Provence

[Peregrinator]

Looks like I'm going there next year as part of a fiftieth wedding anniversary (obviously not my own) trip/celebration.

Tell me what you know of this place. Make recommendations. Post experiences. I want to know more about it.

 

[Fuckette]

Looks like I'm going there next year as part of a fiftieth wedding anniversary (obviously not my own) trip/celebration.

Tell me what you know of this place. Make recommendations. Post experiences. I want to know more about it.

Are you kept?

 

[Peregrinator]

Are you kept?

What in the fuck are you talking about?

 

[Fuckette]

You seem to live off of other people's money.

 

[unregistered]

 

[Peregrinator]

You seem to live off of other people's money.

Well, I was invited, but I'll be paying my own way if that helps at all.

Why don't you just Google it?

Duh?

Happy Thanksgiving, Vette. Hope you had a great day. Any family or friends for you?

Obviously, I did google it, and I can read, too. That's never been a substitute for people's personal experience of a place.

 

[MonaLittle]

France?
Ive been there twice. Most recently, this past September.
I absolutely love it.

How long will you be there and what month?

 

[unregistered]

 

[firenzi]

Provence is a big area. Where are you staying and what time of year?

 

[Fuckette]

It's expensive.

There is a lovely dojo, Zen center in Nice.

 

[Peregrinator]

France?
Ive been there twice. Most recently, this past September.
I absolutely love it.

How long will you be there and what month?

Nothing is entirely certain yet. The idea is to rent someplace--I think "chateau" is what people are thinking--and then do day trips. It will be in the fall sometime, likely September. Probably a couple weeks or so.

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well. Just the wife and son and I today. We have both sides of the family on Saturday. I'll be ready to take it easy on Sunday.

For some reason I thought you were divorced. Glad it was mellow, and I hope Saturday goes well.

Provence is a big area. Where are you staying and what time of year?

Nothing certain yet. Got a favorite spot?

It's expensive.

There is a lovely dojo, Zen center in Nice.

I've heard...and thank you.

 

[Fuckette]

http://www.francehousehunt.com/

I can't remember the other company I use. I'll get it to you at another time.

 

[renard_ruse]

People don't wear any pants there. Haven't you heard the old song.

"In the Southern part of France,
Where the people where no pants..."

 

[Peregrinator]

http://www.francehousehunt.com/

I can't remember the other company I use. I'll get it to you at another time.

Thanks! That could turn out to be really helpful.

People don't wear any pants there. Haven't you heard the old song.

"In the Southern part of France,
Where the people where no pants..."

That lightens the suitcase.

 

[HoHoBomb]

http://watch.wliw.org/video/1336192037/

 

[unregistered]

 

[Peregrinator]

http://watch.wliw.org/video/1336192037/

Beautiful country, that.

I am, from number 1.

Aha...I have one of those as well...

 

[firenzi]

I haven't been to Provence but we were planning a trip there once. If you're thinking of renting a villa with daytrips I'd really recommend a website called Slowtravel, it has all sorts of rental property info and reviews, and information about villages, car rentals, driving routes, restaurants, etc.

http://www.slowtrav.com/france/vr/list.asp?r=Provence

http://www.slowtrav.com/france/

For daytrips, besides Aix en Provence, Arles, and Avignon I'd look at Villeneuve, Orange, Nimes, and Uzes. If you go to west to Nice and/or drive around the Riviera I've heard that Antibes is really nice.

 

[Peregrinator]

I haven't been to Provence but we were planning a trip there once. If you're thinking of renting a villa with daytrips I'd really recommend a website called Slowtravel, it has all sorts of rental property info and reviews, and information about villages, car rentals, driving routes, restaurants, etc.

http://www.slowtrav.com/france/vr/list.asp?r=Provence

http://www.slowtrav.com/france/

For daytrips, besides Aix en Provence, Arles, and Avignon I'd look at Villeneuve, Orange, Nimes, and Uzes. If you go to west to Nice and/or drive around the Riviera I've heard that Antibes is really nice.

The links are super helpful, Florence. Thanks.

 

[torchthebitch]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Year_in_Provence

This is a book written by an Englishman who spent some time living there. It is of course a little dated now but it is quite amusing. There is also a film and a BBC series based on it if you want a short easily digestible introduction.

I suggest you have at least a smattering of French before you go. They are much more tolerant and helpful if you open a conversation in French, but I'm sure you already know that.

 

[KRCummings]

Take everything you've ever heard about France, throw out all the good stuff and there you go.
Art and pretty countryside do not make up for French people.

 

[trysail]

Peter Mayle's well-known books:

A Year In Provence (1989)
Toujours Provence (1991)
Encore Provence: New Adventures in the South of France (1999)

 

[revelator]

Looks like I'm going there next year as part of a fiftieth wedding anniversary (obviously not my own) trip/celebration.

Tell me what you know of this place. Make recommendations. Post experiences. I want to know more about it.

