Christmas markets, ateliers, parades, antiques and more. Support your local creatives and bask in the festive ambiance of the holiday season. There are a lot of festive events happening this weekend in Provence, here is just a smattering. In addition to theses events, it is the Téléthon this weekend; things will be very lively despite the chilly weather. The Téléthon is a country-wide annual fundraiser for rare diseases. Many villages and towns organise local-specific events. I remember the first time that we ate Soupe au Pistou it was at long tables set up in the square of Maussane surr ..read more

Come see recent paintings and drawings by Ashley Tinker at her September solo exhibition in Mollégès, Provence. Address : Bibliotèque de Mollégès 3 route de Noves, Mollégès, France Exhibition opening hours from 9-27th of September : Mondays 9h-12 Tuesdays 14h-18h (2pm-6pm) Wednesdays 9h-12h30, 14h-18h Saturdays 9h-12h30 Exhibited are large oil paintings and ink drawings inspired by Alpilles landscapes. About Ashley Ashley Tinker is a Canadian artist that has been living in Provence for 10 years. An anglophone from Montréal, Ashley moved to Provence with her partner Robin in search for La Bel ..read more

Come see recent paintings and drawings by Ashley Tinker in Mollégès, Provence. The vernissage will be Thursday, September 7th and 7pm. Come have a glass of wine and a wander! Address : Bibliotèque de Mollégès 3 route de Noves, Mollégès, France Exhibition opening hours from 9-27th of September : Mondays 9h-12 Tuesdays 14h-18h (2pm-6pm) Wednesdays 9h-12h30, 14h-18h Saturdays 9h-12h30 Exhibited will be large oil paintings and ink drawings inspired by Alpilles landscapes. Images of the oil paintings will be coming soon for online sale. If interested, contact Ashley directly via email (curiousprov ..read more

This winter, Domaine la Pierre Blanche boutique hotel in Eygalières contacted me to commission 6 large (130x90cm) oil paintings for their newly decorated rooms. After working for several months, we thought it would be fun to have an exhibition of the finished works in our rental, la Picholine. The managers of the hotel were able to choose from 11 oil paintings. After a fun flurry of reserving paintings using CuriousProvence stickers on the walls, they chose 6 for the hotel, and one for themselves. The theme for the works was Alpilles landscapes, olive groves and early morning skies, all of w ..read more

A personal account of renting an electric car in rural Provence Having access to a car is essential in Provence as some of the best sights you’ll see are the stunning countryside between hilltop towns. Exploring small villages, and the countryside around them, is the best thing about visiting Provence (other than eating of course). I’ve had quite a few people ask me recently if renting an electric car in Provence would be a good idea. As I have no personal experience with this, I asked someone that I knew had just completed an extensive trip to Provence focusing on small villages in the Lubero ..read more

Rent our newly renovated barn in the Mollégès, Alpilles, Provence. This will be a weekly holiday rental. We are finally taking bookings for our holiday rental, Picholine, in Provence ! I have to start things by saying that there are still lots of things to do to get Picholine entirely ready for accommodating guests next Spring including the garden, stairway handrail, add light fixtures, hanging art etc. Though, we have come a long way from when we bought this property in 2019. I’ll be updating the photos here once things are complete. However, in order to move things along we will be taking r ..read more

Tips and locations for proposals from a professional photographer in Provence Proposal Photoshoots in Provence  Provence is a romantic and beautiful place. Over the past few years I’ve noticed more and more demand for engagement photoshoots with stunning backdrops. To be honest, romantic photoshoots are my absolute favourite so I’m more than happy to oblige! It’s become a little bit of a niche of mine. Engagement Photography  An engagement photoshoot can be the same as any romantic or anniversary photoshoot. The only difference is that if you like we can include a bottle of bubbly to ..read more

Five week countdown before we hope to finish our rental ! Still very much a worksite- but getting somewhere. It’s the five week countdown to when we hope our barn renovation will be near completion! Since I last posted here Robin has been working 7 days a week while I’ve been crazy busy with photoshoots in the local hilltop towns, lavender fields, sunflower fields, olive groves and more. I’ve been sharing daily updates on plaster boarding, tiling etc on Instagram but things are really going to start to come together in the next couple weeks. Well, that’s the plan anyways.. This will be a weekl ..read more

In progress last winter. The oldest part of our barn (the left side with the stone) was built in 1777. Well, it’s been three years since we bought this property (see the original article here), an old tired farm that has a house and 2 barns on it. The barn above has been our main focus; however, we’ve also spent some time this past winter re-doing another roof, which definitely squeezed our resources. How it startedLast year’s progress first yearDownstairs bedroom wall, second floor beams and windows made into doors I haven’t updated much here on the site, you’ll have to forgive me. The proces ..read more

Online Spring Exhibition by artist Ashley Tinker Hello friends! It’s been some time since I’ve posted oil paintings for sale online here on the site. Instead I’ve been busy working on direct commissions. Also, many sold out on Instagram before I could post them here so I’ve been secretive while working on this winter/spring series for the past few months. I know that some of you have been patiently waiting and I thank you. I really appreciate your support. This online exhibition will help us finance the final stages of our barn renovation which will be a two bedroom vacation rental. We’re stil ..read more