Provence with kids
 

My husband and I are planning a 10 day trip to Provence this summer with our two daughters (ages 2 and 5). Originally I had a very ambitious itinerary planned, but I'm starting to rethink it. The girls are great travellers, but even the 20 most beautiful villages in the world will start to look like a big pile of rocks to them relatively quickly. I'm starting to think it may be better to try to find a rental house in the Luberon and really take it easy from there. Maybe a few villages, a trip to the Carmargue (my 5 year old's favorite animal is the pink flamingo), the Canyon du Verdon, and swimming in some body of water somewhere. We will return there again, so we don't need to see it all now. We really just want the kids to have fun and get the feel of a better oops I mean different lifestyle. <BR>Any thoughts on this? Suggestions about Provence with kids? And, most importantly for us, which village in the Eastern Vacluse area do you think would be best for a base? <BR>Sorry to be so long-winded. Thanks for any advice.<BR><BR>

A 2 and a 5 year old won't know the difference between your own backyard with a kiddie pool and a beautiful villa in France with an olympic swimming pool.<BR><BR>Trust me, at this age they will have absolutely no memories of your trip when they are older.<BR><BR>

The little one won't remember anything; the big one will remember animals.<BR><BR>The little one won't care where she is. The big one will hate being cooped up in a bus or car, but will be just fine wandering around, climbing on rock fences, and, is she's friendly, visiting people at other tables at sidewalk cafes.<BR><BR>Get a couple of good quality highly portable strollers, and go where the grownups want to go, if the kids are decent sleepers. They won't care, and you'll have a better time. <BR><BR>Just be prepared to sit at some cafe under a big shady tree sipping wine for an hour or so while the kids sleep in the strollers.<BR><BR>You'll have to figure out safe storage for the kids in the evenings, after they've gone to bed, so this may nudge you towards a rental house, where you can put them in another room while you stay up later.<BR><BR>BAK<BR><BR>

I think a rental house would suit you perfectly with two small children.<BR>To keep driving to a minimum, I wouldn't stay too far east in the Luberon. Somewhere around Menerbes or perhaps l'Isle sur la Sorgue. That way you can easily visit the villages of the Luberon as well as places like the Pont du Gard - where the kids can wear their bathing suits and play on the riverbank, or you can take them canoeing.<BR><BR>In Beaucaire, along the Rhone, you can take then to enjoy the bird show - hawks and falcons, eagles and even buzzards in a free flight show at the ruins of the chateau.<BR><BR>Near Salon, there is the zoo at the Chateau de Barben . It's a great place for a picnic lunch and a visit to the chateau as well.<BR><BR>You'll find plenty of pink flamingos near Les Saintes Maries de la Mer along the coast in the Camargue... as well as places for horse and pony rides.<BR><BR>For rental houses, you can always contact the Tourist Offices of the villages you are interested - they all have listings of rated properties that are for rent in season, without going through an agent.<BR><BR>PB<BR><BR>

For a good selection of rental properties in the Luberon, try www.coquelicot.com I used them last fall to rent two houses near Apt and was pleased. The houses are not necessarily luxurious, but are good value for the money and the young German couple who run the agency are very responsive to questions by e-mail.(They speak excellent English.) Have a great trip!