HOME TOUR

A few weeks back we got home from our summer trip to Paris and Provence. Matt’s mom and dad came with us and that gave us some moments to pop away and explore kid-free. It was really the best of all the worlds. We got to travel with our kids which we love to do, spend time with our California family and have some alone time. We loved our French Farmhouse rental and enjoyed every minute exploring Provence. You can see the first part of our summer trip from Paris to Provence here. Now we’ll cover the rest of the trip from Provence to the French Riviera and Monaco.

ROUSILLON

On a rainy Tuesday morning we headed about 25 minutes away through Gordes to Rousillon and enjoyed this colorful town immensely. It’s supposed to be very touristy but we found it quite manageable and not ridiculously crowded. If you ask the kids what they enjoyed most, they’ll tell you playing in the ochre mine. What momma and Grandma enjoyed most was simply lingering through the streets. The buildings are all painted with this locally mined ochre pigment, one of the biggest deposits in the world and the shades of the buildings vary from almost a golden rod yellow to a deep coral. Of course, the shutters in every possible hue make it that much more dreamy.

Similar Skirt | Silk Top

There was a charming fresh fruit stand where we stocked up on cherries and vegetables. French produce in summer is delicious. We let the kids go a bit haywire picking their favorites and had to run my loaded down basket back to the car. In town we also found little stuffed animals. We were trying to help Cade over the hump of missing his otter immensely which was still wandering Paris at this point in the back of the taxi cab. They picked out a sweet French bear but you could tell Cade’s heart wasn’t much in it.

OCHRE TRAIL

The Ochre trail through the quarry was quite unforgettable. I had no idea what lay in store. Momma’s…bring a change of clothes for THE ENTIRE FAMILY! This stuff gets everywhere. Because its a lovely walk through the quarry, the kids would run ahead a bit and then come back even dirtier than when they left.

It is shocking how pigmented the earth is here and how you can get such varied color on a single hillside slope. It’s just a short walk from the village center but not very handicap accessible as you need to walk down a boardwalk staircase to get into the mine. We had the guys carry the stroller down and we met them at the bottom. There is a public restroom before you enter the trail but there isn’t anything once you pay to get inside. Legend has it the color of the cliffs are related to the tragic love story of Lady Sermonde. You can read about the legend here.

Kai and Aubrey basically sum up what happened within about 0.2 seconds of reaching the bottom of the staircase into the mine. How my kids are magnetically attracted to dirt is confounding. Other kids were perfectly clean so maybe you’ll have better luck. I will say, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy the pigment came out of the clothes. I hand scrubbed with a bar of lavender soap back at the farmhouse and there wasn’t a single bit of discoloration.

Back in town we had lunch at La Sirmonde which was delicious and had a pretty view. We meandered down the hill back to our car and headed out to our next site.

PONT JULIEN

Below Rousillon lies some lovely lavender fields which we of course pulled over to take pictures of. A short drive away is the old Roman bridge, Pont Julien. I’m a sucker for history and wanted to see this 2000+ year old bridge that, if you can believe it, only stopped having cars drive over it in 2005! It is dated to the year 3 BC and on the Domitian way which links Narbonne with Turino and provided communication with Rome. Julius Caesar had it built.

MÉNERBES

From Pont Julien it is a quick 15 minute drive over to Ménerbes, a charming village surrounded by vineyards. I loved the feel of this village and there were some lovely shops to discover. Had I been in a shopping mindset it could have been dangerous but being covered in ochre dust put a damper on that. Seriously, bring a change of clothes and leave it in the car if you visit Rousillon with kids.

I was pretty enamored with this town when I strolled down this charming walkway and discovered the loveliest view into the lavender fields below.  There was live music that carried through the streets and we listened as we meandered.

