The world of travel to all of our outstanding destinations
Tour France with a "friend" Not on a Bus!
Tour France with a group of friends, not on a bus. Bus trips and people with banners and schedules really don't give you a feel for a place --nor do they give you a good time and a relaxing but informative experience.Look at the below. Tell me what you think!
Tour France: Culinary Bliss
Tour France: Culinary Bliss!Our trip highlights always include culinary adventures. This trip is no exception. A spectacular tasting menu, a private luncheon, even a special cafe...whether formal or casual, it's truly Bliss!Foie Gras...compote....what more can we say?
Marscapone ravioli with parmesan foam make the perfect accompaniment --
Tomatoes and an incredible fresh ceviche in an almond milk...
squab, cherries, and rhubarb....
A nice finish to the day!
Tour Provence: Lavender in Provence
Tour Provence: Lavender Season
What's your favorite color? Well, in summer, my favorite color is lavender. And, right now, it's in full bloom...From the hills of the Luberon to the valleys, the color lavender is everywhere. It's Bliss!
Contemplating photos....
Tour Provence: Vacation in Provence in a Day!
Tour Provence: Vacation in Provence in a Day!
From the ancient ruins you can freely climb through --to photography, to hiking, to pondering n'importe quoi... or just to put out a blanket and enjoy the view...
To the village panoramas...
To the life within...
Why not open the door on a new adventure. It's Bliss!
But first, read what others have to say...Don't take our word for it.
After you are through, book our last room. Watch the lavender flower, and experience the fragrance when a field is cut...It permeates the air for a quarter mile around it!
July 17-22 Provence (possible early arrival for Paris too!)
or
July 28-August 4 (Mediterranean and Paris) This trip is not advertised. It's a small private trip. contact us for details wendy@blisstravels.com
Tour France: Mediterranean Vacations in a Day!
OTour France: Mediterranean Vacations in a Day!On commence avec le déjeuner, biensur.Start with lunch. Views, sunshine, and a collection of colors.
Lavender, newly planted by a friend to "garnish" the best table in the house! Thank you Florian and Eric for another unforgettable experience--one a group of us will experience in late July and early August.(Join us in our last room of a small group --10 people --July 28-August 4 along the Mediterranean and in Paris. This trip was not advertised, and there is one room. Contact us for details asap. 609 462 6213 or wendy@blisstravels.c0m)
Of course, after lunch the Mediterranean beckons. It is pure Bliss!
Interested in our last room in July? Details below.(July 17/18-23 Provence/ParisA small group all inclusive trip to one of Provence’s most beautiful areas, with exclusive access to private activities and events. Provencal markets, lavender, Roman ruins, Cote du Rhone wines, special dining, Medieval villages, art, castle, hikes… and plenty of independent time. ONE ROOM.
Tour France: A Mediterranean Adventure
Tour France: A Mediterranean Adventure. It's BlissSummer vacations involve the beach, for sure. But, what many people don't know is that there are stunning beaches, with world class views, and great dining --on the Mediterranean, that don't break the bank --and still make you feel like you're in a fairy tale land (which you are).Hope you enjoy these photos --as we continue to Tour France.
The view from here:
looks like this:
And this...as you watch the boats go by. This is a little sailing school. Too Cute!
look carefully --there's a castle at the mid point of the cliffs (top of the lower cliff). Staying there is quite an experience.
One room left in mid July and one in August. Contact us toute de suite to book.
wendy@blisstravels.com 609 462 6213.
Tour France: Experience Provence...like a local
Tour France: Experience Provence...like a local (menu suggestions below)
Wondering down the village road
to visit the local market --set up from the town parking area through the main square, and on several little streets. Not the biggest area market --but a very authentic and less touristy one.
Taking our picnic items to a nearby olive grove where we walk along and see the first lavender blooms.
peeking in corners at gardens
Paints quite a nice picture of the day --we think it's Bliss
Tour France: The Best Vacation in Provence!
