All over Provence with Walk Inn

For Walk Inn Provence, this is one of my favourite holidays to lead. Using three very different bases, we set off to explore (two days each): the Dentelles de Montmirail, then the Luberon, and finally the Alpilles mountains, giving my guests a great overview of some of the most majestic landscapes of Provence.

It had rained the day before the trip start, the only non-walking day I've had over the past two weeks, and the only rains as well. But as is customary in Provence after a rainy day, the chilly Mistral winds kick in, and our first day of walking was at 15°C, a veritable temperature nosedive after walking in 30° weather all last week. But the Mistral winds always bring clear views and make for beautiful photographs. Below, we are on the crest of one of the "Dentelles", a set of three limestone teeth hovering high above the Rhône Valley.

Sitting above the village of Gigondas, the foothills of the Dentelles chain are laden with famed vineyards, planted on terraces carved into the steep slopes. In the backdrop of the picture and in the clouds is Mont Ventoux, Provence's highest mountain.

But best of all in the Dentelles mountains is the Florets hotel, nestled in the vines, and in the heart of the appellation of Gigondas. We stayed there two nights. Their food is to die for, and one of the many perks of being a mountain guide...

And we can walk off those fabulous meals the following day! Leaving Gigondas after our second night at the hotel, we find tracks that wind through the vineyards and into the plains, where we enter the olive groves of Beaumes de Venise.

After our pushup contest (which I handily lost), Christina relishes in her victory...







Walking along the Carpentras canal on our way to the centre of Beaumes de Venise:

A bakery in the village of Lourmarin, on the southern slope of the Luberon:

And just before arriving in Lourmarin, Christina makes a friend:

Our base for the 2nd part of the trip: the Auberge des Seguins hotel deep in the Luberon:

Merope at the hotel, just before dinner:

Our picnic lunches prepared by the Auberge des Seguins. Yum!

Diane preparing herself for the secret staircase to leave the Fort de Buoux:







And here's Cindy making her way down the vertiginous limestone steps, carved into the rock 3000 years ago.

Neville displaying the finer points of the game of Pétanque while brother Darryl watches. Sorry boys, you were up 12-3 but we came back to win 13-12 (just though I'd remind you...)

The photo below isn't great but captures what I've never seen from the summit of the Luberon mountains (where the shot was taken): the Ecrins mountains -- the snowy peaks in the background -- about 200 kilometers away and culminating at over 4000m in altitude.

But Neville has better things to do on the ridge of the Luberon: a Provençal sieste!

After the Luberon we took a short transfer to Saint Rémy, at the foot of the Alpilles mountains.

My favourite place to eat in Saint Rémy: the Mirabeau restaurant with its XL salads, the one below complete with an entire camembert cheese. At the expense of having to leave some of the garnishes, the camembert was finished...

Darryl nearing a summit of the Alpilles mountains, above St. Rémy. The windswept crest offers fantastic views of the Rhône Valley below, flat as a pancake.

Mother and daughter both taking a picture from atop the Alpilles of the medieval village of Les Baux de Provence, the end point of our last walk.

A sign of the times.
In Les Baux de Provence, a riverboat tourist -- in her 70s --using her iPad to take pictures of the medieval buildings.

My group outside a café in Les Baux de Provence, a building held by the same family for 400 years:

A short taxi transfer took us to the Roman city of Arles, where we spent the last night of our holiday. Here we are exploring the labyrinth of streets in the centre of town.

The whole group outside the Auberge des Seguins: thank you to Merope, Neville, Donna, Darryl, Christine, Cindy, and Diane for a great week!!

Up towards the coliseum in Arles:

Hidden villages of Provence for Peregrine Adventures

I didn't get to lead this holiday for Peregrine at all last year, which was quite disappointing; it's one of my favourites to guide: a good mix between the in-the-middle-of-nowhere Auberge des Seguins and active town of Vaison la Romaine, beautiful scenery, and lovely walks. And plus these trips always bring a group of Aussies and Kiwis, who are probably the best travellers on the planet.

We began outside the town of Bonnieux, on what would be a sizzling hot week. Below Lynne is approaching the village of Buoux, nearing the end of the first day's walk.

We spent the first three nights in the Auberge des Seguins, seen below, from the cliff that you can make out at the very bottom left of the photograph. I zoomed in to take the picture: the cliff is about 100m high here; I joked with the group that we were going to rappel down to the Auberge, but we found a hidden mule track -- hundreds of years old -- that descends gently to the base of the cliff.

