Marieke's Art of Living

Pre Tour Secrets of Paris Option

Art of Living will assist all additional your arrangements for Paris including personalised travel notes and signature recommendations for eating, walking, shopping.....

Day One

Guests depart Gare du Lyon Paris at 11.15 for the 3-hr direct TGV service to Avignon, arriving at 2.00pm.
You will be met on arrival and driven 30 minutes close to the picturesque village of Laudun and your private villa, your sanctuary the next 4 nights.
Settle into your charming room, explore the contemporary Villa that has been inventively re-imagined from a crumbling old Mas, and the gardens with olive trees, lavender and vines. Enjoy afternoon high tea and some free time before drinks and dinner.
Apéritifs: one of the highlights is that each evening guests are introduced to champagnes rarely seen outside of France from small exclusive houses.
Welcome Dinner by Marieke with matched wines in the wonderful dining room.

The morning’s workshop takes place in a large country kitchen equipped with state of the art accoutrements.
Enjoyable work will result in a splendid and convivial lunch, based on superior regional produce and local wines, served al fresco.

After lunch, an excursion to Avignon, 30 minutes away.
The city is steeped in history and surrounded by impressive Roman sites. At the heart of the town lies the Palais des Papes, one of the largest Gothic buildings in Europe. The city is encircled by walls and the medieval streets are enchanting, dotted with small bars and bistros and you are given some free time to meander.
Later time to visit the important historic sites with a guide.
This evening’s dinner will be taken with one of the region’s finest chefs, a Meilleurs Ouvriers de France.

Day Three

Breakfast Art of Living style.
Today’s excursion is Market Day at Uzès is a charming medieval city in the Languedoc-Rousillon region. Self-proclaimed first duchy of France; host to one of the most colorful markets in the south of France around the arcade-lined Place aux Herbes; site of the source for the water that flowed through the Pont du Gard on its way to Nîmes in Roman times. The cathedral boasts a beautiful organ on the inside and an Italianate fenestrelle tower on the outside. This region is full of beautiful villages and all sorts of goodies for food and wine lovers.

Lunch will be taken locally to enjoy the specialties of the region.
After lunch stroll through the nearby town of St Quentin la Poterie, the epicentre of a region that has always been dedicated to the Earth and Fire arts and these days revivified by many ceramic studios whose artists come from far and near.

Later visit the Pont du Gard that fascinates visitors with its elegance and majesty. Two thousand years after its construction by the Romans in the first century AD, this ancient edifice is still a veritable masterpiece, as much for the technical prowess involved as for its simple beauty. There is a wonderful museum within the park and the chance for a swim on the banks of the Gardon river if it is hot enough.
This evening, Marieke’s friend Mimi from Ste Marie de la Mer will prepare our dinner at home showing off the cuisine of the Camargue

Day Four

Early this morning depart in the direction of Mt Ventoux to visit an exceptional wine estate for a VIP Tour/tasting/lunch with matched wines.

Their super Rhône wines are award-winning luxury, couture wines, made to organic and biodynamic principles in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve at the southern border of Gigondas in the Vaucluse region of Provence.
The estate, bought ten years ago, is in a micro-climate climate and truly special. The owners have restructured the 400-year-old vineyards, and now it’s the site of some of the most precise, biodynamic practices in the wine industry garnering high acclaims from leading wine critics. The gorgeous surroundings and attention to detail contribute to some of the best wine you’ll ever taste in its price point.

After lunch return via the caves at Château La Nerthe, born in the 12th Century around the time vines were first planted in the stone-strewn soil of Châteauneuf-du-Pape (literally the "Pope's new castle"), the place the pontiffs chose for their summer residence when the papal court relocated to Avignon.
The uncontested nec plus ultra of the historic domains of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, la Nerthe, has always been graced by the attentive care of its successive owners: men of firm conviction, aristocrats, and notable experts Marquis Tulle de Villefranche , Commandant Joseph Ducos , and today famille Richard.
This evening a light supper @ home or dinner at local charming restaurant.