Tour France: Provence in Cherry Season...The best vacation in Provence
Life may not be a "bowl of cherries" but you sure can pick your own treats....Fast food Provence style --pick your own dessert on the way home from dinner!These cherry trees are so full of cherries that the bows are bent nearly to the ground. This little orchard is off of a Roman road, a few steps from the center of a Medieval village we like to call "home".
On our way back, the view was panoramic.
Today's adventure begins with market day.Contact us to know more about our last room in July (NEW dates: Arrive between July 13 and 16 for Bastille Day in Provence or Paris, and then spend July 18-22 in the Luberon) and our trip in October!
Tour France: Summer Colors Provence & Mediterranean
Tour France: Summer Colors
Provence and the Mediterranean. It's the most colorful, tasty time of year. Vibrant is the word that best expresses the summer. Long, languid, yet energizing. Enjoy the photos below. Taking them was Bliss!
Dancing in the streets...for every holiday, summer festival and so fun to do and watch!
Clear blue, peaceful...
A favorite place to promenade and watch the street performers.
dining on the mussels, beachfront on the island
a bientôt! Hope to see you this summer. Contact us for more information
Tour France: Paris & Provence Showers and Flowers
Tour France: Paris and Provence: Showers and Flowers
Painted on a wall in the Marais...early spring themes!
X marks the spot of our favorite peaceful Parisian landmark.
Outside the Tuileries and in Provence --blooms!
Capturing iris's at the farm.
Spring gives way to summer.
And a little summer picnic to end the post!
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Tour France: How to Have The Best Sunday Ever in Provence
Tour France: How to Have The Best Sunday Ever in Provence!There are few things better than a Sunday in Provence. In fact, even if you do nothing special, it's a pretty great day. However, the photos below are what we consider pure Bliss. This is the best Sunday EVER! (And after you've read this, if you disagree, I truly would love to know what you do in Provence that is BETTER!!)To start, we go to our absolute favorite place for a traditional 4 course Sunday lunch. Nestled in the cliffs...
It's a stunning but very casual place. When we talk about authentic dining, gourmet but not fussy, this is what we mean.
The appetizer platter comes out for people to share. Provencal treats like Anchoiade, tapenade, moules or wild mushrooms...
Followed by one of the traditional main courses --this is 'yours truly' filleting everyone's fresh stream trout! Of course, daube and lamb etc are also choices.
The Provencal tomatoes and purely delicious creamy potatoes are served as accompaniment.
After is the cheese course. Banon is local to the area. It really can't be found anywhere outside of the region --not the real stuff properly ripened.
Then come desserts...
Then the traditional Sunday hike. When we say the road less traveled and "off the beaten path", we mean it!
Up to the ruins for a quick "look". Though some people chose to relax in the shade instead of making the climb.
Capturing the view.
If you can!
And then back "home" for the evening. 
If you can top this day of pure Bliss, I'd sure like to know how! If you'd like to do this with us some day, contact us! We'd love to share this wonderful experience with you sometime this summer. We will be there in July and August!A Bientôt,Wendy
Tour France: A Day in Provence
Tour France: Bliss Travels to Authentic Provence. Spectacular views caught by Anthony Bianciella, our talented traveling photographer. One thing that makes us feel "Blissful" is finding beautiful, less populated villages to explore. We build the day around a walk, hike, panorama and, of course, our traditional Provencal lunch. For us, that's why Bliss Travels! The only thing better than springtime in Provence is July in Provence. This is the ultimate "room with a view"!!
Some of the smaller villages still use different modes of transportation 
Emmy meets a new friend!
Village roads, old and "new" 
A walk, followed by lunch --in a tiny restaurant we found off a little alley and side street. Now, it's an annual favorite. Look at yesterday's set menu below 
Menu of: Burgundian like soft poached egg in red wine and mushroom, fish with saffron, fresh pasta and market veggies, Brie de Meaux and salad, along with dessert, bien sur
We sincerely hope you can join us on our next authentic, and off the beaten track adventure! It's Bliss! Please contact us when you are ready for a new sort of travel experience.
Tour France: Vacations in Provence with Bliss Travels
Tour France: Vacations in Provence with Bliss Travels:Some shots from our current trip -- A professional makes all the difference! Whether it's knowing what and how to shoot -- or where to find the authentic places and uncommon sights.
