FOODIE FUN IN FRANCE 2019
WITH CHEF PATRICIA LACORTE
$2433 June 6 - 9: Paris Pre-Tour
$6260 June 9 - 17: Foodie Fun in France. San Remy, Cassis, Les Baux de Provence, Uzes, Pont du Gard, Chateauneuf du Pape, Avignon, Aix en Provence, Lourmarin & Marseille.
This tour is priced for a minimum group of 12 people. Per person. Double occupancy. Please inquire about a single-supplement room price.
June 17 - 19: Lyon Post Tour enroute back to Paris. Please inquire about pricing.
WITH CHEF PATRICIA LACORTE
$2433 June 6 - 9: Paris Pre-Tour
$6260 June 9 - 17: Foodie Fun in France. San Remy, Cassis, Les Baux de Provence, Uzes, Pont du Gard, Chateauneuf du Pape, Avignon, Aix en Provence, Lourmarin & Marseille.
This tour is priced for a minimum group of 12 people. Per person. Double occupancy. Please inquire about a single-supplement room price.
June 17 - 19: Lyon Post Tour enroute back to Paris. Please inquire about pricing.
Patricia LaCorte: Chef, Restaurant Owner, Culinary Adventurer
Patricia is one of those Chefs that wakes up thinking joyous thoughts about food and the next culinary creation, and this gastronomic tour through Provence is a dream come true for her.
Patricia comes to French cuisine honestly. Born in Nancy, France, she was raised in a restaurant family who operated a popular country inn in Connecticut and restaurants in New York. She studied at The Cordon Bleu in Paris under the formal direction of Mme Brassard. After completing this education, she did stages at notable restaurants such as L'Aquitaine with Chef Christiane Massia and Master Chef Roger Verger who inspired French Nouvelle Cuisine. Her work has been recognized in Bon Appetite, Gourmet , Vogue, N.Y. Times, Caribbean Travel and Life, including collaborative food and wine dinners with Notables such as Gail Greene, Florence Fabricant, and David Liederman.
Patricia later participated and won a gold medal in the Caribbean Culinary Competition in Jamaica and Other Culinary Competitions. She has proudly mentored many young chefs in her career that have gone on to be very successful chefs and business owners.
In 1981, she opened her first restaurant in the Virgin Islands, became the pioneer of a food movement in the VI, and is one of the first Chefs to be inducted into the Chaine des Rotisseurs in the Virgin Islands.
Patricia continues to explore her love of cuisine, with research, travel, fellow chefs and her three restaurants in St. Thomas.
"Please join Sandy and me in June 2019 on this authentic, rich and tasty adventure of French cuisine." - Patricia
Patricia is one of those Chefs that wakes up thinking joyous thoughts about food and the next culinary creation, and this gastronomic tour through Provence is a dream come true for her.
Patricia comes to French cuisine honestly. Born in Nancy, France, she was raised in a restaurant family who operated a popular country inn in Connecticut and restaurants in New York. She studied at The Cordon Bleu in Paris under the formal direction of Mme Brassard. After completing this education, she did stages at notable restaurants such as L'Aquitaine with Chef Christiane Massia and Master Chef Roger Verger who inspired French Nouvelle Cuisine. Her work has been recognized in Bon Appetite, Gourmet , Vogue, N.Y. Times, Caribbean Travel and Life, including collaborative food and wine dinners with Notables such as Gail Greene, Florence Fabricant, and David Liederman.
Patricia later participated and won a gold medal in the Caribbean Culinary Competition in Jamaica and Other Culinary Competitions. She has proudly mentored many young chefs in her career that have gone on to be very successful chefs and business owners.
In 1981, she opened her first restaurant in the Virgin Islands, became the pioneer of a food movement in the VI, and is one of the first Chefs to be inducted into the Chaine des Rotisseurs in the Virgin Islands.
Patricia continues to explore her love of cuisine, with research, travel, fellow chefs and her three restaurants in St. Thomas.
