Few places, in my book, beat the views you get from Beau Rivage’s bar on the French Riviera in Nice. After a day exploring Monaco, Rose and I headed back to our hotel’s gorgeous beachfront bar for a few cocktails before sunset.
Readers of my blog (all 14 of ya’ll) know I’m into yoga. I’ve gone on a retreat in Tuscany, and gotten my downward dog on in a Japanese garden and on a lavender farm. In between these trips, I have a great home practice. A few months ago, I spent a week in a beautiful villa in Provence (Bastide Avellane), being mindful and stretching my body in a way that my normal day-to-day doesn’t always allow for. I came back refreshed and with new perspective on life. Here’s why, if you’ve never gone on a yoga retreat, I think you should.
Not far from the Gorges du Verdon is the idyllic Provençal town of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. After a leisurely lunch, which ended with our table of yoga retreat-goers sharing not one but six different desserts, we went our separate ways to explore the town. I did some quick shopping, then hiked up to the chapel on the mountain above the town.
After finagling a two-person kayak on my own for half an hour, then turning around to head back to the shore to meet my group, the winds picked up, making my efforts to paddle very difficult. I gritted my teeth and put my back into it. Just then, an electric boat full of fellow yogis drifted by. “Need a tow?” I smiled and nodded. Sometimes a little help pays off, especially in such gorge-ous environs.