Travel Diary: Provence

Long, sun soaked days, strolling the narrow streets of charming, hilltop medieval villages… stopping to savor stunning views of valleys dotted with stone houses, olive groves and vineyards… the air heady with jasmine… lingering over lunches that start with rosé and end with shared fruit tarts… straw hats on lounge chairs, string bikini tan lines and swims in the Mediterranean Sea…market totes full of berries and lavender…Pain aux raisins dunked in cappuccinos… sundresses and sandals… arm in arm walks to sunset dinners, while old church bells ring…

Jimmy and I just returned from a fairytale, dream of a week, in Provence celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary! It was our first time out of the country since the pandemic and the longest we have ever been away, just the two of us, since our boys were born. All of which felt slightly momentous, as if we are entering a new chapter of our lives, which in many ways we are. Our 40s are coming to an end, Andrew is turning 21 this summer and Charlie is starting high school in the fall. We have so many places on our travel wishlist, but Provence was very much at the top and it managed to exceed every expectation.

We worked with Patty Ehinger, a travel consultant with Local Foreigner, to plan this vacation. It was the first time we’ve ever hired someone to help with a trip and it made such a difference. Patty booked our hotels, transfers, tour guides, made all our reservations, created daily itineraries and provided expertise on the areas where we were traveling. It made the trip stress free and much more enjoyable. For those asking, Patty charges an hourly fee and specializes in luxury travel.

Day 1: We flew into Nice and headed north to the charming town of Gordes, where we stayed for the first four days of our trip. We checked in to Airelles, Gordes - a country hotel oozing with coziness, Pierre Frey fabric covered walls, delicious restaurants with stunning terraced views overlooking the Luberon valley, thoughtfully appointed rooms full of antiques and art from local flea markets, picturesque gardens and an amazing spa - we immediately felt welcome and at home. The level of service and attentiveness we received here is something I don’t think we have ever experience anywhere else. I can’t recommend this hotel enough, we will absolutely be back!

After checking in, we had a light bite to eat on the terrace of the hotel before setting out to discover the beautiful town of Gordes. We came back in time to get ready for an incredible dinner on the terrace of L’Orangerie at the hotel. I will be dreaming about the sole and potato croquettes I ate there for years to come. (Anyone remember the scene from Julie and Julia, when Meryl Streep (as Julia Childs) eats Dover sole in Paris? Well, that was me, but in Provence). And Jimmy had the lamb and said it was one of the best things he’s ever eaten. It ended up being our favorite meal of the trip and the perfect ending to our first day.

Day 2: We started each day with an amazing breakfast outside - local cheeses, hams, fruits, veggies, bread, and pastries - before heading on our daily adventure. The weather was incredible, so we decided to spend a few hours at the stunning pool before our late afternoon spa treatments. There were oddly few tourists during the first part of our trip, so we had the pool to ourselves. We lunched outside, poolside, instead of going into town, as we had originally planned. The spa was incredible too, we both got their signature massage, did the steam room and sensory showers before lounging on the private terrace for tea. That evening we had dinner at a Japanese restaurant, Le TIGrr, where we shared a table full of sushi and small plates. The food and sunset views were excellent.

I was asked a lot about what I packed… I mostly wore casual sundresses and flat sandals during the day and slightly dressier tops and skirts with heeled sandals at night. A couple restaurants were a little fancier, but most were very casual and anything would have been fine.

Day 3: We had a tour guide for the day who took us to Roussillon and Menerbes, stopping along the way to see Puente Julian (an ancient Roman bridge) and have lunch at the beautiful La Bastide de Marie hotel and vineyard. Each small town felt special and unique, Menerbes was one of our favorites on this trip. There were no tourists when we visited either, a nice surprise. There is a wonderful home store there in an old horse stable - not to be missed. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Senanque Abbey to see the lavender fields that were just starting to bloom. Dinner was at Clover Gordes in our hotel. I need to find out how to get the olive oil that was served with our meal into my own kitchen. I’ve always been an exclusively Italian olive oil devotee, but that changed on this trip.

Day 4: We rented a car for the day and drove to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. We found it very easy to navigate and get around Provence on our own, minus the narrow streets when there is a tour bus coming in the other direction. Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is a little larger than the other towns we had visited but still charming and small compared to somewhere like Avignon. We did a little shopping, had lunch at a cafe, and stopped to explore the Roman ruins of Glanum on the way back to the hotel. If you have even the tiniest bit of interest in European history, I highly recommend a visit to this site where a whole Roman village was discovered and excavated in the 1920s. For our last evening in Gordes we had a very romantic dinner on a private little balcony at La Trinquette. The best thing we ate was the labneh appetizer, which I already recreated back home.

Day 5: For the second part of our trip we headed south to the French Riviera. On the way, we stopped in L’Isle sur la Sorgue for the Sunday market full of hundreds of antique dealers. We found a few treasures that were easy to carry home - small Faience pottery, art, and table linens. I would have loved to have a container to take back larger pieces. Maybe next time? We picked up a few snacks, fresh fruit and chocolate, for the 3 hour drive south.

We checked into Château Saint-Martin & Spa, perched high in the hills with breathtaking views of the mountains and coastline. This hotel gave us strong White Lotus vibes (I might have played the theme song a few times). Where our first hotel was the epitome of French country style, Château Saint-Martin was more glamorous and sexy. It’s also very private and serene since you aren’t in walking distance to town. We enjoyed the rest of the day at the pool which sits in an old olive grove surrounded by lavender, which, being further south, was in full bloom, buzzing with bees and butterflies. That evening, we enjoyed dinner at the hotel, which felt like sitting in the clouds. There was a little light fog hanging in the nearby mountains and it made for the best ambience. We lost count of the number of course we ate, each prepared beautifully. This was our second favorite meal of the trip. We ended the evening with drinks at the hotel bar - also stunning, with a pair of incredible tapestries on the walls.

Day 6: We spent the day at the beach! We had hoped to go the Hotel du Cap Eden Roc, which is a sister property of our hotel, but there was an event in town and we weren’t able to get a reservation at the pool so we opted to skip lunch there and go to another beach club where we spent the day. The weather was perfect, the food was great and the water was magical. The traffic getting back to the hotel however, was a little rough, the tourists had arrived by this point in the week. We had reservations in Vence for dinner but were all sunned out and opted for room service on our pretty balcony instead.

Day 7: We had a tour guide for the first part of the day and headed to Eze. Eze is so pretty it almost doesn’t feel real. We walked to the botanical garden at the top of the village and explored the little streets and shops. It is definitely worth visiting, but it was more touristy than the other places we went to. The shops are pretty touristy too, but there are a couple great artists and the views and town are just gorgeous that I would still recommend it if you are nearby. Afterwards we headed to Saint Paul de Vence where we had a delicious lunch at a very charming cafe, Le Tilleul. We explored this incredible, pretty enough to be a film set, town for a few hours and decided it might be our favorite. It happened to by my aunt’s favorite too. A very special place. For our last dinner in France we went into Vence and ate a great little bistro, La Cassette, tucked away in a pretty square, which feels more like Italy than France, while musicians strolled around serenading everyone. It’s a small menu, where everything is good and traditional, almost like if you were eating at someone’s home.

I feel so very grateful for this vacation and the memories that were made, I will be reading this blog post for many years to come, just to get to relive it all. Au revoir, Provence! We will be back!

The Slate & Clove Collection

Classic Navy Block Print Collection