Jewish Food in France

A couple years ago, my friend Joan Nathan, a Washington, D.C.-based food writer and author, called and said she was coming to France, doing research for a new book. I snapped to attention, not just because I love Joan but also because I loved the topic: Jewish food in France. Joan was looking for cooks, stories, recipes, family lore, historical documents--anything that would help her piece

Kit Golson’s Design Tour de France

One of the many super-cool people I've met in the blogosphere is Kit Golson, a California-based interior designer who's crazy passionate about Provence. And now Kit tells me she's leading a Design Tour of Provence over Easter: April 22 to 27. If I didn't already live here, I'd sign up for this trip for sure. And I'm totally planning to schlep along one day if the gorgeous-and-talented Kit lets me

At Home in Provence

Ten years ago, while on holiday with her husband and three children in Provence, Vicki Archer, an Australian, fell in love with Mas de Berard, a ramshackle 17th-century farmhouse in St. Remy. Yep, you know the rest: Vicki and David bought and then set out to restore the house, transforming it, over three years, into an exquisite showcase of Provencale style, all country-chic elegance and ease...

Antoine Godard: Sept. 6, 1967 - Oct. 11, 2010

I wept yesterday when I received the email from Valentin Godard, the 17-year-old son of my friends Antoine and Nathalie. Valentin’s words? “My father past this night.” It took me just an instant to figure out what he meant—and still, I didn’t believe it. The Godards had been in Barcelona when strong, beautiful Antoine suffered a fatal heart attack. He was 43.
I’ve known Antoine since before I

Can You Ear Me Now?

Now you can dress up your cell phone and all your other electronic devices with reproductions of classic paintings such as Van Gogh’s Starry Night. (And none too soon, I might add.) Van Gogh painted Starry Night (and close to 150 other oils) while hospitalized in St. Remy in 1889, following the cutting-off-of-the-ear incident in nearby Arles. (By the way, two German art historians recently said

Screamin' Deals on Two St. Remy Rentals

GREAT DEAL #1
In St. Remy, Lorraine Boulogne has a few holes to fill in her summer rental schedule and she's offering the readers of Provence Post a great discount. Her house (two pictures above) has four double bedrooms, two large living rooms, a large kitchen/dining area, a long covered stone terrace for barbecues and outdoor dining, a large pool, a secure gated driveway and garage, and room

New Art Festival Launches Thursday

When I heard that AP’art, a new regional art festival, was coming our way this week, I asked my artsy friend Angela Billows to give us all the details. Here’s her report.
This year sees the launch of Ap’art, an international contemporary art festival set amongst the beauty of the Alpilles Mountains. It runs from July 8 to 13, to coincide with the summer festivals in Aix-en-Provence, Arles,

The Cocktail Drinkers' Guide to Gardening: June

Originally from Hampshire, England, James Clay is an artist and sculptor who has lived in St. Remy for almost 20 years. He knows pretty much everything about gardening in Provence. Plus, he likes to drink...and write...often at the same time, of course. Each month here on ProvencePost.com, James goes out on a limb for us, serving up essental gardening tips along with appropriate seasonal drink

This Weekend: Party with a Purpose

This Saturday night (June 5) in St. Remy, there will be a dinner dance party to benefit the Busoga Trust, which builds wells in Uganda. Since 1982, the group has provided clean drinking water for nearly a million people. Event organizer Lucy Bakr went to Uganda in February and saw firsthand the impact of these wells on rural communities; she took the photos above which show a new well and the

It's That Time Again...

