Provence, France

Emma and I planned our trip to Ireland in the fall of 2024, and it wasn't until January 2025, after our grandma's passing, that we explored the idea of adding a visit to the south of France to the end of our journey. Luckily, between my house-sitting, I had just enough time for us to travel for an additional 3 days. In the course of planning my grandma's funeral, we came across countless stories and memories she had in Provence, and in her memorial folder for the funeral home, she had listed Provence as her favorite place to visit. It has always been on Emma and my list to visit, and it felt like perfect timing to be able to go so soon after her passing to honor her memory. Joanie's favorite town in Provence is Saint-Rémy, so that is where we made our home base. And it would not have been a proper Joanie-esque visit without a cooking class in the itinerary!

We flew in late Tuesday night and arrived at our apartment close to midnight. Luckily, the market we were set to meet our class at was right outside our front door! We spent the morning exploring the market and getting ingredients for our recipes. Followed by our class that featured in-season veggies, fruits, and freshly caught fish; it was delicious! After, we continued to explore Saint-Rémy and were able to sprinkle some of Joanie around the town.

On our second day, Thursday, we did a small-group tour of Provence and visited multiple small towns in the area, many of which Joanie had visited and taken pictures of in the past. Emma and I had tracked down the location of some of these shots and were able to recreate them. It was a fun experience for us to envision Grandma navigating these same neighborhoods and streets.

The towns we visited were: Les Baux de Provence, Roussillon, Fontaine de Vaucluse & Gordes.

Our third and final day was a travel day and honestly very tiring, although we did enjoy the afternoon on the beach in Marseille, so I can't complain too much.

I know there are a lot of pictures here, and I get they may not mean much to most of you, but looking back through these as I type this up reminds me of looking through Joanie's own photo albums of Provence, and it makes me smile. Truly an unforgettable experience, and I am so grateful to have gotten one last adventure with my grandma.