by Anne Woodyard | Jan 29, 2021 | Croatia, Dalmatian Coast, Food and Wine, France, France travel, Italy, Italy travel, Languedoc, Split, Travel Tips, venice, Vias
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
We’re looking ahead to summer – perhaps Amsterdam this year?
I recently read something that truly resonated: “Slow travel was a trend before Covid hit, but it’s savored travel I’m seeking now—enjoying everything to the very fullest.”
Savoring, as far as I’m concerned, takes time, and that’s where Slow Living comes in: staying in a place long enough – in a home, not a hotel – to savor details, daily life, off-the-beaten-track spots, local tastes, a leisurely stroll, one sunset after another….what would you add to the list?
We’re savoring life in Split Croatia at the moment, in a marvelous apartment with the most fabulous view, 
drawing me again and again to the balconies or windows. One evening we both stopped what we were working on and just stood and watched the blazing orange ball of the sun slip into the western sea – priceless!
Over the years we’ve savored life in a Cambridge flat, a Parisian pied-a-terre, an Amsterdam canal-side townhouse,
or a Barcelona apartment, shopping the local markets, 
becoming a regular at the café, riding a bicycle to the park, or just sitting in the sun on a balcony.
Long before Airbnb, VRBO was our go-to site to find homes in the places we wanted to spend time in. Seduced by the idea of a place of our own, we then bought a village house in the south of France
and that led to another way to live like a local in a desirable spot: Home Exchange! Years ago these sites offered only the options of Reciprocal (exchange at the same time) or Non Reciprocal (exchanging at different times) house trades, but now have a Guest Points program, which is working well for us during the time we are not allowed entry into France and can’t enjoy our places, La Belle Cour and Ambiance d’Aix for ourselves. Several European families or couples have been in our homes for a week or more, seeking a more inviting place to socially distance, allowing us to build up our Guest Point stash for when we can travel.
Savoring life allows time to try all the bakeries in town, we hear from our renters and exchangers at La Belle Cour in Vias, to find the BEST croissant!
Living in our home in France, home exchange or rental has allowed us time to feel like a local while in a Venice apartment in a totally untouristed part of town,
to learn from a neighbor in Vias how to make a south-of-France specialty, Petits Farcis (meat-stuffed vegetables),
to sample how the local wine tastes with the local food, to get a tip from a gowned student near our river-side Cambridge apartment to try the corner coffee shop, to keep looking up and around on our daily walk and discover a new-to-us sight, to connect the dots in our current city – oh, THAT is what we see from our window!
Several things top our list of requirements in places to settle for a while: a well-equipped kitchen, a view, walking distance to sights, transport, shopping and markets, a comfortable bed, and of course good wifi.
Our top floor apartment in Split has met all of these requirements and more…I wonder where will we savor life next?
by Anne Woodyard | Jul 16, 2017 | Agde, France, La Belle Cour, Languedoc, south of France, Vias
July 2017
the Languedoc region of France
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
Why not join us on our newest tour in September – Bordeaux and Dordogne
It’s been over 13 years since we purchased La Belle Cour in the village of Vias, in the Languedoc region, the “other south of France”.
Everyone knows about Provence, on the Mediterranean Coast towards Italy, but this coastline, towards Spain, is much less on traveler’s radar…and as we pause on our drive southwest we’re inundated in a memorable sound – the cicadas of summer!
Others have been taking care of the property, a charming village house that sleeps 8, for us for a few years, and it’s time for us to spend some time there, making sure that it is still a delightful holiday rental for savvy travelers in search of a different take on southern France. We walk into the sunny “beautiful courtyard” mid-morning, drop off our luggage and walk through the property to get an idea of what we need to purchase for needed upkeep and replacement of items, then head to the waterfront for lunch.
Just east of Vias, Grau d’Agde is another pretty village,
set where the Herault River meets the Mediterranean. Walking on the jetty of familiar black stone of the area (the church in sight of La Belle Cour is constructed of that same basalt from a long vanished volcano) out towards a lighthouse, 
we marvel at the vista – blues of all shades to the horizon and beyond, above the hazy Pyrenees near the Spanish border.A delicious lunch awaits us, water lapping underneath our feet – 
under 20 euros for three courses and a glass of wine. That fish couldn’t be fresher! 
And as we finish our dessert we see the evening meal on its way in – seagulls circling and diving above the boat 
as fishermen prep their catch and toss the inedibles out for the birds.
