Bush Walking        Golf            French Cooking Lessons

Amazing Restaurants         Rock Climbing / Bouldering

Thinking of going to the Tour de France this year to celebrate the 100th tour.  Dates 29th June to 21st July. Sablet provides an excellent base.


Following the tour there are plenty of things to. Not only is Provence famous for its wine, roman ruins and historic villages it also has some world renowned walking trails and rock climbing and bouldering sites. When you have had enough exercise there are some beautiful villages to visit with restuarants with amazing food and views to die for.

Having tasted the wonderful food you may get a hankering to try doing it yourself. Sablet has one of the best restuarants in the region, Les Arbeilles. Johannes the owner and chef who has two Michelin Forks and Two Plates from the prestigouse Gault Millau is now happy to provide cooking lessons.

While Mary tried out the cooking lessons this year I spent some time on the nearby golf courses. They are from 20 to 40 minutes drive from Sablet and range from the basic to five stars

So to summarise :
    
            

• Bike Riding
• Bush Walking
• Rock Climbing
• Bouldering
• Roman Ruins
• Fabulous restaurants
• French cooking lesons
• Golf

 

Bush Walking

There are some wonderful walking trails though the Dentelles. Literally walk out of the village and within a kilometer you are at the foot of the Dentelles. There are well signed walk trails that bring you back to Sablet or you can walk along the ridge to Vaison La Romaine about 14 to 15  Kms away




Once you have done those then there are a heap more just out of Gigondas which is only about 5 Kms from Sablet. You can get the details from the Gigondas tourist bureau but this map will give you some idea. There are literally dozens of routes you can choose and you can mix and match.

Golf

I tried 4 golf courses this year.


The closest is Orange - only 15 to 20 minutes drive away - 9 holes quite short  and if you are an occasional golfer and just want a bit of fun there would be no pressure here as there are players with the whole range of abilities. You can hire clubs and the people on the counter speak English

www.golforange.fr/




The next I tried was Grand Golf - Avignon. This is a really nice course and quite challenging off the white tees. You need to book and once again no problem with club hire. Really good for the serious golfers. Easy to get to just near the Le Pontet shopping centre about 30 minutes from Sablet. Mary went shopping while I played golf.

www.golfgrandavignon.com/




The next was Garden Golf Avignon just near the Avignon airport about 40 minutes from home. This is flatter as you would expect and therefore a little easier although there is still some water hungry for your golf balls.

http://www.golfchateaublanc.com/
 



The best was last - Provence Country Club - definitely need to book and they ask your handicap so that they can team you up with a golfer of similar ability. The course is really nice and the bar resturant is a great place to have a beer or lunch after the game.
 

Just near Fontaine de Vaucluse,  about 40 minutes from home. This is a must visit. The village is stunning and the shopping is good. Sundays can be really busy though and parking difficult





www.provencecountryclub.fr/

French Cooking Lessons

Sablet has one of the best restuarants in the region, Les Arbeilles. Johannes the owner and chef who has two Michelin Forks and Two Plates from the prestigouse Gault Millau is now happy to provide cooking lessons.

Either contact Johannes yourself or if you would prefer we are happy to arrange them for you.

http://www.abeilles-sablet.com/

Johannes is happy to taylor the lesson to your needs from a half day to a full week




This is me making some nougat icecream under Johannes careful tutorledge

Rock Climbing / Bouldering

The Dentelles de Montmirail near Avignon is a sport climbing region with one to three pitches. The Dentelles are parallel chains of limestone peaks and pinnacles. It’s a paradise for rock climbing with a lot of well bolted routes and some adventure areas too. They offer a north and a south side to the same steep walls, but in summer the south side is too hot and in winter the north side is too cold for climbing!

Divided into several separate ridges, the routes range from short tough climbs to moderate multi-pitch routes.The different sectors are all within close proximity of each other. Les Dentailles are situated slap bang in the middle of the Cote du Rhone wine area making your stay there a combination of energetic climbing and laid back wine tasting. What more could you possibly want?

 

http://www.gdargaud.net/Climbing/Provence.html