The Countdown Begins!

Hi Guys,  hope you're getting excited about Provence!  We think you're going to love the Villa... It's an outstanding  

 So you guys of course all have differing departure dates, so we're using our own departure date of June 8th to say: we're just 100 days out from Provence!  It's really getting exciting now! And we hope you're bubbling with anticipation!  After all, we're going to France!!!  

The amazing foods... the world-class wines... the incredible views... the ancient history... the unique culture... the beautiful quaint & charming hilltop villages... the magnificent art & architecture... And the people; you're gonna love the people!  

And you're not just going on some mass-market bus tour... You're going on an exclusive, personally curated Adventure Expedition to Provence.. In our humble opinion, there is no better way to experience The South of France!  You're staying in an authentic & original 400 year old Provençal Villa... 20,000 square feet of amazing French Country architecture with private chefs & an outrageous OPEN wine & Champagne bar!  And this amazing Villa sets on a massive gated Estate surrounded by Vineyards, Olive Groves and Cherry Orchards!  We'll have walking Tours, VIP Wine Estate Tours & Luncheons, Roads Rallies... Alfresco Dinner Parties, Swim Parties, Outdoor BBQ Parties, Private Concerts, Nightly theme parties... the list goes on & on...  Get excited, cause we're gonna have a truly great time!  

We've written & put up over 60 posts so far on all kinds of topics to hopefully help get you prepared and excited for your upcoming trip to France!  And from this point forward, we'll start winding down as we get prepared to leave for France, but you'll still see about 20 - 25 more posts before you leave... 

This Blog is just the very tip of the iceberg when it comes to the behind the scenes work that we're doing right now to prepare for your arrival and hosting you at our Villa for 8 Days... From working on our breakfast, lunch & dinner menus with our French Chefs Fabien & Coralie...  to creating the shopping lists for provisions.. accumulating & sending all of your passport info for tourism permits, licensing & tourist taxes...  curating both wine lists & playlists...  to working with our guides & contacts to re-confirm all of our various Tours, Wine Estate visits & Luncheon Menus, etc... Even working with our friend Pierre to get ready for  our live musical performance for our magical Fete Blanc Party. (the white party)... We've had some special musical requests for that night, and the band is working on learning the music! We've been busy dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's!  

With all of this in mind, we are reaching out to you today to ask How are we doing?  Do you have questions?  If so, we'd love to hear from you! Is there anything we can help you with?   

Reach out now, cause it's gonna get real busy for us very soon!  Just send us a quick email to AdventuresToTuscany@gmail.com   If there's anything at all we can do to help you get ready for your trip, please let us know...   We're always available to help!  

a little sneak peek at the kitchen and our breakfast buffet... 

Passports... Fly me to the moon!

 Just a quick reminder; double check your passport expiration date!  France requires that your US Passport be valid for at least 3 months beyond your intended date of departure from their country!

So for most of you, that means your passport must be valid almost into November!  If yours isn't and need to renew your US Passport, Right now the US Department of State is saying that processing times are 6 to 8 weeks...  Some of you have told us you're departing for France in about 14 weeks... So we suggest you take a look now and make sure you're passport is good... They won't even consider letting you fly internationally without a valid passport... 

If you do need to renew, we're attaching a link here from the US Dept of Sate on how: click here 

Sometimes these take a lot longer than they say they do...  We've had guests have some  really close calls...  One guy recently had to call his congressman for help and got it the day before he flew out... We would suggest you choose "expedited processing" as well as "expedited shipping" to get your new passport much faster... and the Post Office has special "Priority Mail" envelopes that go to a special address (see pic)

Paris is so very beautiful that it satisfies something in you that is always hungry in America ~ Ernest Hemingway

  We're just under 4 months out and while those of you going to Paris most likely have your hotels already booked, this video by The Frenchies is good to watch to give you a feel of the atmospheres of the various neighborhoods and help you decide where you might want to spend your time while you're in Paris!(those of you staying at our recommended hotel, Londres di Eiffel, you are of course in the 7th arrondissement (in the middle between The Eiffel Tower and The Rue Cler) 

James Taylor singing one our favorite songs; Chanson Francaise (lyrics translated below)

Chanson Francaise

I found this French song, put in a corner,

Deep in my unexpressed skull.

And so I miss English id(c),

Seem, perhaps, something, I did not think.

If I say I love you, it's not quite done

Same old thing, 'cause the words I say

don't come from the same mind

And here I am, baby, new stranger

I try and I try but I know

That I don't have enough French

But what can we say we must end

Suffice to say, I will never (c)write

Another French song

Goodbye my friends, I love you very much.

Eat this... Not that

 Yet one more little tutorial about eating out in French restaurants...  We tend to post a lot about this issue, and folks sometimes ask us "what's the big deal?"    Well what we've learned from our guests over time is that they sometimes feel a little intimidated when they first dine out in France, especially if those first experiences are in a bigger city like Paris, or in a more formal or upscale restaurant...

So what we try to do is to give you some primers to help you better understand French culture & etiquette...  Trust us, we fully understand that not everyone will like or agree with their ways... But you are indeed a guest in their country, and we can tell you from a lot of experience, you'll have a better experience if you try to understand their culture and meld into it as much as you can...  Know that the French are slowly becoming a little more casual about many of these dining mores, but they are still much more traditional than we are here in the US... 