Tomorrow (Monday May 24th) is the annual Fête de la Transhumance in St. Remy, where shepherds herd their flocks (roughly 3500 sheep and goats) three times around the village's circular "main drag" before taking them up to graze the green pastures of the Alpilles for the summer months. Transhumance is considered one of the 100 Prettiest Festivals in France and if you haven't seen it, it's great

Gallery Opening

Christian Manoury opens his temporary art gallery, Inside Out, in St. Remy on Friday April 23rd. He'll be showing contemporary painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics and Oceanic tribal art from a variety of artists. The opening party is April 23rd at 6 p.m. and all are welcome. Inside Out is at 24 Blvd. Marceau in St. Remy. For info: 06-75-09-72-89, insideout13@wanadoo.fr

The Cocktail Drinkers' Guide to Gardening: April

Born in Hampshire, England, James Clay is an artist and sculptor who has lived in St. Remy for almost 20 years. There he has created a gorgeous one-hectare garden, filled with fruit, palm, pine and olive trees (he has 60 olive trees, all of them transplanted), plus many varieties of bamboo, flowering plants and shrubs. James knows pretty much everything about gardening in Provence. Plus, he

Anthony Bourdain Hits Provence

Anthony Bourdain and his No Reservations TV crew were in Provence recently, filming a lovely episode that's airing on the Travel Channel in the US this week. If you catch it, you see well-known local faces such as Jean and Cecile Chancel (Chateau Val Joanis), Anne Daguin and Hermann Van Beeck (Petite Duc) and artist Jeanne Bayol, who restores old gypsy caravans and makes exquisite one-of-a-kind

One Size, One Price, Four Artists

For one more week, four well-known St. Remy-based artists are showing original works together at the lovely Galerie des Cypres on the Place Hilare. They've all created square oil paintings of the same size (20 x 20 cm) with the same price: 250€. The painters participating are Claude Boutterin, Jean Marc Peyer, Yann Rebecq and Jean Louis Serie. The show ends Jan 15th. Galerie des Cypres is at #3

The Cocktail Drinkers' Guide to Gardening: December

Born in Hampshire, England, James Clay is an artist and sculptor who settled down (somewhat) in St. Remy close to 20 years ago. Over time, he lovingly created a gorgeous one-hectare garden filled with fruit, palm, pine and olive trees (he has 60 olive trees, all of them transplanted), plus many varieities of bamboo, flowering plants and shrubs. James knows everything about gardening in Provence.

Man Shops Globe, Starting With France

Keith Johnson has the job everyone wants. He travels the world for the American retailer Anthropologie, buying beautiful antiques, art, decor and textiles for the stores to sell or use as display. He also commissions original pieces or finds the perfect one-of-a-kind for the company to knock off. Keith travels half the year, scouring antique fairs, flea markets, artists' ateliers, tiny shops,

The Cocktail Drinkers' Guide to Gardening #1

Born in Hampshire, England, my smart (brainy) and smart (elegant) friend James Clay is an artist and sculptor who settled down (somewhat) in St. Remy close to 20 years ago. Over the years, he lovingly created a gorgeous one-hectare garden, filled with fruit, palm, pine, and olive trees (he has 60 olive trees, all of them transplanted), plus many varieties of bamboo, flowering plants and shrubs.

Where Should We Eat?

I'm always asking friends to tell me about great restaurants they've found around Provence, where the greeting is warm, the food great, the prices fair. At the same time, people ask me the same thing: where should we eat? So I decided to start a new feature --One Restaurant I Love--and anyone who wants can take a turn writing it. This week, our guest reviewer is James Clay, my smart, funny and

Deal du Jour

Such a deal! Lucy and Sam Bakr are offering their St. Remy vacation home for rent at 1000€ per week, instead of 1850€, until May 26th. The three-bedroom house is a 10-minute walk from the heart of the village, in a quiet area with views of the Alpilles Mountains. It has original tile floors and high ceilings, a well-equipped kitchen, a pool and pool house, a Provençal garden and a shaded terrace

Baby You Can Drive My Car

Based in St. Remy, Pascal Dumaine has started a chauffeur service with an interesting twist: he’ll drive you or your clients or guests anywhere…in your own car. “The advantages,” he says, “are if you want your car with you…or you want to relax on the road. Or if you’re traveling with a group of friends or only need one-way transportation. Or you want to go out for the evening and not worry about