"Please join Sandy and me in June 2019 on this authentic, rich and tasty adventure of French cuisine." - Patricia
OPTIONAL PRE-TOUR TO PARIS with Sandy Gregory
Pre-Tour Day 1. Thurs, June 6. Arrive Paris
For those of you who would like to explore Paris before we begin our Foodie Fun Tour in Provence:
Bienvenu à Paris! The City of Light and Love.
Your greeter will be waiting at the airport waiting for your arrival with your driver at baggage claim.
We'll be staying at a wonderful hotel located right in the heart of the Left Bank near San Sulpice in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district. This four-star hotel is housed in a historical building, was recently refurbished and offers a warm and elegant decor.
After we check your bags at the hotel, we’ll go for our orientation walk on the beautiful Left Bank and prepare for our included French picque nique lunch. After we shop the specialty stores and markets, we’re off to Luxembourg Gardens where my oh-so-French assistant will have set up for our oh-so-French picque nique. If it looks like rain, we’ll have made arrangements at a local bistro.
Tonight we are going to begin our Included Welcome Dinner festivities with an included cruise on the Seine. Taking a boat ride down the Seine river at the beginning of your trip is a great way to get a feel for the layout of the city and gives you a wonderful perspective of all of the sights. After our tour we are off to a nearby brasserie for a classic Left Bank French dinner.
About Che Bella’s Dinners
At Che Bella Tours, when we gather around the table as a group, it is a celebration: A celebration of good food and wine. A celebration of culture. A celebration of friendship. Hosting this celebration is one of the joys of being a Che Bella Tour Director. We guide you to your favorite dish … or help you choose something you’ve never tried before. We choose the perfect wines and throw in some local delicacies to broaden your palate and surprise you a bit. You’ll go home with new culinary knowledge that will draw you under its spell and increase your hunger for more.
Pre-Tour Day 2. Fri, June 7. Paris City Tour and the Louvre
Paris is big and wonderful with so much to see ... but not in one contained space. So today you will meet your private guide for a private tour of Paris beginning at our hotel. You’ll drive through the important sights on the Left Bank, then go on to the Champs Elysees, past the Arc du Triomph and Les Invalides, and Place du Concorde. You’ll finish with a walk through the Tuilleries Gardens and a guided tour of the highlights of the Louvre.
Your tour includes admission to the Louvre, private guide, car and driver. Lunch and the afternoon is on your own to enjoy Paris.
Tonight: Included Foodie Tour of Montmartre:
Montmartre has a flourishing restaurant scene, historical culture and charming ambiance. The local merchants bring their passion and heritage to French cuisine, which adds to its appeal as one of the best and most unique food destinations in the world.
Before our tour, we’ll leave a bit early and head up to the winding streets of the neighborhood for some shopping and strolling and then a visit to Sacre Coure, the 19th century, white fairy-tale palace built during the Franco-Prussian War and then finished before the French Revolution.
As you stroll the area with our local chef, we’ll enjoy different types of French culinary delights, including cheeses, chocolates, crepes and macaroons. You’ll stop at a boulangerie where you’ll learn about classic French breads and baguettes. A few items from the local butcher will round out your grocery list before you head to a wine bar to enjoy the fruits of your discoveries.
Pre-Tour Day 3. Sat, June 8. A Day in Paris
First thing in the morning is the best time to get in to Notre Dame Cathedral, as the tour groups and tourists begin to line up soon after that. Notre Dame is the mother church of the nation. Today would also be a good time to see the must-see Orsay Museum and it’s renowned collection of Impressionist paintings displayed in the old train station building. this museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. So the building itself could be seen as the first “work of art” in the Musee d’Orsay, which displays collections of art from the period art of the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century.
You Tour Director will have lots of suggestions.
Tonight: Included Skip-the-line sunset tour of the Eiffel Tower.
After the Eiffel Tower tour, dinner is on your own.
