Weekend in Provence

Hi guys,

 

It´s been a while since my last post, as I have been busy travelling and organizing the upcoming trips! This is my last weekend in Barcelona until 2019, and I am trying to catch up on what I have been doing for the past few weeks! So, today I will take you back with me to our last weekend in Provence!

We went for a long weekend road tripping around France and as we have already been in most places around the South of France, we decided to visit two national parks that were still unknown to us!

One of them, which I am sure you have heard of due to its famous inhabitants – the pink flamingos, was the Camargue natural park. The pink flamingos are my favourite birds and I was absolutely dying to go see them! I have published some videos on my instagram, but I will also post some on my new youtube channel soon, so you get to see them too!

The other region, which is where we spent the most of the weekend, was Les Baux de Provence. It is a very beautiful mountain area with very few buildings, as it is a natural park, and even fewer hotels, which makes it a perfect spot for a break away from the busy city life!

The region is famous for its olives and in fact most hotels there are producing olive oil! We spend two nights at the Benvengudo hotel and it was a great time to stay there, as they were celebrating their 50th anniversary!

The hotel is a very cosy family-owned business, which gives it an additional touch of comfort, as everything is prepared to make you feel at home! The place was renovated a couple of years ago and it is very modern and comfortable! We had a room on the ground floor, which we loved a lot, as instead of a balcony, we had a garden space in front of our room!

The weather in this area is already a bit chilli as it is in the mountain, but the rooms are very well prepared for all seasons, so we felt very comfortabel staying there! However, I bet the place is even more amazing in the summer, as they have a great outdoor swimming pool and the estate has a big land with olive trees, where you can go for a walk!

What I also loved about the hotel was its gastronomic restaurant! The chef´s team was working extremely hard to create a very sophisticated gastronomic menu, which tasted absolutely amazing! The first night our 3-course dinner was complemented by local red wine, which only added up to the great experience. On the second night there, we had a the 50th anniversary celebration dinner, which was absolutely exceptional! We had a 5 course manu, with each course being served with pairing champaign, from one of the most famous champaign producers in France! My fav dish was the lobster tail paired with vintage champaign, but everything else was delicious as well!

On the day of the anniversary we also went to visit the olive mill where the hotel produces its olive oil! It turned out that it is one of the most famous olive oil mills in France, and it is the place where most of the famous chefs produce their olive oil! The mill offers more than 20 types of olive oil and it was great not only to try some of them, but to also see how the olive oil is actually produced!

The location of the hotel is also great, as it is less than 5 minutes drive from the main attractions in the area – the Les Baux de Provence castle and the very famous exhibition  Carrieres des Lumieres! The exhibition was one of the most exceptional things I have seen in a while! You basically enter a huge space, full of massive walls of rocks (all natural) and in a few minutes the show starts! There are a few shows projected on the rocks and the experience is just incredible! I will also include some footage of the show in my vlog about the trip.

Another unforgetable experience, during our stay at the Benvengudo hotel was the vintage car rental, which we did for one day! The Benvengudo hotel works with a car rental company, which is based in Provence! The Provence classics offer amazing retro car rentals and if you are in the region it is a must try experience! The cars are absolutely amazing and I woudn´t compare the experience to anything else I have tried before! In general I am a fan of retro cars and especially when they are convertable, but this was the first time that I drove one and I absolutely loved it!

So here are some pictures from my stay at the Benvengudo Hotel and the retro car experience we had! More from the trip soon on my Youtube channel!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love, 

Tina J xx