jennifer

Greetings all! I am a painter and my husband and I are planning a 10 to 14 day trip in 2003 to Giverny and Provence. Our idea was to fly into Paris, spend a couple of days in Giverny, and then head down to Provence, probably somewhere in the Luberon. I will be bringing my painting gear and photographic equipment and plan to paint on location and take lots of pictures of the landscape. Hoping to get lots of color. I have been to the Drome Provencale in June/July and caught the lavender and sunflowers, which was terriffic. But for this trip we are looking to go a little earlier (late May/early June.) Am hoping maybe some poppies and even lavender will be out, but I'm not sure about this.<BR><BR>We are interested in the French countryside and quaint little villages. We are thinking about basing out of St. Remy and possibly hitting Gourdes, Roussillon, Arles, and surrounds, with a possibly day-trip to the coast (like Cassis) if time permits. For this itinerary I am definitely thinking we want a car, especially since my landscape painting will take us off the beaten path.<BR><BR>We'd like to keep the budget on the modest side for accomodation ($70/80 U.S. per night). If anyone has any suggestions for B&amp;B's or gite rentals where we can base ourselves in the Luberon, would really appreciate any input! <BR><BR>Also, for those of you who have been to this area and know of must-see villages, or good drives for olive groves, vineyards, lavender, etc. (where I can get some nice compositions going), that would be a great help.<BR><BR>For the car rental experts, any thoughts? Where can we go for the best deals? <BR><BR>I know I am asking a lot in this one post, but any insight you can offer will be very welcome.<BR><BR>Best Regards,<BR>Jennifer

tony

Cannot really comment on the Giverny part of the trip - car or not etc but definitely for the Provence section a car is a necessity . You could TGV it down to Avignon and pick up a car there (Europcar seems especially well placed and competitive for this region) All the places you mention are reasonably close to St-Remy but maybe better ott base yourself a little further east, a bit north of Aix-en-Provence perhaps, from which any of your planned destinations are a very easy and short drive. In May and into early June the poppies will be out in their full bloom but far too early for lavender. <BR><BR>For some &quot;gites&quot; try &quot; Gites de France&quot; also &quot;Relais de Silence&quot; which have a wide selection of establishments in your price range - many with excellent &quot;tables&quot; as well. As you have time you can order their catalogues which list all their members, or check out their web sites.<BR>Bon Voyage!<BR>

PB

In the month of May you will find some wonderful wildflowers as well as fields of poppies - since the poppies aren't planted, you will come upon them more by accident than by planning.<BR><BR>For some beautiful views I can suggest Eygalieres and Aureill in the Alpilles - neither is far from Les Baux and St. Remy. There are gorgeous groes of olive trees as well as vineyards from Les Baux. The entire ALpilles region is rife with olive groves.... <BR><BR>Roussillon is a definite yes for a visit. It's my favorite town, along with Oppede le Vieux, in the Luberon. <BR>If I can answer any particular questions, feel free to email me. I live just outside Les Baux.<BR><BR>PB

Jennifer

Thanks Tony and PB for the suggestions and advice. I will check out the sites for gites, but it is always nice to have first hand recommendations, so if anyone out there has info on a specific B&amp;B, rental, or hotel, I'd love to hear them. <BR><BR>Now that I've said we're thinking of basing out of St. Remy I have begun to think about Lourmarin. Aix-en-Provence hadn't really appealed to me, but if it is more central, maybe I will look into small villages that are nearby.<BR><BR>PB, there were a couple of villages that you mentioned that I'm not familiar with so I'll need to do some more reading! Any way, I'm still trying to figure out what will be most central for all I want to do and see. It seems there are simply too many beautiful places to see in this region!<BR><BR>Thanks all!<BR>

Christina

I think the Isle-sur-la-Sorgue area is perhaps the most central of all. I don't care for that particular town itself to stay in, but that general area. I stayed in Pernes-les-Fontaines and liked that a lot. I would recommend Venasque near there as a very scenic small village and general area. I wouldn't recommend Lourmarin myself as a convenient location because it's on the south side of the Luberon mountains.

jules

Jennifer,<BR>If you type &quot;saint remy&quot; in the Search box, and click France in the country box, you will find several threads about accomodation in St Remy.<BR>The Alpilles are beautiful indeed.<BR>Bon voyage!