The Beating Heart of St-Rémy

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Keith Van Sickle

St-Rémy has a lot of great cafés and restaurants, but there’s one that really stands out: the Bar-Tabac des Alpilles.

It’s not just that the food is good, it’s also that it’s comfortable any time of day. Whether it’s a coffee and croissant before hitting the weekly market, a glass of wine in the afternoon, or a delicious meal, you can find it here. And even more, it’s an important part of the local fabric of St-Rémy, while also being welcoming to tourists.

Sitting at your table, you might hear Americans on one side of you discussing their travel plans and, on the other side, there will be workers unwinding after a long day. Patrick, the owner, calls his place “A mix of modern tourism and local identity.” It’s family-friendly, and I often see kids there with their parents, having a Coke or a juice. It’s a must-stop for your next visit to St-Rémy.

Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!

See the Best of Provence in One Week!

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Keith Van Sickle

Provence is one of the most popular regions of France, and for good reason—think fields of golden sunflowers and lazy afternoons sipping rosé. Visitors flock to two main areas, the glamorous Côte d’Azur in the east, and the lavender-scented western part made famous by A Year in Provence.

These are so far apart that it’s hard to cover both in a week, so I’ve written a guide to the western part, home to famous towns like Avignon and Aix-en-Provence. It provides you with an itinerary with a mix of historical sites, charming hilltop villages, and some of the best restaurants in Provence. The stops are in no particular order, so you can mix and match as you please.

Read all about it in Frenchly!

Visiting Provence Without a Car

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Keith Van Sickle

My friend Janine Marsh lives in a small town in France with her husband and about a million stray animals she’s adopted. Janine has written three funny and charming books about her life in France, has a fabulous website about all things French called The Good Life France, and four times a year publishes an even more fabulous online magazine about France.

In her latest issue, she has a very helpful article about how to visit Provence without a car. You can always rent a car if you’d like, but Janine shows that you don’t have to. I learned a few things!

If you’d like to find out how to do it yourself, here’s the magazine. The article is on page 16.

Michel Houellebecq, the Bad Boy of French Literature

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Keith Van Sickle

Michel Houellebecq has been called France’s greatest living writer, a worthy successor to the likes of Camus and Céline. He has also been called an enfant terrible and a provocateur.

His books have sold millions, been translated into dozens of languages, and won many awards.

I love Houellebecq’s books, and I also hate them. But love them or hate them, I can’t stop reading them.

Who is Michel Houellebecq? And should you read his books?

Read all about it in My French Life!

French Extraterrestrial Prepares to Invade the NBA

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Keith Van Sickle

Today is one of the most important dates in the basketball calendar, when the teams of the National Basketball Association (NBA) select the players who will join their teams the following season. The selection process takes the form of a player draft, with teams selecting players in a predetermined order. The worst teams pick first and the best teams last, to try to give weaker teams the chance to improve.

There has been considerable buzz this year, as the first player selected will be Victor Wembanyama of France. He’s the most anticipated young player in decades, so good he’s been called an “alien” (meaning his talents are otherworldly.)

What makes young Victor so special? Is it his immense height, his slick ball-handling skills, or perhaps his 3-point shot “as smooth as crème Chantilly“?

Read all about it in Frenchly!

See the Dutch Masters in Provence

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Keith Van Sickle

One of the highlights of any trip to Provence is visiting the fabulous Carrières des Lumières. This former stone quarry now hosts an immersive sound and light show…inside a mountain! It is so popular that other sites have been created in many countries, and recently the Immersive Van Gogh program was shown around the world.

But the best place to see it is still where it started, in that enormous cavern. This year’s program is all about the Dutch Masters, from Vermeer to Van Gogh. It’s fitting that the program finishes with ol’ Vincent, as many of his greatest works were painted in nearby St-Rémy and Arles.

Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!

Pick a Practical College Major…Like French!

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Keith Van Sickle

We seem to live in a world of STEM Über Alles, where if a young person doesn’t learn to write computer code, he or she is condemned to a life as a dog walker. But are engineers destined to rule the world? Perhaps not.

The ultimate STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) archetype might be Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame, but let’s think about who is it that commands the Starship Enterprise. It’s not the ultra-logical Mr. Spock, but rather the clever and quick-thinking Captain Kirk.

What does this mean for today’s college students, faced with choosing a major field of study that will set them on a course for life? Should they pick a ‘practical’ major in the STEM field, or—god forbid—something useless like French?

Read all about it in My French Life!

Go Off the Beaten Path in France

Posted on May 24, 2023 by Keith Van Sickle

I recently joined several other Frenchly writers for a webinar where we shared some of our favorite things to see and do in France, those that might not be on the usual tourist agenda. We discussed Paris, Provence, the Dordogne, and other beautiful parts of this beautiful country.

The webinar is about an hour long, and things get going at about the four-minute mark (after various commercial announcements.) It might give you some good ideas for your next trip here!

You can watch the webinar here.

Great Olive Oil in Les Baux-de-Provence

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Keith Van Sickle

If you’d like to taste some of the best olive oil in Provence, look no further than the Moulin Castelas, situated just below the famous fortress of Les Baux-de-Provence.

Castelas is owned by Catherine and Jean-Benoît Hugues, a French couple who lived in Arizona before returning to their native country when they “fell in love with some old olive trees.” The Hugues make their olive oil much like a winemaker makes wine, with great care at each step of the process. And the results are spectacular: Moulin Castelas has won top awards in national and international competitions.

In addition to pure olive oils, Castelas produces oils infused with different flavors, like rosemary, basil, and citrus. And unlike some producers, they don’t just add chemical flavorings to their oils. Instead, they macerate them with ingredients, for example adding fresh rosemary to their olives before milling them together.

The Castelas staff is friendly and English-speaking, and welcomes you to taste all the olive oils you like. You can also tour the olive mill itself if they are not too busy.

Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!

Liberty, Equality, Maternity? “Childfree” in France

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Keith Van Sickle

A few months ago, headlines ricocheted across France: “30% of French Women Don’t Want Children” and “Nearly One Woman in Three Doesn’t Want Kids.” They were the result of a survey for Elle Magazine by France’s leading pollster.

If a third of French women is not having kids, the media surmised, then this is a demographic earthquake!

So, what’s actually going on and what will it mean for France’s future? I spoke to one of France’s leading demographic researchers and learned some surprising things about the survey (hint: the devil is in the details.)

Read all about it in Frenchly!