Syndicate this content

A week in Provence

Source: www.forbes.com. Posted on 21 April 2006.

My friend Alphonso d'Aberdeen, the organic vintner, poet and vintage-automobile enthusiast, decided to mark the occasion of his 55th birthday by taking over a 19th-century hotel in Provence for a week and filling its rooms with two dozen of his friends and accomplices.

A secondary reason for celebration was that Madame D'Aberdeen - the beautiful and vivacious LooLoo (née Lutetia Anna-Marie Walenskayovska) - had recently taken first prize at the Buenos Aires Campeonato Mundial de Tango, so the mood upon our arrival at the stately Château des Alpilles outside St. Rémy was festive, despite the pouring rain and cacophonous honking of frogs.

They are an enchanting pair, Alphonso and LooLoo. Little exactly is known about them, and much is speculated. What is known is that Alphonso, second son of Hamish McDool, 17th Earl D'Aberdeen, made his first fortune before the age of 30 by cornering the world's supply of feldspar at a time when the demand for aluminosilicate minerals was at an historical high.

Go to article External link

Push to improve road safety on motorways

France's motorway safety record has shown a notable improvement in the last 5 years. On the Escota network between 2000 and 2005 the death toll was reduced by more than 40%. Last year in the...

New director of Aix-en-Provence...

Bernard Foccroulle, the newly appointed head of Aix-en-Provence's summer opera festival, told Bloomberg News that he plans to focus on Mozart as well as Baroque and contemporary music. The...

Anti-CPE struggle continues...

The withdrawal of the CPE was announced recently. This is a victory for the protesters, however the government still has the ability to strongarm similar legislation through and has not withdrawn...

First forest fire in the Var this year

The first forest fire of the year began yesterday at around 5pm in the Commune de Sanary in the Grand Vallet region. The fire spread across 20 hectares of pine forest in only a few hours as a...

Traffic problems expected this weekend

Traffic problems are predicted on main roads this evening as many make a bid to go away for the Easter weekend. Problems are predicted on the A8 from about 5pm around Nice and towards Toulon and...

Show me the money

Four years after the introduction of the euro, the demand for euro banknotes has remained surprisingly high, the European Central Bank reported in its 200-page monthly bulletin. Part of this has...

Provençal villa on Mas de Gigaro for rent

Résidence Les Marronniers is a Provençal villa, situated on the Presqu'île de Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera. It lies in a beautiful, unspoiled setting with a breathtaking, panoramic sea view. With its four bedrooms, three bathrooms and 175m² sun-drenched terrace, the villa comfortably sleeps 8 people.

“We also are back home now, but still dreaming about the sunny days we spent at Résidence Les Marronniers. It was really magnificent. Very best regards from Zurich.”
-- Family Reich

Learn more about the Résidence Les Marronniers.