Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur

You read it: Provence.  Just got back from an amazing week long holiday in Provence, France.  Amazing is an understatement.  I have been to Paris and loved the sights, but was seriously deterred by the people.  Sorry Parisians (kind of) but your country folk are so much more pleasant to strangers than your city folk.  I speak what I would call a fair amount of French, and the three times I attempted to parler-francais en Paris I was immediately cut off with an offended, "I speak English!"  So needless to say I had my qualms about visiting France again, but who am I to turn down a bitchin' holiday?

We flew into Marseille and rented a vehicle and headed to the small town of Cereste which is located in the heart of Luberon National Park.  The villa that we stayed in was beyond amazing.  It's the nicest building I've ever spent time in when I wasn't wearing a uniform and being paid to be there.  The house was a restored 17th century farmhouse (mas) with 6 bedrooms, a sauna, a pool, a tennis court, a foosball table, and a ping pong table!

Lavender behind the 'mas'

La Piscine

Mas

 

 

The house was a dream, and the caretakers were really good people.  Neither of them spoke English, so we had some awkward moments- but they truly were fantastic.  Here's a little free advertising for them if anyone is in the market for a holiday in Provence.  Definitely spendy, but the place sleeps 14.  Get some pals together and get to the Cote d'Azur!
http://www.cotedazurvillarentals.com/Villa.asp?villa=284&duration=HolidayRental&prefix=W

I don't think I can emphasize enough how absolutely amazing this villa was!  Beautiful and so many fun things to do.  To steal a line from "Stepbrothers"- 'We can do so many activities in this place'
While I could've spent the entire week running around like a little kid from one activity to the next; I had to leave the house and experience Provence.

Beautiful.  The only word that is fitting for this place.  There were lavender fields everywhere, amazing little villages propped up on hills, the amazing Luberon Mountains, and beautiful views overlooking the coast and the French Alps.

All of the villages we visited stole a piece of my heart.  I could definitely imagine settling in a little town in Provence.  Each village fills your eyes with vibrant colors yet maintains the rustic feel of the 17-18th century buildings.  There is a peaceful, artsy vibe in these places that made me want to stay forever.

At any time of the day cafes were packed full of espresso sipping people-watchers without a care in the world.  It's as if no one works or keeps track of  time.  All of the villages were built up on hills in tight clusters, and it seems as though most of them hadn't developed much further.  The only thing that makes these old cobblestone villages seem modern are the brightly painted shutters and window panes.

The Provencal way of being is enviable.  They are on their own schedule, moving at their own pace.  Even when the marche was bustling in town there was still a certain silence and still in the air that I have come to crave in London.