One of the paths that lead to an old Roman road...
Poppies under a 2000 year old bridge
Morning light!
Tour France: Off The Beaten Track in Provence
Tour France: Off the Beaten Track in Provence...If you do enough research and talk to enough people, you can find stunning villages to wonder through all on your own. No problem. Provence is a region of Beauty. Touring Provence is a great way to spend your vacation. Just make your visit to France special by getting off the "beaten track" and enjoy some sights with local color! It's even more special when you can do and learn things you'd never get access to on your own. Over the next few posts, we'll highlight some of these exclusive access activities.Can you find a newly discovered excavation site? Bliss did!
And, have a private tour of a closed Provencal church --one with origins from before the year 500 ?
Visit a Roman bridge and learn to photograph with a professional photographer?
An
And Make sure to find time to enjoy the local dining and wonderful people!
It's truly Bliss!
A Bientôt....let us know when you want to do something off the beaten track.
Tour France: Spring in Paris & Provence
Tour France: Spring in Paris and ProvenceWhat a whirlwind arrival. Talk about "hitting the ground running". What a beautiful day! Sights galore. Wonderful views. It was bliss!
Let's orient ourselves to Paris.
Two of our professional photographers. Anthony's trips with us are great!! And Michel is tops! They are both enjoying the mid day sunshine!
Of course, they might be smiling because of their lunch!
Then, of course, the photographers in our group started snapping away --while the rest of us admired our surroundings.
To finish the day, we enjoy a non touristy rooftop view and a glass of rose....It was Bliss!What us to save you a space on one of our summer trips --Bastille Day? August Lavender season? Let us know now! wendy@blisstravels.com
Tour France: Recipes from Locals & Insider Experiences during Vacations in Provence
Tour France: Recipes from Locals & Insider Experiences during Vacations in Provence I've been touring France and leading small custom groups on "insider vacations" for a while now. Some of what we do is haute cuisine and grand chefs with Michelin stars. But, some of the best, most authentic experiences occur in the countryside and about country cooking and local lore. I have been collecting recipes, adapting them and teaching French cuisine for almost as long as I have been leading trips.Each recipe has a story. This one is very special. The story is as deliciously amusing as this country recipe is tasty. So for a casual Provencal experience, try this story on for size!
Everybody should meet their local French butcher. He is charming, funny, full of advice and local color. One day several years ago, while attempting to test some new recipes as well as research an area winery, and be very efficient by accomplishing this in one afternoon, a woman who worked for me and I decided to visit the local butcher of Menerbes instead of the one in our nearby town. The weather was quite hot and we needed to order meat, but didn’t want to cart it around with us all day, to roast in the strong provencal sun. In this way, we two American women, entered the Boucherie in Menerbes, requesting, ever so politely, in French, to please have a chicken (and rabbit, if one was available) prepared for us. We asked if he would be so kind as to hold it for us in refrigeration for several hours. This was no problem. He would be glad to help us, but it’s not possible that we are American he says. He is convinced that since we speak French and wish to cook…..well, clearly we must be English or Australian or just simply confused. No, we assure him we are sure of our origins. To make conversation, we inquired politely about several of the prepared foods he has in his case.
In France, it is quite common for Butcher to also sell certain prepared items such as ratatouille, grated carrot salad, stuffed vegetables, roasted tomatoes/eggplants, and the like. He starts waxing poetic about his ratatouille, which, coincidentally, he is in the process of making at this very moment.
