A Simply Fab LifeEuropean with African blood, Victoria loves sharing stories and meeting all kinds of interesting people. Her zen includes beachlife, camping, outdoors, nature, good food, wine and tasty beers.
On deciding to move to Cotignac after our 4-month sabbatical, Susana of Provence Living introduced us to Stephen and Jeany Cronk, who needed help with opening their boutique
Living as guardians for Villa Caren, the manager’s house on the Lou Calen hotel renovation building site, it was a huge delight to watch stonemason / brewmaster Renaud & his team build the ‘La Tuf’ brewpub
Our first visit to Norway and THE FIRST time with skis on. Ever.
During the sailing regatta, Les Voiles de Saint Tropez, we were invited onboard the magnificent superyacht after the race. Her incredible size hits you as you’re ready to embark; being relieved of your shoes.
Les Voiles de Saint Tropez is a fab sailing regatta held from the last weekend of September, where about 300 yachts gather in the Golf of St Tropez for a week of competitive sailing and celebrations.
Visiting the cliffs and formerly inhabited troglodyte dwelling in Cotignac is a must-do activity in this Provençal village
Vic joined two WSET-qualified wine boffs Nuria Styliano and Shelley Coleman for an interview and private tour with Jerome Pernot at Château Léoube
For the 8th year in a row, Big Five and the Red One rocked Cotignac. Great music, dancing and German food and beer. Merci beaucoup.
Marcel and Vic joined Stephen in London to present the delicious Mirabeau pale pink during the annual restaurant festival held at Regent’s Park
Camping with soft beach sand between your toes overlooking the Bay of St Tropez also sound like heaven to you? A great spot for our Land Rover #Dakota110
The best thing to do in the Irish countryside is to get out there, whether you’re on foot or even braver, by bicycle. Sean and Patricia suggested a gentle ramble up Brown Mountain.
The rustic peace and tranquility is enhanced by how welcoming and comfortable the manor is, Ballyteige Lodge is a fabulous country retreat.
Incredible history and beautiful tranquility in nature – a lovely walk in the Irish countryside.
When you have a couple of hours to kill in Dublin, Temple Bar has to be on your list of things to do … music, good beers and a great vibe
Learning to pull a pint and to see how the Guinness story is told in their flagship storehouse in Dublin
A gentle roadtrip in the Landy from Provence to Calpe, near Alicante, to join our family in a self-catering rental home for a relaxed holiday in Spain
What an experience – the noise of the grand prix cars, the sunshine, the yachts, the Monaco backdrop and my honey to enjoy it with. Fabulous!
Getting to understand village life! Winter in Provence: no tourists, just locals, friendly French interactions, grabbing bits of sunshine
A nice lie-in after a fab Christmas dinner with Patricia. Around lunchtime, we took the leisurely route to St. Tropez, enjoying the sunshine
Wow. You wait 365 days a year for it, and then suddenly it’s here. Christmas Day. And here we are in the South of France, with our great buddies, celebrating Yuletide.
What a lovely way to enjoy Christmas? Cozy and warm with candles and a lovely fire, amazing smells emanating from the kitchen and a relaxed vibe. Life is Good!!
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” ~ Dr. Seuss, author of Cat in the Hat
It’s been raining solid for 2 days. I’m not complaining. We’ve had amazing sunny weather, and the land needs rain. But when it stopped today, Patricia and I…
Watching Breaking Bad late into the night and meeting a 90-year-young legend, Patricia’s Mum.
The final DIY touches, decorating for Christmas and a slow-cooked “best dish I’ve made” lamb curry
If this post is a blurred mess, please forgive me. I think we got about half an hour’s sleep last night. Don’t ask me why. Just couldn’t sleep.…
Sounds weird doesn’t it? But it’s not got anything to do with painful cave exploring. It’s cellars along the wine route and stocking up on bread … don’t you love the French?
Gosh, we’re in week 4 of our sabbatical! Time is flying by. And finally we’ve managed to move into Pen’s room and unpack!!
After some DIY at Pen’s place, Marcel joined Victoria in the village to check out the annual Christmas market.
Today’s the day for Patricia. We collect the olive oil that’s been pressed from her grove. It’s rather impressive, the trees yielded 287,5 kgs and after tallying it up, we counted 37,5 litres of olive oil.
Installing a 4-metre Christmas tree into your lounge is a lot easier with more than two hands. Marcel and I lent ours. Even if I say so myself, it all ran very smoothly.
Maggi and Derek have done their very best to recreate an “vieille maison” using Provencal features and techniques, and the result is marvellous!
I adore mirrors. Not because I enjoy spending hours looking into them. But because of reflections are like memories.
Sidsel gave us a tip for the washing machine, Darty. And that you can order online. But we thought we’d go check it out in person.
Last night’s carol service took me back 3 decades to watching my parents sing in Pretoria. One of my proudest moments, they have both got such beautiful voices.…
I froze my socks off. And then my toes defrosted! It turns out that not all socks are equal … the fuzzy socks that I normally sleep in…
I woke up early to get some bookkeeping done. What do you mean it’s Saturday? Really? Patricia collected me around 11 am for our stroll down to the village
There’s nothing like being welcomed by a room flooded with sunlight. And then learning about the death of a beloved World Leader. Even when you want to stop the clock, life insists you carry on.
“Is it 12 o’clock yet?” Marcel was trying to read himself to sleep, and I kept asking until he said yes. “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,…
Maybe it was all the fresh air, olives and excitement, or maybe it was sheer exhaustion, but I slept like a baby. We woke up late 🙂 Even…