Les Quatre Saisons

#Provence#LeCastellet#LesQuatreSaisons

Our first few days in France were spent in Provence at a most wonderful place full of charm and character.

Located in the countryside amongst pine trees and vineyards you will find "Les Quatre Saisons" near the medieval village of Le Castellet.

As we drove up the long laneway and approached the gates, we knew we were in for a pleasant experience.

The gardens were lush and fully in flower ... a Mediterrarean floral splendour!

The guest rooms surround the pool area ...

"Vignes Gourmandes" our room decorated with impeccable taste...

 

The owners Patrice and Didier have been welcoming guests to their beautiful home for a few years now.

Every morning a delicious petit déjeuner is served, and if you advise them at what time you will be eating ...

It magically is ready at the appointed hour.

As the weather was very pleasant, our breakfast was served on the terrace outside our room and every morning when I opened the curtains to the French Doors ... 

The table was set and an assortment of delectable goodies was provided.

A wonderful start to the day...

In the evenings you may dine in the owners' home (with a reservation).

As the 1950 song by Eileen Barton goes ... "If I knew you were coming I would have baked you a cake".

It is always nice to know if you will have company for dinner.

The west facing dining room overlooks the gardens and down into the vine filled valley.

Patrice was a restauranteur / chef in Paris, here he shares his passion of cooking by creating wonderfully sumptuous dinners.

We chose to eat here in the evenings and not once were we disappointed.

The atmosphere was relaxed with soft background music.

The menu is always a surprise made from fresh products daily ... 

Our first night we chose the three courses offered ...

An aperitif ... Ricard for Msr. Honey and I enjoyed a peach wine and some delicious tapas.

Starter   ... A salmon/crab/mango tartare

Main      ... Slow braised beef in a flavourful red wine sauce and potato gratin

Dessert ... Apricot tart 

Before the dessert course we received an icy alcohol infused sorbet ... each night a different flavour!

                              

                

On our second evening ... the theme night as our grandsons would call it ... "Fish night" absolutely delicious!

    

A small fish, filleted filled with fresh spring vegetables ... the sweetest peas and young green beans!

Monsieur Honey loved all of the meals; he especially enjoyed our last evening's main course ...

and asked Patrice for some secrets of the recipe ... so if you are coming for a visit and dinner to our home this may be on the menu! 

It was delicious just like all the dishes served.

Needless to say ... this was an absolute exceptional experience!

Merci beaucoup Patrice and Didier and we hope to some day return to your beautiful home.

Website: www.lesquatresaisons.org

Art in Uzés.

After a wonderful night's sleep, we ventured out to discover the wonders of Uzés ... actually a few of those wonders were discovered last evening when we ventured to the tower to enjoy a glass of wine and the sights!

Our apartment (pied à terre) has access to a small terrace in the tower ... with panoramic views of the town!

We strolled down our street into Place aux Herbes where the Art Expo was underway.

Monsieur Honey discerningly checked out the various displays of art. 

The work of one artist appealed to us both ... that of David Jamin.

www.davidjamin.fr

We acquired our first souvenir of this trip ...  an acrylic painting entitled ...

"Trois petits au ballon rouge". 

The artist said it was inspired by his own young daughter.

In my eyes and heart this could be my three sons or any of our grandchildren playing with a red ball.

                 

The morning passed quickly and it was time for lunch ... We ate at a quiet corner restaurant on the square (Plancha).

I enjoyed Loup (bass) and Msr. had his favourite ... lamb chops!

 

                 

And today we had our first Café Gourmand of this trip ...

I had forgotten how delicious this was! 

We shared it of course ... as Monsieur Honey says " We can't let ourselves go!"

It was a great day in Uzés, we even found a "Brocante" that was open and of course we had to check it out!

After our busy day we returned to the comforts of our temporary "pied à terre"  for a quiet evening.

A Taste of Cassis

If it is Saturday it must be Uzés!

This year's adventure has us in so many locations that I have the details recorded in a day timer (calendar)  something I haven't used since I retired.

This morning we departed Le Castellet on the next leg of our Tour de France with a side trip to Cassis a small ancient fishing port on the Mediterranean.

One last look before leaving Le Castellet...

It has sandy beaches, a harbour lined by pretty pastel coloured buildings and Calanques fiords.

I saw white cliffs as we were driving but had no idea what they were ...   

Calanques are cliffs that plunge into the turquoise seas.

From the harbour you can take boat tours to view them up close and personal.

Unfortunately we did not have enough time to be able to enjoy the boat tour today ... It does give us a reason to come back!

At 10:30 in the morning this little place was already busy.

Sunbathers lay on the beaches, families with their children enjoying the parks and carousel, the men playing pétanque in one of the squares, and many locals and tourists strolling the polished stone streets checking out the many unique shops and of course the many cafes / restaurants.

We even discovered a beautiful garden ...

                

We arrived in Uzés in time to get the keys to our pied à terre for the week.

Stay tuned for Postcards from Uzés.