When we mention that we also are planning to make this dish later that day, he insists that we follow him through his shop (which he cavalierly leaves unattended) through his living quarters, and laundry area to his kitchen where he is making the biggest vat of ratatouille known to mankind. As we look around, we see not only the vat of simmering fragrant vegetables, but colanders of cooked vegetables, tilted this way and that, and a large fry pan still warm and oily from before we entered the shop. Next to the stove was a small metal framed kitchen table, with an ashtray, a water glass ½ full of red wine, and the corked bottle. Clearly this was the perch from which Monsieur le Boucher watched his ratatouille simmer. The Butcher painstakingly describes the secret to his ratatouille, which is that one must first cook each vegetable separately, and then drain them before finally creating the mélange. He thoughtfully stirs the pot. After we thank him, showing our appreciation for his generosity, he guided us through the doors of the now reopened Boucherie, and bellows into the street a hearty "a bientot". When we return several hours later, the butcher is in the shop, but comes to the street with our bird, to chat with us. That we are stopped in the middle of a tiny one lane winding road (one of only two that exit the entire village) is of no consequence to him. He chats boisterously with us, asking us about our day, the recipes, whether we’d like to take some ratatouille and nobody seems bothered by the fact that they are held up in ‘traffic’. Nobody other than us, that is. The car behind us is content to wait. After all, this is important. We are discussing dinner!
Ratatouille recipe* It must be stated that Ratatouille is to the Provencale what meatloaf is to the typical American family. Every family has their own recipe with it’s own special ingredients. More often than not it is made with a handful of this and a handful of that. Like meatloaf here, it is the sort of dish that non-cooks, cook. And like meatloaf, it is often best the next day served cold, or even reheated. Sitting overnight allows the flavors to meld nicely. Below is my favorite recipe. It seems to be what works best both in France and the United States, with their different sorts and size s of produce. But that doesn’t mean you can’t alter the proportion of vegetables, or even substitute them….Just make sure to take the butcher’s advice, and cook each one separately before creating the mélange.1 Red Pepper10oz Eggplant, cut into ¾ inch cubes2 lb small green zucchini, cut into ¾ inch cubes2 lb ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped1 ib sweet onion, coarsely chopped12 T olive oil or peanut oil (peanut oil can be heated hotter, but olive oil lends a nice flavor)1 bay leaf2-3 sprigs of fresh Thyme4 cloves garlic, minced1 teaspoon sugarSalt and pepper6 leaves of basil, chopped.Heat 2 T of oil, cook peppers for a couple minutes. Drain peppers and transfer peppers to a colander. Wipe pan clean of excess oil,.Add 3 T of oil to the pan and sauté onions on medium heat for several minutes until lightly browned. Transfer onions to colander, and wipe pan. Add 2 T of oil and reheat pan. Brown zucchini at medium high heat and drain, and add to colander. Last, add 2 more T oil to pan, heat at medium high heat and brown eggplant for several minutes, stirring as needed, and drain and add to colander. Heat a large pan, one large enough to accommodate all the vegetables. Add the remaining oil and heat. Add garlic and sauté for one minute. Add tomatoes, sprinkle with sugar (if you have very sweet, ripe, flavorful tomatoes, the sugar will be unnecessary) and add herbs, except basil. Bring the the tomatoes and their liquid to a boil. Add salt and pepper and all the other vegetables, stir, reduce heat and cover. Cook for 30 minutes or more until very tender. Stir occasionally to avoid burning. When finished, remove the pot from the heat and remove Thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Add the fresh basil. This dish is best the longer you let it sit, so the flavors of the vegetables can meld properly. Let the ratatouille sit in the pot off of the heat at least another 30 minutes, or better yet, cool the pot down and refrigerate overnight.So, if you can't attend one of our amazing trips to Provence, and experience Bliss with us, then at least visit your local farm and enjoy some freshly made ratatouille!
Tour France: Find Out About Summer Vacation in Provence (Bastille Day)
Tour France: Summer Vacation in Provence is spectacular.Sunflowers. We stopped by the side of the road to photograph the sunflower fields.
Provencal Markets --All sorts of great foods and treats (see our earlier blog about how to shop the markets).
This particular Lavender field was a field we walked to --it was in a hidden, off road place. Up in the hills are Roman ruins that are not excavated, and also below --about a 1/2 mile walk is a watering hold where we went swimming. Not a tourist spot at all. In fact, a local friend showed it to us.
And, Bastille Day! What is Bastille Day and what are Bastille Day celebrations like?
See our next post. We're going to tell you all about the fun activities and what you can do in France during BASTILLE DAY 2012.
A Bientôt,Bliss Travels!