Gastronomy Tour of Provence (France)
Experience the food and wine of France - October 2023
Gastronomy Tour of Provence – October 12-20, 2023
Your Guide: Bev Burkett
Sponsored by OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute at Boise State University.
The French are known for their food and wine and rightfully so. On this October trip to Provence, we will learn more about what makes French cuisine special. We will see how the ingredients, from olive oils to cheeses, are produced and how they are prepared into dishes the world has come to love.
And let’s not forget about wine, something to be found on nearly every French table. We will visit a number of vineyards in different settings to learn about French wines and how they are made and made.
What we’ll do:
There is never a shortage of things to do in this area. Our activities will include:
Public Market visits (in both Vaison-la-Romaine and Nyons)
Cooking classes
Visit to Nyons wine-making cooperative and museum
Visit to various wineries for wine tasting
Visit to olive oil producer with olive oil tasting
Visit to local cheese maker
Visit to the Centre Artistique de Piégon for an open-air lunch
Visits to other specialty food producers
And more….
All this, of course, includes visits to various picturesque French villages where we can take lunch at a café in the village square. And in the evening we’ll partake in marvelous dinners at some of the fine restaurants in the area.
Dates: October 12-20, 2023 in Vaison-la-Romaine, France
Cost: $3750 (see below for details)
Maximum group size: 12
Meet Bev Burkett, your guide to the food and wine of northern Provence
Bev writes:
Group Leader Bev Burkett
I can’t wait to help you experience the delights of French food and wine on this tour as we visit Provencal markets, wineries, and producers of local products, from olive oil to cheese and more. We will have lessons on how to prepare these products in the kitchen and, best of all, we’ll enjoy eating together at wonderful restaurants in and around Vaison-la-Romaine.
I am South African and grew up under apartheid, giving me no chance to buy and taste French wine, or indeed visit France. But as soon as I was able to travel I did so. What is there not to love about France and French cuisine? I unashamedly consider myself a Francophile and have done so since I was a teenager. After all, I am one quarter French Huguenot.
Certainly, I could not be a proper Francophile without spending much time preparing French dishes for my friends and learning about French wine at every opportunity.
You can imagine how delighted I was when my son and his then-fiancée bought a 16th century millhouse in Normandy and were wed there in 2010. Since then, I’ve spent summers, Christmases and Easters in France and this year I will be relocating full time to a cottage there in Normandy.
I look forward to meeting you all in France. A bientôt!
Bev is currently an education consultant. She previously taught teachers of English as a second language at universities in South Africa and Vermont.
Where we’re based: Vaison-la-Romaine
Our home base for this tour will be the town of Vaison-la-Romaine in the northern part of Provence, in the Rhone river valley.
The town of Vaison-la-Romaine, and the surrounding towns of Nyons and Mirabel-aux-Baronnies, rest in a relatively undiscovered corner of Provence where castle ruins sit side by side with ancient stone villages, where tidy French gardens grow beneath spreading fruit trees.
The surrounding area is the largest grower of olives in France, while also producing apricots and other fruits and vegetables, not to mention miles and miles of grape vines.
Vaison-la-Romaine itself dates from Roman times, with an amphitheater, a full Roman town, and other ruins. Of more recent vintage is the Medieval castle that tops a labyrinth of ancient village streets.
Where we’ll stay:
Tour participants will stay at the Hotel Burrhus in the center of Vaison-la-Romaine, providing convenient access to shopping, services, the Roman Ruins and the medieval city and castle. The hotel’s large terrace looks over Vaison’s main plaza which is filled on Tuesdays, market day.
The hotel’s website is at: https://www.burrhus.com.
Trip Details
(Click + to expand)
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Workshop: October 12 to 20, 2023 (8 nights - 9 Days)
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Total cost of the tour: $3750
Supplement for single occupancy: $450
Deposit required to reserve a place on the tour: $350
(Places in the tour are limited to 12 and are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. We recommend that you reserve your place early!)Payment schedule
$350 deposit. The deposit is refundable through June 1, 2023.
$1700 initial payment (Due June 1, 2023)
$1700 final payment (Due August 1, 2023)
All payments are refundable if we need to cancel the trip due to government restrictions or unsafe travel conditions.
** Earn a $300 discount when you bring or refer a friend.
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Excursions and special activities throughout the week
Pickup and drop-off at designated airport
8 nights lodging
8 dinners and breakfasts, with appropriate amounts of beer or local wine
Local transportation by van and driver
Visits to wineries and local food producers
Admission to museums and other local sites
What’s not included:
Airfare & Travel Insurance
Lunches
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You will stay at the Hotel Burrhus in the center of Vaison-la-Romaine, providing convenient access to shopping, services, the Roman ruins, and the medieval city and castle. The hotel’s large terrace over looks Vaison’s main plaza which is filled on Tuesdays, market day.
The hotel’s website is at: https://www.burrhus.com
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Dinners will be taken at fine local restaurants throughout the week. Breakfasts are at our hotel.
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To extend your trip, and take some time to catch up on your sleep before the tour begins, you may wish to arrive early.
You can create your own itinerary, of course, before and after the workshop. You can fly into Paris, for example, and then take the train to Vaison, or visit elsewhere in Europe and fly home from there.
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Your deposit is non-refundable after June 1st, 2023, unless of course the trip is canceled for any reason by Travel Fever Tours. Natural disasters, political instability or low enrollment would form the basis for canceling a trip. After that date, payments you make are nonrefundable.
You will be contacted once the trip reaches minimum enrollment so that you can proceed with purchase of your flights and make other travel arrangements. In all cases, review of enrollment numbers will not take place any later than the date of the First Installment payment.