A Luberon Tour for Foodies (By Bike or Car)

So a couple months ago I got a call from a woman coming to Provence with her husband and two daughters in July. She was looking at my list of Delicious Experiences and couldn't decide what to do. "We really want to do the Foodie Tour," she said, "but we also want to bike the Luberon with a guide. And we only have one free day left!"

You can probably guess where this is going, right?

So I got together with my bike-guide friend Jon and we mapped out a wonderful route, the idea being pretty similar to my St. Remy Tour for Foodies but this one designed for two wheels. Not only is Jon a professional bike guide, he's a professional chef too--with 15-plus years cooking experience in Provence and a shiny Michelin star for pastry on his resume. Let's just say that Jon knows a lot about Provencal gastronomy: the ingredients, the purveyors, the dishes and culinary traditions. I mean, how perfect is that? 

That's how this new tour came about... and it sounded like so much fun we thought other people might love doing it too. Et voila: A Luberon Bike Tour for Foodies!

Biking is hugely popular in the Luberon but not just because of the stunning scenery; many of the most-beautiful roads are often serenely, surprisingly traffic free. The region offers a wide range of terrific routes through rolling hills and lush valleys, with steep climbs up to medieval hilltowns and over pretty pine-covered mountains. Vineyards, olive groves and farms blanket the landscape left and right, their ancient stone farmhouses done up Elle Decor-fantastic or left tumbling literally into the fields. The produce grown in this department--the Vaucluse--is considered among the finest in France. 

Sound good? All you have to do is book your day (as much in advance as possible, please) and choose your bike--road bike, hybrid or electric--so it can be ready and waiting for you. Then off you'll go on a glorious full-day, food-fueled adventure. Depending on the day of the week and the season, your day might include a local outdoor market, an olive mill, a goat farm for a tasting of fresh goat cheeses, an ancient bread bakery still in use, a studio making superb confitures, the winery made famous in Peter Mayle's movie A Good Year, a tasting of truffle products and who knows what all else. 

Plus, you'll experience some of the top historic sites in the Luberon such the Chateau de Lacoste, the former home of that freaky Marquis de Sade (now owned by Pierre Cardin), the Abbaye de Senanques (home to silent honey bee-tending Cisturcian monks) and the hill towns of Gordes, Lacoste, Bonnieux, Menerbes and magical Oppede-le-Vieux. 

Since it's only you and your family or friends riding, you can go at whatever pace feels most perfect, but Jon expects to do 60 km (38 miles) or so. The day starts in Bonnieux around 8:30 am and ends about 5 pm. The cost is 350€ per person for two people or 250€ per person for three to six. For larger groups, please inquire. The price includes bike rental, helmets, market tastings, artisan visits, restaurant lunch and any museum entry fees. And if you love the food tour idea but the biking part not so much, we'll happily do the whole thing for you in a big comfy car for 300€ per person, including lunch and tastings.  The tour is available pretty much all summer and fall, with a couple weeks off here and there, when Jon is bike-touring groups around France or cheffing in private homes. 

For more info or to book, contact me: provenceblog@aol.com.

For more info about the Luberon, click here or here.

*Note: Since this story was written in 2014, we've added another version of this bike tour, in and around St. Remy, in the foothills of the Alpilles Mountains. Along the way you'll visit a few of our favorite local artisan food producers: a goat farm where they make delicious chevre and sometimes raise adorable baby pigs; the family-owned olive mill where they make 6 award-winning oils and a wide range of other delicious local products such as tapenade and confiture; a manade (ranch) where they raise bulls and make saucisson; a bee farm to taste the honeys; a beautiful and historic winery, etc. If you choose a full-day tour, we'll break for a casual picnic or have lunch in one of our favorite local cafes or bistros; the cost of lunch is extra. Half-day tours are normally 9 am to 1 pm or 2 pm to 6 pm but variations are possible. The half-day tour price includes electric bikes, helmets, bottled water, all tastings and your foodie guide. Half day: two people, 175€ pp. Then add 50€ per person. Kids prices depend on age. 

Photos:  (1-3) The village of Cucuron, fruit in the market at Gordes and goat cheeses in the market at Bonnieux, courtesy of Pamela Goode. (4, 5) The gorgeous winery Domaine de la Citadelle, and the adjacent corckscrew museum, are both owned by Yves Rousset-Rouard, the Mayor of Menerbes. (6-9). Grapes, olive oil, cheese and honey: the four food groups of the Luberon! Cheese and honey photos by Pamela Goode. (10, 11) And the bakery isn't bad either...(12) If there's time, you can pop into the Maison de la Truffe et du Vin, to learn all about two more of our favorite Luberon goodies. (13) When your guide Jon isn't in his biking gear, he's most likely wearing his chefs' jacket. (14) Pretty pinks, just waiting for you to taste. (15) Pull off the road to snap this view of Gordes; everyone does. (16, 17) The Abbaye de Senanques, inside and out. When the lavender is in bloom, this must be the most-popular photo-opp stop in Provence. (18) A splendid view of Bonnieux, courtesy of Linda Bailey Zimmerman. (19) Chateau la Canorgue, which stood in for the winery Le Coin Perdu in the movie "A Good Year." 

