Combination Tours> France> Cooking and Trekking in the Luberon

France: Cooking and Trekking in the Luberon
Provence, France - 7 nights


Patrick will greet you in his 18th century restored house, opposite the Baron d'Agoult's castle, which offers you incomparable comfort. Well sheltered in the heart of the Luberon, Goult offers picturesque scenery, tradition and history. Patrick and Babeth will guide and inspire you, and your spare time will be filled with new places to discover, and good restaurants to enjoy! During the afternoon, Chef Patrick will be displaying his culinary art and disclosing the secrets of Provençal cuisine. Patrick graduated from the school of Roger Vergé, and has run his restaurant for over 20 years in the town of Goult, Provence. He has even had a cameo mention in Peter Mayle's famous book "A Year in Provence" as well as a small role in an upcoming Russell Crowe movie to be released the summer of 2006. Your Hiking Guides: Olivier and Linda are young and energetic and will help you discover some hidden treasures of the Luberon.

Highlights of this trip include: 

• Wine tasting: wine of Luberon (Domaine de la Citadelle) and famous wine of Chateauneuf du Pape (Cellar of Château les fines Roches)
  
  DINNER in le Château les Fines Roches ***
• Visit of the Lavender Museum in Coustellet and Corkscrew Museum in Menerbes and Truffle and Wine House in Menerbes.
• Fun hands-on cooking classes
• Cheese tasting (selection of the best cheese from France and Provence) and Provençal olive oil tasting
• Beautiful and antique villages of Luberon with such a difference from one to the other and the beautiful landscapes of Provence
• The Pope Palace in Avignon.
•  2 Great Hikes in The Luberon  

YOUR WEEK IN PROVENCE

Day One (Saturday)

Meet with your host in Goult in Provence. Guests are welcomed and shown their rooms. Lunch is offered and the itinerary and program are discussed. Guests are able to arrive at any time of the day. The usual means of arrival are via Marseille Provence Airport or by train to Avignon TGV station where you will rent a car to drive to Goult. (For an additional fee, Patrick can provide transfers to and from Avignon TGV station as well as transportation during the week).  

There is free time in the afternoon to rest, then go for a walk or discover the old village of Goult with Patrick (mill of Goult with a beautiful view of the valley of Luberon - Castle of Baron d'Agoult....and have a drink in le Café de la Poste in the center of the village). Aperitif and welcome dinner are served at about 8 PM.

Day Two (Sunday)

Breakfast

10am: Depart for the farmer's market of COUSTELLET where the local produce (vegetables and fruits) for your cooking is purchased. Antique dealers are also here, revealing some hidden secrets of yesteryear. 

Visit of the LAVENDER MUSEUM where you can buy perfumes, soap and essence of Lavender. Afterwards there will be drinks in a local café (typical Provençal drink : PASTIS or wine) 

Followed by free time during the afternoon. Some suggestions: visit to the antique Market of L'ISLE SUR LA SORGUE in the "Venice of Provence" which has one of the largest concentrations of antique dealers in France.

4pm: Hands-on cooking where you prepare your own Provençal dinner 8pm: aperitif with TAPENADE (olive -anchovies-caper spread -basil-garlic and olive oil) and dinner.

Day Three (Monday)

Breakfast

10 am Trekking and picnic: 2 possibilities depending on the weather

WALK #1: Discovery tour of the water mills around Gordes 
Duration: 2.45 Hours

All along the gorge of the Veroncle, from the village of  Murs to the hamlet of  Grailles, you’ll discover the remains of various water mills from XVI to XIX century….
Or

WALK #2: History of stone around Goult
Duration: 2.30 Hours

Leaving from the beautiful village of Goult, you ‘ll walk on a footpath bordered by typical old stone walls, finding Marie-Madeleine and Saint-Michel Chapels. and discovering wonderful landscape shaped by terrace cultivation, built in traditional way with stone.

You’ll visit the conservatory of terrace cultivation seeing different aspect of this stone culture with it field’s shed, old water tank, alveolus’ beehive…

Everything during this walk will tell you about stone. 