As Firenzi says, 'Provence' is a big, varied place. My experience is mainly in the coastal Alpes-Maritimes area, and I find Nice a bit too 'big' for my tastes, preferring the more intimate / quaint areas. But even the quaint areas are very popular with tourists.

Antibes: lovely old quartier, lots of wonderful restaurants. If I were booking your trip, this is probably where I'd put you in a hotel facing the sea on the Ramparts. (My favorite was a place that specialized in beef, and had all these medals from early-20th-century cattle shows hanging on the walls, but it's gone now.) The Musee Picasso is worth a visit, and it's an easy walk over the hill to Juan les Pins.

There are lots of wonderful little villages a bit off the coast. Among my favorites are Valbonne and Mougins - beautiful, and hard to find a bad restaurant in any of them.

St. Paul de Vence is a medieval walled town - great fun to walk the streets and enjoy the views:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Paul-de-Vence

There is a well-known hilltop cemetary adjacent to the old city in Nice with beautiful views of the sea. It is one of the few places in Europe where Catholics, Protestants, and Jews were buried in close proximity (in three separate sections). It's an enjoyable and popular walk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHL-jzj8CPM

If you want to see how 'the 1%' live, go east to Monaco and Cap Ferrat.

One 'off the beaten track' location is Mandelieu. The Chateau - La Napoule (an old fortress has been restored and is an art museum, and again it's hard to find a bad restaurant.

If you're planning to strike off on your own once the festivities are done, will have a car, and looking to perhaps economize, there is a business park called Sophia-Antipolis between Antibes and Valbonne. Within are a few hotels (the Novotel comes to mind) that on weekends might have good rates.

The coastline is beautiful. If you want to see the scenery, I suggest just boarding a train to St. Tropez and back - lots easier than negotiating the heavy traffic on the windy coast road.

Inland you'll find the mountains and more small communities like Grasse. Not able to help much as you go farther west to Toulon and Aix.

 

[Fuckette]

Train

First class is world class.
Perfect for older people.

http://www.sncf.com/en_EN/flash/#

 

[Peregrinator]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Year_in_Provence

This is a book written by an Englishman who spent some time living there. It is of course a little dated now but it is quite amusing. There is also a film and a BBC series based on it if you want a short easily digestible introduction.

I suggest you have at least a smattering of French before you go. They are much more tolerant and helpful if you open a conversation in French, but I'm sure you already know that.

Oui. Et nous allons etudier.

Take everything you've ever heard about France, throw out all the good stuff and there you go.
Art and pretty countryside do not make up for French people.

They can't be as bad as the damn Canadians.

Peter Mayle's well-known books:

A Year In Provence (1989)
Toujours Provence (1991)
Encore Provence: New Adventures in the South of France (1999)

I'm telling Santa.

As Firenzi says, 'Provence' is a big, varied place. My experience is mainly in the coastal Alpes-Maritimes area, and I find Nice a bit too 'big' for my tastes, preferring the more intimate / quaint areas. But even the quaint areas are very popular with tourists.

Antibes: lovely old quartier, lots of wonderful restaurants. If I were booking your trip, this is probably where I'd put you in a hotel facing the sea on the Ramparts. (My favorite was a place that specialized in beef, and had all these medals from early-20th-century cattle shows hanging on the walls, but it's gone now.) The Musee Picasso is worth a visit, and it's an easy walk over the hill to Juan les Pins.

There are lots of wonderful little villages a bit off the coast. Among my favorites are Valbonne and Mougins - beautiful, and hard to find a bad restaurant in any of them.

St. Paul de Vence is a medieval walled town - great fun to walk the streets and enjoy the views:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Paul-de-Vence

There is a well-known hilltop cemetary adjacent to the old city in Nice with beautiful views of the sea. It is one of the few places in Europe where Catholics, Protestants, and Jews were buried in close proximity (in three separate sections). It's an enjoyable and popular walk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHL-jzj8CPM

If you want to see how 'the 1%' live, go east to Monaco and Cap Ferrat.

One 'off the beaten track' location is Mandelieu. The Chateau - La Napoule (an old fortress has been restored and is an art museum, and again it's hard to find a bad restaurant.

If you're planning to strike off on your own once the festivities are done, will have a car, and looking to perhaps economize, there is a business park called Sophia-Antipolis between Antibes and Valbonne. Within are a few hotels (the Novotel comes to mind) that on weekends might have good rates.

The coastline is beautiful. If you want to see the scenery, I suggest just boarding a train to St. Tropez and back - lots easier than negotiating the heavy traffic on the windy coast road.

Inland you'll find the mountains and more small communities like Grasse. Not able to help much as you go farther west to Toulon and Aix.

This is a wonderful post, Rev. Thank you!

First class is world class.
Perfect for older people.

http://www.sncf.com/en_EN/flash/#

Oh, very fun. Excellent.