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The Artist of the Seychelles Islands

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The Seychelles are made up of 115 granite or coral islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean and have fascinated and inspired travellers for centuries.  The islands are safe, friendly, and have no poisonous creepy crawlies. I’ve come to suss out the spa and rejuvenation offerings in two very different hotels on Mahe, the main island, which means no need for any further plane hopping.  Both are located along the island’s western coastline, so spectacular sunsets are guaranteed. And both have beautiful views of the surrounding countryside and both provide hotel villa accommodations with private swimming pools for ultimate relaxation.

While exploring the island, I was lucky enough to IMG_0005chance across a national treasure.  The artist of the Seychelles – someone who has made this relaxed and inspiring island his home – is Michael Adams.

I popped in to see his studio and was lucky enough to find him at home with his wife Heather. They showed us his new work from Scotland. He brought our eyes to rest on the shards of dramatic white, lightning in his depictions of the moors,as he pondered about having pneumonia while painting. Walking around the garden, Heather pointed out that they had planted every seed, every flower, and every tree. We gazed up at the gargantuan rubber trees that dominated the sky and her orchid garden, ‘you just stick it in the ground and watch it grow’, she muses. IMG_0007

The garden burst with vibrancy; sprawling feather duster palms, turquoise jade vines, banana plants with their green-blue inky colour, and yet another of nature’s crazy masterpieces – the pink ginger bush.

We admired a clutch of some fifty chickens, including Heather’s beloved Indian Legbar chickens, who were clucking busily in the shade of the flora and laying their treasured blue eggs. Michael told tales of the Engadin valley in Switzerland, of princes, presidents and pop stars who have bought his work and shared his home-baked bread and honey. We guzzled away with a bottle of the Widow and felt like the owl and the pussy cat gone to sea on a beautiful pea green boat. The colours of their home were as infectious and charming as the couple’s company and enthusiasm; being 70 going on 17 is a gift. We bought a signed print of some of Heather’s chickens; it was the painting she thought we ought to have and it will bring wonderful memories with every glance. IMG_0020

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One&Only Reethi Rah, The Maldives: Happy As A Sandboy.

One&Only Reethi Rah, The Maldives: Happy As A Sandboy.

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At last count, the Maldives had 1,900 islands, 200 inhabited by locals and about a hundred colonized for the sole activity of holidaying. We’re all agreed they look like a honeymooner’s paradise but just how suitable is such a tranquil clime for your brood, however well behaved? Well, in truth the majority of islands are best left as an exclusive domain for cooing couples and if children are not explicitly solicited then the general rule is don’t go where you’re unwelcome.

That said there are a handful of islands that are perfect for families. The phrase ‘as happy as a sandboy’ couldn’t be more fitting for children visiting the Maldives; in essence a giant sandpit surrounded by an irresistibly warm aquarium full of cartoon coloured fish with funny names like oriental sweetlips. There’s no malaria or vaccinations required and people are as friendly as they come.

M_PRE_OP_1The larger islands best suit children’s needs for practical as well as esoteric reasons. Space to accommodate an activities club and water-sports in one corner without destroying the sanctuary of peace and quiet for other guests is key to success. Top of the list for older kids and teens is One&Only’s flagship Reethi Rah (literally meaning ‘beautiful island’) lying only an hour by boat from Malé International airport (with direct flights from Europe, the Middle East and the Far East). It’s the largest leisure island in the Maldives – in fact, half-natural and half-fabricated in the shape of a seahorse with over six kilometres of beach.

The 130 villas, many with private pool, are sleek and spectacularly spacious, spread out around the circumference of the island, each with a garden area and ocean view. The offshore breeze that blows three sheets to the wind means that noise doesn’t travel further than you, or your neighbours, want it to and makes the need for air-conditioning redundant both day and night. You can choose how to get around: on foot, bicycle, or by electric buggy. And before you can say ahhh, the children will be shell seeking along the shore, a mere seven metres away.

A kid in tow doesn’t mean compromise. You’ll be met by a guest attendant and welcomed with iced tea cocktails and a soothing ESPA foot massage before a quick orientation of the room and resort, which offers a simpatico blend of comfort and nature, with, I confess, rather more comfort than nature. However, when colours that look like they’ve been picked out of Aladdin’s paintbox surround you, creating an implausible cocktail of blues and yellows, even Mother Nature seems illusory.

