Don’t disturb the photographer. Hard at work … Violet, lilac, amethyst, mauve … all these colours could be used to describe the deep hues of the lavender here. It was first cultivated on the Valensole plateau in the 19th century, and the town still produces 80% of the world’s lavender today. We’ve been gobsmacked by…
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Valensole is the centre of the lavender industry. We had no idea our timing would be so perfect, but thank you to a rescheduled wedding in Israel! In Tuscany it was a rear attack by voracious blood-sucking mozzies … wherever we went, there were tourists sporting giant red weals on arms and legs, Hirsh definitely…
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Not too shabby to move from our Tuscan abode to this gîte (the French word for a holiday apartment in rural France) near Valensole in Provence … two levels and an outdoor terrace. Poppy and wildflower headboard in the upstairs bedroom, geometric wallpaper and cushions in the downstairs lounge, a funky kitchen cutlery chandelier in…
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Our 9-hour (ouch!) trip from Acquacalde to Valensole in the Hautes-Alpes area of Provence crossed beautiful wooded country, up and down hills and past mountains, some with crusty gun-metal-grey rock cliffs. It was so hilly it could only be traversed via an unending string of tunnels. The Italians must have spent the last two centuries…
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Just not ready to be quite finished with Italy yet so . . . a gallery of windows from our sojourn in this lovely place.                                    
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Just as we depart I leave you with a few pictures of our apartment in Acquacalda just outside Siena and our favourite nearby coffee shop, Sclava, a bakery, patisserie, deli and pizzeria all rolled into one. The locals loved it too. There I discovered a sublime crumbly almond cookie that went wonderfully with a very…
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A particularly friendly (and pretty) Italian server at our favourite neighbourhood pasticceria and panetteria (superb espressos!) asked us if we’d visited the monastery of San Galgano, tut-tutting when we shook our heads. So that’s where we drove today, roughly an hour out of our tiny settlement, Acquacalda, on the outskirts of Siena. I found the…
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Just as we’re getting to say Prego, Grazie and Arrivederci with aplomb, it’s time to move on! Not sure I’m ready to say Ciao to Italy just yet … But still a couple of days of exploring, so back to Radda we go to delve a little deeper into this rustic village. Our meandering countryside…
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The village itself, wrapped within castle walls, is tiny. In fact, most of the ancient and medieval stone structures and walls, including the castle, were devastated in various feudal wars, so much of the stonework has been since reconstructed. But its sense of containment makes it a pretty spot to amble through. And the Italian…
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