ACTIVITIES - summer break

Summer has definitely arrived here in Provence, and we are going to take a break from our newsletter and
* go for a swim in one of the two lakes, Sainte Croix and Esparron
* visit friends
* partake in the local activities
* practice yoga

* to host our guests in our B&B
* and create delicious, fresh vegan dinners for them

* and enjoy the summer months

Claudia will partake in a yoga teacher training in Italy in August whilst Jim will take care of our guests and two cats Mimie and Mia

Enjoy your summer
and
à bientôt!

ACTIVITIES - another Karma Exchange

This spring's Karma Exchange, on 8. May, was a great time, with new faces and of course new items to swap! Accompanied by a glass of champagne from Quinson and freshly baked muffins 6 women and one man came together, and everyone left with some new items!


Twice a year, in the spring and fall, an eclectic mix of people meets up here at La Vudèle for a Karma Exchange: the swapping of previously loved items like clothes, accessories, food, decoration or sometimes books, of ideas or whatever we would like to pass on. Everyone is welcome to show up, with or without something to physical to exchange: a smile, one's presence, one's spirit are plenty! With a glass of champagne or rosé in hand we sit together and swap, try on, decide to keep, admire, pay a compliment, laugh... enjoy.
 
Spring is a great time to get rid of items found and collected over the winter, be they from the closet, the cellar, the library or wherever. To make room for new items and to de-clutter, to re-discover and re-arrange. The same in the fall, and because people keep asking if they could bring their friends I am certain this fall's Karma Exchange will see more new people!

Happy swapping!

ACTIVITIES - 2 extra guest rooms in guesthouse

We opened up our home at La Vudèle as a B&B about four years ago, with a spacious double bedroom with en-suite bathroom, overlooking our garden. Since then many people have come to stay with us and enjoyed the calm and our vegetarian organic breakfast.

Starting this year we can offer two more bedrooms in our guest house which is also part of the old farmhouse La Vudèle. Two modern bathrooms were installed and the entire house restored whilst keeping its original charme, dating back to 1880. Built using traditional methods with solid stone; in front of the house is a large sun terrace, and behind the house you can enjoy the shade on a hot day, with a beautiful view; the Pre-Alpes and Mont Lure are within plain view, and on a clear day the white top of the Mont Ventoux is visible.

La Chambre Bleue
This double bedroom is called "La Chambre Bleue" because of its ancient walls in faded blue and views onto the Provencal blue sky. From the large iron bed measuring a comfortable 2mx2m you have beautiful views toward Provence's tallest mountain, the famous Mont Ventoux.

La Chambre Bleue with awesome skylight in the shower

La Chambre Blanche
This double bedroom is called "La Chambre Blanche" because of its vaulted white ceiling. It offers space and tranquility and beautiful views over lavender and wheat fields. If booking for 3 or 4 people there is connecting room with 2 single beds.

La Chambre Blanche

The rate for each room is € 85 including our copious breakfast with freshly baked sourdough bread

Happy holidays
&
à bientôt!

ACTIVITIES - truffle market

The truffle market. Every village in this region has one! And one is more important, has the better truffles, than all the other ones around. 
Riez, a small village nearby, holds its annual truffle market the last weekend of January, and then every Wednesday morning during market hours.
This year I happened to be outside the "Café de France" where the official opening ceremony was about to take place. Surrounded by the earthy scent of this subterranean fungus, people scurrying past with cloth-lined basket and shopping bags, and all around this atmosphere of busy-ness, quite unusual for this quiet town.

Varying slightly in size some of the goods were displayed on a table in the middle of the large central room, and the mayor of Riez gave a very brief speech along the lines of "I declare this truffle season open". The scent was even more intense but there was no touching allowed, this is serious business!

 

This year is not a good year for truffles which has been reflected in a slight increase in the price, between €70 and € 80 per 100 g. The truffle makes for some delicious meals or simply shaved over spaghetti - simply delicious!

In former times specially trained pigs were used to find this brown gold but since they would eat the truffles themselves they have since been replaced by dogs

back in the old days

nowadays

 Things to do in winter in Provence...

ACTIVITIES - olive picking, slim pickings

Every year we wait until the beginning of December to bring in the harvest of a whole year's worth of olives, anxiously waiting and hoping... 

Last year's harvest was 0 due to the wet weather at the wrong time of year, and the year before the outcome had also not been too great. So this year it was with great anticipation that we descended onto our olive grove of 3 hectars, on the outskirts of Quinson and between La Vudèle and the village. Thanks to our care, proper trimming and - I swear - me talking to the trees some of them have grown to a considerable size worthy the name "tree"! However, the harvest was a bit meager and disappointing so we were finished rather quickly.

