Provençal Bliss

There is a distinct difference to traveling versus being on vacation.  Don't get me wrong, I love traveling, but you're up early, out all day, and generally pretty beat by the time you put your head on the pillow each night. Vacation, on the other hand is a recharge. A license to be lazy that allows the  hours to glide by as the days naturally take shape without effort.  The Provence region in the south of France exists in a state of perpetual vacation.  You literally can't help but to feel the relaxation drift over as you enter.  

Domaine de Tara, our home for 10 full days.  Yeah, I'd hate me too.

For ten full days (August 1st - 12th) we stayed on the Domaine de Tara (vineyards are called Chateau or Domaine), just outside Rousillon, France.  The place was amazing, when I say on the Domaine I mean just that, as our house was literally in-between vines of pinot noir.  

Real crap day.   

Domaine de Tara is owned by Patrick and Michele, they have owned the vineyard for roughly eight years and had absolutely no experience in making wine before they purchased the domaine.  Dedication and hard work have paid off as they have been quite successful in their new venture, a comfort to see as I kick off the next chapter in my career.  They are a lovely couple who graciously invited us over for an aperitif on our last evening.  We chatted for a couple hours while sipping Aperol Spritz (3-2-1!) on their pool deck under the dusk sky.  We learned about their wine, their family and their lifetime adventure of living all over the world.  One of my favorite evenings of the trip.  

We spent our days casually discovering the neighboring towns.  Gordes and Roussillon are fairly well known in the region and definitely deserving of the press.  As the girls like to say they are "cute on cute" both dripping in culture and history.  If you plan to make a trip definitely include these two on your itinerary.  

Gordes.  I can't even make a joke, just Gordes.

At every turn, another insane lookout in Gordes.

We went wine tasting.  We canoed down the Sorgue river.  We took an epic 37 kilometer mountain bike ride.  Provence offered and we accepted.  Oh, they also have lavender fields.  I mean seriously,  they also have lavender fields?  Who needs a vacation after traveling for nearly two months?  

We did, and we took one so lay off.  

Fun Fact:  In order to adhere to the Appellation d'Origine Controlee´ (AOC) wine in the Cote de Provence must produce blended wine.  They cannot post AOC on the label of the bottle if they produce a vintage using just one varietal.