Ready to shop, we pass a roundabout with a replica of the basalt church in Agde 
and head for a Bricoman, where inside it’s just like being in the Home Depot down the street in Virginia – even to the orange decor and aprons on the staff! 
Of course it’s a little more challenging to choose the right painting and hardware supplies in french!
The next day we’re warmed by the sun as we do errands in the village –
paying the water bill at the town hall, checking out shops and sights to make sure our House Book is up to date.
We sample a new restaurant, Remise de Christian, in the center of the village – 
a welcome pause in the hours of cleaning, repairs, multiple trips to the trash collection center, and painting.
Our friend Anne, who took such good care of La Belle Cour for a couple of years, has moved back to the area and is living in the elegant city of Beziers, north of us. Paul Riquet, the genius behind the Canal du Midi (which passes right through Vias), constructed in the 1600s to connect the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, is honored in his home town. 
Anne has found a gorgeous apartment in one of the most beautiful properties in Beziers – 
we’re so happy for her!
Wednesday’s market day, added during the season to the all-year Saturday market, and oh has the market expanded! We hear the vendors setting up early in the morning, and walk through the swimsuit and beach blanket laden stalls (the beach is about a mile away),
happy to see how popular our little village is….and well-taken care of too, with some lovely additions like abundant flower boxes scattered through the lanes, 
and an update for the ancient market hall in the center of town.
We pick out a few lunch items to enjoy in the courtyard, 
then spend the rest of the day painting and prepping the house for the next renters.
One more visit to Grau d’Agde for dinner – if we had time we would join the crowds for the Sardinade, so much fun to watch as the fishermen toss down a blanket of fish on a grate, 
top them with another grate,
and char those sardines. They’re done in just a few minutes, shoveled off the grate onto plates handed off to the servers, 
and the line of hundreds inches along, balancing sardines in one hand, wine in the other.
What a pleasure to be back in the Lovely Languedoc – 
we look forward to returning with friends! Let us know if YOU would like to book a week or two – although La Belle Cour is full for the rest of the summer, we highly recommend a fall visit – September and October are particularly lovely, with weather warm enough to enjoy the beach too!
by Anne Woodyard | Mar 7, 2017 | France, La Belle Cour, Languedoc, south of France, Vias
How about a place of your own in the South of France? La Belle Cour, in Vias, is on the market! Here – memories of our lovely haven – a post from 2011
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
We’re looking ahead to summer – why not join us on the fabulous Amalfi Coast , in Provence, or Amsterdam?
Even doing errands in Vias is fun, with those fancy fields of crimson poppies out our car window.
Yesterday we were on the hunt for some flowers of our own, getting La Belle Cour (the beautiful courtyard, as our Vias home is named) even more beautiful just in time for holidaying guests. 
They arrive Sunday, and we’re enjoying getting everything ready, imagining their delight as they do the things we love to so – sit in the courtyard, spiral up the stairs to the balconied bedrooms, or prepare a meal in the sunny yellow kitchen.
It’s another gloriously sunny south-of-France day and we’re surprised to see how many people are in the village. 
Walking to the center of town, we bump into Kacem and family. The local internet guru, he’s the one who took care of switching our provider and installing new equipment for wifi and improved tv reception. They tell us that this is a two-week Easter vacation, the beginning of “the season” that brings sun-seekers to our beach-side village. And it’s almost warm enough to go to the beach today!
A few things from the Spar market in the historic market hall, a fresh baguette from the bakery,
and then a stroll through the open-air market curling around the ancient church.
Here’s a colorful tumble of baskets – just 5 euros!
Our neighbors, the Brunos, always invite us to sit down for an aperitif of local muscat, so we choose a bottle for them at Cave Calmels, where a local guy is pumping his wine from the huge vats – fill ‘er up!
The flowers are planted, and the courtyard is clean and ready for lunch. Just a couple of days here to take care of business – so glad we can have one meal in our favorite spot!
by Anne | Aug 21, 2012 | Abbaye de Silvacane, Aix en Provence, Debussy Quartet, La Belle Cour, Luberon String Quartet Festival, Vias
The South of France
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you! Why not join us in Bath, in November, for the Mozartfest?
Yesterday we participated in a yearly French experience, although not by choice. The last two weeks of August are the high point of the the grand exodus to the south, when the toll roads are bumper-to-bumper with vacationers. Our journey took us merely from southeast to southwest, but we got caught in periodic bouchons (traffic jams, literally, corks!) all along the normally two- hour route from Aix to Vias.
