Translation: So, Pomp – – – – [part of sign missing here; I assume it’s the cat’s name!]. You, yourself, have also come back for the bread. “Tradition rediscovered.”  Bakery. Our drive to the village of Riez was inspired mainly by the idea of seeing Roman ruins (a series of Corinthian columns) but it’s quite…
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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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