Category Archives: women’s travel

More of Our Villa Week in Provence

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Saturday, October 16, 2010

Ah, the best laid plans . . . I know, I’m behind on my Provence details, because we’ve been having such a lovely time, though the weather hasn’t been as warm as we had hoped. Yes, we’ve been eating, drinking, talking, reading, walking, laughing, etc. Wonderful villages, beautiful countryside, not any real progress learning any French. We try, but it’s a hilarious effort!

I left you in St. Remy on Monday, walking around with the Van Gogh “stations of the cross”. Tuesday, we drove to Aix-en-Provence to the market, met our Chef Daniel and walked around the mouth-watering stalls of food, while he carefully chose the ingredients for our dinner that night. Small shiny aubergine, my favorite color. (Eggplant, that is). And zucchini. Girolles and sep (mushrooms to die for), some sea bass, goat cheeses, pears, and honey. Then he went off to the villa to begin preparation for our evening meal while we found a lovely restaurant for lunch (I’ll get the card from my stash and enter the name here soon) and agreed to do a bit more market looking/shopping before we met at the cars at 3:30 to return to the villa.

Later that afternoon, Daniel set out cutting boards and sharp knives for each of us and we chopped and sliced, stirred and tasted, according to his direction, finally sitting down to our evening meal, accompanied by sparkling wine, white, rose, and red.

Of course we again went to our bedrooms stuffed to the gills, I with a cup of tea in my hand.

Wednesday, October 13. The winery St. Esteve de Neri, owned and operated by our villa hosts, Allan and Alexandra (Alex) Wilson, was our destination today. This morning we didn’t have to leave very early, and we took the opportunity to lounge around the kitchen table in our pajamas before heading to St. Esteve. The winery is located outside Ansouis, so we drove through a charming two-level village called Bonnieux, then Lourmarin, and finally approached Ansouis and turned into the vineyard property.

Allan was awaiting our arrival and we got a short tour of the lower levels, where the enormous stainless steel vats hold the wine before it is bottled. We then had a bit of a lesson in tasting, with one white wine, one rose, and three reds. Just as we finished our tasting, Helen, Alex’s sister and our chef from last Saturday evening, rang the tasting room to say that our lunch was waiting for us on the patio of the Wilsons’ home.

Walking from tasting room to home patio, we passed the vineyard again, complete with turning leaves, garden cats, and that smell of the countryside nothing else can duplicate. Our table was set with delicious fresh tomatoes from the garden, olives, fish cakes, roasted chicken and fingerling potatoes, and the richest chocolate mousse I’ve ever tasted. Since I’m not a chocolate fan (I know, I know . . . ) I bestowed my portion of dessert on a chocoholic fellow traveler!

Later in the afternoon we stopped in Rousillon for a short visit, and marveled at the red and ochre cliffs surrounding this picturesque village. We decided we’ll have to return tomorrow.

Dinner on this night was light, since our lunch stuck to our ribs nearly until bedtime. Sle
ep and a new day of adventures tomorrow, this time to the seacoast!

Thursday, October 14, all but one of our group headed south again, this time in brilliant sunlight, toward Cassis, a small town on the French Riviera. The coastline is gifted with calanques, the fjords of this area. You can take a boat ride to visit the calanques or just sit on the boardwalk at a restaurant and watch the water. I chose to do the latter because I’ve seen the calanques from the water, and I’m a bit motion sick to say the least. So while the women embarked on a five-calanque ride, I sat at an outside table with a delicious plate of boef tartare, its presentation deserving of a photo or painting, but alas, I dug into it before I remembered that I had a camera.

