Part 4 in the series, Backroads of Provence
By Diane Covington

Well, I said our next adventure was ‘just around the bend’ in Provence and that certainly turned out to be true. After leaving the Hotel Beauvallon in Sainte Maxime, we drove to the AGS Formula 1 racetrack to have a ‘once-in-a-lifetime experience’ of riding in a real race car.

There’s an option to spend the morning getting trained and then drive the racecar that afternoon or just get into a 2-seater behind a trained driver and go. We took that option. I must admit I was nervous, but how thrilling to go 120-150 mph in a racecar, whizzing around a track.

They’re friendly and very professional and it feels safe—as safe as it can feel at that speed! They outfit you with jumpsuits, helmets, shoes, gloves and earplugs (which were needed). Not to be missed for those with that urge for speed!

Then on to Aix-en-Provence, my favorite city in Provence. I’m prejudiced because I lived in Aix in 2000 for almost a year. But Aix is a city that can be rediscovered, no matter how many times you visit it. Everywhere you go, you hear the soft sound of water splashing in fountains—there are over 50 of them.

The Romans founded Aix over 2,000 years ago because of the abundance of springs and the healing properties of the water. Today, the Spa Thermes Sextius is built on the site of the original Roman baths. You can see the crumbling walls of the ancient buildings and the spring, which comes up from a depth of 80 meters at a temperature of 97 degrees, through a glass floor in the entry.

After we settled into our hotel, the Hôtel La Bastide du Cours, right on the Cours Mirabeau or main street, we headed to the spa. The French really know about spas. The water, full of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and lithium, is said to relieve stress, fatigue and even cellulite. I’ve found the treatments to be really helpful in getting over jet lag.

After three ‘soins’, or treatments, a salt scrub, a mud wrap and a massage with essential oils under ‘affusion’ or warm showers, we were ready for a night of enjoying Aix. (For the spa, make reservations ahead. It is so popular with the locals, they get booked up.) Aix has over 160 manor houses dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, designed by architects from Italy, Paris and Flanders. Cobblestone streets wind into the central square where the Hotel de Ville, or Mayor’s office, is next to a 12th century clock tower. Take your pick of restaurants—there are so many good ones. We ate at Antoine Coté Cours, 19 Cours Mirabeau, which was filled with locals, always a good sign. Stay tuned for our next stop, the port of Marseille.

`Å bientôt—see you soon!

Part 3 in the series, Backroads of Provence
By Diane Covington

After our refreshing stay at Chateau de Berne, we followed the winding road down toward the coast, past vineyards and pine trees, with dramatic views around every bend.

We stopped at Thoronet Abbey a well-preserved 11th century abbey set in a pine forest. The acoustics in the chapel are said to be the second best in the world and our guide sang some sweet notes for us to experience the music echoing off the high walls.

Then on to Saint Tropez, and a stop at the renowned Chateau de la Messardière Hotel for lunch.  As we sipped local chilled rose wine with our sumptuous courses, we admired the view of the Bay of Saint Tropez sparkling through the pines and gardens of their extensive grounds (messardiere.com).

Though Saint Tropez is now famous for all the celebrities who frequent it, many with giant yachts, it is still a quaint fishing village at heart.  After lunch, we wandered along the colorful alleyways, appreciating the peace of ‘off season’ September, yet basking in the warm sun reminiscent of summer.

The distance from Saint Tropez to Sainte Maxime, on the other side of the bay, is short, but in summer can take an hour or more.  In September, luckily, it was shorter than that, but when we spotted our hotel, Le Beauvallon, sitting atop a knoll with a wide lawn sloping down to the sea, we were excited to call it our next home.

This ‘Belle Époque’ Hotel, built in 1914, has the elegance and grace of those earlier days, contrasted with a glamorous up-to-date décor.  Over 15 acres of landscaped gardens create a sense of space and tranquility.