Day Five

This morning relocate south to a wonderful property located proximate to wonderful Luberon valley and les Alpilles where you spend the next 5 nights.
An historic residence in the shade of centuries old sycamores, that was once the monastic site for paper making, the lovingly restored domain is today a bastide of delightful apartments with courtyards decorated by the renowned designer Edith Mézard.
Continue to L’isle sur la Sorgue, a gorgeous village of canals with a plethora of antique shops.

After time for browsing the tempting boutiques, continue to the pretty town of Bonnieux, to lunch with Edouard Loubet.
Built on a plateau above the valley, Bonnieux is one of the finest villages in the area. Crowning the hill is a 12th century, Roman/Gothic church from which houses spread out on the hill-side forming a striking harmony of earth-toned colours and shapes. Some superb residences dating back to the 16th, 17th, and 18th century serve as a reminder that Bonnieux was a wealthy village when this region, the Comtat Venaissin, belonged to the Popes.

Edouard, a strikingly personable guy, was France’s youngest chef to receive 2 Michelin stars at 'Bastide de Capelongue' and his cuisine involves strong, clean flavours, fresh and unusual local ingredients and extraordinary originality. Service is very friendly, and unpretentious.

After lunch guests will be given the chance to browse the streets and boutiques of Lourmarin, possibly the chicest village of the region that has been an important staging post on the Marseille-Apt route since the 11th century. It is in the cleft that runs right through the Luberon mountain range, separating the Grand Luberon from the Petit Luberon, and marked by the course of the Aiguebrun river.
Return this evening to the domain for a welcome supper prepared by our gracious host, Marie-Claude.

Day Six

Today is market day in Arles, with the lively Saturday morning market on Bd. des Lices where the heady aromas of Arabic spices will assail you and we shop for the next Class.
Arles, located on the Rhône, since 1981 listed as a World Heritage site, has a number of the most important Roman monuments outside of Italy, Place de la Republique with Cathédral Saint-Trophime, its cloister and the impressive town hall as well as echoes of van Gogh's steps and a patrician past. It is also the gateway to the Camargue, France's cowboy country, and resounds with a wild gypsy spirit.

After the market, enjoy a coffee at the very ambient Grand Hotel Nord Pinus, once the bullfighter's hotel of choice. Closed for years before reopening in 1989 under owner Anne Igou as a relaxed and stylish townhouse hotel, art is everywhere, from the Peter Beard safari photos in the lobby to a copy of one of Helmut Newton's famous nude portraits of Charlotte Rampling. Local boy Christain Lacroix has described it as a temple of holiday making, high society and bullfighting….with images of Lucia Bose and Dominguin in a white and gold suite and of Picasso and Cocteau in black capes...

For lunch, the region boasts several chefs, with a Michelin star with their their own biologique gardens:
L’Atelier de Jean-Luc Rabanel in Arles that has no written menu and was France’s first certified-organic restaurant to be inducted into the Gault Millau pantheon. And 12 kms away towards the Camargue, Armand Arnal’s Chassagnette in Le Sambuc, a rural outdoor setting where the menu elevates the fresh offerings of his garden and the bounty of the nearby Mediterranean sea

Later return to Arles to visit the Roman Ampitheatre, the very modern and wonderful Arles Museum of Antiquity or if it is of interest the Rice Museum that traces the evolution of Camargue rice.
At then end of the day, return via the fabulous evening farmers market and Velleron and enjoy a light supper at home.

Day Seven

After breakfast drive to Oppède-le-vieux, to walk a tiny atmospheric medieval village that started coming back to life during WW2, when a commune of artists, sculptors and writers started colonising the empty houses and renovating them (including the wife of the writer Saint-Exupéry). Yet, there is still a sense of 'what happened here?' as you wander up through the remaining old gateway into the village and up towards the two churches and ruined castle.

After a mid morning coffee in the square continue to Ménerbes, a beautiful, quiet medieval village, exquisitely poised over the Luberon valley’s sea of cherry orchards and vineyards that has survived centuries of strife and Peter Mayle remarkably well and long attracted artists. Nicolas de Stael lived here, and Picasso brought his mistress Dora Maar a house.
At Maison de la truffe et du vin appreciate the wines of the region with a tutored tasting followed by a truffled lunch in the courtyard with its spectacular views.
After lunch return to the domain for this afternoon’s Class II with Marieke, seguing into another convivial dinner.