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The ‘magic’ restaurant

 Of the three restaurants, our favourite was the higgledy-piggledy Fanditha (meaning ‘magic’), resembling a ramshackle open-air furniture sale – as if a ship has been wrecked on the reef and all the islanders have rushed to rescue its booty and brought it ashore. Lamps, rugs, hardwood tables and intricately carved treasure chests laid here, there and everywhere. There’s something remote and out-of-place about a dining table sitting in bare sand, epitomising the whole twenty-first century trend for barefoot-luxury. It’s certainly eccentric and a welcome bolt from the mundane normality of samey restaurants. An added bonus is that teenagers think it’s cool too.

As the competition stakes hot up for who can out-do who, hotels are showcasing their innovative service-par-excellence with new fads and fashions. One new ploy to wow guests – and an absolute winner with kids – is personal iPods down on the beach, pre-loaded with over a thousand tracks.

The KidsOnly Club has been designed to give mums and dads some time out while children enjoy non-stop fun with their peers. Located on the south-eastern tip of the island and surrounded by a sand-filled shaded playground, shallow swimming pool, beach and lagoon, the air-conditioned playhouse offers everything from art decks to PlayStations. Understandably most kids just want to be outside, so days are planned with this in mind. A common passion for hermit crab hunting and racing, fish feeding, snorkelling, building sandcastles and crab kingdoms, nature walks, picnics and pizza making keep younger guests happy.

Teens have their own clubhouse with a tactful semi-supervised choice of activities including diving trips, beach football, windsurfing, campfire soirees, table tennis, snooker and the normal gamut of Internet and computer games.

The 18,000-square-metre spa has embraced the best money can buy – from crystal steam rooms to airbeds and ice fountains. You have the choice of ESPA, Thai or Ayurvedic methods and the Bastien Gonzalez’s foot and leg treatment (not to be confused with a cosmetic pedicure) that left my nails, skin and muscles feeling ten years younger.

A paradise for all

 M_PRE_OP_1Various off-island excursions are offered. The dhoni trip to find the Secrets of Tila, an underwater wonder of fish and corals laying only a metre below the surface, is highly recommended. An hour’s snorkelling followed by a feast of salads, tuna, wraps and chocolate brownies. It’s a great and safe way for all age groups to experience the endless spectrum offered by this patch of ocean.

Equally fun, the night fishing trip was a great hit. Sailing from the island just as the sun lost its sting, we immediately began tying hooks and weights on to long spools of twine. Within seconds, the dubiously primitive self-made lures had a nibble, and then a tug as the line went taught, followed by thrilled pulling until a very respectable red snapper came aboard, then a grouper and finally a tuna – too big to pull onto the deck.

On and off the island, it’s a paradise for all. Reethi does indeed come at a price, which will rule it out for many, but world savvy travellers whose kids have seen it all won’t be disappointed. It’s fancy, somewhat flamboyant and full of fun.

Other favourite family hotels include: Reethi’s sister hotel Kanuhura (less chi-chi but especially good for under-fives) in the beautiful Raa Atoll; the brand new Landaa Giraavaru in northern Baa atoll – where Four Seasons has come up trumps again with a critter camp complete with marine biologist, coconut bowling, croqkick and Blu – the world’s most dazzling restaurant (note: rooms on the south of island are preferable for families as the north shore is rocky with a smaller beach). Lastly but by no means least, check out Per Aquum’s Maakanaa, an all-villa resort, purpose built for families and their helpers.

IDEAL AGE: 4–17

FYI:KidsOnly Club for children aged four to eleven, open daily
9.00 a.m. – 9.00 p.m. ClubOne for children aged twelve to seventeen, open every afternoon

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Island Hopping in The Caribbean

Island Hopping in The Caribbean

The Caribbean was traditionally considered a romantic escape destination for couples only. Recent years, however, have seen both the quantity and quality of family friendly options fly off the scale. It’s no longer an adult-only domain. The islands offering the best facilities tend to be those with direct air access, namely Barbados and Antigua, but if you’re happy to take a secondary flight the rewards can be great. What’s interesting about the Caribbean is that each island has its own distinct footprint; different terrain, crops, language, food, even architecture varies from island to island. Once hooked you’ll be torn between revisiting what you know and love and exploring new options. Whatever the case, the Caribbean offers a giant playground for kids of all ages.

Barbados

The most developed of all the islands, Barbados has a good variety of beaches, with a string of excellent hotels along the fashionable west coast and is the most popular choice for first-time visits to the Caribbean. Indeed many love it so much they never ‘risk’ trying anywhere else. The south coast has a younger more active stance, while the east remains rugged and wild.