In our opinion, the best thing to do is be as polite as possible when you don't understand something... It's fine to ask questions, but often times a faux pas that Americans make is to challenge their culture or etiquette...  Or worse, to try to convince them to do it the way you're used to in America...  Again, you've spent a lot of money to travel halfway around the world to experience their Old World Culture... Try to understand, embrace it, and enjoy the differences...  Recognize your good fortune in being able to afford to sample these differences in culture... Not everyone gets these opportunities!  It will ultimately make you a more dynamic citizen of the world!

A Few Travel Tips for Paris

 Since so many of you are doing Paris for a few days before we meet up in Provence, we wanted to give you some travel tips !

Rosé ALL DAY! Your Provence Rosé primer

Provence, and well the whole country of France, is know for their wines... Some of the very best wines in the world!  And while the Provence region is home to many different types of wines, over the last 20 years, one wine in particular has become the official wine of the amazing Provençal Summers; Rosé....  Provence has without a doubt the biggest selection of Rosé wines in the world...  These aren't your grandfathers Rosés of yesteryear... these wines are light, dry, refined, and fruity... very drinkable!  and somehow they just seem to go with so very well with the landscape and the weather...  This video below will give you a little more info on these amazing rosés that you're sure to end up loving!

Going to Paris??? Learn to use the Metro!

 Those of you staying in a Paris for a few days would be wise to learn to use the Metro...  It's fast, convenient and inexpensive... Paris is a large city...  Even the areas you want to see within the historic center can be a lengthy walk... 

Lots of folks complaining lately about the cost of cabs & Ubers in Paris... It's just like NYC... Big city, and lots of tourists... If you're gonna take a cab, ask the cost before you get in the cab... "how much to take us to..."  Make sure to use "real taxis" not hackers, they'll rip you off... And if they tell you it's metered (have your GPS out and watch where they're taking you... or one of my favorite things to do when you get into a cab is to show them on your city map where you want to go, so that he knows you have a map! (they'll give you a really nice city map if you're staying at Hotel Londres de Eiffel) Also good to let taxi driver subtly notice you have your maps program open on your smart phone... But if you want to save $$$, learn to use the Metro!   

By the way, and this is important; keep your ticket even after you exit the Metro! they've got Metro Police that do lots of random checks to make sure people are paying and not just jumping the turnstiles... If you don't have your ticket or your Navigo card, they will fine you on the spot 35 Euro and they catch a lot of innocent people who didn't know to keep their tix!  

You may not be able to spend "A Year in Provence" but after you spend a week there, you'll wish you could!

A Year in Provence is the title of the best selling book written
by Peter Mayle... It was Mayle's 7th book about Provence;
A Good Year; that was the inspiration for Ridley Scott's
Film A Good Year highlighted below

  Provence... so incredibly magical it seems like a dream... It's as much an emotion, as it is a place... the purity of the air filled with the pungent sweet scent of lavender... the tangy aroma of freshly pressed olive oil and the classic sound of cicadas softly singing in a light summer breeze...

Narrow winding country roads lined by majestic plane trees leading into rugged granite mountains, topped by pastel tinted villages... In your mind's eye you can picture the brightly colored cafe umbrellas lining the cobblestone streets of quaint & charming medieval villages... 

Well have you in this spot on the Tour!

This is one of those quaint & charming villages; the village of Gordes... it's an iconic provençal hilltown, very near to 

Château du Soleil, and we will of course take you here! It's a spectacular village... all stone built and standing majestically over grape vineyards, olive groves and lavender fields!  And while so many times the views of destinations can seem enhanced, this view, which is on one of the roads leading into the village is one you can easily get to...  

If you've ever seen the movie A Good Year with Russel Crowe & Marion Cotillard, this is the village where it takes place!  If you haven't seen it, we highly recommend watching it before you travel as it's a wonderful movie to give you a feel of the culture & emotion of Provence...

The Famous Abbey de Sénanque is just down the road...

As you wind down the steep mountain road out of Gordes on the road to the Villa, you'll come across  Abbey de Sénanque... Originally built in the year 1148... You've probably seen pictures of the Abbey... It's famous and it's photos tend to show up anywhere Provence is mentioned!  Nearly 1000 years old, this is still a working Abbey where Monks live in silence and grow lavender and tend bee hives for honey... We'll stop here to enjoy the Lavender Fields... It's very spiritual!  And their gift shop / book store / perfumery is outstanding!  And best part is that's it's only about 8 miles from the Villa. 

Below is a scene from one of our very favorite movies that we mentioned earlier; "A Good Year" with Russel Crowe & the French actress Marion Cotillard... 

 

The Plot:Young Max Skinner, whose parents died in an accident, spends his childhood summer holidays learning to appreciate the finer things at his Uncle Henry's vineyard estate in Provence in southeastern France. Twenty-five years later, Max is a successful but arrogant workaholic trader in London with a cheeky-chappy persona.  Following his uncle's death, Max is the sole beneficiary of the French property. He travels to Provence to prepare a quick sale. Shortly after arriving, by driving while fumbling with a cell phone, he unknowingly causes a local café owner, Fanny Chenal, to crash her bicycle....  We'll not tell you more as to not spoil the movie for you

The movie was set & filmed right in the area where our Villa is and many of the scenes take place right in the center of Gordes, pictured above... We often eaten lunch in the exact same terrace as in the restaurant scene in this clip...  it's one of the most famous medieval stone built villages of Provence and it's just down the road from our Villa Château du Soleil... You'll love Gordes!  We highly recommend you see this movie before the Tour... It will give you a much better feel for Provence!  I'm sure you'll find it on one of your streaming outlets like Apple TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, etc.