I took out my Kindle, sipped my red wine, and savored the most delicious tartare I’ve ever eaten. It came as a ground up raw patty of beef, with a trio of minced onions, capers and parsley surrounding it. A raw egg topped the beef and I mixed all the ingredients into a most tempting mess on the plate. Then lovingly slathered bits of the tartare on fresh crusty bread and closed my eyes, savoring every bit of my light lunch. The waiter asked about dessert and I began to shake my head, but then asked what he had to offer. In the list of possibilities, the words “flan caramel” caught my attention and I ordered a slice. Exquisite!!! With a generous dollop of fresh whipped cream, drizzled with the same caramel sauce that bathed the flan.

When my traveling companions returned on their boat, THEY were hungry, though I was now completely stuffed, and happy. So I sat with all of them while they had their share of real French Fries, crepes, and salads. Another hour of exploring shops through the harbor walk, a cafe au lait with Kay, and we were back in our cars, negotiating the roads from Cassis through Aix to our sleepy town of Goult and down the long dirt road toward our villa.

No one was famished that evening, but I made a huge pot of chicken vegetable soup, with herbs de Provence right from the source! Salad and some of that incredible crusty bread and we were full, warm and happy.

More later.

Bon nuit!

FRANCE IN THE FALL: PROVENCE AND PARIS

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France Women 2010
Provence and Paris
October 8-24, 2010

Imagine yourself strolling through streets in villages in the Luberon Valley of Provence. Goult, Gordes, Lourmarin. Imagine sipping a lovely wine from the region, crumbs of a fresh croissant on the tip of your tongue.

Imagine the smell of lavender, herbes de Provence, the baked goods waiting in the shop on the corner. Antiques at the market in Isle de sur La Sorgue. Visits to de Sade’s castle, to an abbey nestled in the isolated hills. Cafes and shops abound.

A week at the beautiful villa Fontaine du Faucon awaits you, with heated swimming pool, and garden benches facing the Provencal hills. Just outside of Goult, a small village, this location allows us to easily make day trips to Aix-en-Provence, St. Remy, area wineries, the red hills of Roussillon. The vineyards are in their fall splendor, grape vines the color of the wines they produce . . .

Delicious meals created with ingredients fresh from the village markets, prepared at area restaurants or by Chef Daniel at our own villa.

After our week at the villa, we will spend one night at Les Florets, a lovely little inn just outside the town of Gigondas, north one hour from Goult. Thierry will serve us wine his family makes on the property, cheeses to die for, and a dinner that will leave your palate watering for a week. On our way there, we will stop in Sault, the lavender capital of Provence, and though the lavender will have been cut by then, it is in the air . . . everywhere.

At the end of our time in Provence, we will board the TGV, the “fast train” to Paris, and spend the next week immersed in the beauty, excitement, tranquility (and food!) of one of the most stunning cities in Europe. With museum passes and metro passes, you are free to wander wherever you want, whenever you want, visiting some of the most famous paintings in the world, or finding the tiniest galleries in back streets. Paper stores, button stores, bookstores, artwork sold on the Pont Neuf. Just sitting outside the Louvre transports you to a different world.

We will stay in a small hotel in the Rue Cler district, the 7th Arrondissement. From there, your feet or the metro or cab will take you anywhere you want to go. Our hotel is just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower. Sometimes lit in red, sometimes blue, the tower is an especially spectacular vision at night, as we walk through the park from our hotel!

Our trip will include AIRFARE FROM DENVER, all lodging, train from Paris to Avignon and back, rental cars, gas and tolls, transfers to and from out Paris hotel, 6-day Paris museum pass, Paris metro pass, seven dinners, eight breakfasts, Paris Street-wise map, travel journals, and ME, your planner, guide, and all-around fire-extinguisher!

Cost for above (including airafare from Denver) is $5600.00**. A $500 non-refundable deposit holds your space. Discount of $250 for referring a friend not on my list (one discount only, for the referring traveler).

For questions, please contact Joannah L. Merriman, Lifeprints, 970-481-6339 or 970-226-5676. E-mail is jetlost@lamar.colostate.edu

Bon jour!