Top of the list and by far the most chi-chi of the west coast’s great institutions is the legendary Sandy Lane. Once a house party hideaway, it has had the mother of all makeovers and taken a metamorphic leap to become a super-resort, pretty much in a league of its own. Undoubtedly the most successful hotel in the Caribbean, it pampers its little guests in the knowledge that they are tomorrow’s big guests. The Disneyesque Treehouse Club offers an array of supervised activities for pre-teens including arts and crafts and swimming games. Ritzy glitzy gismos and cool decor attract teenagers to the Den, a hangout zone for kids too blasé to hit a ball round the three championship golf courses with their dads while yummy mummies are mollycoddled in the spa.

No less popular and a little further up the coast, traditional style and loyal guests give the family-run Coral Reef a sort of sophisticated clubby feeling (that, some argue, has been forgone by its uptown neighbour). The white wooden cottage suites are particularly well suited to families – scattered around the twelve acres of grounds overlooking lawns and tropical gardens, most with private plunge pools and verandas. Complimentary entertainment for children includes water sports, a tennis pro-clinic, playground, crèche facilities and two swimming pools. Children tend to wander around in little groups choosing whether to swim, play or just chill out under one of the giant palm trees with the O’Hara grandchildren.

 Antigua

Antigua’s glut of beaches and low humidity make it an ideal location for family based holidays, and many of the bays and coves have particularly calm and shallow waters perfect for paddling and snorkelling. The south is unspoilt and peaceful – a pastoral scene of goats being herded by a solitary figure strolling towards the ruined sugar mill on a hilly promontory or a man straddling a tame donkey – still a regular sight and popular mode of transport. For those with vivid imaginations, the Pirates of the Caribbean can be re-lived at Nelson’s Dockyard where you can wander around the fortifications next to the marina. Our children enjoyed some interactive knot tying, rope climbing and model making in the museum before sailing out on a tropical kayak adventure to swim with the rays at Stingray City.

Carlisle Bay is the hotel that put the Caribbean back on the map after a downturn in the 1990s. Set in its own natural bay on Antigua’s southern coast it is in the vanguard of contemporary stylishness. It’s a tribute to owner Gordon Campbell Gray that the mucky-mits brigade is allowed anywhere near this metro meets minors haven. Movies are shown everyday in the I’m-a-famous-Hollywood-director-style cinema, which can comfortably seat forty-five children while parents eat their dinner in peace. In fact it’s been such a hit with families that Powder Byrne are now running the year-round kids’ club.

Just around the bay is the forty-year-old Curtain Bluff – Antigua’s veteran when it comes to family fun. A spontaneous programme of ‘whatever the kids want to do’ is laid on in an apparently seamless fashion. At one point, we had daughters one, two and three, learning to dive for sea biscuits and conch shells, race a catamaran and crab race simultaneously, thanks to the very accommodating and undaunted staff. We lay on the beach exhausted at the thought, overlooking Montserrat’s (nicknamed Monster Rat by the kids) smouldering volcanic mass towards the distant silhouettes of Guadalupe and St Kitts. Curtain Bluff may still have swirly-print bedspreads and Florida-cum-Eastbourne decor but its two strikingly different beaches, consummate local staff and relaxed atmosphere make it a winner for families.

All in all the Caribbean is on the up and once you’ve got your toes in the water, go on and take that extra flight. Try the unhurried pace of Nevis with its old West Indian airs and graces and stay in one of the exemplary Four Seasons villas. Or pop up to the sophisticated British Virgin Islands and marvel at the sweeping crescent of white sand and commendable kids’ club at Little Dix on Virgin Gorda. Once you start you won’t stop hopping.

IDEAL AGE: 2–16

 

 

 

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Avignon – The gateway to Provence

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Avignon is the capital of Vaucluse area, situated at the far western corner of the department, at the crossroads of the Rhone and Durance rivers. A city that housed the seat of papal power in the 14th century – which left a vibrant legacy of classical architecture, grandeur and fine art. At its zenith, it was the spiritual capital of the western world and major political power-house, ranked as UNESCO Heritage for Humanity. Its ancient cobbled streets are lined with designer boutiques along shady squares overflowing with café tables.

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Its Number One attraction is the Palais des Papes, entered via a12th century gate, hanging on by a thread like a wobbly tooth, opening into a peaceful stone courtyard constructed over centuries in a mishmash of styles. It feels like a building that’s been knocked about; the brickwork is a mosaic of papal ego, each of the nine popes placing their thumb-print on the palace. Doorways added and taken away on each elevation – resulting in all the clunkiness of a giant Lego build. It’s the world’s largest Gothic palace, testimony to papal majesty, while the portcullises, watchtowers and three-metre deep walls bring to mind its vulnerability. Don’t miss a tour of the Popes’ private apartments, and the grand State Rooms where ceremonies and banquets were held.

