There are more beautiful villages in this part of France than you could possibly see in one trip. This trip we made return visits to the ochre-tinted village of Roussillon and to Moustiers-Ste-Marie, the rocky village tucked between two cliffs in the rugged and mountainous area of north-eastern Provence.

Both of these villages are picture perfect and are ideal spots for relaxing outdoors with a beer or glass of wine, watching the people go by. You can do a little shopping if that's your thing, and you can go crazy with a camera, trying to capture the beauty around every corner.

Provence is an area of incredible landscapes and vistas. On any given day, a drive through the countryside will reward you with vineyards, mountains, fields of lavender, poppies, or sunflowers, or cliffs of ochre or granite.Many times you can see all of these in one short outing.

Our drives through the countryside always took longer than predicted, as every new site was more beautiful than the last, and was begging to be photographed.

• The sea: The Mediterranean lies on the southern border of Provence, and there are many jet-set resorts where you can see and be seen with the rich and famous.
• Local products, such as olives, lavender in various forms, including yummy lavender honey, herbs de Provence, and lovely table linens in colorful Provençal prints.
• The bigger cities - like Avignon and Aix-en-Provence offer many opportunities for sight-seeing, museum-going, experiencing the arts and of course, shopping.
• French cuisine - this is another area of France renowned for its sumptuous cuisine. After two days of three-course meals, we didn't have to eat again for a week. We did anyway, but we didn't have to!