Over drinks last night, we saw a brochure advertising a wine and chocolate tasting event at Chateau de Mille. Jenny and Jonathan strongly advised that we go. It was scheduled from 10:00 till 4:00. We arrived at 10.30 and they swamped us as we hopped out of the car. We were the only ones there and no one else arrived before noon when we left. They explained that they expected most business in the afternoon when the Apt markets would close.

Anyway, we had a very quiet and private tasting. This Chateau winery has been in the family for five generations and we only later discovered that the Chateau itself was a retreat of the Popes of Avignon. Absolutely stunning buildings. We worked our way through a white wine and four vintages of the red. Surprisingly, for the first time in living memory, Ches was really taken with their white wine. It is a blend of: Roussane: ripe, golden, healthy, generous power and flavour. Bourboulenc: refined body, nervous with a distinct nutty taste. Clairette: low output but with a fabulous elegance. Springy, flowery and round wine

The matching of the wine to various flavoured chocolate was a real eye opener. We ended up selecting around 7 different chocolates and two bottles of wine; the white and the 2000 vintage of Chateau de Mille.

We returned home for lunch before setting out for an afternoon at Cucuron, Ansouis and Loumarin.

We told Tom to take us to Ansouis via Cucuron because we wanted to the the small lake that is a feature of this village. Tom decided to take us via a sign that pointed to Cucuron but didn't actually want to go there. As it turned out, we probably wouldn't have had time if we were to make a leisurely afternoon of it. Once again we went via the Loumarin road and it is beginning to feel comfortable (with a slight edginess).

Having parked, we wandered up toward the Chateau and passing the entrance that was closed, went on to the church. A very gloomy interior, I loved it for it's faded frescoes and a painting of Joan of Arc and a plaque naming the dead in WW1 by year; around 5 died each year of the war making a total of 25 which would have been a significant number of their youth. Probably one of the most atmospheric small churches.

As we walked back down, we saw that the Chateau gates had just been opened. Instead of the hourly tours suggested in our guidebook, they just have the one 3.00 pm guided tour. At this point it turned bitter sweet. The owner who was collecting 10E per person said that she spoke no English and that they no longer had the English guide sheets to carry with us. Worse was to come. Not only would I have no idea and Cheryl a vague idea of what the features of each room were,but once inside she made it quite clear that there would be no photography allowed. Bloody hell, 10E for no explanations and no photographs.

In many respects it was no different to many other chateau we have visited over the years however there were some unique exhibits such as Sedan Chairs and Slide Lanterns etc. I therefore make no apologies for including here a description from "Marvellous Provence" because it best describes what we saw. In fact, its close to the guided tout that we could have expected.

Pronounced (roughly!) "on-swee", Ansouis was named one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France or Most Beautiful Villages of France in 1999. But it doesn't seem to have pushed itself too hard as a tourist destination and remains one of the lesser-known Luberon villages. And this is certainly a major part of its unassuming, sleepy charm.

Ansouis' immediate pleasures are the traditional ones. Old stone houses (some dating back to the 15th century) cluster around an semi-circular bell tower with an open ironwork campanile. They're criss-crossed by lovingly restored calades, those steep, narrow, cobbled back alleys typical of the Luberon.

Large reproductions of historic postcards dotted around the village evoke the even more leisurely pace of life in Ansouis back in the olden days. However, Ansouis also has a rare jewel: a magnificent Château dating back over a thousand years, which you can visit on a fascinating tour.

THE CHÂTEAU D'ANSOUIS

The Château d'Ansouis has, as you'd expect, a colourful history. In the early 14th century, its owners, a young couple named Elzéar and Delphine de Sabran, pledged themselves to a life of austerity and were later canonised by the Avignon popes (they are buried in the village church and celebrated at a mass each September).

In later centuries the Château fell into disrepair. But restoration began in the 1930 and it hit the spotlight in 1969 when the ultra-elegant Gersende de Sabran-Pontevès, married Prince Jacques, Duke of Orléans.

Their glamorous three-day wedding reception at the Château, studded with European aristocracy and media celebrities, filled many pages of glossy magazines.

A few years later the Château faced a fresh fate. After a typically French and complicated squabble over the family inheritance, it was sold at auction, amid great controversy, in 2008.

One bidder was the couturier Pierre Cardin who has been furiously buying up property in the region, notably in nearby Lacoste and Bonnieux. Thanks to a legal technicality, he withdrew at the last minute and the Château d'Ansouis was acquired by Gérard and Frédérique Rousset-Rouvière, an Aix-based couple.