With a short window of time to take care of some business in Vias in between rentals, we watched the minutes tick by as the two hour trip turned into three, then nearly four, with delays along the route in unexpected places, and loooong waits at nearly every toll booth, whether to pick up a ticket or to pay. We finally made it, arriving in Vias as the Saturday market was in full swing, with not a parking spot to be found. We waited in a lot until someone left and grabbed their spot, and walked to La Belle Cour through more market stalls than we’ve ever seen. We’ve been here in the summer before, in between rental guests (this year it’s booked solid), but the market has definitely expanded since we spent time here in the high season. Jaunty flags draped the lanes – the whole town’s a party in the summer! It took us nearly as long to get back to Aix – we felt like we were driving all day – guess we almost were!
So Sunday we’re happy to stay close to home, walking to church, enjoying a quiet afternoon in the coolness of our apartment, Ambiance d’Aix, before driving north for an evening concert of the Luberon String Quartet Festival in the cloister of the 12th century Abbaye de Silvacane.
In years past our favorite quartet, the Fine Arts, have played here and we hope to hear them here again in the future. This evening the Debussy Quartet delights us with an eclectic program of Haydn, Smetana, and Ravel.
While I sit under the shaded arches of the cloister,
Kirk strolls in the cool empty spaces of the ancient monastery as he listens.
During intermission a local vineyard, Chateau Paradis, hosts a tasting of their rosés, reds and whites.
This peaceful stone haven is such a wonderful place to enjoy a concert, and brings to mind our very first Music and Markets Tour, right here in Provence in 2003, when we first heard a quartet here. These marvelous and memorable historic venues – an ancient cloister, an elegant chateau or majestic castle – were part of what triggered our desire to share such wonderful music and places with others. That continues to be such a great pleasure today, nearly ten years later.
by Anne | May 5, 2012 | Canal du Midi, France travel, Languedoc, south of France, Vias
Friday – Saturday, May 4-5, 2012
Vias, France
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
Join us on a summer tour on the Amalfi Coast, in Provence, or Amsterdam!
Leaving the painting and chores behind, we’re on the road again, making that two hour drive to Toulouse airport to get our suitcases. We “slept on the idea” last night, and talked to the Vias post office this morning to see what would happen to our bags if they arrived after we left. Answer? They’d be left at the Vias post office. I don’t think United would help us get them from the post office, so that decided us – and now the bags are tucked safely in the trunk and we’re on our way back to Vias.
We’ve often noticed this expressway stop, “Evocation du Canal du Midi” and decide to pull in there for lunch.
And right by the Autoroute, no need to exit, is a little port for Canal Cruises.
We’re not the only ones who’re stopping here for lunch – that sunny deck sure looks inviting. Maybe we can bring our sandwiches and join them?
Not really – work calls, so we munch our baguettes with chicken as we drive.
Saturday’s market day in Vias so we stroll the stalls for lunch inspiration… a roast chicken here, a salad fixings of oak leaf lettuce, roasted beet, and fennel there, and a young spring artichokes complete the main course…
then a tub of fragrant gariguettes, little spring strawberries, for dessert, with a dollop of crème fraiche.
A few more paint supplies are needed, and we pass a brilliant swathe of poppies on the way.
Back to Vias – so thankful for a beautiful sunny day – just perfect for lunch in the courtyard, our favorite place in Vias! That artichoke bouquet is pretty enough to decorate the table, but into the pot it goes.
Kirk has finished the white framing, and the creamy yellow façade touch- ups, so now it’s time for the blue balcony. We’re making it through our long list of to-do’s…. but realize that it’s pretty much never- ending for this old house.
by Anne | May 4, 2012 | Canal du Midi, Castelnaudry, La Belle Cour, Le Vieux Logis, Vias
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Vias, France
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
Join us on a summer tour on the Amalfi Coast, in Provence, or Amsterdam!
What’s most important when flying? Arriving safely, right? So that’s definitely an “up” because here we are at La Belle Cour, safe and sound. Smooth flights from Dulles to Brussels, then on to Toulouse, then a two hour drive to Vias, with the opportunity to discover a new-to-us place on the way. We stop in Castelnaudary, whose claim to fame is the Languedoc specialty, cassoulet. As we drive up to the old part of town looking for an interesting restaurant we pause with a WOW at this towered arch.
