Cycling in the Alpilles

Getting paid to cycle all day in the Provençal countryside isn't a bad deal really, and a welcome change from all the time I've been spending in the office lately.

Yesterday's reconnaissance took me some 80km through a countryside of olive groves windswept fields, while a moderate Mistral wind -- about 30km/h or so -- which was helpful at the start, but had me cycling directly into a headwind for the last two hours or so.

Below is the Oustau de Baumanière 5* hotel, nestled under the village of Les Baux de Provence. I was here to put together a new cycling itinerary staying in luxury accommodation: Cycling in Luxury

Below Les Baux to the south I cycled along tracks and back roads under a beautiful winter sky, in close to 15°C weather.

Someone should inform the Spanish broom that it isn't quite yet springtime:

But the mimosa is right on time:

At the end of my ride, climbing atop the pass and above the village of Les Baux de Provence, with the setting sun highlighting the 1000 year-old medieval buildings.

Vines in the winter

Vines hidden in the countryside in between Gigondas and Sablet. I was here yesterday, rewriting a paragraph of the Roadbook of Walk Inn's holiday: Under the Silhouette of Mont Ventoux. You'll see in the photograph that the vines have been recently pruned, a very important step in the winter to limit the yield for the following September.

We have had more than stellar reviews of our Roadbook for this particular holiday but needed to tweak one small section, where some of our guests became confused in orienteering. We take every tweak seriously, and for me it's a wonderful excuse to get out of my winter-hibernation-phase-in-the-office and get out on the trails.

January in the Luberon

Yesterday I went into the Luberon mountains to scout a new hike between the villages of Bonnieux and Lourmarin, and this for a luxury walking tour that Walk Inn now proposes: Luberon in Luxury.

But first was a visit of Lourmarin, and the B&B we'll be using there: Côté Lourmarin.

The 18th century building in Lourmarin was entirely restored last year by Christine Delatour, and converted into into a more-than-charming-actually-downright-sumptuous B&B. There are only two room in this guest house, set above the cobbled streets of the centre of the tiny village, and overlooking the cafés.

Below is the "lavande" room. As a male who has no sense of style or detail, I made sure to take as may photos as possible to remember...

The bathroom, with a marble sink.

The bathroom of the suite, with a luxury bathtub set in the centre and a huge walk-in shower, with possibly the largest shower head I've ever seen...

These "linear" walks, from A to B, require yours truly to use a bicycle at either the beginning or at the end of the walk. It was at the beginning this time, after leaving the car in Lourmarin (end of walk) and cycling up the road to Bonnieux (beginning of the walk). That doesn't make sense, does it? In any case this was one of those unfortunate times where the beginning of the walk just happened to be 250m higher in altitude than the end, which makes for an easy walk, but a sweaty bike ride.

The walk starts from Bonnieux and quickly reaches the crest of the mountain, from where -- at least yesterday -- the snow-capped chain of the Alps was clearly visible. It reminds me just how close everything is in France. From Sea to Alps just a short drive away...

It was a beautifully sunny winter's walk, about 15°C, and even up on the crest I was in a T-shirt, overlooking the gentle forested slopes of the Luberon:

Mont Ventoux looking back towards the north:

Rosemary in bloom on the sun-parched hills:

From the crest now looking towards the south:

On the path above the southern slope, getting ready for my descent towards Lourmarin. It was a beautiful walk, nice paths, and I'm more than convinced that Walk Inn's guests will enjoy it as much as I did.

It's days like these when I'm reminded why I moved here to Provence, surrounded by magical countryside, caressed by the warm sun and by the concentrated scent of thyme and pine needles.

A New Year's Eve hike in Mont Ventoux

A New Year's eve hike in Mont Ventoux, alone, needing to get up into the mountains...
I started the hike just outside the town of Bedoin (350m), at the southern foot of Ventoux. As you start to climb the views quickly become wide-sweeping. Below is a view from the south face, including the Luberon mountains in the background, taken from just above 1000m in altitude






The rocky limestone paths of Ventoux...

