| Subject: B&B's in Provence |
|
Hello Nancy,
Breakfasts are simple affairs in France; Provence is no exception.
You can
expect baguette and other breads, croissants if they're generous,
jam,
coffee or hot chocolate (you can ask for tea), orange or other
juice and
that's about it. Sometimes cereal, if they're catering to Anglophones.
Crepes are desserts (sweet crepes) or light lunch items, not
for breakfast.
Melons and ham are first courses for lunch or dinner, no breakfast
items.
The French themselves pay little attention to breakfast, a
bowl of coffee
with hot milk (or the chocolat), perhaps a slice of bread dunked
into the
coffee and that's it.
As far as helpfulness, or lack of it, from the B&B owner is concerned: I think it all depends on the knowledge and willingness of the owner. If you ask about a B&B nearby, s/he might not want to direct you to a competitor. If it's farther away, they might genuinely not know much about the chambres d'hote there. It really depends on whom you are talking to. Perhaps the Irish B&B's form a tight network. This is not the case in Provence. Even those who belong to the Gites de France do not generally know their colleagues in distant places. But hey, the weather in Provence is so much better than in Ireland that to explore the next B&B is a pleasure. For more information you can check the Gites de France web site: http://www.gites-de-france.fr/eng/index.htm Personally I'm not a fan of the organization or their web site (they make it very difficult to find info on a B&B, actually impossible - they just want to sell their guides). However, the B&B's classified as Gites de France are in general reliable and worth while. GdF runs a tight ship. In my opinion, the best information is to be had from the local tourist office. Seldom do you find an office that is not helpful. A terrific site for information in general and a list of tourist offices in particular is: http://www.crt-paca.fr/eng/accueil_flash.jsp?LNGID=eng (PACA= Provence Alpes Cote d'Azur). When you enter the site, click English, then Other Web Sites (on the left side). This gives you a page with a long pop-up list of many tourist offices in the Paca region, including their email addresses and often web sites. If you find the village you're interested in, feel free to email them for brochures or other information. My own village, La Garde-Freinet, has a very active tourist office, though most likely they will point you to their web site: http://www.lagardefreinet-tourisme.com where you find lots of information. Hope this helps. April is a great month to visit Provence. It's generally calm. However, if your visit occurs during Easter vacation (around April 11) you need to book ahead. Frieda http://www.aboutprovence.com |