THE END OF WEEK TWO-Part Two

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Monday, May 17 – A grey day, but at least it isn’t raining. Our destination today is San Gimignano because even if it rains, there are enough churches, shops and museums to protect our wet heads. We’ll wait for more sunshine before we venture to the Tuscan coast.

I am on a mission as well, finding an internet cafe so I can sent a message to Neil and my good friend Carole, a tribute to Marcia I wrote in lieu of my presence at her memorial service later today. I am still stunned by the reality of her death, and probably won’t really deal with it completely for a long time to come. But I must get this eulogy to someone who can read it in my absence.

While the traveling women wander here and there, through the many ceramics shops, jewelry shops and stores displaying beautiful stacks of olive wood cutting boards, I hunt for the internet cafe. I have brought my own computer today, making my backpack twice as heavy as it might be, but by the time I find the Bar Boboli, I see that it was to no avail. They do have computers but not wireless, so I type my entire piece of writing into their computer, sending it through the g-mail airwaves. With all the funky keyboard changes on European computers, it takes me twice as long, but I’m happy to have sent it so I can relax.

My favorite store in San Gimignano belongs to the potter Franco Balducci and it is tucked away behind the right side of the Duomo down a smaller cobblestone street. Franco is at the front of the tiny space, making bowls and cups and other vessels as his customers browse among his finished products. I have bought many of his wares in the past and this trip I’m not collecting. I’m thinking about my home and the packing that awaits me, and I know the last thing I need is MORE of anything. Less and less will do nicely. But it’s comforting to visit this artisan every two years, in the same space, with new versions of the same quality items. And I still pine for one or two of his larger vessels, the ones you couldn’t possibly hope to ship home in one piece without a lot more trouble than I’d like to take at the moment.

The day turns out to be quite nice, with cloud cover in part, but no rain. No umbrella time for a change, and we wander up and down the streets until 5:30, when we begin to make the long haul down the “hill” to the parking lot, trying to find our car. Somehow the shuttle bus to the parking lots has inconveniently disappeared or stopped running for the day, and the walk is good for us.

We return to the little town just before our villa, Torrinieri, and stop at a local restaurant, La Compania, for spaghetti al ragu, Caprese salad (tomatoes and mozarella), a glass of the local red wine, and for me, a dessert of Grand Marnier. Stefano, our waiter and probably the owner of this establishment, seems delighted by my meager attempts to speak Italian to him, and is kind and attentive to our table. He is a bear of a man, whose front teeth stick nearly straight out of his mouth, with a wide gap in between. He would have benefited from some attentive BRACES during his youth, but his hospitality is unaffected by this lack.

Home again, home again, to think about Marcia’s service coming up in Fort Collins, starting at midnight, Italy time. A bit of writing and reading in bed before sleep.

More in Part Three

TO PARIS AND PROVENCE!

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France Women 2010
Provence and Paris
October 8-24, 2010

Imagine yourself strolling through streets in villages in the Luberon Valley of Provence. Goult, Gordes, Lourmarin. Imagine sipping a lovely wine from the region, crumbs of a fresh croissant on the tip of your tongue.

Imagine the smell of lavender, herbes de Provence, the baked goods waiting in the shop on the corner. Antiques at the market in Isle de sur La Sorgue. Visits to de Sade’s castle, to an abbey nestled in the isolated hills. Cafes and shops abound.

A week at the beautiful villa Fontaine du Faucon awaits you, with heated swimming pool, and garden benches facing the Provencal hills. Day trips to Aix-en-Provence, St. Remy, area wineries, the red hills of Roussillon. The vineyards are in their fall splendor, grape vines the color of the wines they produce . . .

Delicious meals created with ingredients fresh from the village markets, prepared at area restaurants or by Chef Daniel at our own villa.

