View out over the vineyards from Chateau Malherbes
This is our fourth visit to the splendiferous Villa du Soleil. This year our hosts JB&C invite our other chums R&C with a brief to come armed with Brexit parodies to the tune of Gilbert & Sullivan…(these can be seen on my Instagram account). As well as a garish shirt competition, it is a tradition to play musical games and quizzes to counteract the effects of copious amounts of rosé.
The beach below the house where we swim in the early morning – deserted!
Clare and JB
The boys in glorious technicolour
The girls are more subtle
Chrissie & Richard
Shaking a leg
As Ross is in Switzerland we decide to take the slow route down, by car. I am scooped up from Geneva airport and we tootle down to Lyons, where we have reserved a table at the 3-Michelin star Paul Bocuse. From the time we arrive to the garish and kitsch exterior to the moment we leave we are embraced by the very finest of traditional French cooking and service. The two-course menu has amuse bouche, pre-starter, our two courses, followed by cheese, dessert and petit fours. Good value despite the price, if you know what I mean!
Delice of foie gras
Entrance to Bocuse
The sea bass in its croute
Local cheeses…
PB himself! (the late)
Raspberry tartlet, divine pastry
Thence to Aix for a night, with a mission to visit the Atelier Cezanne. Despite being thwarted at every corner by pedestrianisation, we love our petit sojourn and wander round in the 30 C heat. Cezanne’s studio is exactly as he left it, and we see many of the objects and macquettes for his still-life painting, including the wooden puppet he used to model his nude bathers (for respectability’s sake!). The Chapelle section of the Musee Granet is a gem – the collection of Beyeler’s Jean Planque of the works of his chums including Picasso, Dubuffet, Bonnard, Degas and Klee.
A small bathers in the Musee Granet
The green vase used in several paintings
These skulls also in several paintings
Gridiron in Aix!
The wooden macquette for the nude bathers
Cezanne’s dining table
Finally we arrive at the glorious VdS. George, the owner, and his family are there to greet us with champagne, and soon we are rehearsing our Brexit songs for the grand performance. Sam the chef – his company is Folk & Fare – arrives and the days unfold slowly with early morning swims – yes dear reader, I swam in the sea at least twice a day, a record, despite not being able to get my head wet due to my recent surgery – visits to the markets, wine estates and lots of eating drinking and party games.
George greeting us
Courtyard of VdS
Sam, master of all he provides
Chrissie and Clare au marche
George, Olga and the boys
Half way through our week, it’s all change as R&C leave and the energetic Topman family arrive, plus other cousins R&D. The routine continues with more rosé, some local degustations…
The gang at Leoube
Ross at Malherbes
Grape arbour at Malherbes
Tasting at Malherbes with Nick, Theresa and Humphrey
Charming painting at Malherbes
and more fine meals cooked by Sam (the Topmans manage to fit in a lot of walking and swimming while the sun-lounger lizards rest). Luckily for us the weather remains constant until the last day when the storms set in, and we are forced to retreat from the terrace.
Cousin Dendy with Jen, Nick & Clare
JB with cousin Jen
Gorgeous local tomatoes
The runners – Ross and Andy
Jen with son Nick and Clare
We simply love the VdS and Sam’s cooking, we are spoiled rotten; sad to say we were too woozy with the boozy to take many photos of his scrumptious meals. Between us we have memories of many happy holidays there with various offspring cavorting in fancy dress, quizzes and games far into the night. All offset by lazing by its glorious pool, reading books and exchanging desultory conversations. We all look forward to the next time!
I am a writer and traveller. Our darling daughter Louise died on 2 March 2011, aged 21 (www.louisecattell.com) and I started writing as therapy. We never know how long we have on this earth, so I live for every day...in November 2013 I was diagnosed and operated on for a malignant soft tissue sarcoma in the calf, followed by 6.5 weeks of radiotherapy, so am embarking on a different kind of journey which you can follow here. I also have another site www.healthylivingwithcancer.co with my blueprint for health and well-being.
2 thoughts on “A week of wine, fun & games in Provence”
September 23, 2019 at 5:40 pm
❤️😘
September 23, 2019 at 5:46 pm
big love to you too!