Not even 2012 and already the first flowers are blooming. Below is the "stinking hellebore" plant, highly toxic (also known as mother-in-law's plant).

At around 1000m in altitude on the south face you can visit many centuries-old shepherd's huts, calles "jas": used for shelter for both the shepherd and the flock in the mountains. 1000m marks about the snow-line in Ventoux, above which the snow will generally last for long periods in the winter.

ps: in n the photo I'm wearing a Christmas gift from one of my cycling guests this year: Berit sent me a wollen hat from Norway. Thanks, and see: it's already put to good use!!! It's the warmest hat I've ever worn, and I'm a Canadian!

A visit to Toronto...

The skyline seen from the High Park area...

Downtown Toronto at dusk, the emblematic streetcars at Spadina and College.



Niagara falls lit up at night, the waters cascading in milky neons down the Niagara River.



The falls seen from just 9m above the river, after descending a 38m elevator to a viewing platform. The falls are only 54m high but what makes them so imposing is the 675m they stretch around the horseshoe.



I suppose grape vines aren't much of a novelty for someone who lives in the south of France, but icewine is. It's December 2nd in Niagara on the Lake, and the bunches of Vidal grapes are bundled in their nets, waiting for the freezing temperatures of January for picking and pressing, the sweet golden nectar separating from the ice.

The Vidal grapes and their thick skins, able to withstand the harsh Canadian winters, perfect to use to make ice wine. These pictures were taken at the Joseph Estate, just outside Niagara on the Lake. I asked whether any varietal could be used to make icewine, and although there doesn't seem to be any rules about which grape can be used, only certain varietals are able to cope with winter conditions and remain on the vines until January.

Chico and the Gypsies...

You think you know everything about Provence until you feel dumb about something you really should have known but didn't.

Let me explain: The Gypsy Kings are originally from Arles, in the South of France. The founder of the group, Chico, parted with the Gypsy Kings early on (contract dispute) and formed his own group -- Chico and the Gypsies -- who we listened to on Thursday, in Arles. 15 years ago Chico built a restaurant/small concert hall complex on the banks of the Rhône River, in Arles, called Le Patio. Chico and the Gypsies perform concerts there, among more prestigious venues in the country.

Dinner was a paëlla cooked on a wood fire, best I've ever had:

the Cévennes...

After a long season of guiding I returned to the Cévennes mountains, about 150km north-west of Avignon. Below is the small village of Pont de Montvert under a gloriously sunny late October sky.

The plateaus above Pont de Montvert...

It hadn't rained here for months, and the parched broom-laden plateau seemed almost desert-like:

The chestnut and beech forests in the autumn, and though they don't rival with the fall colours of eastern Canada , the lanscapes in the Cévennes have a beauty of their own:

The hamlet of Le Merlet, set above the village of Pont de Montvert: a 16th century farm converted into a guest house and dormitory.

The hamlet of Felgerolles:

Walking from hamlet to hamlet along ancient paths lined with stone walls:

Up on the plateaus the walking is easy and spectacular, with sweeping views of the Cévennes foothills to the south and to the east

Along old tracks and through isolated farms...

The country counts about 100 geographical "départements", and here I'm in Lozère, the least populated in France: 75 000 total population and only 15 inhabitants per square kilometer.

The countryside is dotted with old houses and hamlets, all using majestic and massive granite stones for construction (they don't built them like they used to...).

The broom-laden hills atop the plateaus...

To the bottom left of the picture is the town of Génolhac, 900m below where I currently stand. A winding path on old cobbles zigzags leisurely down to the valley, and into the chestnut forests.

The old cobbled path:

Through the chestnut forest:

Just above the town of Génolhac, at the Mas Nouveau Guesthouse, with Camille in the kitchen:

The Mas nouveau from the entrance: