Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Pierre's trip with Walk Inn...

Our friend Pierre, a very experienced guide, led Walk Inn's latest walking trip through Provence. But Provence isn't just about walking: below Pierre is describing the finer details about the strategy of the game of Pétanque. The only thing missing from the scene is the glass of Pastis...




But Pierre did indeed walk with his group. The photo below was taken atop the Alpilles mountains, at a spot called the Rocher des deux trous, or "rock of two holes". One of the holes is seen below, framing the town of St. Rémy de Provence.




In St. Rémy de Provence Pierre took his group to his favourite off-the-beaten-track spot, a restaurant set within an ancient quarry, where its proprietor and only worker, now 80 years old, still does all the preparation and cooking himself (I'll have to check it out next time I'm in St. Rémy).



Here is the famed Auberge des Seguins: a renovated 17th century goat farm, and modernized into a hotel.


And Pierre's group atop the Alpilles mountains, overlooking the 1000 year-old village of Les Baux de Provence. 


I'll be leading this very same trip in September, and there's still some space available. To check out the holiday:
www.walkinnprovence.com/wine, mountains, and perched medieval villages

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Peregrine's French Riviera trip

This was the first time I've led a walking holiday along the coast in July, and probably the only time I've ever been to the Riviera during the summer holidays. The trains are packed and the beaches blanketed by a solid mass of tan-seekers. But up in the hills, just a stone's throw from the Mediterranean, the perched medieval village of Sainte Agnès remains timeless and quiet, here surrounded by a veil of thick morning cloud:




Up in the hills, we continued along an ancient cobbled path to the village of Gorbio, seen below:




In the village of Gorbio:




The morning market in Menton, including the irresistible pickled garlic :




Our morning walk in Nice was topped by a short climb to the former castle hill, from where all of Nice was layed out:





Aix en Provence on Wednesday. It's not that all of the sudden everybody is now drinking "Coca Light". More of a promotion: a dozen scantilly clad teenagers dressed in red and white and handing out free samples at a busy roundabout:





The main fountain in Aix en Provence, one of many majestic fountains in town:




On Thursday the summer heat put a halt to our walking plans. We decided to head to the Mediterranean to the tiny, modest and tourist-free fishing port of Niolon, just west of Marseille. We sat for a leisurely lunch at a wonderful café, and then tested the waters in the afternoon. It was exciting to break from plan, discover a place I had never been, and wield both camera and excitement as much as anyone else in my group:




But it is a walking holiday after all! And so on Friday we were transferred to the Alpilles mountains for a last walk, amongst the pines and aromatic herbs, with a beautiful breeze and clear views:




A view of the coliseum on our last night, in Arles.




A big thanks to Sean, Al-dog, Cynthia, Lynn, and Sharyn for your company this week.