From the balcony of our luxurious room, we breathed in the fresh sea air and watched sailboats gliding by, as the sky turned pink behind the clouds with the setting sun.  Later, the lights of Saint Tropez looked like jewels in a treasure chest across the bay.

The romantic dining room, with damask linens and candlelight complemented the Mediterranean/International menu and fine local wines.

Breakfast on the terrace the next morning, a swim in the pool and a stroll along the sand at the beach club, followed by some relaxation under an umbrella on a chaise lounge-this is the life!  And in the late September, the sea is still warm enough for a refreshing plunge.

This is the kind of hotel where you want to settle in and stay for weeks.  But even our short stay refreshed mind, body and spirit, making us ready for the next adventure just around the bend in Provence.

Part 2 in the series, The Backroads of Provence
By Diane Covington

We left the amazing Terre Blanche and continued along the winding roads in the hills above the Mediterranean toward our next destination, Le Chateau de Berne, a winery and 18th century chateau and inn. On the way, we stopped for a coffee at Saint Endreol Golf Course, a lovely spot to golf or stay, but we wanted to keep going–we were excited to experience the Chateau de Berne.

We also stopped at Chateau Sainte Roseline to taste some Rosé wine and visit their chapel, well worth the stop. Then just down the road, we entered the over 1500 acre estate of Chateau de Berne . This very successful vineyard and inn feels like you’re staying in a country house of a generous and well off friend. Like Terre Blanche, the quiet and peace of the place is palpable and refreshing. The rooms are upstairs from the restaurant and it feels like you’re home and running downstairs for dinner. Their website calls it an ‘intimate country residence’ and they have it right.

We relaxed in our comfortable room before dinner and then headed down the stairs for a memorable evening. Our dinner menu was paired with wines from their own vineyard, white, rosé and red. We started with mixed smoked salmon, parma ham, parmesan cheese and tender greens. Our main course was a slow roasted lamb cannelloni with lamb chop. Then came a selection of cheeses and then dessert, a tasting plate including crème brulée and other luscious bite-sized treats. The fine damask tablecloth and napkins in a soft peach color on the table, the fresh flowers on the table and throughout the rooms and the excellent service made us feel very taken care of and wanting to stay as long as possible.

The next morning, we swam in the heated pool as the sun came up and turned the clouds and sky a rosy pink. Breakfast of fresh croissants and fruit and a lazy morning at the inn prepared us for our journey back down to the coast to rediscover Saint Tropez and Sainte Maxime, off season. Stay tuned for the next update and more adventures.

Join veteran travel writer Diane Covington as she travel the backroads of Provence in this new travelogue series exclusive to The Traveler.

I’ve traveled to France for over 25 years and even lived in France in 2000 for almost a year. I have a passion for the culture and the language that is both mysterious and fulfilling. I’m always looking for new places to explore or new ways to explore old places.

So when I heard about the properties that I’m going to share with you here, I just had to go and check them out. The idea of undiscovered Provence down back roads, well, it was too good. And it turned out to be even better than I could have imagined. But then, I’m prejudiced. But even so, these fall into the category of the rare and the magical, so stay tuned.

We arrived in late September, 2008, on the Fall Equinox, at the Terre Blanche Four Seasons Resort (www.fourseasons.com/provence/) in the hills behind Cannes, France. After landing in Nice, it was a short drive along winding roads up into the hills, leaving behind the crowds of the coast.

The Terre Blanche feels like a little piece of Provencal heaven. When we arrived, tired from all our traveling, the staff met us with towels that smelled of rosemary and thyme. There is an utter quiet and peace to the place, a chance to go back in time and to feel what France has to offer, ‘l’art de vivre’, the art of living at a slower pace and of really enjoying each moment.

The property is set up like a small village, with individual suites looking across the valley to the perched village of Fayence. Each suite has a sitting room and courtyard, spacious bedroom and bath, with comfortable beds, fine linens and cozy comforters. French doors open out to the terrace from the living room and bedroom. A massage at the spa, then a soak in the heated pool and jacuzzi, helped with jet lag. The landscaping is designed with aromatic plants–lavender, rosemary, and thyme, among others, and their scents filled the fresh air as we walked back to our cottage.

