Guest Post: One Great Day in Provence

Whenever we get together, my friends Keith and Val Van Sickle and I love to share French intel. Where've you been, what'd you do? Who'd you meet, where'd you eat? The Van Sickles split their time between Provence and Northern California, spending three months each year based in St.-Rémy. Because they do lots of exploring, I asked them to suggest ''One Great Day in Provence'' for you. They chose to focus on the Alpilles (''Little Alps''), our beloved home turf, named for the 25-km-long mini-mountain range where, to the north and south, you'll find villages such as St.-Rémy, Eygalieres, Les Baux, Maussane and others. Keith and Val are both retired (Val from consulting, Keith from finance) and they travel widely. Keith is the author of An Insider’s Guide to Provence, One Sip at a Time, and Are We French Yet? He also publishes the blog Life in Provence. Read on for Keith's guest post about One Great Day.

One of the many things that Val and I love about St-Rémy is that it sits at the foot of the Alpilles Mountains, a great place to hike and bike. 

The Alpilles aren’t particularly high, with the tallest peak about 1,600 feet, which means there are plenty of hikes that aren’t too strenuous. A great day for us is to hike in the Alpilles, enjoy a leisurely lunch at a favorite restaurant, and then shop for Provençal essentials like wine and olive oil.

Hiking in the Alpilles

One favorite hike starts from a parking lot called Parking de la Caume, at the top of the road between St-Rémy and Maussane-les-Alpilles. After parking, we head to the paved trail that begins at the back of the lot. Because Provence can get hot, we usually hike in the morning and carry plenty of water.

The trail is called the Randonée de la Caume and if you follow it all the way, it will take you up to the giant communication tower that you can see for miles around. This is a nice route, but instead of following it, we turn off onto a dirt road marked as the AL 115, about ¼ mile from the start. It can be found on a helpful hiking map we use to for this and other trails in the Alpilles.

We like this route because it is never crowded and the views are great. Sometimes we see the forest and sometimes sheer rock walls rising up next to the path. From a few spots we can see a long way to the south, to near the Mediterranean coast. The one thing we have to watch out for are bikers, because they can show up suddenly if they are riding fast.

We hike as far as we want and then turn around, and at this point we are usually getting hungry. If we’ve timed it right it’s lunch time, so we head to Maussane and one of our favorite restaurants, l’Oustaloun.

L’Oustaloun

This is a family-run hotel/restaurant that has been in business for decades. The couple that runs it is very friendly—“We love our clients,” they say—and the food is always good.

The chef has been awarded the title of Maître Restauranteur, a special honor that means everything is fresh and homemade. I can’t eat gluten and the chef knows exactly what is in each dish, so he is able to guide me to safe eating.

The cuisine is authentic Provençal and I love the timbale, an eggplant confit surrounded by a tomato and red pepper coulis. The menu changes with the seasons so the dishes always use fresh ingredients, many of which are sourced locally.

On a warm day we sit at the outdoor tables on the town’s lovely central square, and if it’s cool we enjoy the cozy dining room with its arched ceiling.

The Best Olive Oil

The area around Maussane is known for olive oil, and local producers have captured several world championships. It is said that oil from here was used to anoint France’s first Christian king, Clovis, in the year 496.

Our favorite place for olive oil is Moulin Castelas, just outside of Maussane. The staff speaks English—the owners once lived in the United States—and is very friendly. They let you taste anything you’d like and sometimes you can tour the olive mill itself. Tables are arranged outside if you’d like to taste there, or just rest your feet for a few minutes.

One of Castelas’ specialties is their wide range of flavored oils, where they add ingredients like citrus, rosemary, and basil. Unlike many producers that just add flavorings to their oils, Castelas macerates their olives together with the other ingredient—thyme, for example—and then filters it at the end. The results are great for salad dressings, to put on fish, or whatever strikes your fancy. We stock up every time we arrive in Provence.

Something for the Cellar

After olive oil, another essential is wine, and one of our favorite caves is Mas Sainte Berthe, which sits in the shadow of Les Baux-de-Provence’s fortress.

Sainte Berthe is known for its rosés, but all its wines are excellent. You can try them in their friendly, English-speaking tasting room, then buy what you like. Besides wine in bottles, they also sell it in 5 or 10 liter “bag in box.” These boxed wines are quite good and a great bargain, especially if you will be entertaining a group.

Back Home

We are now tired, well fed, and well stocked. It’s a routine we often follow when we are newly arrived in St-Rémy. But it’s only the beginning, as many more hikes and meals await. And you never know when you’ll need more olive oil or another bottle of wine! 

Photos:

(1) Keith, Val and their sweet dog Mica at the Aéro-Club De Saint-Rémy, the Alpilles behind them. (2) A glorious coquelicot (poppy) field with the Alpilles in the background; photo by Barbara Tyler. (3, 4) Hiking photos by Keith. (5) L'Oustaloun, in Maussane; photo courtesy of the restaurant. (6) Timbale and (7) Moulin Castelas, photos by Keith. (8, 9) The vineyard and tasting room at Mas Sainte Berthe.