of Bruoux

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What has 40 kilometers of underground corridors, orange walls, and used to grow mushrooms? If you guessed the ochre mines of Bruoux, you win!

The Luberon Valley in Provence is famous for its ochre. It was mined here for centuries and a walk through the brilliantly-colored quarries of Roussillon or Rustrel is like walking through a rainbow. At Bruoux, rather than carving out the side of a mountain, the miners dug straight in, creating tall corridors hundreds of meters long.

You can take a guided tour of the mines that is about an hour long and just fascinating.

Read all about it in The Good Life France!