We decided to drive back to Murs for dinner and eat at Le Crillon which had been highly recommended by the owners of the farmhouse and the property manager. It turned out to be our favorite eating experience. It’s a relatively underwhelming facade off the tourist track but has that hidden gem feel and the jasmine-covered terrace was lovely. The food was delicious and beautiful, the staff so charming and fun. The waitress kept picking Aubrey up and carrying her all around as she delivered meals to other tables. It was quite impressive and lovely and after 2+ years of Covid and all the people crossing the street to get away from you and your sweet baby, this gesture just about made me cry.

A LONG DRIVE

We left by 10 am on Wednesday for our long day and probably should have gotten an earlier start.  It’s hard to balance wanting to sleep in and linger in a beautiful stone farmhouse and wanting to hit the road and explore. I was really looking forward to this day as it was our lavender fields day! Since the farmhouse rental turned out to NOT be in a lavender field, I was adamant about stopping on our way through the Valensole region on our way to Moustiers-Saint-Marie and the Verdon Gorge. And wouldn’t you figure, it was raining. There goes the hair and a relatively mess-free traipsing through the fields. Our feet got muddy but we all had fun.

Dress

MOUSTIERS-SAINTE-MARIE

One of the most beautiful villages of France this one seems to wear the surrounding cliffs like a snug coat. From arched stone bridges over the lovely waterfalls running through the center of the town to the mysterious legends surrounding the gold star hung high between the canyon above the town, it’s a bit magical. Known for its ceramics tradition, popping into the shops was a delight. I fell in love with a hand-painted blue set that we had shipped home. It came a few weeks back, you can see close-ups on this blog post.

By the time we arrived, after getting that later start and stopping in the lavender fields, parking and leisurely walking into the village center, most of the restaurants were closed until dinner. You can see Cade’s hungry face below. Luckily we found a cafe overlooking the waterfall that let us order their pre-made sandwiches, some lemon tarts and coffee and sit on their patio. We were so thankful. Many restaurants are closed from 3-7 pm in France so make sure to plan for that.

HIKING TO THE CHAPEL OF NOTRE DAME DE BEAUVOIR

A meandering cobblestoned switch back leads you up the mountain above the town to the chapel of Notre Dame de Beauvoir and has been a place of pilgrimage for thousands of years. We had fun walking up and luckily the rain stopped and the sky cleared.

While we were at the chapel there were some mountain goats perched above. The kids hiked up a path with Matt to a cave and saw quite a few of them. As the goats were walking the sides of the canyon they loosened some big stones and sent them rolling down. Luckily everyone was able to take cover but it was quite scary to see such big rocks rolling down the mountain. We (and just about everyone else at the chapel) left pretty quickly after that.

VERDON GORGE

Next we decided to head to the Verdon Gorge with the hopes of renting a paddle boat before it got dark. We accidentally took the wrong road and realized a good 15 minutes in as we went higher into the mountains. After turning around and backtracking to the correct road, we made it to the Verdon Gorge around 6 pm which happened to be when all the paddle boat shops along the lake were closing.

The kids were so disappointed and frankly, so were we. Paddling into the gorge looked like so much fun, make sure to squeeze that in if you can. We changed all the kids into their swimsuits and let them swim in the lake for a half an hour before getting back on the road to try and squeeze in some more lavender field time for momma.

SUNSET DRIVE THROUGH THE LAVENDER FIELDS

As you are driving through the Valensole region and the field after field of lavender, simply rolling down the windows and smelling the air is a treat. The bees are very happy in this part of the world. I have no idea which field we stopped at but it was on the ridge just past Puimoisson near “Spot Cabane pour Lavandes” on google maps and it was spectacular. We still weren’t at peak bloom (normally early to mid July) but it looked pretty spectacular to me. This was June 22nd at about 9 pm. Remember the sun sets late, this was just one day past the summer solstice.

We literally had this magical field all to ourselves. The kids did some racing up and down the rows and we lingered as long as our bellies would let us. Eventually we got back on the road and stopped in Valensole for a very late dinner.

ABBAYE NOTRE DAME DE SÉNANQUE

Matt and I left early for our overnight sans kids stopping at Abbaye Notre Dame de Sénanque before grabbing breakfast in Gordes. This place was crawling with tour buses and a bazillion people which is not our vibe. We took pictures and left and didn’t even go inside. You can’t tell in the pictures because we strategically chose these spots to avoid the crowds.