Come back to Goult at 2.30pm for a rest 

4pm VISIT to ROUSSILLON : a picturesque hilltop village perched on a bed of red and yellow ochre, which has been used to color the facades of its local buildings for many hundreds of years. Also worth a visit is the Provençal Colorado on the southern side of the Doua Valley, where there are some spectacular walks through some old ochre quarries. No other village looks so warm and rich, so harmonious and inviting.

Visit of Ochre's conservatory 
8pm Dinner in Goult 

Day Four (Tuesday) 

Breakfast
10am: We will visit the Village of the "BORIES". These dry stone shelters, built by the local peasants and shepherds, constitute a real ethnological museum in the open air on the plateau of Gordes. They dated from 3500BC and were regularly rebuilt, using ancient methods. 

We will visit the village of GORDES, the local village market and its castle which was rebuilt in the mid 16th century. The building was bought and restored by the Op Art painter Victor Vasarely. Dominating the valley of the Coulon, this village was built on a spur of mountain range. 

Free time in the afternoon. Some suggestions:

•  Discover the beautiful village of BONNIEUX where you can visit the Musée de la Boulangerie which gives a history of bread making.
•  Discover the CEDAR FOREST...a lovely place to walk.
•  Discover LACOSTE : little remains of the Marquis de Sade's château.

4pm: Hands-on cooking class

8pm: aperitif and dinner. 

Day Five (Wednesday)

Breakfast
10 am to 1 pm Cooking class

Lunch in Goult

3pm Hiking in Sivergues, the top of Luberon

WALK #3: A Charming Stream

Duration:2.45 Hours

With a departure from the typical and magical village of Sivergues, built by the Lord of Provence in the XVI century, you will go down the charming Aiguebrun stream.

You will be able to admire on the right bank of the brook, perched on a dizzy and inaccessible cliff, the blue lavander ,dry and stony plateau de Claparèdes; on the left bank, the wood and pastures of the Big Luberon.

During the walk you will be charmed by the troglodytes houses ,farms and refuges suited to the rules of autarkic life. 

Back to Gianni’s farm-auberge in Sivergues at 6pm to admire the beautiful sunset on the Luberon Valley

Around 7pm  Aperitif and Dinner with authentic produces made on the farm.

Day Six (Thursday) 

Breakfast.
10am: Leave for the village of MENERBES, an ancient fortified town which was once a Protestant centre in the Vaucluse. It was this village where the author Peter Mayle chose to settle and write his best selling book "A Year in Provence". Here too can be found the Corkscrew Museum, which displays history, sociology, technology and the arts from the 17th century to today. The corkscrew museum has more than 1000 pieces on exhibition ...starting with the first corkscrew forged by hand in steel, to the decorative "objet d'art" in solid gold. Let yourself be guided through the centuries and across country in the discovery of this unique collection. 

We will also visit the ancient village "OPPEDE LE VIEUX "the dominating ruined castle belonged to Jean Maynier, Baron of Oppedes, whose bloody crusade against the Luberon Vaudois in 1545 destroyed 11 villages. Then a visit of the olive Mill "Moulin Mathieu" and visit of the winery "DOMAINE DE LA CITADELLE" and wine tasting of red, white and rosé wines...these fresh and smooth flavours reveal a typical Luberon soil character 12:30pm: Lunch: Cheese and olive oil tasting.

Free time in the afternoon. Some suggestions: Visit of CAVAILLON: the Synagogue (1772) or the Roman Cathedral ...or some shopping or swimming at Babeth’s gorgeous home

4pm: Hands-on cooking class 8pm: aperitif and dinner. 

Day Seven (Friday)

Breakfast.
10am: Visit to AVIGNON; The Palace of the Popes "the most beautiful and strongest house in the world." The Palace of the Popes is the symbol of the Church's influence over the western world during the 14th century. In July Avignon is the greatest theatre festival in the world and you can visit the Bridge Saint Benezet. The legendary bridge was built during the 12th century... The famous song Sur le Pont d'Avignon, which goes back to the 15th century, is known the world over. 

1 pm -Free time : Lunch and shopping in Avignon.  

3.30pm : Departure for Château-neuf du Pape, visit of the beautiful wine cellar in the castle, Château les fines Roches, and wine tasting

Then DINNER in Le Château des fines Roches *** 

Day Eight (Saturday)

Breakfast with Patrick and preparations for your departure during the morning, with the hope that we will see you again soon!