|
Recent additions! |
 Words
in a French Life: Lessons in Love and Language from the
South of France
Wonderful memoir and practical guide to French words in one
package, from the writer whose blog on the subject has
attracted thousands of followers. Highly recommended |
 A
Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke.
A hilarious account of an opportunistic, yet stumbling
Brit who tries to succeed during his first year in Paris.
(Even my son was laughing out loud and tried to sneak the book
out of my house and out of France - no luck.) |
 Entre
Nous: A Woman's guide to Finding her Inner French Girl
by Debra Ollivier. How to become Frencher than the
French... Fun read though. |
In the Merde for Love by Stephen Clarke.
Sequel to A Year in the Merde
(see above). |
|
| Guides |
| Michelin
Guides: |
Other
Guides: |
 For excellent
information
about the cultural and natural highlights of Provence, the Michelin green
guides are indispensable. The Provence region is so extensive, it
is covered in three guides (the first two available in English):
Provence
covers
the region from the Camargue to Marseille and north to Orange, the
Vaucluse and the Luberon
Côte d'Azur
(or
Riviera) describes the area closer to the Mediterranean, from Toulon
to Monaco and farther to the north, from Barjols to Grasse.
In French Alpes you find information
about regions not covered in the two previous guides, such as Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and
Hautes-Alpes (only available in the French version).
|
 The Red Michelin Guide for France (2006)
lists thousands of
places to stay or eat throughout France. Their famous *** system may lead
you to a unique experience. But the guide also mentions more mundane and
highly affordable places. In general, you can't go wrong
with a hotel or restaurant you find in this guide.
|
 Eyewitness Travel Guide, Provence-Côte d'Azur
-
a richly illustrated guide with
abundant and detailed information. Indispensable for a successful trip. |
 Old
Provence , Theodore Andrea Cook, is a re-edition
of a fascinating travelogue that gives a thorough
understanding of the history of the region. First
published in 1905 it remains remarkably up to date, even
though you'd wish to
find certain sites as pristine as the author did
then.
|
Lonely Planet: Provence & the
Côte d'Azur
A great
edition in the famous series.
|
 Provence
Byways: Guidebook to the Luberon Region of Provence
Based on the authors' experience hosting groups in the
village of Lourmarin for five years, this guidebook
contains back-road itineraries in the Luberon region and
beyond, suggested walking tours and a restaurant guide. |
| More
Guides:
|
 Frommer's Provence and Riviera
|
 The Rough Guide to Provence & the
Côte d'Azur
|
 Rick
Steves' Provence and the French Riviera 2006
|
Fodor's See it Provence and the
Cote d'Azur, 1st Edition |
|
| Pretty
books... |
|
|
|
A
Year in Provence and other revelations...
|
 Peter Mayle's series of books about life in Provence has
done wonders for the real-estate market in the Luberon (the setting of his
writing). Certainly the first two, A Year in Provence
and Toujours Provence
, are
the best of the lot. Mayle certainly inspired others, either to
move to Provence, or if they had already done so, to write about
it. |
 Eight
Days in Provence
by Jennifer
Huntley
A memoir of an
eight-day love-affair in Provence. |
 The Magic of Provence
,Yvone
Lenard, is a collections of tales from a French/American couple who bought
a house in the Vaucluse some twenty years ago. No woeful accounts of house
repairs (they had the house restored in their absence!), but a charming view of the vagaries of life in Provence.
Don't miss the hilarious chapter on a Mistral-swept Aida performance in
the Roman Theater of Orange. |
 Love
in Provence: Romantic Adventures in the South of France
by Yvone Lenard, author
of
The Magic of Provence
|
 A
Farmhouse in Provence
by Mary
Roblee Henry
An American Finds Old Stones, New Wine and Love
Among the French
Travel editor for Vogue,
travels to Paris, falls in love with a Frenchman, together they
buy a ruin and restore it. |
 The
Olive Farm: A Memoir of Life, Love and Olive Oil in Southern
France
by Carol Drinkwater
A British actress (from "All
Creatures Great and Small") descends with her French partner
to the south to establish an olive farm. Attractive well-written
account.
Check out the sequel:
The Olive Season: Amour, A New Life, and Olives, Too...! |
 The Letters of Vincent Van
Gogh , by Ronald de Leeuw and Arnold Pomerans
, by Ronald de Leeuw and Arnold Pomerans -- a
collection of Van Gogh's letters that offers a special
insight into the artist's sensitivities towards art,
landscapes, people, and his relationship with brother
Theo. |
 Almost
French: Love and a New Life in Paris
by Sarah Turnbull
Australian woman meets Frenchman in Bucharest, then
follows him to Paris, lives with him and tries to adapt to the
French ways. OK, it's not about Provence, but very charming and
well written memoir. |
|
|
Fiction
and autobiography...
|
|
|
|
Cook
books with a Provençal flavor...
|
 Patricia
Wells at Home in Provence : Recipes Inspired By Her Farmhouse In
France
full of highly manageable
recipes of Provencal cooking.
A must for Provencaphiles. |
 The
Provence Cookbook
The recent new book by Patricia Wells, highly
praised by her followers |
 French
Provincial Cooking
by Elizabeth David
A classic!
Check out also her:
Elizabeth
David Classics: Mediterranean Food, French Country Cooking, Summer
Cooking |
 Pedaling
Through Provence Cookbook
a favorite of
AboutProvence, with sunny
tales and realistic recipes that have, so far, succeeded,
much to the diners' delight and the cook's relief. |
 The
Provence Of Alain Ducasse
- the multi-starred chef takes you to his
preferred addresses, some famous, many little-known. From
markets to villages to outdoor cafés. Recipes included! |
 Provence:
the Beautiful Cookbook
by Richard Olney, who lived,
cooked, and wrote in France for over 50 years. He passed away at
his Provençal home in August 1999.
Check out also his charming:
Lulu's
Provencal Table |
|
|
Films
on Provence on DVD
|
|
|
|
Return: Home
|
|
My
Father's Glory & My Mother's Castle : Marcel Pagnol's Memories
of Childhood
Jean
De Florette
On
The Backroads of Provence DVD
The
Vanishing - Criterion Collection