Sun, June 9. Train fom Paris to Marseilles to meet up with the group for Foodie Fun
Pre-Tour Day 1. Thurs, June 6. Arrive Paris
For those of you who would like to explore Paris before we begin our Foodie Fun Tour in Provence:
Bienvenu à Paris! The City of Light and Love.
Your greeter will be waiting at the airport waiting for your arrival with your driver at baggage claim.
We'll be staying at a wonderful hotel located right in the heart of the Left Bank near San Sulpice in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district. This four-star hotel is housed in a historical building, was recently refurbished and offers a warm and elegant decor.
After we check your bags at the hotel, we’ll go for our orientation walk on the beautiful Left Bank and prepare for our included French picque nique lunch. After we shop the specialty stores and markets, we’re off to Luxembourg Gardens where my oh-so-French assistant will have set up for our oh-so-French picque nique. If it looks like rain, we’ll have made arrangements at a local bistro.
Tonight we are going to begin our Included Welcome Dinner festivities with an included cruise on the Seine. Taking a boat ride down the Seine river at the beginning of your trip is a great way to get a feel for the layout of the city and gives you a wonderful perspective of all of the sights. After our tour we are off to a nearby brasserie for a classic Left Bank French dinner.
About Che Bella’s Dinners
At Che Bella Tours, when we gather around the table as a group, it is a celebration: A celebration of good food and wine. A celebration of culture. A celebration of friendship. Hosting this celebration is one of the joys of being a Che Bella Tour Director. We guide you to your favorite dish … or help you choose something you’ve never tried before. We choose the perfect wines and throw in some local delicacies to broaden your palate and surprise you a bit. You’ll go home with new culinary knowledge that will draw you under its spell and increase your hunger for more.
Pre-Tour Day 2. Fri, June 7. Paris City Tour and the Louvre
Paris is big and wonderful with so much to see ... but not in one contained space. So today you will meet your private guide for a private tour of Paris beginning at our hotel. You’ll drive through the important sights on the Left Bank, then go on to the Champs Elysees, past the Arc du Triomph and Les Invalides, and Place du Concorde. You’ll finish with a walk through the Tuilleries Gardens and a guided tour of the highlights of the Louvre.
Your tour includes admission to the Louvre, private guide, car and driver. Lunch and the afternoon is on your own to enjoy Paris.
Tonight: Included Foodie Tour of Montmartre:
Montmartre has a flourishing restaurant scene, historical culture and charming ambiance. The local merchants bring their passion and heritage to French cuisine, which adds to its appeal as one of the best and most unique food destinations in the world.
Before our tour, we’ll leave a bit early and head up to the winding streets of the neighborhood for some shopping and strolling and then a visit to Sacre Coure, the 19th century, white fairy-tale palace built during the Franco-Prussian War and then finished before the French Revolution.
As you stroll the area with our local chef, we’ll enjoy different types of French culinary delights, including cheeses, chocolates, crepes and macaroons. You’ll stop at a boulangerie where you’ll learn about classic French breads and baguettes. A few items from the local butcher will round out your grocery list before you head to a wine bar to enjoy the fruits of your discoveries.
Pre-Tour Day 3. Sat, June 8. A Day in Paris
First thing in the morning is the best time to get in to Notre Dame Cathedral, as the tour groups and tourists begin to line up soon after that. Notre Dame is the mother church of the nation. Today would also be a good time to see the must-see Orsay Museum and it’s renowned collection of Impressionist paintings displayed in the old train station building. this museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. So the building itself could be seen as the first “work of art” in the Musee d’Orsay, which displays collections of art from the period art of the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century.
You Tour Director will have lots of suggestions.
Tonight: Included Skip-the-line sunset tour of the Eiffel Tower.
After the Eiffel Tower tour, dinner is on your own.