The town is also a starting point for Canal de Midi boat rentals, and just beyond this charming old bridge is a wide basin with several boats moored, several with luncheon-of- the- boating – party scenes on this sunny day.
What’s the “down”? Well, our luggage did not arrive in France with us. Never a happy occurrence, right? We sat on the runway for an hour before taking off from Dulles, leaving us with just over an hour to connect in Brussels. Kirk and I made it with no problem, and even had time to dash to the Star Alliance lounge for a cappucino and pain au chocolate, but for some reason the luggage did not make it. So we filled out all the forms in Toulouse, warning the agent that we would be staying a long way from there, and for just a couple of days. “No problem, it is the airline’s fault, and they will get the bags to you”.
We’ve rented the smallest car for this trip, and had talked about where we could stop for lunch on the way to Vias, knowing that our pile of luggage would be too big to stay hidden, so we couldn’t consider leave the car unattended while eating (how many tales have we heard about car windows being broken to get the valuables inside? It’s never happened to us, thankfully). Well now we just have our two little carryons, nicely tucked in the trunk, so we can stop anywhere we want – look on the bright side, right?!
Lunch is an I- know- I’m – in – France moment, with a Salade de Gesiérs (Gizzard salad) for me – not something I can get in the States, unless I bring back a can of Gesiérs Confit and make it at home. Kirk’s bountiful salad, with a multitude of cheeses, from goat to cantal to roquefort, is another delicious taste of France.
It’s been a month since we were in the south of France, and it is, of course, much greener now, with vineyards sprouting with spring growth, fountains of golden broom and poppy strewn fields delighting our eyes as we drive.
Within the hour, Kirk’s painting the white borders around the doors and windows along the lane, the job he couldn’t finish when we were last here due to rain. We’ve been praying for good weather this time so he can get this done before the spring/summer renters come to enjoy our place!
I’m doing indoor chores, and calling the airport to see if our bags have arrived on later flights. No answer in Toulouse, so I call the United 1K baggage number, and they confirm that our bags are in Toulouse, having arrived on two different flights, two different airlines – who knows why??! I keep trying to get an answer at Toulouse, and finally do. Yes the bags are there, but since we are more than 150 kilometers away they will be sent by Chronopost, and not delivered to the door as we expected. And the Chronopost pickup is not until Friday night at 6, so we should get the bags by 1 pm Saturday, IF they arrive on time via Chronopost, which in our minds is NOT a sure thing. Well we have to leave early Sunday for our Music and Markets tour in Barcelona. So what if they arrive after we leave? Whose responsibility are they? United says they’re now Brussels Airlines problem (so much for the premier baggage service for 1K customers…) Brussels Airlines says they’re Avia Partners problem, and when they’re picked up by Chronopost the responsibility will pass to them. This is definitely not reassuring… so we come to the conclusion that we’ll have to take FOUR hours out of our already very full day Friday to drive to and from Toulouse to get the bags ourselves. You can imagine how we feel about that!
Let’s just put it out of our mind and enjoy dinner. Vias’ best restaurant is Le Vieux Logis, in the 13th century volcanic stone townhome of the ancient lords of the Agde bishopric, tucked inside the sole remaining gate, also of volcanic stone from Agde, of the walls that ringed the village in the 1200’s.
Stuffed oysters for Kirk, and a melt- in- your- mouth confit duck leg for me, accompanied by some good Languedoc wines, do a good job of filling our minds with good things as Vincent, the owner, smilingly serves his full house.
The huge fireplace of Le Vieux Logis is a listed historic monument – I’m sitting beside a treasure of our little country village!
Lost luggage and lost time are minor problems – we have so very much for which to be thankful!
to sample how the local wine tastes with the local food, to get a tip from a gowned student near our river-side Cambridge apartment to try the corner coffee shop, to keep looking up and around on our daily walk and discover a new-to-us sight, to connect the dots in our current city – oh, THAT is what we see from our window!
The best way to describe us (Kirk and Anne Woodyard) is that we're interested in the stories that make the places we visit come alive.
We've visited Europe more times than we can count, learned some entertaining stories there, and met some warm and helpful people who also enjoy the wonders of music and life in Europe. Between our music-related travels, we split our time between our homes near Washington DC and in the the south of France. We look forward to sharing these stories and friends and experiences with you.