Provence: More than Lavender Fields

Last post I made a promise to show you the sights I've been seeing.
Well, where to start?

Let's start with the sight that makes Provence so iconic.








We had a gorgeous ride on our way to Sault, up the mountains and through
the lavender fields.

We also passed Mont Ventoux, the mountain that looks like you're on the moon
and is famous for the Tour du France race.




We did some amazing antique shopping at the market in Isle sur la Sorgues.




Visited the Pont du Gard's iconic bridge.






Spend a day at the beach. Enjoying the turquoise Côte d'Azur.









And snacked on ice cream. Flavors: tarte Tatin & salted butter caramel. Miam!

We ended that day in Arles. We dined at the restaurant where
Vincent van Gogh painted his iconic 'cafe terrace at night'.



Looks familiar?




We also visited Avignon, Uzès, and Vaison la Romaine.

As for me, I experienced the deliciousness of the vino with all its
glorious vineyards.






And lastly, the stunning sunflower fields where we had to just stop in our car
to take a picture of.




I hope you enjoyed this tour with me!

If you would like to see even more beautiful pictures of my Provence trip, click here.

And don't forget to follow me on Instagram to see what good (snif) I'm up to each day!
Instagram username: DanielleTdd


Bonne Journee!

Provence: My Sweet!

Bonsoir!

Everyday since I've been here in Provence, meals have been a feast!

Le petit déjeuner is especially special; grapefruit juice, caramel tea,
baguette, pain au chocolat, croissants, pastries, and so forth.

The bread and pastries are fresh from the bakery each morning and
even for a bread-connoisseur, I'm marveled at how the crust from the
baguette feels so crisp while the center is doughy and dense.




The buttery croissants with all their layers have been a highlight as well.
Not to mention the brioche au sucre. I've never tasted a brioche so sweet.

At the local market I bought a Tarte Tropezienne.
A tarte tropezienne is a brioche filled with whipped or pastry cream.
A true Côte d'Azur specialty!

I've made Pierre Hermé's recipe of a Tarte Tropezienne once, see here,
but I've never actually eaten a pâtisserie-bought one before... It was delicieux!




The rest include: an apricot turnover, raspberry macaron, chocolate éclair,
and a brioche au sucre.


We went to the pope-city Avignon, which is only an half hour drive
from the place we've rented, and I stopped and made an enormous cookie haul
at a sweet little epicurie shop called Autrefois. Anise sablés, fleur
d'oranger cookies, chocolate biscotti, cinnamon cookies, raspberry pinwheels.
You name it, I bought it.










At Sault, a village surrounded by lavender fields in the high mountains,
I came across this fine pâtisserie or Nougatier as it is named.






For lunch we've been snacking on various tarts...
Strawberry, lemon meringue and raspberry among others.






I haven't photographed everything yet. I still need to take pictures of the
kitchen (once it is cleaned and tidy again). It's such a lovely French countryside
kitchen filled with copper pans and such. Anyway, next post will be about
the gorgeous countryside views!

I'm relaxing and reading one of my favorite French foodie books, 'Paris: My Sweet'.
And I came across this excerpt which is so fitting for Frenchies and their food:

"Mealtime was sacred. Food was celebrated. It wasn't
forbidden or an enemy for which the French needed gym
memberships, cabbage soup diets, or magic powders and pills."

Mais oui!

Love, Daniëlle

Provence: French Chic!

Bonjour mes amis!

As promised, I'm showing you the interior of the house I'm staying in here
in Provence. The whole house has has a modern yet rustic, French countryside feel to it.

The owner is a Dutch architect who designed and decorated the house.
She has an amazing sense of style as you can see.

And one of the perks is that the entire house is filled with interior
decoration magazines, which I love to read!


My bedroom:




The living room:








One of the larger suites:




I adore the tiles of the master bathroom:




The kids room:




This little outside area is where I do my blogging
(and because it is one of the few places in the house where there's internet):




And what's a summer vacation without this?




To see more pictures of Provence you can browse my Flickr photostream here.

Next post: the FOOD!!!

Bonne Journée!

Provence: C'est si Bon!

Bonjour!

I am interrupting regular posts to blog from
the country to which this blog is dedicated to: France.

I'm in Bagnols-sur-Ceze which is an (traffic-free) hour and a half
drive to Saint-Tropez, two hours to Cannes.

I'm staying here with loads of family and friends and we've rented
this house, named C'est si Bon:








The house looks even more beautiful on the inside than it does on
the outside, though that'd be hard to imagine!

I'm showing you pictures of the interior in the next posts as the internet
connection is running slow here.

And frankly, I don't mind. Days here are filled with care-free activities,
delicious meals, thoughtful conversations and simple pleasures.



The best sort of vacation is, where one does not know the time and doesn't need to.
No appointments, no cares. One of the few clocks in (outside) the house.


The house is pretty secluded in the countryside.
All we here is ourselves, splashes of water and crickets.







Tonight I'm baking a rustic apple tart with my cousin and her friend.
It is one of my favorite fruit dessert!





Au Revoir!