Sun, June 9. Train fom Paris to Marseilles to meet up with the group for Foodie Fun
FOODIE FUN IN FRANCE: Provence with Chef Patrica Laporte
Sat, June 8. - Trans-Atlantic flight from the U.S. to Marseilles, France
Day 1. Sun, June 9. Arrive Marseilles
Your driver will be waiting at the airport at baggage claim with a Che Bella sign. Patricia will be waiting for you at the hotel to help check you in while Sandy is enroute from Paris with the rest of the group.
Enjoy a walking orientation of Marseilles with Sandy and Patricia. We’ll stop for lunch together (not included) and you’ll have the rest of the afteroon to enjoy this port city, get over your jet lag and freshen up from your travels.
Included Welcome dinner in Marseilles.
Overnight in Marseilles. 1 night.
Day 2. Mon, June 10. Time for Wine enroute to San Remy
This morning we’re off to the wine country enroute to San Remy. We’ll take a short drive to Cassis, the small fishing town that is the gateway to the Calanques. We’ll then enjoy a boat tour in the Calanques National Park before our wine tour and tasting.
Lunch on your own in Cassis before we are off to another winery that specializes in French rose.
This afternoon, after we check in to the hotel, you’ll have plenty of time to explore St. Remy with your Tour Director, a lovely little town to stroll and shop for those luscious Provençal goodies and crafts.
Overnight in San Remy - 3 nights
Included dinner in San Remy
Day 3. Tues, June 11. Uzes Farm-to-Table and The Pont du Gard
We’ll have an early start today in order to be in Uzes at 8:30am to get to the local market and gather everything we need for our special lunch today. Chef Patricia will take over the kitchen as we create a heavely lunch. We’ll learn how to make a few local dishes, perfect our knife skills, whip up a few classic French sauces, learn about about farm to table cuisine ... and, of course, enjoy it with plenty of local wine.
On our way back, we’ll make a stop at the 2000-year old Pont du Gard. Our visit will begin at the museum, where we’ll learn about the engineering of Roman life and their aquaducts. Afterwards, we’ll take a lovely walk to the bridge. Picture time!
Tonight is dinner on your own in San Remy
Overnight in San Remy
Day 4. Wed, June 12. Chateau Neuf du Pape and a Sweet Afternoon
We’ll start our day with a brief stop at the Monastère St-Paul-de-Mausolée. Although it was a short time that Vincent Van Gogh was hospitalized there, it was a time of great creative energy. Despite, or because of, his fragile mental state, the year he spent here was one of his most productive—Van Gogh painted Starry Night and many self-portraits and landscapes during his time there.
We’re then on our way to Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The Southern Rhone Valley is distinguished for its big, bold red wines. The best known of these is Chateauneuf-du-Pape, created from several of the region’s 13 different grapes, notably Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah. We’ll begin with a wine tasting and some time in town, followed by a lovely Included Lunch at a castle overlooking the vineyards.
After lunch we’re off for a guided tour of Avignon, including the Palace du Papes. In 1309, French Pope Clement V decided that Avignon was more to his liking than Rome. For the next seventy years the Popes resided here, making Avignon one of Europe’s most powerful cities.
Included dinner
Overnight in San Remy
We’ll have an early start today in order to be in Uzes at 8:30am to get to the local market and gather everything we need for our special lunch today. Chef Patricia will take over the kitchen as we create a heavely lunch. We’ll learn how to make a few local dishes, perfect our knife skills, whip up a few classic French sauces, learn about about farm to table cuisine ... and, of course, enjoy it with plenty of local wine.
On our way back, we’ll make a stop at the 2000-year old Pont du Gard. Our visit will begin at the museum, where we’ll learn about the engineering of Roman life and their aquaducts. Afterwards, we’ll take a lovely walk to the bridge. Picture time!
Tonight is dinner on your own in San Remy
Overnight in San Remy
Day 4. Wed, June 12. Chateau Neuf du Pape and a Sweet Afternoon
We’ll start our day with a brief stop at the Monastère St-Paul-de-Mausolée. Although it was a short time that Vincent Van Gogh was hospitalized there, it was a time of great creative energy. Despite, or because of, his fragile mental state, the year he spent here was one of his most productive—Van Gogh painted Starry Night and many self-portraits and landscapes during his time there.