If we can arrange it, we will spend one night at Les Florets, a lovely little inn just outside the town of Gigondas, north one hour from our villa. Thierry will serve us wine his family makes on the property, cheeses to die for, and a dinner that will leave your palate watering for a week. On our way there, we will stop in Sault, the lavender capital of Provence, and though the lavender will have been cut by then, it is in the air . . . everywhere.

At the end of our time in Provence, we will board the TGV, the “fast train” to Paris, and spend the next week immersed in the beauty, excitement, tranquility (and food!) of one of the most stunning cities in Europe. With museum passes and metro passes, you are free to wander wherever you want, whenever you want, visiting some of the most famous paintings in the world, or finding the tiniest galleries in back streets. Paper stores, button stores, bookstores, artwork sold on the Pont Neuf. Just sitting outside the Louvre transports you to a different world.

We will stay in a small hotel in the Rue Cler district, the 7th Arrondissement. From there, your feet or the metro or cab will take you anywhere you want to go. Our hotel is just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower. Sometimes lit in red, sometimes blue, the tower is an especially spectacular vision at night, as we walk through the park from our hotel!

Our trip will include AIRFARE FROM DENVER, all lodging, train from Paris to Avignon and back, rental cars, gas and tolls, transfers to and from out Paris hotel, 6-day Paris museum pass, Paris metro pass, seven dinners, eight breakfasts, Paris Street-wise map, travel journals, and ME, your planner, guide, and all-around fire-extinguisher!

Cost for above (including airafare from Denver) is $5600.00**. A $500 non-refundable deposit holds your space. Discount of $250 for referring a friend not on my list (one discount only, for the referring traveler).

For questions, please contact Joannah L. Merriman, Lifeprints, 970-481-6339 or 970-226-5676. E-mail is jetlost@lamar.colostate.edu

Bon jour!

THE NEXT ADVENTURE – ITALY WOMEN 2010

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Tuscany, Cinque Terre, and
The Lakes of Piemonte
May 9-28*, 2010

Ten women, 19 days:
Florence, Siena, Tuscan countryside villa,
Cinque Terre, and the northwest lakes

Included: 18 nights’ lodging (4 nights in Florence, 1 night in Siena, 7 nights in a Tuscan villa, 3 nights in Cinque Terre, 3 nights at San Giulio d’Orta), most breakfasts, 2 lunches, 3 picnics, 10 delicious dinners, 2 Italian language lessons in Florence, private walking tours in Florence and Siena, entrance to the Uffizzi, Accadamia, and Medici Chapel in Florence. Day trips to Cortona, San Gimignano, Lake Trasimeno, Isole Maggiore, Montepulciano, Pienza and Chianti.


You will enjoy a train and boat ride to Portofino for a the day, and ME for your enthusiastic travel coordinator, guide, and all around firefighter. Facilitated reflective/travel writing is included for those who would like to participate. An expanded way for you to anchor your experiences on paper.

Cost of $5600 double occupancy, including airfare from Denver. If we get a better price on the airfare, I’ll adjust downward. If the Euro rises to more than $1.50 exchange rate, I will make whatever adjustment is necessary upward, but it should be minimal. Ask if you need a single supplement. NOTE: We do very well matching or rotating roommates.

A $500 deposit secures your space, non-refundable unless we can fill your spot if you need to cancel. Bring a friend not on my list and deduct $250 from your trip cost. Send payment to Lifeprints Journeys, 887 Blue Heron Lane, Fort Collins, Co. 80524. Questions? Call me at 970-481-6339.

WATER, WORDS AND THE WONDERS OF ITALY

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Well, the economic situation seems to be on a small teeter-totter, but I’m still getting those requests for more info about Italy Women trips, especially the one in September, so I’m gearing up for Italian Relief!