They have been continuing its restoration with tremendous love, flair and imagination ever since. The result is simply exquisite, and the few rooms still under renovation suggest just how much time and expense have been poured into the project)

Madame Rousset-Rouvière leads the guided tours herself. She's a great fund of knowledge and anecdotes about the history of the Château d'Ansouis, its conversion, provençal customs and her own personal passion for furniture and design.

We've described below some of the details she pointed out to us. But each tour is likely to be a little different, depending on the visitors' particular interests and questions. (Madame Rousset-Rouvière doesn't speak English, but she can arrange a translator if needed.)

Like many châteaux, this started life as a strategic mediaeval fortress overlooking and guarding the route between Apt and Aix en Provence. A "well" at its centre was, in fact, an escape chute and the soldiers would slot temporary wooden steps into pre-formed holes in the sides, so that they could descend without the enemy's following them.

Two underground passages linked the castle to a house in the village, enabling people and food supplies to move back and forth at times of siege.

In the Age of Enlightenment, the military fortress was gradually converted into a gracious country house, with a 17th century facade. You go in through a very grand Italianate entrance hall, whose staircase with a clevertrompe l'oeil ceiling and wide, shallow steps was designed to facilitate le pas du roi, a properly regal, gliding ascent.




At first the new and old wings were entirely separate. But roofs were added later over the open-air areas to join them up into a single unit, and parts of the old fortress are now embedded within the Renaissance Château. Moving constantly between them, the time-travelling guided tour weaves through the centuries.

The severe mediaeval castle faced north, while the Renaissance part of the Château has Versailles-style rooms en enfilade (opening on to each other along a long corridor). These all look south over a broad terrace shaded by chestnut trees, the Château's enormous, 6 hectare / 15 acre grounds and the surrounding countryside. You can even see as far as the Mont Sainte Victoire.

Many are decorated with the aristocratic version of les indiennes, the traditional patterns of Provence.

The tour may pause in the almond-green salon to admire the fine, detailled white plaster-work, or in the dining room under a Murano glass chandelier.The tablecloth on the dining table is knotted to prevent demons from climbing up to grab a bite to eat, according to a provençal superstition. Some rooms have rounded corners, too, so that the devil can't hide in the shadows.

The two master bedrooms, one for the husband, one for the lady of the château, have a little antechamber in between, "for negotiation", as Madame Rousset-Rouvière tactfully puts it. A cute little indoor kennel for the family dog is covered in brocade, a fashion set by Marie Antoinette.

The tour also goes into the private chapel in the former guard room of the look-out tower, rich with rouge royal red marble from the Pyrenees. Unusually, its Christ on the cross is depicted as still alive, with open eyes. There's also a small collection of Neopolitan santons, much finer than their rustic provençal cousins.

On the top floor is a totally different living space: an intimate, 18th century ermitage or private retreat. This delicate, very feminine apartment has an octagonal bedroom and boudoir (the special hairdressing chair has a scooped-out backrest to allow the maid to prepare her mistress' elaborate coiffures).

And the Château reserves one last stunning surprise: a door opens on to a jardin suspendu, or hanging garden, complete with neatly trimmed box hedges, rose bushes, orange trees, statues and more wonderful views.



thé in the sun (with breeze) before we head back to Loumarin for the 6.00 pm piano concert.

The concert didn't get off to a good start, or should I say, it wasn't what we expected however in many respects was better. For Drew's benefit, I'll paste the biographies at the end of this entry.

Alexandra Lescure seated herself at the Steinway at 6.10 and performed for around 30 seconds before Etienne Kippelen joined her on stage and began a lecture about dance music from Bach to Brahms. This went for around 10 minutes and was "French to me". Alexandra then performed the first Bach piece. This was followed by introductions by Etienne with Alexandra playing short illustrative pieces and then the full piece and so on through the 6 works and two encores. It was so much like the performance Drew had given to the year 12 students at AIM several years ago, I'm sorry I didn't have the French to follow. He joined her for the 4 handed Brahms piece and a Ravel encore and both were fabulous performers.

We had booked for dinner at L'heure Bleue By Yoha for 8.30 to 9.00 believing that the trip back from Loumarin would be slow. I nailed it, and we were back by 8.20. At least I though I had nailed it. I accelerated through every 20m stretch of road, whipped around every bend including the 300 degree tight bend mid way up the gorge and flew up the mountain, only to find that a woman behind me had stuck to my tail the whole way. I felt as though I had just finished a rally.

What a dinner we had at L'heure Bleue By Yoha. We had the 25E menu but elected to pay an additional 6E each for the entree of pan fried foi gras with apple. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! Probably the most sensational thing we have eaten in all our trips to France, Melt in the mouth like velvet and so rich. I also finally had a desert that was superior to Ches's. Orange Curd Tart with Chocolate. Molten jaffa.

