Stories from the south of France.
Bonjour, I’m Tuula, a native of Southern California and the France Correspondent for International Living magazine. I’ve lived in the south of France since 2010 and couldn’t think of a more beautiful place to call home. I worked in higher education in the US and took a career break to Rome, Italy before moving to the south of France. Learning French wasn’t easy, but I had a lot of help from our local community – for which I’m very grateful.
On this site, I share my travels around this beautiful region and the interesting people we meet along the way.
Blog Posts
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She’s done it again! I’ve loved getting to know Gayle Smith Padgett over the years and have especially appreciated her writings about Provence and life in France – which are always full of wit, humor, and delightful anecdotes. Her newest book, Pleasures of Provence: A Quest for the Secret to Joie de Vivre in La…
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Finding Your Festive Inner-Flâneur (in Saint Rémy) by Gayle Smith Padgett Bremond & Fils advent calender. Ho, ho, ho, as the holiday season approaches, indulging your festive spirit in Provence comes easily. Here in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, strings of twinkly lights and Joyeuses Fêtes banners festoon the narrow lanes and picturesque squares in and around centre-ville. Also, businesses…
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A Luberon Gem: Domaine de la Citadelle La Domaine de la Citadelle In the mood for a wine-tasting, winery tour, museum visit, delectable meal, fun shopping, or stroll through a botanical garden? La Domaine de la Citadelle has you covered! This charming winery complex, set in the verdant Luberon Valley, is located just outside Ménerbes, the…
Categories
- Books in Provence
- Expat Life
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- Le Blog
- Life in France
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- What to See & Do in…
Latest posts
- Book Review: Pleasures of Provence
- Holiday Happiness in Provence
- French Riviera magic, Hidden Gems in the Luberon
- The Romance of the Vines, Adventures on the Road
- Book Review: I Am Finally, Finally French
Recipes
French Finds
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Book Reviews
What to Take Home From Provence
Provence has tons of gourmet goodies to savor on the spot or take home for lucky friends or family. Here’s a list of some of the more popular items you can find around the region.
12 Tips for Traveling in Provence
Everyone has their favorite way to travel, but I really like the idea of making a “home base” from which you can jump around to different cities and villages in the south.
How to Have a Fabulous Summer in the South of France
The Calanques are not only visually stunning, but you also have the azure blue of the Mediterranean as a beautiful backdrop.
International Living Articles
Camargue – Getting Lost on France’s Cowboy Coast
“Some months, the mussels are as fat as steaks,” chuckled Willy, my gracious waiter in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. With a wiry crop of salt-and-pepper hair and jaunty set of wire-rimmed glasses, he had the energy of someone half his age…
Corsica: France’s Mountain in the Sea
Sometimes you can fall in love with a place, or at least the idea of it, without ever having set foot there. Pictures in your head, images or stories that travel across the miles, can grab you and never let you go.
A California Couple’s Escape in Saint-Remy-de-Provence
“Life in Europe had been in color, and it was sort of in black and white in California. We wanted to find that color again,” recounts Keith Van Sickle, an ex-resident of Silicon Valley and CFO for start-up companies.
Provence Guides
How to Dress in the South of France
If you spend enough time watching French women, or men for that matter, they appear to have just stepped from the pages of a fashion magazine.
If you’re into scarves, you’ll find a great selection here. All quite useful for dressing up an outfit, keeping you warm if the Mistral wind starts whipping up.
Provençal cooking falls quite easily into the category of “cuisine du soleil.” Much like its Italian and Greek counterparts, it relies heavily on the use of olive oil, herbs, and the bounty of the sea.