So here is the detailed information for the next trip:

September 10-27, 2009 – Water, Words, and the Wonders of Italy:
Lake Como, Venice, LeMarche, Lago d’Orta

Just a bit more than two weeks in northeast Italy, with a dedicated focus on reflective writing as we go. Remember that this “writing” is flow, not pressure, so for those of you who have not done writing with me in the past, please know there is no pre-writing criteria for this. Guided journal-writing, if you will. Travel-writing or memory scraps if you’d like to do that. And you can always opt out of the writing if you so desire, but it’s a great way to remember what you’ve seen, eaten, and how your heart sings in the Italian countryside, lakes and mountains!

This is a Planes, Trains and Automobiles trip (and vaporetto rides in Venice!). We will fly from Denver to Milan, arriving September 11, and take a train to the Lake Como area. We will spend our first three nights at Lake Como, in the lovely and peaceful town of Varenna. Then three nights in magical Venezia where we will see the Church of San Marco, the Doges Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, walk along endless waterways, find our way from one end of Venice to the other on the water-transport system, the vaporetto. Seafood and fresh local fare will kiss your palate every day.

Then a train ride to the region of LeMarche, between Tuscany and the Adriatic seacoast. We will rent our cars in Ancona and drive a short distance to our villa, nestled in the countryside, surrounded by the Sibillini Mountains, close to the Adriatic ocean. A week of exploring the area and dedicated time for mini-writing workshops about the land, the food, the history, the buildings, our inner heartbeat, whatever strikes your pen’s fancy.

At the end of our villa week, we will return our cars in Ancona, board the EuroRail train again and travel the rails to Lago d’Orta, where I end all my Italy Women trips. For three days and nights, we will relax, walk slowly from cafe to cafe, sit by the water with our favorite version of espresso or cappucino, and visit the amazing Sacre Monte. A ten-minute boat ride to Isola d’Orta allows us to walk a meditation path around the island, visit a beautiful tiny church, and wander past the private homes and monastic buildings that have been on this island for hundreds of years. At the end of our stay in San Giulio d’Orta, we will fly from Milan back to Denver, arriving home the night of September 27.

Cost of the trip will include 16 nights’ lodging (double occupancy), airfare from Denver, multi-day EurRail pass, cars, gas and tolls, vaporetto pass, 16 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 6 dinners including wine (perhaps 9 if our Orta hotel still includes them), a walking tour in Venice, travel journals, Streetwise map of Venice, this trip cost will be $5500. Maximum number of travelers (including your guide): Ten, most likely nine.

The dollar is not too terrible against the Euro at the moment ($1.33-1.42), and the airfares vary wildly. The Euro is also fluxuating, but is much better now than it was last spring. If it stays below $1.50, we’ll be great. If it goes below $1.30 while we’re there, we’ll add more meals, an extra tour, whatever seems appropriate . . . if you want single occupancy, let me know and I’ll figure out the supplement. If the Euro zooms up past $1.50 to our dollar (not likely this year), there will be a slight upward adjustment. Haven’t had to do that yet. NOTE: I am looking at some newly listed villas in LeMarche a few of which might offer most of the group a single occupancy opportunity. I need to get responses back from owners before I’ll know exactly what inventory is available on our dates.

To hold your space, please send a $500 deposit made out to Lifeprints. This deposit will ONLY be refundable if we don’t go on the trip for some unexpected reason, or if we can fill your place in the event that you must cancel. By May 15, I will need $2000 of the cost so I can get plane tickets when I find good ones. I will urge you to get travel insurance, because it’s cheap protection for your trip cancellation for illness of you or a family member, terrorist attack, trip delays, lost luggage, stolen documents, etc. etc. I can arrange the travel insurance at a good price with a reputable company.

If you have questions, please call or e-mail me. If you’re ready to commit, please send your deposit to the address below! You can go to my website and click on “Testimonials” to see some comments from past trip participants. The sooner we get our group, the sooner I can grab good airfares when they’re available.

I do hope to see some of you on this new adventure. And yes, I know some of you are already planning to register for the May 2010 Italy Women group, my Tuscany/Cinque Terre/Lake Orta itinerary. YEA!

Ciao . . .