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Its Number Two attraction needs no introduction. Sur le Pont d’Avignon…go the words of the folk song and dance we did on the ancient Pont Saint- Benezet, which dates back to 1177 and took a mere eight years to build. Almost a kilometre long, it had 22 arches and measured four metres wide and was recognised as a marvel of its time. When Arles lost its Roman bridge, it became the only place to cross the Rhône between Lyon and the Mediterranean; attracting travellers, merchants and manufacturers.  Best viewpoints are to be had from the terrace of the Palais or Rocher des Doms where an English-style garden enjoys panoramic views over the old city towards plains all the way to Mont Ventoux. A timeless view of a city that’s right up to date.

Where to Stay 

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One of my favourite hotels in the world, La Mirande, was once a cardinal’s mansion at the foot of the Palais des Papes. It’s a timeless refuge with 18th century-esque décor, and a foodie heaven with gastronomic restaurant, chef’s table, and fantastic cooking lessons. The current owners spent three years working with a top Parisian interior designer and local architect to house their fabulous antique collection, ready for a new century of discerning guests. Chef Severine favours what she describes as honest cuisine with respect for the finest of ingredients, and I heartily recommend her table menu, served with wines from the Rhône Valley from €86. Pas mal. Or sign up for one of her weekly cooking lessons in the cellar kitchen.

Eating and Drinking

For lunch – the enduring classical brasserie La Fourchette, near place de l’horloge is considered something of a local institution.  Chef patron Philippe Hiély is the sixth generation of family cooks and well deserves his reputation for excellent dining.  The table-d’hôte specialities include marinated sardines, classic magret de canard, and refreshing house sorbets.

Alternatively pop into the trendy Restaurant L’Agape, a great new place at the Place des Corps Saints with delicious fish dishes and seasonal puddings.

For dinner – the chic dining room, in the former mansion of Absinthe inventor Jules Pernod, at Restaurant N°75, is just 15 minutes by foot from La Mirande. It’s a fitting backdrop to its stylised Mediterranean cooking. The flamboyant menu, displayed on a chalkboard, changes nightly and includes a handful of entrées and daily specialities guaranteeing freshness and perfect seasonal flavours. On mild nights, reserve a table in the elegant courtyard garden.

For tea or coffee try the Salon de thé at the Musée du Petit Palais – a great coffee place in the historical setting of the Museum Petit Palais, or Pâtisserie Mallard, famous for its macaroons.

Heaven on Earth loves…

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Don’t go home without visiting the tiny Angladon Museum, created by Jacques Doucet, a famous Parisian philanthropist and collector. It houses an exclusive private collection of impressionist treasures by Picasso, Daumier, Degas, Sisley, Cézanne, Foujita, Modigliani and Les wagons de chemin de fer, the only Van Gogh painting permanently exhibited in Provence. Check the website for an interesting programme of lectures and exhibitions.

And finally the Shopping…

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*The indoor market at Les Halles – perfect for local flavours, is open daily from 6 to 1.30pm.

*Pure Lavande sells all things lavender

*Chocolats Aline Géhant makes the best chocolates in town

When to Go

Avignon Festival is held during the first three weeks of June, comparable to the Edinburgh Festival and the second best known festival in France after Cannes

For more practical information go to:

www.provenceguide.com

www.avignon-tourisme.com

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AH LAMU

1 Ah Lamu: a place I’m always sad to leave and happy to return. Arriving on the tiny airstrip in the blissful heat of the afternoon it is good to see that nothing has changed. arrival

Lamu is an exceptional place, like no other in the archipelago, where life is appreciated at its own relaxed rhythm; it is easy to see why royals and celebrities flock to escape their busy lives. As our suitcases are put into a traditional dhow, we sit up top and are cooled by the gentle breezes of the Kusi winds. The weather patterns have always been dictated by the monsoon winds, with the Kaskasi blowing from the Northeast between December and March and the Kusi from the southeast between July and October. tonw1

We pass Lamu town, the oldest Swahili settlement in East Africa with its unique stone townhouses, many of which date back to the early 18th Century. Within ten minutes we’re at the Peponi Hotel. Peponi (meaning paradise in Swahili) sits like a grand old lady, perfectly positioned on the edge of its unspoilt eight mile beach. We’re immediately whisked to the terrace to sip ‘Old Pals’ – the famous house cocktail while dhows to and fro along the estuary.

Before the sun sets we settle into our beautiful room: there are 29 individually designed bedrooms, all with fantastic sea views, and most have hammocks the ideal place for a siesta snooze lulled by the meditative momentum of the waves in the heat of the day. beach

Mornings take on the same pattern; up early for a glorious walk along Shela Beach, a beautiful eight-mile stretch of white sand and tiny sea shells, with no one as far as the eye can see bar the odd herd of donkeys transporting goods and materials towards Lamu’s narrow lanes.

