Ribeauville located close to the Alps in North France in the region Alsace, is an amazing little village amongst green grassy hills with beautiful nature. We were stunned by its charm and beauty! Some say; ‘Alsace is a party.. . ‘ and when you visit Ribeauvillé, you understand the full meaning of the sentence. Here the ancient walls, the streets, the old houses and their wood beams are always decorated just waiting for the first note of music:
Ribeauvillé has a long history first mentioned under “Ratbaldovillare” in an official document circa 768 AD. It meant “Villa of Ratbold”, in old German “Ratbold” signified “the boldest man of the counsel”. Property of the Dukes of Alsace, the Counts of Eguisheim, the Emperor of Germany and the Bishop of Basel, it was the Counts of Ribeaupierre who were the last lords of the town before the French revolution.
We visited this charming city as part of our trip by car – together with TorAa and Anna – from the adventurous Blog Gathering at Claudie and Pierre in Ollioules, South France (see links to my posts from the gathering at the end of this post!).
Ribeauvillé is an improbably beautiful village, uncharacteristically neat and tidy, the stuff of which fairy tales are made: higgledy-piggledy, half-timbered houses alight in summer with cascading geraniums and petunias; richly decorated wrought iron inn signs; great wooden doors from beneath which waft insistent, irresistible smells of onion tart, freshly baked bread, new wine and old barrels. No wonder, I went crazy with the camera (my Nikon Coolpix). Click to see all the photos in details at my Flickr account:
My regular readers know I consider food and wine an important part of exploring a region’s culture. Here is our splendid dinner at the Hotel au Lion:
Main course: Cog au vin d´Alsace et spaetzle and of course; wine de la castle! Left, starter: Escargots “Maison” – Right, dessert: Münsterkäse
This will be the last post from our adventurous trip through Europe after the loveliest Blog Gathering at the charming hosts Claudie and Pierre in Provence. To me it has been wonderful to recall and memories these special experience and share them with you. Hope you have enjoyed it too and here are links to the previous posts:
The charm of Montreux’s setting – at the most popular resort on Lake Geneva – depends on its variety of geography and vegetation, ranging from the gardens on the lakeside, through the Alpine meadows and forests around Caux and Les Avants, to the lofty peaks of the Rochers de Naye.
With a magnificent view and an unusually mild climate, the city extends for some 6km along the shores of the lake, incorporating a number of smaller places which were formerly independent communes.
For a Norwegian – who loves nature and mountainous landscapes – it was overwhelmingly beautiful travelling through the Alps. My wife DianeCA and I, went by car with TorAa and his wife Anna from the adventurous blog gathering at Claudie and Pierre in Ollioules, South France (see links to my posts from the gathering at the end of this post!).
While at it, driving through Europe back to Norway, we had a short visit in Switzerland and the closer we got Montreux, the more we talked about our dear blog friend Jen at Expatraveler. This is where she used to live while she was an expat in Switzerland. With our own eyes, we could see she’s not exaggerating at all when reporting how beautiful this area is. I’m sure she would have loved to be our tour guide and thoroughly enjoyed both the company and the laughs
Let me share some photos taken from the city:
Beautiful architecture and a lot of great fun in Montreux.
There was a great deal of activities on the lake too:
Lots of boating and swimming right by the shore of this beautiful city.
I have more to share from this adventurous trip through Europe, so stay tuned – here are links to the previous posts:
1: Building friendships at Blog Gathering in South France
2: Blog Gathering at Ollioules in Provence France
3: Blog Gathering in Provence France visits Le Castelle
Le Castellet is a charming little village perched above the plains of the départements Var in Provence, France. Arriving on the little road from La Cadiére-d’Azur you get a good view of Le Castellet, as the road across the countryside and vineyards pretty much circles the village before finally climbing up to the center.
It was a fortified medieval town, once belonging to the Baux and King René, ruled by the Lords and Bishops of Marseille and later by the Lords of Castillon. The “center” is at the top of the village, contrary to many Provencal villages where it’s on the slope and the top has only a lonely old church or castle. The narrow streets are cobblestone and the houses are old – nicely decorated with flowers. The chateau was last rebuilt in the 15th century, and has an imposing defensive feel about it.
As guests of the wonderful hosts on our Blog Gathering; Claudie and Pierre, my wife DianeCA and I had the privilege of spending a day walking around these medieval surroundings. I took a lot of photos as always and this time I’ll share them all from my Flickr account this way (enjoy!)
Le Castellet is also a surprisingly active village with various shops, art/antiques and handcrafts as well as lively business at the restaurants. We had our lunch at one of them, trying out the famous French Crêpe or pancake cuisine. As a Norwegian, I had mine in the French ‘Fruits de Mer’ way (English; Seafood) of course:
This is my third post from our unforgettable Blog Gathering at Claudie and Pierre’s. Being guided around of a local makes all the difference; e.g. we met a friend of Claudie, a Danish lady at her interior decoration boutique. Kind of exciting to have a Scandinavian meeting in this charming village
I have a lot more to share from this adventures trip, so stay tuned – here are links to the previous posts:
Ollioules is located South France in the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, 7 km northwest of the naval port of Toulon. Beautifully set in fantastic natural scenery at the foot of the big mountain Le Gros Cerveau, this highly privileged location close to the sea but still a little away from the hectic coast life makes it an ideal holiday resort. It’s a charming medieval village with well-restored houses, streets with arcades and flowery balconies.
