La Cadière d’Azur

The village of La Cadière d’Azur was our last stop before we had to head back to California. Nestled in the hills just a few kilometers from the Mediterranean, it glowed like a precious gem.

It is so rare to find a village that hasn’t been influenced or changed by tourism, and feels like a true ‘village Provencal’. La Cadière d’Azur does.

Wander down the narrow alleyways and up some stone steps and discover the 16^th century Church of Saint André. Its bell, the oldest in the Var region, tolls the hours and dates from 1458.

There is only one hotel in the village, L’Hostellerie Bérard & Spa, a family-run enterprise. The parents started it 40 years ago and now the son, like his father, has become a chef. Their daughter also came back to work with her parents, so you are being welcomed ‘en famille’—to a real French family, and that is how it feels.

After you enter the cozy reception area, you can wander into the bar and restaurant, with an expansive view of the vineyards and farms in the valley below.The 37 rooms of the hotel are tucked into four historic buildings next door– they are just part of the village.

The father, renowned chef René Bérard earned one Michelin star for the restaurant and his son, Jean-Francois is following in his footsteps.The family offers classes in cooking, wine, painting and there are opportunities for bicycling, hiking and other outdoor sports in the area.

Their Aroma Spa, combines aromatherapy with hydrotherapy treatments, also incorporating music and color into the programs. All of the herbs and oils used in the treatments come from their nearby organic farm—even the rose petals that decorate the mirrored surfaces are grown by the family. They offer a full menu of massages, body wraps and scrubs, facials—so many choices.

We enjoyed a sumptuous lunch, then a massage and a relaxed sojourn in the spa’s hammam, sauna and Jacuzzi soaking tubs . The hotel was booked, so we could only go for the day, but I look forward to going back to stay—for as long as possible.

I already want to return and explore this region of Provence again. It would be fun to plan a trip around wine tasting or ‘ degustation’ and really take the time to discover the wines of the Var region. Leisurely days of wine tasting, spa treatments and wonderful food, not to mention classes at the Hostellerie, well, if this isn’t ‘l’art de vivre’ that the French are so famous for, what is?

Some great websites that can help you to plan ahead and make sure that the Hostellerie is not booked up, are: Tourismevar.com (in French) and Var-Prestige.com (in French and English).

For more information, you can contact me at my website: DianeCovington.com.

Till next time, au revoir and happy traveling!

Part 6 in the series, Backroads of Provenece
By Diane Covington

From Marseille, it is just a short drive up the coast to Bandol, back in the Var region of Provence. This lovely seaside village could be called the ‘undiscovered St. Tropez’ because of the huge yachts in the harbor.   But unlike St. Tropez, we might have been the only Americans there, which can be a treat.

Though Bandol itself has a lot to offer in beaches and resorts, we were going on an adventure across the harbor to a tiny island, L’île de Bendor.

Just seven minutes by ferry across the harbor, the island is called the ‘place where time has stopped’.  Such a tranquil place to stop and catch a breath, unwind and enjoy the sun sparkling off the Mediterranean.

The brochure for this island says:  “La belle a toujours une âme” – the beautiful always has a soul.  It feels like this tiny island does have a soul, and a lovely one.

The ivy-covered Hotel Delos welcomed us and the view from our balcony looked back toward Bandol and out to sea. We loved the feeling of space, being on an island surrounded by vibrant blue waves.  We sipped some excellent Côtes de Provence chilled rosé wine and watched the sailboats drift by.

For dinner, we just ambled downstairs one floor to the hotel’s excellent restaurant. The chef is renowned in France, which says a lot.  Our dinner was a succulent piece of beef with mushrooms and truffles.  (Pièce de boeuf et sa tartine de pain à la moêlle et truffes.)  So delicious, especially when paired with a hearty red wine from the Pibarnon winery, of the Bandol region.

Dessert was a Tart Citron or lemon tart. a perfect ending to this memorable meal.

After dinner, we drifted off to sleep with the sound of the sea lapping on the rocks below our balcony.  The next day, after a leisurely morning that included a brisk dip in the Mediterranean, it was time to head back across the harbor to our next stop, a tiny village just up the road, through the vineyards of the Bandol region, to another hotel with another renowned chef and a one star Michelin restaurant.

So stay tuned.  More adventures just around the bend.

Though the bustling city of Marseille is not on a ‘back road’ of Provence, it is definitely worth a visit.  Just a short drive (or train or bus ride) from Aix, Marseille is the oldest city in France, founded by the Greeks in the 6^th century BC.

There are stunning views of the Mediterranean from many parts of the city.  But the most dazzling view is from the basilica Notre Dame de la Garde, a neo-Byzantine style cathedral, 154 meters high, with a gilded statue of Mary on top.  The interior of the cathedral has been restored and the frescoes are breathtaking.

The corniche, or coastal road, winds out of the city to the Calanques, cliffs that jut into the sea–popular for diving, hiking or swimming in the summer.  We stopped in the little village of Goudes for lunch at La Marine des Goudes.

Then a leisurely drive back up the corniche to settle into our Hotel Beauvau Vieux Port, right on the harbor, before the adventure of tasting an authentic bouillabaisse later that evening.

We took in the Vincent Van Gogh/Monticelli exhibition at the Centre de la Vieille Charite museum.  The work of  Monticelli, a native of Marseille and a master of the Provencal school, had a significant influence on Van Gogh.  The exhibit had 20 paintings by Van Gogh and 60 by Monticelli.  I found it very moving to stand in front of a Van Gogh, the paint swirled thick and showing his fast strokes, and see his name scratched in the left top corner, simply ‘Vincent’.

The exhibition shows the painters’ work side by side, allowing visitors to compare their respective styles.   It continues until January 11^th, 2009.

Back at our hotel, we could watch the comings and goings of the ships in the harbor. I love to watch the fishing boats come back in the morning, just like they’ve been doing for centuries.  They set up a table and unpack their haul of the day and then sell it right there.  Talk about fresh fish!

It was just a short walk to Le Miramar, renowned for its bouillabaisse.

If you’re planning on trying bouillabaisse, a few tips.  Don’t eat any bread and go lightly on the courses that come before.  It is a lot of fish!  We had six different types of fish in ours, and I could have easily split a portion, though I don’t know if that is allowed.  (And asking for a ‘doggie bag’ is definitely a ‘faux paux’.)

Somehow there was room for the apple tart at the end, a delectable light tart with thin pastry and lots of caramelized apples.

We decided to continue our adventure by going back to the back roads.  So stay tuned.  More fun to come.