With a ready appetite, we join other guests for Peponi’s breakfast feast and decide whether to spend the day lazing in the hammock with a good book, swimming and snorkelling, or exploring the tiny dukas (Swahili for shops) in the labyrinth of alleys behind the hotel, dodging donkeys as we go. amelia

At the end of each visit we bid farewell with a sunset cruise, enjoying sundowners and fresh samosas as the dhow explores the extensive system of creeks, channels and mangrove forests. Ending our day dining under the stars with a feast of enormous mangrove crabs cooked the traditional Swahili way.

Tip – Generally speaking, the sea is calmer between October and March, when conditions for fishing, snorkelling, diving and kite surfing are at their best.

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Kalkan Mountain Villas

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If you like to feel far from the madding crowd but close enough to dip in every now and then, Kalkan Mountain Villas just outside Turkey’s prettiest port, is just the ticket. Four Bondesque holiday homes have risen from the olive groves with views across the ancient plains of Patara and Xanthos, over the turquoise Mediterranean Sea.  The villas, designed by an award-winning architect, are ultra spacious and ideal for families with no compromise on style and finish. Surely the whole point of being on holiday is to feel spoilt? Well, spoilt we were.

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I awoke each morning to cicadas concerting in union with bleating goats, the occasional cockerel fanfare, and the country’s ubiquitous call to prayer from Uzumlu’s minaret.  I felt that I had travelled far, far away from everything that routinely filled my head.

There are adventures-a-plenty in this part of the world. Impressive Lycian ruins are scattered along this coast, with miles of sandy beach, clay mud baths drained by mountain ice melt, and deep gorges that cleave through the snow capped Taurus pathways.

We saw wild tortoises going about their business in the ancient parliament of Patara and eagles gliding on the thermals while we sipped on sundowners near the rock tombs above Islamlar.  On every village corner there were open trucks filled to the brim with watermelons.

Recycled bottles of home made olive oil, honey, tahini, and grape molasses sit at every roadside. The soil is as rich and fertile as the sea, which offers divers dozens of species of fish.  The submerged civilisation at Kekova – a must see by traditional gullet – is a great day trip and it is definitely worth a climb up to the ruins of Simena Castle to take in the panoramic view.

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The local villages of Uzumlu (where you buy your bread each morning) and Islamlar (where you buy your fresh mountain trout each lunch or dinner) are pastoral havens for smallholders who enjoy the cooler air (it regularly hits 40 degrees plus on the coast in summer) and traditional way of life. The men sit around setting the world to right under canopies of rampant vines and bougainvillea, and the women, adorned in traditional head scarfs and baggy floral harem trousers, walk to and fro sharing their fresh garden produce with passers by.

Turks are a generous lot and hate to see you leave empty handed, and by their nature like to present small parting gifts in constant spontaneous acts of generosity. We felt well looked after by Ahmet, who overseas the day to day needs of all the villa guests, and Umut who will happily organise any tour, table or trip on a gulet (try his pizza at The Lime on the main road just below Yali supermarket in Kalkan).

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The shopping in Kalkan is varied and closing time is midnight; fill yourself up on fine Turkish mezze and local Lal Rosé before you embark on the browsing and the bartering.  Choose from ‘genuine fake’ Mulberry handbags, pure cotton Turkish towels, hand-painted ceramics and local olive oils.  For those men who are less accustomed to hours of shopping, head to one of Kalkan’s many barbershops for a traditional Turkish shave, with a surprise finish…

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Hidden Vaucluse

20140626_120721Hidden Vaucluse – the ultimate guide to Vaucluse, Provence

It is true that the French have an unmatched passion for local expertise, taking particular pride in tasty ingredients that are grown, harvested and devoured at source. To experience these gems and delights, there’s really only one thing to do. Go to France.

I recently set off to the fertile plains of Vaucluse in Provence, to discover some of these off the beaten track indulgences.