Blue Dress

GORDES

It was already late morning when we reached Gordes and finding a croissant was a challenge. We tried several cafes and bakeries but they were out. We did find some lovely fresh raspberry tarts. Eventually we happened upon a boulangerie that still had some. It’s a sweet village with a pretty view but definitely not my favorite.

SAINT-RÉMY-DE-PROVENCE

Several of you told me to explore Saint-Rémy before we left and I’m so glad we did. It had the best shopping of all the villages and I wish we had more time but could only spare a few hours before we continued our drive down to the Riviera.

We ran into the same late lunch issue here too with many cafes stopping service at 3 pm which was about when we were ready to eat. We did find an absolutely lovely cafe called Creperie Lou Planet. Their homemade ice tea was delicious and refreshing in the 90+ degree heat. It was here, talking to an art gallery owner that we discovered why we hadn’t seen any red poppy fields. I had expected to see them everywhere but apparently France hadn’t gotten enough rain to bring them to bloom this year.

HOTEL ROYAL RIVIERA

We stayed overnight at Hotel Royal Riviera in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and by the time we got here it was 7 pm. The hotel made us dinner reservations at 9 pm at Paloma Beach. It’s a lovely 40 minute walk along the ocean to the restaurant on the beach. Dinner was delicious but they were sold out of their Creme Brûlée which just about broke my heart.

VILLEFRANCHE-SUR-MER

We checked out of our hotel early so we could meander nearby Villefranche-sur-Mer, literally a 5 minute drive away from our hotel and then drive the coast to Monaco. I wanted to explore while the village was still sleepy. The sherbet hues of this town were stunning in the morning light aided by the ambiance of fluttering laundry and open shutters.

We found a coffee shop and grabbed a bite to eat here. And then it was back to strolling. And kid-free strolling is such a treat!

Stripe Dress

MONACO

The drive to Monaco was beautiful. The road curves through outcroppings along the rocky shore and through many tunnels. There isn’t really a border, only signs that let you know you are now in Monaco. This was my 40th country! Matt had already been so he didn’t get to count this one but he did add Peru to his country list this year. Monaco has always held this certain aura to me. I loved Grace Kelly and her legendary wedding dress was inspiration for my own almost 15 years ago! My dad was a race car driver so we watched the Formula 1 race in Monaco each year while growing up. We eventually found garage parking near Monte Carlo and then walked to the palace.

INTERESTING TID BITS

I have never seen more fancy cars in my entire life. At less than 1 square mile big, (Central Park in NYC is bigger!) it is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. And also one of the richest with 32% of the population being millionaires. Per some quick google searches, you can expect to pay over 2.2 million euros for a 1 bedroom apartment. And interestingly, the citizens of Monaco are banned from gambling. It is only open to tourists and foreign residents. Monaco also has the highest life expectancy in the world at over 85 years old.

We ate lunch up by the Palace at L’Express and loved it. We happened upon it and learned it has been an institution since 1930. The outdoor cafe was lovely and food spectacular. Don’t miss the homemade Sangria. The quote on the top of their menu reads, ” En Amour comme en Cuisine, ce qui est vite fait est mal fait…” which means “In Love, as in Cooking, if it is quick, it is wrong…”

We strolled past the church where Hollywood legend Grace Kelly married Prince Rainer becoming a princess and was later buried after a tragic car accident. We couldn’t figure out the public bus so we just walked all the way back to the car. Which given the size of Monaco only took 20 minutes.

And just like that this beautiful trip from Paris to Provence and the French Riviera and Monaco came to a close. We left the farmhouse on Saturday morning (much to my despair) and took the train back to Paris where we caught an evening flight home. I loved this trip and would go back in a heartbeat. It was much easier than Peru with our three kids and truly felt restful. I hope it inspires your travels abroad. Interested in more wanderings, try this post from Copenhagen last summer or this one from a trip to Portugal.