At Terre Blanche, you can play golf at one of two 18 hole courses, swim, visit the nearby villages or just kick back and relax at the pool or on your private terrace. There are five restaurants to choose from, and the Faventia, the main restaurant, has one MIchelin star. Executive Chef Philippe Jourdin creates fresh, contemporary Mediterranean menus, complemented by both local and international wines. Our three course dinner at Faventia included a first course of Zucchini flowers stuffed with Provencal flavors and a baby leaves salad. Our second course was rolled fillet of sole with mashed zucchini, olives bitter juice, tomato petals and rocket leaves. And for dessert, we enjoyed light cream of vanilla and fresh raspberries, rose ice cream and a soft biscuit in a crispy shell of Provencal almonds.

The presentation of each course was elegant and beautiful and we had to admire the plate before beginning to savor the creations. With the first course, we took the suggestion of the chef and enjoyed a Chassagne Montrachet Domaine Borgeot, 1995, a crisp white wine. And for the second course, Aloxe Corton Domaine Rapet, 2004, a full red wine. The restaurant lived up to its one Michelin Star, with both the food and the service and our dinner became a special part of the Terre Blanche memories. I recommend staying at least two days, to really slow down and savor the experience of this special resort and the area.

By Cherie Thiessen

It’s May, the perfect time for getting a deal on a cruiser and checking out how the Pouilly, Sancerre and Burgundy vintages have turned out as we cruise through the French countryside. The strawberries will be showing their first blushes, the asparagus will be striking out for the sun, and the fields will be a riot of yellow canola blossoms.

So with a smattering of excruciating French, hardy gloves for handling the ropes in the locks, non-slip deck shoes, rain slickers and a corkscrew, we landed in Paris, took a high speed two-hour train south to the LeBoat base in Decize, and boarded our 36’ Clipper that same evening. We didn’t need the corkscrew.

The town of Decize is located on an island in Burgundy’s Loire Valley. Although the LeBoat base is a few kilometers from there, its position is actually perfect. Close to a large supermarket for provisioning, the location also offers boaters their choice of three different routes: one lock leads unto the Loire River and shortly thereafter, the narrow Nivernais Canal with its proliferation of locks, tunnels and lifting bridges, another heads southwest on the Lateral Canal towards Digoin and beyond, right down to the Mediterranean for those with months to spare. The other direction on the Lateral winds toward the short Nevers canal, twists to Briare and eventually joins the Seine on its way to Paris. We opted for this canal because of its wider banks and fewer locks, figuring this translated into more time to spend checking out Nevers’s famous ceramics, and wine tasting in the Sancerre region, Sancerre being one of our vintages of choice.

Allowing two weeks, this return trip consists of 60 manned locks and 264 kilometers in total. Who can resist towns with names like Marseille-les-Aubigny, Ménétréol-sous-Sancerre, and Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire? We spent many an hour in these places before docking at Briare, re-provisioning, enjoying a delicious, chatty meal with the locals at one of the many buzzing brasseries in this festive town, and then starting back to visit them all over again.

More on Lock around the Clock - Boating on France’s Nivernais Canal

By Roy Stevenson

I’ll never forget my first visit to Paris. After walking around overwhelmed with her collective magnificence and splendor, it took me a few days to start focusing on the individual beauty of her architecture. Elaborately carved creamy pale yellow colored limestone buildings, bridges, sidewalks, monuments, museums and apartments distract your eye wherever you walk.

It wasn’t until I’d made several trips to Paris and finally visited the underground Catacombs that I finally figured it out-it comes from beneath Paris. Underneath Paris, the City of Lights, there is a much darker world. Every year over 150,000 morbidly curious people visit part of a labyrinth of 186 miles of eerie ancient subterranean limestone tunnels and mass graves known as the catacombs.