20140627_121141Where to shop

The markets in Vaucluse are filled with wines, Cavaillon melons, lavender fields by the dozen, cheeses galore, olives, cherries, apricots, nougat, strawberries, honey, saffron, truffles and garlic and much, much more. The best markets in the region are:

Monday

Bédoin, Mazan, St Didier

Tuesday

Caromb, Beaumes de Venise, Apt, Gordes, Lacoste, St Saturnin les Apt, Aix en Provence

Wednesday

Monteux, Avignon Les Halles, Sault, Villes sur Auzon

Thursday

Avignon les Halles, Villeneuve les Avignon, Cairanne, Mazan, Orange. Saignon marché Bio, Isle sur la Sorgues, Aix en Provence

Friday

Avignon les Halles, Carpentras, Chateauneuf du Pape, Bonnieux, Lourmarin

Saturday

Avignon les Halles, Le Barroux, Mazan marché agricole, Vaison la Romaine, Pernes les Fontaines, Oppède, Apt, St Remy de Provence, Uzès, Brocante Villeneuve les Avignon

20140626_153719Sunday

Avignon les Halles, Isle sur la Sorgue, Mormoiron, Brocante Isle sur la Sorgue

Where to Stay

Chambre d’Hôtes Design – Metafort

Ideally located in a small village near to the villages of Venasque, Pernes les Fontaines, Mont Ventoux and the Luberon National Park, Metafort is a unique, unspoilt and contemporary kind of place. A luxury B&B in a 17th century house with a stunning view over the Nesque Valley and Mont Ventoux.  This is the perfect destination for stress relief, romantic weekends, energizing holidays or wellbeing escapes.

20140626_095956La Mirande

Set in an old mansion at the foot of the Palais des Papes in the heart of Avignon, La Mirande is steeped in secular history. A timeless refuge with eighteenth century style décor, this is a great platform from which to explre the Vaucluse region.  A foodie heaven with both a gastronomic restaurant and a chef’s table, the hotel serves honest cuisine with respect for ingredients. The Chef’s Table (open on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings), has a menu that includes amuse-bouche, starter, main course and dessert and is served with wines from the Rhône Valley and coffee: €86 per person. Pas mal eh?

What to Do

It is not just gastronomic delicacies that prevail in Vaucluse.  The native flora is abundant and diverse and has inspired and incited a local industry of organic products and processes.

 

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Brantes is one of those magical, still places that you never find when you’re looking but inadvertently fall upon.  The village is a dream of cobbled paths, hidden doorways and stepped alleyways leading to terraced gardens and secret corners – a fairy-tale hamlet in the foothills of the Valley de Toulourenc.

We spent a gentle hour walking around with Jacqueline, a local ethno-botanist, foraging for flowers of mallow, poppies, marigolds, hollyhocks and violets and the leaves of nettles, chives and dandelion that nestle in the crooks and crannies of this ancient hamlet.

We returned to the kitchen with chef Odile and it was all hands on deck.  20140625_174118The room slowly filled with appetising smells and the table with enticing colours as dish upon dish came to fruition: sliced courgette covered with tapenade and a violet flower, halved apricots stuffed with chèvre, garlic and crushed hazelnuts. And behold: a fragrant feast for foragers.

Les Aventurières du Goût, 84390 Brantes
Tel : +33 4 75 28 86 77 – Mobile : +33 6 61 71 46 66
www.lesaventurieresdugout.orgdilo@lesaventurieresdugout.com

 

The Colours of the Botanical Garden

Set out on supported terraces along the banks of the Durance Valley, a tributary of the Rhone, this garden is renowned for natural dyes and colours.

With almost three hundred species in the garden, our visit focused on those plants that give red, yellow and blue dyes: madder, rocket, indigo and woad. Knowledge is key: bizarrely, a bright purple cardoon will give a bright yellow dye and green is a difficult colour to get from plants.

The volunteers who run the Garden love the flowers most for their dyeing pigments, and after a garden tour you will get the chance to try your hand at dyeing.

Conservatory Garden of Tinctorial Plants
Couleur Garance, Maison Aubert, La calade, 84360 Lauris
Tel: +33 (0) 4 90 08 40 48
www.couleur-garance.com20140625_103802_LLS

 

Cosmetic Alchemy

At the organic cosmetic workshops at Centiflor Laboratory, olfactory senses are brought to life.  This Aladdin’s cave of oils, unguents and irresistible perfumes is the perfect place for your hands-on lesson of how to make your own face cream.  By mixing a specific blend of ingredients with pipettes, bowls, pans and thermometers I successfully transformed gels and powders into a magical wrinkle freeing emulsion to take home.

Laboratoire Centiflor, ZA plan des Amarens, 84340 Entrechaux
+33 4 90 36 22 03
www.huiles-et-sens.com 

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Lavender Central

Sault is a village perched on Mont Ventoux’s hills where the Lavender Officinale grows, also known as “true” lavender. It only grows at a certain height and the blossoms begin to burst with colour in June.  We visited Guillaume Liardet’s Ferme la Parente Aroma’Plantes, a family-run farm specialised in organic aromatics and medicinal plant production.