Brits at the table next to us (arrived half an hour after us), asked for advice on the menu. What was the grain served with the pork (a grain risotto)? I suggested "Barley", he turned to his wife and friends and said "How about that, it's called barley in both Australia and England." As we were leaving, they offered congratulations on the Cricket World Cup and we discussed the upcoming RWC.

I lay awake most of the night worrying about how we are going to be able to consume the 2 1/2 bottles of red, 3 bottles of white, bottle of Pastis and 2 small beers that we have accumulated. We only have 6 days to go before leaving Provence and will probably dine out two nights. That leaves 4 nights to consume a lota grog.

Alexandra Lescure was born March 13, 1982 in Clamart. She entered the Conservatory of Aix-en-Provence at the age of 11 years in piano class. She gets the Diploma of Musical Studies at the age of 16, followed by the development of prices.

She studied in the class of preparedness Bruno Rigutto international competitions at the Conservatoire de Marseille for 4 years. She received the development award in 2004.

At the same time she joined the graduate training class pianist Bernard D'Ascoli "cantabile piano" in 2002. She also studied under Michel Bourdoucle Prisca Benoit, Véronique Pelissero, Jacques Rouvier, Géry Moutier and Dang Thai Son. She participated in master classes with pianists Laurent Cabasso, Konstantin Lifschitz, Henry Barda, Dominique Merlet, Imogen Cooper, Carlos Roque Alsina and Lyuba Timofeyeva.

She won the gold trophies Quilici Queen in 1999 and 2003 in the solo category and contemporary music to Competition "Children of the World" in Marseille. She obtained the first medal unanimously at the International Competition of Brest.

She won the National Contest "Pianistiques Nights" and finalist of the International Competition of the "International Academy Pianistique" in 2006 and 2008 in Aix en Provence.

She performs regularly in recital and as a soloist in France and abroad (USA, Brazil, Romania, Moldova, Malta).

Since 2003, she was invited to perform with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bacau and Craiova in Romania and Moldova with the Chamber Orchestra and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Ribeiro Preto in concertos by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven , Chopin and Mendelssohn.

It will also be accompanied in the PACA region by the Youth Orchestra of Provence, the Orchestra of the Conservatory of Aix-en-Provence, Avignon Provence Regional Lyric Orchestra and the Toulouse Chamber Orchestra.

In 2005, she organized a concert with "the Youth Orchestra of Provence" in partnership with the city of Eguilles and many interventions in schools attended shows for school children.

It occurs in improvisational duet with François Rossé pianist composer and improviser.

It also plays a duet with Michel Bourdoucle up.

She regularly accompanies singers for singing piano concerts.

In 2008, she created the company "Young Stars", a band of musicians, dancers and actors that occur in shows creations. Following this, it proposes the creation of a multi-arts class within the Municipal School of Eguilles.

She holds the State Diploma of piano teacher she gets CEFEDEM south of Aubagne. She manages the competition CNFPT as an assistant specializing in piano discipline in June 2011.

She taught from 2000 to 2001 at the School of Music of Aix, from 2001 to 2003 at the Conservatory of Aix-en-Provence and from 2007 to 2008 at the Conservatory of Arles.

She is currently professor of piano at the Music School Cabriès, near Marseille.


Kippelen Etienne (1984) started playing the piano at the National School of Quimper music, his hometown. He won a first medal with honors at the age of 14 at the Concours International de Brest and began performing in concerts.
Baccalaureate at the age of 16, he entered the piano class of Michel Bourdoucle CRD of Aix-en-Provence and gets a DEM piano, music theory and chamber music and a music master at the University of Aix-Marseille.Winner at the age of 21 years of aggregation, he teaches in the same university analysis, music history, aesthetics, composition since 2006.
While preparing a PhD on the melodic dimension in instrumental music after 1945 (direction Professor François Decarsin), he continued his musical career in Paris with Alain Louvier (orchestration and analysis), Christian Accaoui (aesthetic) and Cyrille Lehn (harmony). He obtained a DEM orchestration at RRC then three price analysis, aesthetics and harmony at the Paris Conservatoire.
Composer of forty works for various formations (chamber music, orchestral music, choral music), he studied composition in the class of Régis Campo (Dutilleux contest first prize in 1996) at the CRR in Marseille where he succeeded the DEM in 2008, while following the advice of Allain Gaussin. In 2009, he obtained the Higher Diploma of the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, first named in the class of Michel Merlet. It is also crowned the same year a SACEM Award.
Composer in Residence at Castle Lourmarin in July 2003, he is regularly created in various festivals: Eurochestries in Charente-Maritime, Haut-Bugey Ain Festival, Summer Festival Lourmarin, Vaucluse Spring Musical.