We then returned to La Vudèle to pick the four trees in the garden, and despite the fact that some branches had masses of olives on them, as compared to previous years - the amount was also not something to write home about.

Our last hope then was Puimoisson where Jim takes care of a property and gets to harvest the olives. Again, despite some very promising branches the total was disappointing.

We took the nicest looking olives and cured them in brine so if all goes well we will have some delicious olives to eat this summer.

 

The rest we gave to friends to take to the mill and in return received a very small amount of oil but hopefully enough until next December. Unfortunately this means we have no oil to sell to our guests and friends this year, again...

Once the olive harvest is over winter begins...

ACTIVITIES - fall in Provence

This time of year the weather tends to be a bit of a mixed bag, usually sunny days with some rain, cool in the evening and overall a bit less cheerful than the rest of the year. But this year we have been enjoying the most gorgeous fall weather, with temperatures around 20 degrees every day, no wind, lots of sunshine and an overall feel of calm
Provence - land of eternal sunshine

Provence - a beautiful part of the world where every season has its charme

Provence - land of space and vastness, of natural beauty

the beautiful gorge of Quinson

lunch at the lake

breathing space... space to breathe...

ACTIVITIES - Karma Exchange Saturday, 14. November

Twice a year we organize a "Karma Exchange", essentially a clothing swap which has turned into the idea to extend this exchange of previously loved items to an exchange on several levels. And the 14th of October coincides with this year's Diwali Festival of Lights which we shall celebrate with the launching of happiness balloons into the evening sky

Throughout the afternoon there will be 

- a yoga session, with Claudia and other guest teachers
- talks & discussions
- coffee & tea
- a clothing swap
- live music / dancing / singing
- a guided meditation
- a shared dinner

Starting with a yoga session around 14h in the yoga shala we will ease into the afternoon and go with the flow, depending on who shows up and wants to share, be it a skill, knowledge, wisdom or simply presence: everybody is welcome to join. Basically La Vudèle will be the canvas on which we paint.

In the evening we will gather around the dinner table in our farmhouse kitchen, by a wood fired stove, where everyone can present their vegetarian or vegan contribution, a potluck or repas espanol.

date: Saturday, 14. November 2015
place: La Vudèle, Quinson

This is for locals who would like to reconnect after the summer, for visitors who want to have a local experience, for long-lost friends, passersby, everybody is welcome!

Come & join!

ACTIVITIES - spring at the café

Spring has arrived in Provence when the street cafés start to get busy again. With the (fairly) mild weather here we are fortunate to be able to make use of this quintessential Mediterranean pastime every Saturday morning where we meet up with friends and acquaintances, sometimes bringing guests along. 

at the café

 At the bar Le Central we try to get a table in the sun, and since the branches of the plane trees, platane in French, were trimmed the end of February it is nowadays possible to enjoy the warming sunshine the entire time. 

This is also where we swap ideas, exchange stories, plan excursions or simply sit together and watch the world go by.

ACTIVITIES - bike riding

winter scenery - lavender fields

The great thing about winter in Provence is the beautiful blue sky, the crisp clear air. And the empty roads...

From around November until March Provence falls into its winter slumber which is what we love about this area. And what we have come to appreciate for riding our bikes. Granted, "we" would be Claudia and her friend Edith from nearby Saint Laurent du Verdon; Jim prefers to stay close to the warming hearth... along with Mimie and Mia, out cats

Being out-of-doors, bundles up against the chilly Northern winds, sometimes the Mistral, there is nothing more refreshing and energizing like a bike ride. Our favorite round - the long route - takes us from La Vudèle via Saint Laurent and Artignosc along some beautiful scenery up onto the hill tops towards Baudinard, a quaint village with a sort of traffic light, meant for the busy season and cars only (we think...)

Down again towards the river Verdon, left on a dirt road past the public swimming pool of Artignosc beautifully situated right on the banks of the slightly cool river even in summer, and then back up to Saint Laurent: the last stretch, all the way up to the plateau towards La Vudèle, is the real 'heart breaker' and makes me think of 'Heartbreak Hill' of the Boston Marathon, the last, very long stretch through Newton which seems to be never-ending even driving it, up to Boston College.

Once up on the plateau the view onto the nearby mountain range of Mont Denier, snow-capped and magnificent against the blue sky, my heart opens up and I take in the vast expanse of this place. 

Alternatively there are shorter routes from La Vudèle to Esparron, Albiosc and back, about 45 minutes.

winter scenery - vines

This is also the route for the summer for guests if they want to ride their bikes to the lake of Esparron. This takes no more than half an hour, to be at the beach; going back up after a refreshing swim is no problem...