 Aroma’Plantes, Route du Mont Ventoux, 84390 Sault
Tel : +33 4 90 64 14 73 – info@aromaplantes.comwww.distillerie-aromaplantes.com
Top Tip 

 

Rent a bicycle:

TerraBike in Villes sur Auzon is the best place to rent an electric bike or an e-solex and provides you with a great – and green – way to explore the region.

Price per day: Bike – 35 euros, E-solex bike – 40 euros
Reservation in advance are essential: ( +33 4906 17818); www.location-terrabike.com

 

Where to Eat20140625_181909

In a country that lives to eat, rather than eats to live, there’s no shortage of restaurants.

Our particular favourite was the simple looking Au Fil du Temps in Pernes les Fontaines looked nothing much from the outside but served an outstanding meal including olives in fennel-flavoured olive oil, a crème d’almond with champagne aperitif, and a delectable monkfish with fresh beetroot relish.

 

The Vaucluse countryside truly has it all: flavours that made me scream with ecstasy; colours that made me swoon; and residences that made me want to emigrate. The only thing I missed was the coast, which I decided I could live without. Vaucluse here we come.

Contact Vaucluse Tourism for more information

 

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Blog Travelling with Kids

The Biking Dutchman of Ecuador

EcuadorIn the Ecuadorian capital of Quito, there lives an eccentric and adventurous Ecuador Cotopaximan called Jan.  Many thought that the Biking Dutchman, as he is known locally, was missing a cell or two when he pioneered mountain biking along the Avenue of Volcanoes more than twenty years ago. Mainland Ecuador is compact and easy to get around.  Roads are almost invariably scenic, journeys comfortably short, domestic flights affordable and a recently refurbished railway makes movement easily achievable. I decided however, inspired by the Biking Dutchman, to opt for an infinitely more exciting mode of transport; the bicycle. I had the choice of a diversity of bike rides in the regions that surround Quito; snow-capped active volcanoes, exhilarating páramo (barren plateaus) dipping into cloud forests, exotic, winding jungle paths.

This coupled with the promise of no cleaning dirty bikes and no need to mend any roadside punctures and I was sold!   I opted for a day ride down Cotopaxi, the world’s Biking Dutchman, Ecuadorhighest active volcano, which rises a magnificent 5,897 metres above sea level.  In the heart of the Andean mountains, the Cotopaxi National Park offers some pretty dramatic and pretty stunning views, with an endless sea of valleys, mountains, multi-coloured fields, forests, lakes and plateaus.

It was an early start as we rode in the jeep along the Avenue of Volcanoes, all the way up to 4600 metres in order to ensure that most of the ride would be downhill!  Geared up in about six layers of clothing (it’s freezing at this altitude), and kitted out with a helmet, gloves and protection pads, I set off on my biking adventure of the world’s highest active volcano. IMG_0409

The first five miles covered a steep 700 metre descent along rough dirt roads.  We whizzed through volcanic ash and out onto breath-taking páramo landscape.  Gusty, cold winds cut through my puffer coat and left my fingers chilled to the bone.  At 3800 metres a little bit of pedalling was required, as we covered another five miles along a grassed cycle track. We wove between volcanic boulders and wild horses, all the way to our picturesque highland lunch spot which was scattered with Inca ruins.

We put the bikes back on the jeep and head IMG_0084for the Lake of Limpiopungo at 3,800 metres.  We then embarked on a long downhill stretch on dirt and paved roads, and then followed a winding path through fresh-scented pine forests. By just 4pm we were back in Quito and after 25 miles, but with no sore legs, my biking adventure was over for the day. Ecuador is truly a biker’s paradise with its spectacular countryside and we would highly recommend seeing the Andean highlands from the seat of a bicycle! Biking Dutchman, Ecuador