We’re then on our way to Chateauneuf-du-Pape. The Southern Rhone Valley is distinguished for its big, bold red wines. The best known of these is Chateauneuf-du-Pape, created from several of the region’s 13 different grapes, notably Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah. We’ll begin with a wine tasting and some time in town, followed by a lovely Included Lunch at a castle overlooking the vineyards.
After lunch we’re off for a guided tour of Avignon, including the Palace du Papes. In 1309, French Pope Clement V decided that Avignon was more to his liking than Rome. For the next seventy years the Popes resided here, making Avignon one of Europe’s most powerful cities.
Included dinner
Overnight in San Remy
Day 5. Thurs, June 13. To Aix in Provence
This morning, we’re off to Aix-en-Provence, one of France’s most beautiful cities. traversing one of the world’s most famous wine regions, the Rhone Valley. The city is known for its gorgeous architecture as well as its vibrant culture, abundance of cafes and shops. It was the hometown of famous painter Cézanne. We’ll start at the Le Grande Marche at Place Richelme, a Provençal cornucopia with its mountains of eggplants, ranks of honey jars and fields of fresh goat cheese, olive oil, tapenade, anchovies, octopus salad, sun-dried tomatoes, artisanal sausages, and of course, the local calissons — small, almond-shaped pastries that are an Aix specialty. Sniff, taste and sample, Patricia will show you how to stock up on dried herbs, green and black olives marinated a dozen different ways and, of course, the best cheeses and olive oils.
We'll then picnic on the goodies we collected from the market.
The rest of the day is yours to explore the small cobblestoned streets of the historic center. You also may want to venture on to the Cours Mirabeau, which is the city’s main avenue and cultural hotspot. The avenue is lined with beautiful plane trees and beautiful Roman architecture. The Cours Mirabeau also boasts many beloved cafes and restaurants.
Dinner is on your own tonight.
Overnight in Aix - 3 nights
Day 5. Fri, June 14. Lourmarin and Truffle Hunting
Enjoy this relaxing day where Peter Mayle lived as he wrote A Year in Provence. No region is more of a market-must than Provence, which thrives on a bounty of fresh produce – grown locally and piled high each morning at the market. Our scenic road today begins in Lourmarin, nestled in the middle of vinyards, olive groves and almond trees. In the village you will walk amidst the typical Mediterranean architecture in its winding narrow streets, lovely old restored houses, and well shaded public squares where you can immerse youself in the gentil Provençal ambience. The village has a good selection of antique shops, art galleries, gift shops, gourmet delis and cafés. It also has the best ice cream shop in Provence - the deli La Place des Delices on Rue de Temple - don’t miss it!
Their Friday morning market takes over the plane tree-lined avenue into the centre of the village, as well as the square above it cookware, crockery, baskets, soaps, carved olive wood, ginger, jewellery and honey, wine and olive oil, wraps and scarves, handbags and glad-rags, linen by the metre, herbes de Provence, sheep cheese and saffron, and of course poultry pottery. It’s very animated village with numerous cafe terraces, restaurants and boutiques, You’ll have plenty of free time for lunch on your own and shopping.
Later today we begin our truffle hunting experience in the misty woods of Provence. Truffles are fungi, like mushrooms, but they grow underground and they’re a very expensive delicacy. The hunting is really more of an exercise in digging. Knowing where to dig and exactly how deep to dig is the trick. We’ll learn about the history of truffle hunting and the details of how truffles are made and hunted in modern times. We’ll watch the truffle-hunting dogs use their noses to find them and dig them up. We’ll explore the farm and learn about fresh herbs of the area before the grand truffle tasting experience. Our guide expertly prepares the truffles so that you can taste the pureness of the truffle flavors and a tasting everything truffle. Included dinner.
