Our home in France - first impressions

Road sign, entering from the west

Puyloubier (week 4)


Our France home is in Puyloubier (Bouches-du-Rhône département) which is about 15 minutes east of Aix-en-Provence, close to the border of Var.  Wikipedia helpfully informs us that people from this area are "bucco-rhodaniens".  The village is about 1500 people, has a small grocery store, two bakeries (boulangerie-pâtisseries), and multiple restaurants, one of which the locals can't go to because it's mentioned in the Michelin guide and therefore very busy.  Most importantly for Yolanda, there is a tennis club.  It is up the side of Montagne Ste-Victoire, which was painted frequently by Cézanne, and is a popular hike (but not a simple one).

Map of Puyloubier

There are also many fruit stands with local produce, although where they grow them (between the vineyards) I'm not sure.  Local fruit right now is peaches, apricots, etc., but pretty much everything you want is grown here - green beans, garlic, apples, tomatoes, cucumbers, canteloupes, etc.  The locals are very snobby about produce, "Well obviously you don't buy fruit at the grocery store!"  Speaking of grocery stores, nearby Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume has a very large superstore (HyperU) in the middle of a shopping complex (it reminds me of Crowfoot Crossing in Calgary), which is pretty convenient.  Trets is a little closer, but the road is narrower and the store (a Carrefour) a little smaller.

Vineyards as far as the eye can see

Because of the climate and the soil, this is purely a wine-making region.  The next town south is 10 km away - and the entire trip travels through vineyards.  Some of the caves/chateaux/domaines have direct-sell outlets (although we haven't gone in one yet).  There is a cave cooperative (literally: wine cellar co-op) about 200m from our door, so we've been trying some of their fare first.  Provence is best known for its rosés.  For example, one nearby winery (Château de la Galinière) has Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Carignan, and Viognier varietals.

The Mediterranean is not a convenient distance, especially since most of the roads in this region are either 1.5 lanes wide or toll highways.  It cost 45 minutes and €11.80 in tolls to get to what looked like the nearest beach, plus €1/hour for parking.  Of course, the boys didn't want to go and then didn't want to leave.  But more on that on the beach blog.