South Of France

Let me just start by saying that I've been dying to go to the South of France. Thanks to my friend Stephanie, who recently moved to Brussels from the Deloitte Atlanta office, I got a chance to spend five days there. I went with Stephanie and her boyfriend, Brian, who was visiting from Atlanta. They were going there to spend time with some friends whose family has a vacation home in a small village called Montbrun Les Bains. The home has been in the family for generations. The village is in the Provence region and is so small that you will not find it on most maps.


That was the great thing about it. We got to stay in a traditional home and travel with locals (not like tourists). We mostly hung out on the terrace and ate delicious regional foods: fresh-baked croissants, cheeses, olives, etc. We also drank plenty of excellent-quality wines from our host’s cellar. We strayed from eating and drinking a couple of times to promenade around the village and to visit a market and some wineries.


The hosts were fabulous and very generous and Provence was magnifique! This is the South of France that most people don’t think about—mountains, vineyards, cute, little villages, and fields of lavender. The beautiful scenery and the sweet smells were enough to overload the senses--kind of like being in a really big herb and flower garden.