Overnight in Aix
This morning, we’re off to Aix-en-Provence, one of France’s most beautiful cities. traversing one of the world’s most famous wine regions, the Rhone Valley. The city is known for its gorgeous architecture as well as its vibrant culture, abundance of cafes and shops. It was the hometown of famous painter Cézanne. We’ll start at the Le Grande Marche at Place Richelme, a Provençal cornucopia with its mountains of eggplants, ranks of honey jars and fields of fresh goat cheese, olive oil, tapenade, anchovies, octopus salad, sun-dried tomatoes, artisanal sausages, and of course, the local calissons — small, almond-shaped pastries that are an Aix specialty. Sniff, taste and sample, Patricia will show you how to stock up on dried herbs, green and black olives marinated a dozen different ways and, of course, the best cheeses and olive oils.
We'll then picnic on the goodies we collected from the market.
The rest of the day is yours to explore the small cobblestoned streets of the historic center. You also may want to venture on to the Cours Mirabeau, which is the city’s main avenue and cultural hotspot. The avenue is lined with beautiful plane trees and beautiful Roman architecture. The Cours Mirabeau also boasts many beloved cafes and restaurants.
Dinner is on your own tonight.
Overnight in Aix - 3 nights
Day 5. Fri, June 14. Lourmarin and Truffle Hunting
Enjoy this relaxing day where Peter Mayle lived as he wrote A Year in Provence. No region is more of a market-must than Provence, which thrives on a bounty of fresh produce – grown locally and piled high each morning at the market. Our scenic road today begins in Lourmarin, nestled in the middle of vinyards, olive groves and almond trees. In the village you will walk amidst the typical Mediterranean architecture in its winding narrow streets, lovely old restored houses, and well shaded public squares where you can immerse youself in the gentil Provençal ambience. The village has a good selection of antique shops, art galleries, gift shops, gourmet delis and cafés. It also has the best ice cream shop in Provence - the deli La Place des Delices on Rue de Temple - don’t miss it!
Their Friday morning market takes over the plane tree-lined avenue into the centre of the village, as well as the square above it cookware, crockery, baskets, soaps, carved olive wood, ginger, jewellery and honey, wine and olive oil, wraps and scarves, handbags and glad-rags, linen by the metre, herbes de Provence, sheep cheese and saffron, and of course poultry pottery. It’s very animated village with numerous cafe terraces, restaurants and boutiques, You’ll have plenty of free time for lunch on your own and shopping.
Later today we begin our truffle hunting experience in the misty woods of Provence. Truffles are fungi, like mushrooms, but they grow underground and they’re a very expensive delicacy. The hunting is really more of an exercise in digging. Knowing where to dig and exactly how deep to dig is the trick. We’ll learn about the history of truffle hunting and the details of how truffles are made and hunted in modern times. We’ll watch the truffle-hunting dogs use their noses to find them and dig them up. We’ll explore the farm and learn about fresh herbs of the area before the grand truffle tasting experience. Our guide expertly prepares the truffles so that you can taste the pureness of the truffle flavors and a tasting everything truffle. Included dinner.
Overnight in Aix
Day 6. Sat, June 15. A Day in Aix
Enjoy a day on your own in Aix. Think about a hike or bike ride in the country. Visit Cezanne's studio. Your Chef and Tour Manager will, of course, have lots of suggestions for you.
Lunch and Dinner are on your own.
Overnight in Aix
Day 7. Sun, June 16. Back to Marseille and in the Kitchen
Farewell Dinner: The Big Finish: It’s your turn to be restaurant chefs!
You’ll have a bit of free time in Marseilles until the mid-afternoon, when we gather at the restaurant and prepare for tonight’s feast. Tonight, you’ll be cooking for the patrons of a local restaurant, famous for its “cooking for friends” sessions. Each Sunday, a group of friends take over the kitchen and prepares meals as if they were chefs. All proceeds go to charity, and we have chosen The SPA (Protection of Animals Society) of Provence. Tonight is your night! Put those newly-learned skills to work for a great cause!
