Provence: Mason Trevier

If you've been reading my posts lately, you know I just got back from France. While I was taking cooking lessons in the town of Carpentras in Provence, I stayed at Maison Trevier, an 18th century manor house. The house is beautiful--I wish I could transport it back to Canada and live in it. Since I can't, I decided to feature it in a post of its own so I can at least share some of the beauty.

The garden is absolutely perfect. Just the right size, enclosed by a stone w

all, filled with lovely plants--it even includes a unique greenhouse and a pool.

By the garden wall

The inside of the greenhouse seemed to be carved out of a giant rock. All it needed was a mossy bench for lying on.

Inside the greenhouse

The garden was full of thriving herbs that often featured in our cooking lessons

Although the pool was small, it was available for soaking (or short laps). Also--gorgeous.

Gina has two adorable, nearly identical, kitties. They weren't allowed in the main part of the house, but I enjoyed quality time with them in the garden. This is Soto (although I usually called them petit mignon or petit jolie--terms of endearment applicable to anything small and cute, and particularly apt for these two).

Rinzai wanted to play and Soto wanted to nap--this was the result. It was like being home with my own guys :)

Rinzai retreated to the safety of the overhead vine.

And Soto settled in for his nap :)

The chandelier in my room.

It seems dual closets on either side of the bed are pretty common in France. I loved the blue panes of glass; I suspect they might be original while the colourless panes are replacements over centuries of use.

Detail of the fireplace in my room

I love this candle holder/oil burner. I forgot to ask Gina where she got it, but I've seen similar ones in Greece.

The door to my room (from inside the room)

Door hardware

This is a sitting room that my room (and others) opened to.

Chandelier in the sitting room

Beautiful staircase

I think the stairs are made from limestone. Notice how they're worn down in the middle from centuries of use. Love it.

View from the kitchen into the garden

Gina's keys

Gina was somewhat exasperated with my unwillingness to keep the cat off the table. Sorry, Gina--if I can't keep my own cats off our table, I'm not going to shoo yours away.

Detail of a shutter with olive tree in front

These were some extra shots I took with my phone:

Rinzai finally sat still long enough for me to get this first shot of him.

I kept taking photos of the chandeliers but almost missed the fantastic ceilings.

One of Soto's favourite nap spots.

Lovely tiles on the main floor

Next post: Around Carpentras

Missed one of my posts about France? 

Zen and the Art of Provencal Cookery, Part 1 

Zen and the Art of Provencal Cookery, Part 2

Zen and the Art of Provencal Cookery, Part 3

Zen and the Art of Provencal Cookery, Part 4 

Zen and the Art of Provencal Cookery, Part 5 

Zen and the Art of Provencal Cookery, Part 6 

 

[Edited to remove an old link. Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]

Zen and the Art of Provencal Cookery, Part 1

I'm not an ideal traveller. I have anxiety, for starters, much of it focused on planes, the rest on unfamiliar places and situations. That, right there had me telling myself I was better off not going anywhere I couldn't get to via road trip. Besides that, as you can probably tell from this blog, I'm a homebody. I like taking care of my nest, hanging out with my SO and the cats, reading, crafting--all the good stuff. Online shopping is, as far as I'm concerned, the best thing ever.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I just got back from France.

I'm not sure what came over me. I was idly looking at an ad for a culinary tour of Provence, and something inside me just went: I have to go. I'm sure it didn't hurt that I've been dreaming of Provence since forever. And the idea of learning how to cook authentic Provencal cuisine under the tutelage of a French chef didn't suck either.

This photo doesn't do justice to the Provencal countryside (but it was the only one I took because I was too tired to really think straight). I snapped it with my phone from the TGV train on my way to Avignon

So not only did I go to France, I went by myself. The SO, not a foodie, wasn't that interested in joining me (fair enough--someone had to watch our high-maintenance furballs). Everyone else who might have been interested couldn't go for one reason or another. And I realized that if I sat around waiting to live my dreams based on other people's schedules and inclinations, I'd might as well just forget my dreams. So I did my best to ignore the anxiety and went for it.

I didn't go with the group tour I'd originally read about. I figured I'd be better off sorting my own trip out (I never was very good at following someone else's itinerary). After badgering the proprietress of Maison Trevier in Carpentras, Provence, with a thousand questions, I signed up for a six-night stay with five cooking lessons taught by Gina Trevier, a chef formerly of Paris. It was a good choice.


First of all, the house itself--an 18th century manor, was stunning. But more about that in a future post, of which there will be many. 

A couple of shots of my room, just to give you an idea of the beauty of Maison Trevier

Once I arrived, I found out that Gina is "retired" (although she's ridiculously busy for someone supposedly at leisure). Usually, she takes in only the occasional group of food lovers, but it turns out she liked my blogs and decided to make an exception for me and let me visit on my own! I was the only person staying at Maison Trevier that week, and other than the first lesson, which included a lovely family of Americans who were staying in nearby Avignon, my cooking lessons with Gina were all private lessons. If you're thinking that sounds awesome, you're not wrong.

What were the lessons like? What did we cook, and--more importantly--eat? Stay tuned for my next post and all the delicious details. I'll just say that Provence was worth the wait...

Just a taste of what's coming in the next post

Photos ©Whimsy Bower

 

[Edited for formatting and to remove a broken link. Follow me on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]