Ollioules (population of about 12,000) is renowned for its flowers and the town is, actually, called la reine des fleurs (the queen of the flowers). The name, Ollioules, comes from the Roman word, Oliolis, which signifies olives which have been cultivated in this area for thousands of years.
We where lucky enough to be invited by Claudie and Pierre, who opened their home for a Blog Gathering for almost a week. We had the adventure of a life time. In my last post; ‘Building friendships at Blog Gathering in South France’, you’ll read about how wonderful we were taken care of. In this post, I’ll take you along for some of our adventures in Ollioules:
Jazz Concert at the town square:
We had a lovely evening listening to a very good jazz band which included some local musicians. It felt like everyone was there in a cosy and family friendly atmosphere. Typical for a small town like this, where ‘everyone’ knows each other, is proud of their city and support local activities like this. Yeah; even the children had fun and danced all around:
Ollioules by night:
At 11:30PM, after the concert, we walked around and I had my Nokia N82 at hand, trying to capture the atmosphere. Though the lighting was a bit difficult, I do hope you get the idea of why Claudie and Pierre are proud of Ollioules and how easy you can fall in love in this town:
By night in the most charming town at Provence at full moon.
Local Art Exhibition:
Some days later, another adventure in Ollioules – everyone was there and one felt the same charming and friendly atmosphere – The exhibition with local artists (Claudie’s sister was one of them!):
Left: Mayor, Robert Beneventi opened – Right: Food and drinks was served outside.
At the beach:
Located 5 kilometres inland, Ollioules is near the lovely beaches of the Provençal coast such as: Bandol, Six-Fours and Sanary is only 7 kilometres from Toulon. Twice we were at Bandol and this was my first swim in the Mediterranean:
Left: Entering the beach – Right: RennyBA scuba diving
Like I sad in my last post; it’s impossible to fully describe in words how wonderful this time at our Blog Gathering was. Reading between the lines and watching the pics, hopefully gives you a clue.
TorAa and his wife as well as Mr. & Mrs. Lifecruiser and my wife DianeCA was there too, you might like to click to read some in their perspectives. I have a lot more to share from this adventures trip, so stay tuned – here is link to the other post:
Blogging and Social Media connect people, open up new ways to learn about other cultures, traditions and habits and create opportunities to make friends around in the Blogsphere. I know all of you have similar experiences, but to me it becomes clearer after our blog gathering in South France where Claudie at Lazazandcruisers and her husband invited us into their home. I mean, one thing is to ‘meet’ by regularly visiting and commenting on other’s blogs. During the years friendships build up and one gets to know each other quite well. Another thing is meeting in real life and inviting 6 people into your home! Admit it takes guts, which Claudie and Pierre have – and even more; a good portion of trust, generosity and warm hearted hospitality. My wife DianeCA and I were fortunate to be one of their guests and I will try my best to give you some short résumés in the coming posts.
This once in a lifetime experience lasted almost one week, full of laughter, precious conversations, unforgettable moments and developing friendships. All these adventures will first and foremost be captured in our hearts. However I hope this first post will give you an idea of what a wonderful time we had. Let’s start with a picture of our hosts which expresses some of their warm hearted hospitality:
Claudie and Pierre serving one of their unforgettable French specialities on the last night of our stay.
Seldom have I met such a sweet, open minded and friendly couple – willing to share all their best with good friends. Claudie was an excellent guide showing us the most beautiful places in their area (just you wait and see in the coming posts!) and Pierre was a brilliant chef giving us delicious examples of French cuisine. When we came, we all had a glass of Recard’s Pastis Marseille and then all this was set on the table outdoors:
e.g. Anchoïade – Tapenade with vegetables – Pissaladière ++ and of course Côte de Provence wine.
Some family and friends where invited to the welcome party too and we had the most wonderful time talking in an interesting array of languages! Mostly we used English, but also French accompanied with some Norwegian and Swedish. We sat up late into the warm Provence night eating, drinking and talking.
First night at our blog gathering; good food, good drinks and making good friends – what more can you ask for?
All this was topped off with this wonderful dessert:
A local speciality served with coffee and Eau-de-vie of the Garlaban.
Let me end this first post with some more from their servings showing French food traditions from Pierre the Chef:
Breakfast served outdoor in sunny 35C (95F).
Another of Pierre’s specialities; Daube de Boeuf
Left: Saffron Rouille and Right: The best calamari I’ve ever tasted!
It’s impossible to express everything we experienced at Claudie and Pierre’s in words. However I do hope this gives you an idea of how well we were taken care of; What wonderful hosts they were and with what tasty French food which we where served. If you look through these pics and read between the lines, you might understand why we call this a life time experience. If you click and read Claudie’s blog Lazazandcruisers, as well as DianeCA’s and the other guests; Mrs. Lifecruiser and TorAa’s blog – they’ll give you some more from their prospective.
A lot more was experienced during our stay in South France and the trip back to Norway by car with Tor and his wife Anna of course – so stay tuned!
