Bormes-les-Mimosas

A very good friend and I took a day to go on an October adventure along the coast. We headed to Bormes-les-Mimosas and started our odyssey at the Fort de Bregançon, the French President's Côte d’Azur retreat. The Sentier du Littoral (the shoreline trail), which runs along the entire coast of France, gets garbled here - purposefully we surmised, for Presidential security.



We had to make our way down a cliff, hanging on branches and sliding on our bums. Then we had some rock climbing and jumping into the water to make our way along the shore.

It was intense, so we stopped at a tiny pocket cove beach. We stripped and dove in for a good swim. The day was a mistral day, intense gusts creating white accents across the surface of the turquoise water, taking our breath away, especially as we swam out beyond the protection of the enclaves of the rocky coast. Soon we found ourselves drifting far. My friend wasn’t as keen on the rock climbing and scrambling we had been doing and we spotted a wide, sandy beach along the coast ahead. We agreed we could split and meet there. She would swim and I would grab our stuff and take the rocky shore passage.

The swim back was wild. I was being pulled by the current and I had to swim hard against it to make it back to our cove beach. With the wind I was gulping water and was actually a bit nervous by the effort (and I am a strong swimmer). In any case, my friend was helped by the current and made it relatively quickly to the beach far to the east.

I loved the scramble once back on land. Several times I had to pile everything on my back and on my head to jump into the water below, the cliffs were so steep above me.

We met back up and sat on a rocky cliff staring out over the sea to eat our lunch.

Bellies full, skin salty, hair wind-wild, we kept going. We ended at a beach just beneath the Domaine de la Reine-Jeanne. We were all alone in what felt like a wild fragment of the Côte d’Azur perfectly preserved (so rare on that coast). Just indigenous plant and sea life - dreamlike conservation of the natural biodiversity. It was a day to wish for. We were glazed by the beauty by the end. Good friendship in the context of perfect beauty.

Marché Flottant à L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

I stepped into a work of art today: L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue’s storied floating market. Held the first Sunday of August, I had circled this day in red on my calendar months ago. I found a spot right along the bank of the Sorgue river and there they were, the market vendors floating on their wooden “barques” selling their goods. Olives, wine, tapenade, tarines, chèvre (with a goat aboard), eggs (with chickens aboard), fruits and vegetables - and such lovely children and faces. We were all in love with a few of the women - ruby red lips, braided hair, straw hats framing French elegance. Spectacular really.

The Calanque de Sugiton

Xavier and I traced another bit of the coast between Marseille and Cassis today, to the Calanque de Sugiton. A wonderland, this series of sea cliffs called 'les calanques.' The region is gripping for me. I go back again and again and each time feel jolted by the spectacle. Wild, unbelievable color and scale. Au pays des merveilles.

Les Amandiers

By the end of January, Provence already delivers a glimpse of spring. The almond trees confer the first sign. February is a month of brutal winds and colder temperatures - it may be the most "wintery" of all the months. The blossoms seem to appear at the least likely moment. Then spring comes quickly, March feels balmy and April can be hot. Everything else blossoms in a rush - the apricots, the cherries and the apples. The vineyards and the olive trees in their turn. It all starts with the almonds though.



I took the girls and drove into the nearby valley of the Alpilles mountains (Eygalières), rich with olive and fruit groves. The early blooms of the almond trees happen first here. Earlier than our town. I am fascinated by the Alpilles and haven't spent time in them, as they are slightly further away than the Luberon range or the Calanques sea cliffs. Every movement on the map in this region reveals a totally different contour of land. It remains a total thrill to drive to a town I don't know or a field in the middle of no where.