Another favorite is the loop La Vudèle - Saint Laurent - towards Quinson - then back up the D11 (a smaller 'Heartbreak Hill') and back to La Vudèle. This also takes about 45 minutes and allows to take in the scenery ranging from lavender and vine fields through Mediterranean forest and olive groves.

Guests in our chambre d'hôtes can rent bicycles at Edith's hotel for € 8/day, either mountain bikes to explore the many trails, for example the TransVerdon which runs right behind La Vudèle, or leisure/all-terrain bikes.

Life in Provence in the winter:

la vie est belle!

ACTIVITIES - no olive picking this year

What a joy and gastronomical pleasure it is to taste one's own hand-picked, organic olive oil! We pick in December ... but not this year...

Early December is usually the time we get cracking: supplied with small baskets and bags we descend onto our olive grove of about 200 trees, located between La Vudèle and Quinson, and we pick this delicious fruit for a good 10 days. We pick by hand. We pick slowly. We stop for a hearty lunch in the warming winter sun. We enjoy sharing this time with friends like Lynn, our American friend in Quinson/Grenoble/Berlin who usually makes a special trek to Provence every year to participate in the harvesting and grace us with her fantastic singing; various friends who happen to be around; guests of our B&B who want to experience this special time.

Not so this year.

With a very short winter and a very long spring including weeks of rain fall the quality of the olives this year was so devastating that it was not worth it to pick the few which were left on the tree to turn them into mediocre quality oil which will not keep very long.

Here some images of past olive harvests:

20009 Alexander & family and Chan came up from Aix...

 

... and we enjoyed a lovely lunch in the sun

special olive picking baskets for easy picking

Elmer came down from the Netherlands last year...

... and Katja with Alice from Hamburg

2012 with Linda & Josh from New York at the mill...

our harvest last year!

... and after a little more than an hour with our own olive oil!

sharing a delicious dinner with Elmer

some olives we cure in brine for the summer

2013 with Lynn and Marie-Louise from the Netherlands

Hopefully next year we will be back on track! If you want to partake in this experience look on our web site for details and dates

Happy walking in Quinson!

ACTIVITIES - a unique walk in the lower gorge of Quinson

following the ancient canal of Provence

Since June of 2014 and after extensive renovations the foot path -  unique in the gorge du Verdon - is open to the public again, and a "must-do" when visiting Quinson! 

An easy walk for everybody this path  takes you along the river Verdon, and into the actual gorge: spectacular, beautiful, calming! Dotted with several view points and rest stops to take a break and enjoy the view - like three huge tree stumps serving as seats - this path takes you along the ancient canal of Provence, a previously very important waterway in this arid region: canal to the left, river on the right, and you in the middle - simply awesome! 

The short route is an easy 30 minutes to the restored canal guard's hut and very flat. From here one can return via the same way or continue through a short tunnel to walk a 3-hour circuit, either via the chapel Sainte Maxime or the wide tranquil path, to the top of the plateau, with splendid views across the landscape all the way to the mountains standing at almost 2000m and the "big" gorge near Moustiers-Sainte-Marie.

walking IN the gorge

What makes this walk even more special is the fact that it can be reached leaving directly from La Vudèle: a leisurely 45-minute descent to Quinson, a stroll through the village and along its 8 fountains et voilà, the trail head for the gorge! 

Of course there is always the alternative of exploring the river by boat, be it canoe, kayak, pedal boat or electric boat. 

Happy walking in Quinson!

ACTIVITIES - walking and boating in the gorge du Verdon

photos of the Verdon river in Quinson
taken by our guest Solli

The river Verdon, spanning over almost 170 km, is an impressive waterway and very important to this semi-arid part of Provence. The basse gorge in Quinson is the only part accessible on foot.

A recently renovated path follows the river and the ancient canal de Provence, hence making it easy to explore this beautiful part of Provence. Follow the river in the shade of trees and overhanging rocks for about 1 hour at a leisurely pace, stopping along the way to take in the breathtaking views or taking a break at one of several rest spots, sometimes a collection of rocks, other times a cave with tree stumps. One can return via the same way or continue, through a magical forest, to the chapel Sainte Maxime or in a loop back to the start. A serene way to explore this tranquil part of Provence...

with friends on a lazy summer day

For the more ambitious types there are canoes, kayaks and pedal boats for rent; for the more leisurely visitors electric boats glide through the water effortlessly. Either mode of transport offers access to this unique river and its impressive rock formations, all under the blue sky of Provence...