Day Eight

After an early breakfast depart for Aix-en-Provence where you will have a couple of free hours to wander.
It makes sense that Aix is twinned with Bath: architecturally, it's a delight, ranging from Roman to medieval to neoclassical to fin de siècle. It's a stylish but very conservative place, with some of the snootiness of Paris - plenty of grande dames carrying their poodles around.
A university town of 140,000, Aix spills out from a core of 18th-century buildings made of the golden Bibémus Quarry stone. Tall plane trees line the Cours Mirabeau, a boulevard with splashing fountains near a warren of old winding streets now devoted to 21st century shopping. The sun-drenched and easygoing hometown of Paul Cézanne and Émile Zola.

Later, continue north of Aix to visit one of the most thrilling domaines of South France. Irish owners have taken a 400-year-old, 250-acre property with original farm buildings and workers’ houses and a lovely 1682 Venetian villa of rose pink hue and created a visionary and special place where art, architecture and land came together. Artists and architects as famous as Tadao Ando, Frank Gehry, Alexander Calder, Lousie Bourgeoise, Richard Serra Jean Nouvel were encouraged to choose a place in the domaine that spoke directly to them and were given the freedom to create something that would live there. The visit will include a self-guided walking tour, a wine tasting and a simple market lunch.

Later visit the wonderful gardens at Château Val Joanis created in the late 90’s by Cécile Chancel with designer Tobbie Loup de Viane. There are three terraces, the first a potager which in the best French traditions mixes flowers and vegetables, herbs and fruit trees, surrounded by clipped hedges of lavender and box The second terrace uses a similar design with rectangles of clipped box filled with roses. Irises, asters, gauras and others add to the flowering spectacle. The third terrace is a less formal garden containing lots of different varieties of trees.
En route home dinner will be taken with another of the regions’ famous chefs with a Michelin star.

Day Nine

The morning is at leisure for last minute packing or relaxing and Brunch will be provided.
Later drive to the pretty and picturesque village of St. Rémy-de-Provence where you have some free time to browse. The old Gallo-Roman interior is circled by the remnants of the circular 14th-century wall and the protective circle of buildings. Located on the plains at the northern edge of the Alpilles, this is where Van Gogh painted Starry Night, Nostradamus was born and Dr Albert Schweitzer was prisoner.
The antique site of Glanum, just south of town at the edge of the Alpilles, was a Greek city, eventually covered by a Roman city. The "modern" town of St. Rémy-de-Provence was founded under the protection of the Abbey of St-Rémi of Rheims after the destruction of Glanum in the Middle Ages.

Later drive to Eygalières, time permitting to briefly visit the Jardin de l'Alchimiste a magical garden at Eygalières in Provence, created by Mme de Larouzière, who describes herself as "not an alchemist, merely a gardener who has done some research into alchemy and translated it into gardening terms.", Divided into colour zones with central water features, in black (surrounded with slate in the Japanese style), white with a cloud of iceberg roses and red with Rosa "Prestige de Bellegarde" (one of the only red varieties of rose that is reliable in Provence), this garden is thought-provoking and relaxing at the same time, an elevation of the spirit created by a modern mind questing in the spirit of the ancients with signs and wonders for the meaning of life.

Then onto to Maison Bru for the last cooking class with 2 starred Chef Wout, Belgian-born but making a most striking contemporary mark in this little corner of France.
Class will be followed by a special farewell dinner.

Day Ten

Farewells and Au Revoirs to new friends and our wonderful staff.
Departure after breakfast.

Guests are returned by car to Avignon for the train departing 10.00 am reaching Paris Gare du Lyon at 12.15
Please Note: Guests should probably plan to overnight in Paris before onward travel, and certainly should not make any forward plans from Paris before 4.00pm.

This Itinerary is the Copyright marieke’s Art of Living
We reserve the right to alter the itinerary at any time, in the best interests of our clients, in the event that exciting new excursions, restaurants or artisans are discovered, and in circumstances beyond our control.

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