Walking through this huge underground crypt is like entering another realm where the surreal is normal, amidst enormous piles of macabre grinning skulls and aged yellowed bones. This bizarre necropolis contains the bones of 6 million bodies. Gruesome scenes that even the big budget horror movies would have difficulty creating. And its real.

Everything about these catacombs is unusual. You buy your ticket at a small counter. A nearby sign warns you that this visit is not for claustrophobics, or people faint of heart, or people with emotional problems: you enter at your own risk.

You think “is this just hype to intrigue the visitor”?

More on Paris’s Ancient Catacombs: Subterranean Empire of the Dead

The recent launch of CultureCrossing.net offers a user-built guide to cross-cultural etiquette and understanding for traveling, living, working, and studying in the global community.

By Jill Irwin

We sit circled around a beach fire, faces lit by the waning flames, entranced by the rhythms of our percussion jam session.  Overhead zillions of stars shine brilliantly in the Baja sky through the diaphanous stretch of the Milky Way.  Five of us remain awake on this vernal equinox to celebrate the coming of spring; together we blend into one chaotic yet strangely harmonic convergence of sound that echoes up the arroyo behind us and drifts back out into the bay.
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When I decide that I simply must go sea kayaking in Baja for spring vacation, it’s so last minute that nobody can join me.  Well, my sister could, but when I say, “camping,” she asks “Where would I go to the bathroom?”  So I check out group trips, uneasy about vacationing with people I’ve never met. But when I talk to Gabriola Cycle & Kayak, they’re so friendly that I sign up.

As I wait to board the plane to Mexico, I eye my fellow passengers, picking out the kayakers with their chunky sport sandals and baggy shorts.  Once on board, I’m next to a fiftyish man wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with “Ouzo Power.” I’d already pegged him as a sport fisher, but he turns to me and says “Are you on the Gabriola kayak trip, too?”  Jim, who manages a family counseling center, turns out to be a kind man with an unexpected, sly sense of humor. I like him immediately.

As our plane descends into Loreto, on the Sea of Cortez, a stark, dramatic landscape lies below. Jagged peaks slice through the electric blue sky; a moon-shaped bay forms a perfect circle on small island not far offshore. An intricate pattern of ripples covers the azure sea surface.

Our first evening together, we camp at a hacienda run by expatriate Norte Americanos.  I assess our group—a twentysomething couple on their honeymoon, a couple in their thirties, three solo women, two solo men, and two male guides—and decide it’s a good gender balance. 

Morning arrives with sunshine and warm, dry air. As we load our camping gear into the boats on the beach, I snag a single kayak. But our amiable guide Jim says, “You’ll be switching between single and double kayaks to mix it up, so don’t get too attached to your boat.” Mary, an athletic blonde fortysomething who looks great in a bikini, immediately leads the pack as she charges off paddling toward Isla Coronado, our first destination.  Even though I’m a veteran kayaker, she intimidates me.

Our first campsite is on the circular bay I’d seen from the plane. Conversation doesn’t flow easily around the evening campfire—we’re still sizing each other up. I head to my tent early and read.

By the second day, as we begin to relax into the pace of rising early and paddling in the mornings, personalities are revealed.  I’m paired today with David, a former advertising executive, now a Zen Buddhist and volunteer for stroke victims.  He tells me his epiphany to step off the fast track came on a trip to Alaska when an eagle feather spoke to him.  “It was time to be of service to others.” He’s a cool guy.

Our guides are low key yet helpful.  During the four-hour crossing to Isla del Carmen, they paddle up to each of us occasionally to see how we’re doing. Their attitude helps the group settle into an easy camaraderie.  Guide John has brought a bag of percussion instruments for campfire entertainment, and Jim engages anybody willing in a game of dice.  (Next Page, click link below…)

More on Whales, A Witch, and Wonderful Weather: Group Sea Kayaking in Baja