Jewelry Handmade with Love and History

 

Isn't it funny how a painting or a bottle of wine or a wonderful meal becomes even more delicious if you know the person or the story behind it? This jewelry has a great story indeed...and the fact that the artist's mom is my good friend makes these exquisite pieces all the more special.

For years I've been hearing Ann Bradley, an Irishwoman living in the Luberon village of Lacoste, mention her daughter Ruth. As in ''Ruth is coming to visit'' or ''Ruth had her baby!'' I only met Ruth once but it was years ago...and brief. Then, just recently, I connected the dots and realized that Ann's daughter is Ruth Ribeaucourt, a faithful fan of Provence Post who writes her own blog called Le Petit Coquin. 

So here's what happened. Ann moved to Provence in 2006 and at her housewarming party, Ruth (visiting from Dublin), met Raphael Ribeaucourt. ''It was a pretty instant coup de foudre,'' Ruth tells me. ''And the brave man moved to Ireland very soon after.'' The couple married in 2008.   

Ruth had a big job back at home, heading up marketing and publicity for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in Ireland, the studio's theatrical distribution arm. Ruth loved her work but the couple wanted ''some time off the career track'' and dreamed of raising their family in the French countryside. Their first child, Louis, was born in October 2009 and they moved down to Lacoste one year later. Baby #2, Charlotte, followed four months ago.  

Raphael, meanwhile, works as a financial consultant but comes from a celebrated French family named Faure, silk-makers in St. Etienne since 1864. Yep, going back to when Napoleon III reigned in France. The company is now called Julien Faure. 

 

A couple years ago, Raphael's uncle Julien--the fifth generation to head the company-- opened the archives and gifted Ruth with some incredible echantillons (samples) of ribbons from the late 19th to mid 20th century, all which had been rescued and hidden away for years by Raphael's grandfather, Georges Faure.  And for the last two years, Ruth has been meticulously transforming the ribbons into jewelry such as the pieces you see above. As it turns out, Ruth has been making jewelry since age ten, when Father Christmas gave her a toolbox filled with beads, silver wire and a jewelry pliers. ''This might sound contrived,'' she says, ''but creativity has always been my preferred form of meditation. It nourishes my soul and now that I have the luxury of time (and the beauty of Lacoste), I'm finally able to concentrate on it.''

 

And concentrate she has! In November 2011, Ruth launched an online Etsy shop called Rubanesque, offering one-of-a-kind handmade cuffs made from antique art deco ribbons. (Ruban is ribbon in French.) Called the Golden Age, the collection was featured on several French blogs including Tongue in Cheek and Trouvais...and it completely sold out to buyers from all over the world. (If you don't know Etsy, learn about it here.) 

Last week, Ruth launched her newest collection: a series of vintage ribbon cuffs (''more modern than my first collection,'' she says), plus antique and vintage ribbon pendants, antique ribbon-on-silk-bobbin necklaces (you can see them here), and delicate antique real gold passementerie trim bracelets, which Ruth calls ''my most-favorite pieces of all.'' She also just added two cuffs, made from 1920s silk in acrylic, and depending on how they sell, is likely to make more. Have a look at her Etsy shop here and I guarantee you'll find something you'll adore...or want to give as a gift.

But wait, there's more! To introduce her line to you, Ruth is offering my readers a 10% discount, until the end of November. Just enter the code NOV10 to receive the reduced price. Ruth will gift wrap if you request it and is happy to ship worldwide.

You can reach Ruth by email at: ruthribeaucourt@googlemail.com

Photos: 1. A cuff made from piece of antique, restored French silk fabric, preserved between two layers of arcylic. 2. A one-of-a-kind handmade bracelet made from a piece of antique French gold passementerie trim, with red silk interwoven through the heavy gold thread. 3. Another bracelet made from gold passementerie trim. 4. A piece of antique lace made from real gold, dating to the late 19th century. 5. A silk ribbon cuff in an art nouveau motif, embellished with Swarovski crystals. 6. A gold 'Fil D'Or' ribbon pendant necklace on a sterling silver chain. 7. A beautiful assortment of antique silk bobbins hangs on the wall in the St. Etienne home of Marguerite Faure, Raphael's grandmother. 8. Ruth, at home in Lacoste. All jewelry photos by Robert Hale.

Provence in the Press

Summer always brings more Provence in the media than usual, it seems. Here are a few articles I noticed in the last week or so.

A tour of the Luberon in the L.A. Times.

From The Independent: the joy of a visit to Aix.

In his syndicated column, Rick Steves wrote about outdoor markets. Here it is in the Chicago Tribune.

Brad and Angelina give their kids a "normal life" in a £45million Provencal chateau.

Revisiting Avignon after ten years, in the Australian.

Taking a tour of Provencal vineyards, in the Sunday Times.

The Telegraph looks at what Pierre Cardin is up to in Lacoste, whether the locals like it or not.

And here's the New York Times' take on the Pierre Cardin contretemps...

Photo by Sankha Guha via The Independent.co.uk