Overnight in Marseille
Day 8. Mon, June 17. Departure from Marseille Airport
Airport transfer to Marseille Airport to catch your return flight.
OR POST-TOUR OPTION BACK TO PARIS THROUGH LYON. Mon, June 17.
If you prefer to fly out of Paris, consider a post-tour excursion with Sandy with a stop in Lyon today. We'll train up from Marseille
to Lyon. Lyon is France’s second city, one of France’s oldest cities, and the gourmet capital of France. We'll enjoy a guided tour of the city, which will include the Place Bellecour, the great piazza in the city centre between the Rhône and the Saône rivers, the basilica Notre Dame de Fourvière a late 19th century basilica built in shimmering white stone in the neo-Byzantine style, the historic quarter of le vieux Lyon, a maze of narrow streets and historic buildings and finishing up at the famous food market: Les Halles de Bocuse.
The rest of the days is yours to explore.
Tonight: Included Bouchon Dinner. Lyon is France’s gastronomic capital and tonight we explore Le Bouchons. Cooks in and around Lyon learned long ago how to use the plethora of products that surround this central city to create hearty, simple family dishes. Bouchons are a type of bistro, their decor is simple, but the food and ambience of any good bouchon will warm the coldest heart. The majority of these establishments are family-run, and most of the chefs are women.
Please inquire about pricing.
Tues, June 19. Lyon to Paris for Departures from Paris CDG
Merci boucoup. Au revoir ... until the next time!
Enjoy a day on your own in Aix. Think about a hike or bike ride in the country. Visit Cezanne's studio. Your Chef and Tour Manager will, of course, have lots of suggestions for you.
Lunch and Dinner are on your own.
Overnight in Aix
Day 7. Sun, June 16. Back to Marseille and in the Kitchen
Farewell Dinner: The Big Finish: It’s your turn to be restaurant chefs!
You’ll have a bit of free time in Marseilles until the mid-afternoon, when we gather at the restaurant and prepare for tonight’s feast. Tonight, you’ll be cooking for the patrons of a local restaurant, famous for its “cooking for friends” sessions. Each Sunday, a group of friends take over the kitchen and prepares meals as if they were chefs. All proceeds go to charity, and we have chosen The SPA (Protection of Animals Society) of Provence. Tonight is your night! Put those newly-learned skills to work for a great cause!
Overnight in Marseille
Day 8. Mon, June 17. Departure from Marseille Airport
Airport transfer to Marseille Airport to catch your return flight.
OR POST-TOUR OPTION BACK TO PARIS THROUGH LYON. Mon, June 17.
If you prefer to fly out of Paris, consider a post-tour excursion with Sandy with a stop in Lyon today. We'll train up from Marseille
to Lyon. Lyon is France’s second city, one of France’s oldest cities, and the gourmet capital of France. We'll enjoy a guided tour of the city, which will include the Place Bellecour, the great piazza in the city centre between the Rhône and the Saône rivers, the basilica Notre Dame de Fourvière a late 19th century basilica built in shimmering white stone in the neo-Byzantine style, the historic quarter of le vieux Lyon, a maze of narrow streets and historic buildings and finishing up at the famous food market: Les Halles de Bocuse.
The rest of the days is yours to explore.
Tonight: Included Bouchon Dinner. Lyon is France’s gastronomic capital and tonight we explore Le Bouchons. Cooks in and around Lyon learned long ago how to use the plethora of products that surround this central city to create hearty, simple family dishes. Bouchons are a type of bistro, their decor is simple, but the food and ambience of any good bouchon will warm the coldest heart. The majority of these establishments are family-run, and most of the chefs are women.
Please inquire about pricing.
Tues, June 19. Lyon to Paris for Departures from Paris CDG
Merci boucoup. Au revoir ... until the next time!