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Blog Travelling with Kids

Galápagos Islands

IMG_0201 Galápagos Islands, Ecuador IMG_0212There are some places in the world that I consider myself extremely fortunate to have visited once. I cannot believe I’m back on Genovesa in the Galápagos Islands, swimming eye to eye with a couple of playful fur sea lions. Their big smiley eyes keep pace with me as I snorkel along the inner perimeter of this spectacular caldera in the northern part of the archipelago. IMG_0274This is an island to free the soul. Fregate birds a plenty puff out their Crimson air sacks to attract passing females, while Red-footed and Nazca boobies show off their twig-laden nests. Overhead, exotic red-billed tropicbirds call for their mates, while a small Galapagos mocking bird takes a fancy to my shoelaces. This is not just a birder’s heaven, this is the epitome of the Galapagos miracle that leaves wonderment in your heart and makes you feel good to be alive. Most of the passengers on my ship, the IMG_0297Eclipse, are over fifty and happy to have waited a lifetime to experience this phenomenon; smiles are on everyone’s face this week.  Our boat, operated by Ocean Adventures, was remarkable for its knowledgeable crew and guides, who were entertaining and well read in the island’s flora and fauna.  This is a great choice if you are going to the Galápagos with children; families get their own activity pack and personal guide. IMG_0213 Our cabins were spacious and our showers always hot and I whiled away many afternoons on a comfy sun bed on top deck.  The logistical slickness of the Eclipse belies its size; its four little ribs ferry guests to and from the mainland with minimal effort and extreme swiftness. The walk to the peak on Bartolomé Island offered a great finale to our week in the Galápagos.  IMG_0227The far-reaching views take in the southern archipelago and we get the chance to see Bartolomé’s iconic volcanic spatter cones and flows.  The landscape here is like no other on earth with glistening black, green, red and orange landforms that jut out across the horizon.  The majestic Pinnacle Rock, which towers over the island, is a popular spot for the Galápagos penguins, who dart happily in and out of the rocky outcrops. The Galápagos Islands are continually awe-inspiring; in one day you can frolic with sea lions, swim with green and black turtles and admire theIMG_0196 stately flightless cormorants.  I wished I could teleport my loved ones to come and share in the delight and beauty of the Galápagos. IMG_0205

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Alladale Wilderness Reserve – Rewilding Britain

Alladale Wilderness Reserve, Scotland Alladale Wilderness Reserve – Rewilding Britain It has come as something of a surprise that the real Scottish highlands are not the bleak heather cloaked landscapes we recognise so well; the fact is that our Scottish hillsides have been shrinking for the last 4,000 years and stripped by man for many centuries, the hills have turned sour. Once upon a time (or in the time of Rob Roy), rich flora and fauna filled the area with a magical mix of wild predators, including wolves and bears. Today there’s nothing left but heather and scrub.

What is missing in Scotland is the trees. Millions of trees. Once you get your eye in, you see for real that only 1% of the great Caledonian forest that cloaked Scotland’s fens and glens still exists. Alladale Wilderness Reserve, Scotland One crusader in particular feels it’s our responsibility to replace it and has bought a remote wilderness to exercise his vision. Eco philanthropist Paul Lister says, ‘I want to be part of the solution and not the problem, and give nature a chance to come back. He has put his money where his mouth is and planted nearly a million saplings since buying Alladale five years ago. He has also instigated an education programme that runs for eight weeks a year, during which twenty five local kids visit Alladale five days a week. ‘Educating locals about their national environmental heritage is the first step to protecting it for future generations’, Paul reasons, with good logic. ‘Reforestation is a long term process, especially in the Highlands where propagation is tough and growth is slow.’

Over 80% of trees planted at Alladale are Scots pine. Alladale Wilderness Reserve, Scotland‘The whole of the area would have been deeply forested with Scots pine, birch, juniper, rowan and holly, according to the elevation’, Paul muses as he gazes out across the valley from one of the renovated cottages now popular with holiday-makers in search of a little breathing space. The good news is that sympathetic replanting is well under way and once the forest saplings are established, the main fences, which protect them from marauding deer, will come down. As a tuneful meadow pipit hovers over the heathers, I wonder how anything prospers in such a short growing season and realise the challenge and patience required for conservation. Acres replanted fifteen years ago are only just beginning to show good, stable growth and the beginnings of a showcase for natural planting. This is the spot where I spy my first ever red squirrel (in 2013, 36 were successfully released in and around Alladale and are now breeding well) scampering up a large rhododendron – I’m thrilled.

Alladale Wilderness Reserve, Scotland Alladale was love at first sight. I love the way the River Caron meanders through the wilderness between saplings, heathers and grasses; the quizzical look of the benign Highland cattle and the great mob of deer that roam as monarchs of the glen. Before visiting Alladale I had a simplistic view of the Highlands and assumed the heathers were the natural flora for the glens, little realising the great loss of Caledonian pine over the centuries. Scotland should look like the wilds of Romania, cloaked in deep forests at high elevations. As a regular visitor to the area I’m easily swayed to his vision.

Alladale Wilderness Reserve, Scotland

Accommodation choices Set in a vast 23,000 acre reserve, each of the three lodges (sleeping 4 -14) has its own identity. The main house is a Victorian manor offering a diverse menu of outdoor pursuits. Two further converted lodges set against rugged hills in the cradle of the country’s most northerly patch of ancient Scots pine forest are ideal for family gatherings or celebrations and can be booked as self-catering or fully catered units. Alladale is also the exclusive Scottish venue for the Bear Grylls’ Survival Academy; aimed at adults who want to test themselves over a rigorous week-long course. Alladale Wilderness Reserve, Scotland