The red ochre of Roussillon

The beautiful ochre cliffs in Roussillon in the Luberon in the late afternoon sun. Stunning colours. No wonder this lovely spot attracts so many visitors each year to this charming provencal village.

Lavender time!

Its here at last, the fields are turning purple.  Lavender fields just in bloom near Roussillon in the Luberon.

Choices, choices

Roussillon market day and difficult decisions to be made

Bread

So this is how the bread dough is made!  Seen outside the boulangerie in Roussillon.

Un des plus beaux villages de France

Roussillon is one of the officially nominated most beautiful villages in France, and its not difficult to see why.

Market day in Roussillon

Its Thursday morning and the crowds pack into the lively market in the pretty village of Roussillon.

Choose from the best honey in the Luberon, from nearby Murs

Beautiful natural soaps

Or a pretty enamelled sign - a great souvenir to take home

Out with the cameras

Lavender spotters at work near Roussillon

Beautiful big field planted last year near the local garden centre.

Glorious June

Our local wine domaine, vines soaking up the sun and roses in full bloom.  This vineyard has one of the most glorious settings nestling in the hills between the lovely villages of Roussillon and Goult.  Makes topping up the wine stocks a real pleasure.

Another Newsletter

We were AWOL in February and didn't get around to mentioning this one, sorry. It's still valid .... and we'll even extend the champagne offer!

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We did a newsletter for the houses, click on the link or email us for a copy.

Man of many talents

One man band spotted in Roussillon. Always something going on in this delightful Luberon village.

Spring??

Hmmm
Thought Spring had arrived with the first sighting of almond blossom bursting forth - now its almond blossom in the snow! Just when we thought it was time to dust down the BBQ!

Snowy blankets

Olives and plane trees under a snowy blanket today. Just SO pretty. Provence really is a delight at all times of the year.

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Here' another new one from our Luberon portfolio

L'Ermitage

De luxe Provencal house with own pool, Roussillon. Sleeps 6. Large and comfortable house with gorgeous views of the Luberon valley.

Click on the link above to see details of this great property to rent.

See! There is life in the Luberon

You thought that everything closed down after All Saints day didn't you? Well here's the proof you're wrong!

Good live music in our own village. How we've not known about this is amazing or perhaps an example of of how insular the different communes are from each other. Each one a best kept secret ... but not from Real Provence!


Best of the night were Rue Royale. Think of Fairport Convention with Sandy Denny meets Fleetwood Mac plays Ellis Kennedy. Very nice.

http://www.myspace.com/rueroyale

And free downloads

http://www.rueroyalemusic.com/Rue_Royale_/Home.html

And more to come. A Christmas bash. Any one for reggie? When we hear more we'll post it in this blog, their secrets are safe with us :-)

P

Lagniappe

In the old provencal language, "Lagniappe" means Welcome.

This house certainly does provide a warm provencal welcome for our clients. It has four bedrooms comfortably sleeping 8 and has it's own private swimming pool. Located in the countryside about 3 miles from Roussillon it makes an ideal Luberon base.

Please follow this link for more information;

http://www.provenceholidayhouses.com/Lagniappe.htm

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Late availability at Maison Vignes - 29th August 2009

Maison Vignes link

Link should now work - I hope!

A new house for us following shortly

This beautiful village house will shortly be added to our portfolio of houses to rent. I'll "retweet" as soon as it's on our site but just had to add this post while I'm still smiling.

The owner of the house maintains a comment book and I just had to repost this.

"Well, we are finally in your lovely home. We have had quite the adventure today. When we arrived in Avignon and picked up our leased vehicle, we were served by a very young woman who spoke no English. Fortunately, our daughter speaks French -however we were not given any details of the vehicle...only a set of keys and a curt look. As we attempted to familiarize ourselves with it we discovered that the fuel tank was on empty. Sadly, because we rarely use diesel fuel in Canada, my husband filled the tank with regular fuel. We made it about 200 meters when the engine quit. We pushed the vehicle back to the petrol station and spent 4 hours trying to get some help from Renault. Finally we were told that the vehicle would need to be towed and the tank to be drained etc.. and that that could not happen until Monday.

We were obviously distressed as Georgette was expecting us and also we were delivering our daughter to Montpellier tomorrow. Following numerous failed attempts at an interim rental...we ended up with a Mercedes....the only rental in Avignon and 1500 euros later.

But oh, it gets better!

After we made our way to Roussillon - we knocked on Georgette's door, only to be informed by her and her daughter that the house had already been rented and that the occupants arrived earlier today. I told her that couldn't be possible, as I had confirmation from you only last night. Together, we knocked on the door and found the "occupants" out by the pool. A young British/New Zealander couple with a toddler were enjoying a swim and a beer. As Georgette (and her daughter) spoke no English, I asked the couple about their reservation and the husband told me that they were to meet his sister in law here - that she had booked it and they were arriving shortly. When I explained that I had booked this home for the month he replied that he had "know idea what I was talking about." All the while, my husband was illegally parked...waiting for info to the car park.

The most bizarre moment of the day happened when the man's wife, emerged from the pool - naked! She had quite a girth and was trying to balance a naked child who was slipping and sliding and the towel she had fetched...while the husband scowled and finally shouted at my daughter and I that he would just go back to England. He then stormed down the garden steps sopping wet.

Fortunately, our sense of humour was tested today and won!

Eventually we discovered that of course they were in the wrong house. Apparently, as they were wandering down the street earlier trying to find their address, Georgette appeared and asked them if they were the renters. They replied that they were and the rest - is history! Certainly one for the books to be sure. The wife was very apologetic (but of course all I could still see was her dripping nakedness) and the husband, clearly embarrassed, said nothing as he banged and threw things into bags and boxes.

We waited while they packed their bags and food (they had filled the fridge already) and after the woman had retrieved the paper with the correct details, Georgette assisted them in finding their rental.

I hope that my rendering of our adventure does not upset you. I am hoping that you will have a chuckle...as we all just did over pizza and a bottle of wine next door. Tomorrow we head to Montpellier. And then back to Avignon on Monday to collect our Renault. With diesel fuel. Mon Dieu!
We are thrilled with the home and love our new neighbours already. Poor Georgette - all she could say was "je suis desolee". She and her family were wonderful. We are certain we will love Roussillon."

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P.S. Dear Real-Provence and Provenceholidayhouses clients, swimming naked in our pools is not obligatory but it might be better to make sure you have the right house before "plonger"!

They're Spoiling My Fun!

Or is the power of the Real Provence Blog so great that even the city fathers of Roussillon are following our twitterings?

http://real-provence.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html

I've been meaning to tell you about this problem

But which village?

Luberon hot spot

Just watching the world go by at a cafe in the centre of Roussillon. The reds and oranges of the ochre painted houses in this lovely old village just ooze the summer warmth. Just perfect for a refeshing beer or a glass of local rosé.