Lost in Provence Vox 2009-12-22T19:18:52Z Lisa Pepin http://lisapepin.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom tag:vox.com,2006:6p00c22528f9988e1d/ Happy Birthday to Me! tag:vox.com,2009-12-18:asset-6a00c22528f9988e1d01240b8617cb860e 2009-12-18T15:26:08Z 2009-12-22T19:18:52Z Lisa Pepin http://lisapepin.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Champagne on the train Mama Shelter Restaurant at the Ritz The Ritz Dinner at the Salle Pleyel Café

Just when even I thought I couldn't get any more spoiled, my husband took me to Paris to see Sting on my birthday. Our friends Jan and Paul drove us to the train station in Aix in the morning, kindly relieving us of the burden of leaving our ca...

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]]> London Calling! tag:vox.com,2009-12-10:asset-6a00c22528f9988e1d01240b8321b1860e 2009-12-10T12:24:45Z 2009-12-22T19:22:47Z Lisa Pepin http://lisapepin.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

The Anchor Pub London calling! Classic London Pub Eggs Benedict at the Wolseley Harrods Fish!

When London calls, the answer is a resounding "yes!" My lovely husband surprised me by booking this three-day trip to London as part (yes, just part!) of my birthday present this year. We got the earliest flight possible on Saturday morning in o...

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]]> Staycation: Day Six tag:vox.com,2009-08-13:asset-6a00c22528f9988e1d01101641fa46860b 2009-08-13T08:23:36Z 2009-12-09T20:30:00Z Lisa Pepin http://lisapepin.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Porquerolles Porquerolles Our lunch in Porquerolles Johann with his rum punch in Porquerolles

I think this was my favorite of this year's Staycation days. We went to Porquerolles, which is an island just off the coast of France, near Hyères. The island is small, just 7km by 3km, and is a protected nature reserve. There are no hotels on t...

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]]> Staycation: Day Five tag:vox.com,2009-08-11:asset-6a00c22528f9988e1d011018605793860f 2009-08-11T10:04:34Z 2009-08-13T16:43:23Z Lisa Pepin http://lisapepin.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Jackie Talouarn shows us her uniform from the concentration camp in Ravensbruck A photo of Jackie taken before World War Two Jackie's concentration camp uniform

On Saturday we drove Johann's grandparents to visit an old friend of theirs. Jacqueline (Jackie) Talouarn and Marco (Johann's grandfather) knew each other during the war. She was married to Jean LeGalleu, who was the head of Marco's resistance g...

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]]> Staycation: Day Four tag:vox.com,2009-08-09:asset-6a00c22528f9988e1d011016bf83e3860d 2009-08-09T12:13:10Z 2009-08-24T18:05:51Z Lisa Pepin http://lisapepin.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

The Durance Outdoor table

I'm so far behind! Day four of our Staycation was last Tuesday, and while there's not a lot to report from it, we still really enjoyed ourselves. In the morning we went kayaking on the Durance, which was deliciously cool and refreshing in this ...

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]]> Staycation: Day Three tag:vox.com,2009-08-04:asset-6a00c22528f9988e1d011016bd67dc860d 2009-08-04T21:18:57Z 2009-08-13T08:52:42Z Lisa Pepin http://lisapepin.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Châteauneuf du Pape Châteauneuf du Pape Châteauneuf du Pape Châteauneuf du Pape Châteauneuf du Pape

Day three of this August's Staycation found us in Châteauneuf du Pape. Sound familiar? It's more than just fancy wine, it's a whole REGION of fancy wine. We set the GPS for the general area and when we got close, we just drove in the direction o...

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]]> Staycation: Day Two tag:vox.com,2009-08-03:asset-6a00c22528f9988e1d011016bca9bc860d 2009-08-03T09:58:42Z 2009-11-03T07:51:20Z Lisa Pepin http://lisapepin.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Flooding from the storm Flooding from the storm Loulette's table Roast wild boar and ratatouille Johann by the pool Photographer's stand in Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence

Day two of our staycation started with a bang. Literally. We were woken at 7.00 a.m. by a thunderstorm so loud and violent that I reverted to my six-year-old self, pulling the covers over my head and reminding myself again and again, "The thunder...

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]]> Staycation: Day One tag:vox.com,2009-08-01:asset-6a00c22528f9988e1d011017fc4203860e 2009-08-01T21:03:31Z 2009-08-06T10:22:04Z Lisa Pepin http://lisapepin.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Sunflowers Garden vegetables! Musée Extraordinaire l'Art Glacier l'Art Glacier Wine-tasting party in La Tour d'Aigues

It's that time of year again! You often hear that nobody works in August in Europe. That's because it's true. But instead of taking off one entire week, like last year, Johann is taking two four-day weekends in a row (I know. It's rough to be him...

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]]> Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Champagne... tag:vox.com,2009-07-14:asset-6a00c22528f9988e1d011016738f34860c 2009-07-14T10:47:15Z 2009-07-31T16:26:23Z Lisa Pepin http://lisapepin.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Devaux Some of Devaux's different varieties The Champagne region The Devaux warehouse (I think I saw the Ark of the Covenant in there) The Champagne region A glass of Champagne and my dessert

We learned a lot on our trip to the Champagne region. We got a complete tour of the Devaux facilities and saw Champagne being bottled right before our very eyes. Devaux is the fifth-largest Champagne maker in the world and produces bubbly for l...

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]]> Bonjour from the Champagne Region! tag:vox.com,2009-07-09:asset-6a00c22528f9988e1d011016aafa91860d 2009-07-09T15:01:01Z 2009-07-16T09:54:40Z Lisa Pepin http://lisapepin.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Champagne! Champagne! Champagne! What has two thumbs and loves Champagne? This guy. Champagne! Momo with a bottle of Devaux

Bonjour from France's Champagne region! The trip started well, with first class seats on the TGV from Marseille to Dijon. The high-speed train moves too fast for photos of the countryside to look like anything but a blur (at least, with my came...

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