I've probably mentioned it several times in this blog, but I'll repeat it once more: the Seguins is my favourite place to stay in the region. Cut off from the world (except from wifi reception, which is slowly filling in even the most remote locations), no roads, no television, at the intersection of the most beautiful paths in the Luberon mountains, total bliss.

Yours truly from my room in l'Auberge des Seguins (yes, despite the outward appearance, there's running water and even a private bathroom in each room!).

Our second walk brought us to the village of Gordes; it's a fairly touristy village, a victim of its beauty, and I like to start walking into the village from outside, up the cobbled streets where the tourists don't venture. It's much prettier without the façades of tourist shops:

Some goodies after our picnic break:

Above the Auberge des Seguins, at the Castellas goat farm, where I often encounter friendly pigs and goats:

On our "free day" I took the group to the summit of Mont Ventoux, probably my favourite hiking in the region. Below Julie is contemplating a 1000m deep rockslide:

Though Ventoux is more known for its cycling, its walking paths are stunning, first through forests of larch, beech, and pine, and then up through the scree towards the summit.

Though Tod had other ideas about how to climb to the summit...

Starting from the town of Bedoin, Tod climbed the mythical mountain and met us at the top for a well-deserved lunch.

Gotcha Chamois!!!

I took this shot at about 1700m along the north face of the mountain. Chamois spend most of their time around the steep slopes of scree, where their climbing skills are unmatched (they could beat any Tour de France cyclist to the summit from the base...).

On our last walk, starting in the village of Séguret:

The walk took us through reputed wine country, just in time for the harvest:

Here we are in front of the Auberge des Seguins. A big thanks to Pierre, Julie, Susan, Lynn, and Tod for a wonderful week in Provence.

A week with Pierre and Gina

The 4 star Welcome hotel, set on the Villefranche bay, made for an elegant setting for a Walk Inn holiday last week. The building is centuries old and has "welcomed" illustrious guests, including Picasso.







Breakfast at the Welcome hotel as the morning bustle plays out on the bay, with local fisherman and café owners. I never miss a chance for bacon and eggs when I can get it (some North American traditions die hard...)







After a week with 18 guests, this week had only two: Pierre and Gina from New York.

Our first walk on the peninsula of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat included the purchase of a 3€ tomato at the small market stall below.

The 14th century Rue Obscure in the heart of Villefranche sur Mer

The sky the following morning as we left for the train station. The rain would hold off all day and the cloud cover would provide solace from the hot summer sun as we walked through the back country.

The church steeple as we look up to the village of Castellar, to the lower right of the photo. We had planned an easier walk from the village of Sainte Agnès to Gorbio, but decided upon another route leading all the way down -- save the 200m climb to Castellar -- to the Mediterranean Sea. On two more occasions we would stretch the "level 1" walking holiday into level 2, considering Pierre and Gina are still fit for even more challenging outings (do a level 3 next time!!).

Gina in the sleepy town of Castellar, after a long climb. Luckily Pierre was by my side to keep the pace reasonable, as Gina could have otherwise run circles around me.

In Castellar:

Arriving in the town of Menton after a long day's walk:

The following day, after a train ride to Cannes, we walked on the island of Sainte Marguerite. Set just 1km off the coast of Cannes, the unbuilt island, with its quiet coves and walking paths, offers a stark contrast to the Louis Vuittoned coastline in Cannes (yes, I just used Louis Vuitton as an adjective).

Gina admiring the views from the island.

We spent the night in Nice, and walked along the famed Promenade des Anglais. Hey Pierre, can you spot yourself in the picture?

Colourful statues sitting and kneeling in quiet contemplation, overlooking the Place Massena in Nice.

After a night in Nice we spent the day in Aix en Provence, not planned for in the itinerary but Pierre and Gina had never been there before, and it was on the way to the Luberon. We went to my favourite restaurant in town, Jacquou le Croquant. You will note that when using Google, or any other internet translator, the results can be interesting, such as on the menu below:

But who cares about the translation on the English menu when the Cassoulet is good:

From within the cloister of the Saint Sauveur Cathedral in Aix en Provence:

My Provençal parents joining us on our hike in the Luberon mountains, looking over a limestone wall...

Our hike in the Luberon took us up to the rounded summits, laden with thyme:

From with a "borie": a centuries-old dry stone hut where we had a break during our final walk to the village of Lacoste:

Nearing Lacoste:

We passed some ripe muscat grapes, and couldn't resist the temptation:

Under the village of Lacoste, crowned by the ruins of the castle of the Marquis de Sade:

Through the medieval streets of Lacoste, just under the castle:

Thanks to Pierre and Gina for a wonderful week of jokes and hiking through the countryside. Next time bring me some pickles.