Provence from Fayence: Provence Guide

Provence weather

Visitors have been enquiring about the weather in Provence. Basically, it's great. In fact, it's fantastic from May to October (averages comfortably 60 degress +). This means blue skies, sunshine and warm - eat outdoor weather. Our friends Ray & Jill who now live in Provence - near Seillans - once confirmed 300 days of sunshine, guaranteed. They look pretty tanned.

Provence rainfall is generally in February and November.

December & January can be cool, but with clear blue skies.  Rivieara weather is generally 2-5 degrees warmer on the coast in Cannes and Nice. Up near Fayence, it gets a bit nippy at night - often dipping below zero. Still, with a roaring fire in our house in Mons, we just about cope.

Esterel

The Esterel in Provence is red, rocky and scantily populated. Between Cannes and St. Raphael, the Romans called it "sterile". It's actually a place of astonishing beauty with great hikes & lots of interest.

I mention it because I stumbled across a man with some fabulous photos of the place: Alain Rempfer, whom I don't know from Adam. Enjoy!

Provence invaded by Germans

We expect a huge influx of Germans this summer. The pleasantness of climate, the relaxed lifestyle and the wide range of amenities offered by the French Riviera all make it an ideal destination for Europeans from the northern reaches.

Nicholson in St. Tropez

Jack Nicholson fooling around at St Tropez with Lara Flynn Boyle. I did not take this picture in case your're wondering.

Seems like a lot of people down there at the moment, what with Sean Combs party and all.

Lavender en saison

Engaging article in NY Times about lavender producing communes in Provence and the degree of salesmanship exhibited by villages to attract business around lavender.

Boat Hijacking on the Riviera

The Maltese have rumbled one of the French Riviera's most distinguished, yet illegal, professions: "le boat hijacking."

Reports Malta Media:

"In just five years around 1,000 vessels have been stolen from French marinas mainly along the coast between Nice and Cannes. Among these were 32 luxury yachts and cabin cruisers, worth on average almost Lm 1.86 million ($5.44 million, € 4.33million)."

The clientele is rich folk from Ukraine and Russia, apparently. What do they do? Swap the masts, scratch out the serial numbers and give 'em a paint job? Then hope nobody notices.

Provence Autoroute radar traps

Fantastic find by L'Ombre. A list & status report on those horrid radar traps on the autoroutes.

List of radar traps in the VAR (Fayence, Les Adrets, Frejus etc)

List of radar traps in Alpes-Maritimes (Nice, Cannes, Antibes etc)

There's also a link to a compendium of obnoxious things to say in French, which I have forwarded to my teenage daughters. Surprisingly large, really.

Search Provence

You'll all find the new gizmo I've added to the right column (yes, just a few inches to your right) incredibly useful - we've dubbed it Search Provence. Its called a "Buzzcloud" and it sort of tracks what people search for in it (on the Internet) & represents that graphically. We get to OK whether or not the search terms are included in the cloud. They say it's better than Google. Early days yet, then.

I notice that some people (probably Australian) have typed in their own names. I could expose them.

Here Oui Go?!

Travelling to France? Confused about where to go & stay. Thank heavens for the Daily Mirror.

"Because we love the place, even though we appear to have a historical love-hate relationship with the French themselves. Could it be that we're just jealous of their laid-back lifestyle - the food, the wine, the interminable lunches? France has everything for the perfect holiday, from soaring mountains to deep river valleys, quaint villages and stunning beaches."

Ah, I knew it was the lunches after all. I thought we'd been at war in 9 out of the last 10 centuries?

Rosé wine sales rocket

Beveragedaily.com (where else?) comments on the huge uptake of Rosé wine - a Provence staple. 7% market in the UK, apparently. And the French downed 138m bouteilles.