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Our Tour "Themes"...

The Bike Tour
The Roman & Castle Tour
Art and Beach Tour
Camargue and Féria Tour
Le Lubéron Tour
The Wine Crush Tour
The Fall Colors Tour
The Marmiton Cooking Class
The Avignon Festival Tour
The Senior Tour of Provençe
American Student Tour of Provençe
Abbeys and Cathedrals of Provençe
The Dive Trip

Other...

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The Mediterranean Diet:

Its not all just triglycerides, fish oil, and red platulets!
As you can tell, we at The Parish House are BIG on food. But we are even more evangelistic about LIFESTYLE. In this section we want to give you some "food" for thought, and some advice about health, mostly mental health. 
We are American through-and-through, and love to argue lifestyle and politics with the locals. We are invited to all sorts of banquets, and the Mayor's roundtable discussions. Why? Because these people, in their little kingdom, far away from Parisian politics, love anyone and everyone who appreciates THEIR LIFESTYLE. Also, they invite us because they don't understand OURS. Demonstrating, teaching, introducing you to THEIR lifestyle is a passion for us. They have a love of life, rooted in doing the small things well. Their politics are a mess, and they are the first to admit it. A common joke is this: "Why is the French symbol a crowing rooster?" Answer: "Because it is the only barnyard animal that can find something to sing about whilst knee-deep in excrement". You see, the French actually DO have a sense of humor beyond Jerry Lewis movies! They laugh at themselves. But they don't like anyone laughing at them. Neither do we.
If you only knew how interested THEY are in what YOU think of them, you would seek them out in their neighborhood. This is our Evangelistic Crusade here at the Parish House, to put you close to them so that you can be "food for thought" to each other! They don't have all the answers, and this page is not a complete paean to the French way-of-life. Spiritually, for instance, they are bereft, and have been since the French Revolution. In Orange, just north of Avignon, they beheaded 39 nuns in 1792. They think Americans are over-religious zealots. Only 3.9% of the population attends church once or more times per year, which would be Easter and Christmas, mostly. A strange outcome for a nation Joan of Arc called "the Defender of the Faith". Maybe the answer is that they have adapted to a sense of community, a largely food culture, that replaces religion as a form of community. 
Once a world power, they are adrift in their politics, and suffer from deep shame for their loss of Empire. Just a couple of years ago, the French National Anthem was drowned out in whistles at a soccer match in Paris, between Morocco and France.
Good food, good wine, and a laid-back attitude do not make for "happiness" without it fast drifting into hedonism. 
Happiness, I think, is founded on a lifestyle of sobriety, about how we treat our body, how we treat the least among us, and how we love one another. To paint a perfect, pretty picture of France is not possible, and stay honest. Our object is that you get to know it for what it is, because there is something here worthy of emulation. There is something that they can learn from us as well, indeed they want to learn. So, come and learn. Come and exchange viewpoints about what makes for a "healthy", "balanced", long-lived lifestyle. We are hoping that your "neighborhood experience" at the Parish House becomes "food for thought". We are hoping that Provence can bring a "healthier balance" to your life. 
We cater to those who travel to discover the things that bind humanity together. It is not the media that will bind us to our common heritage, nor is it the diplomatic corp. It is you, the casual traveler, from DesMoines to Decatur, who can bridge the gap between the two cultures. Together these two countries once stood for "liberty, egality, and fraternity". Pride can only widen the gap. People can narrow it.
Just as there is much they can learn from us, likewise there is much we can learn from them. It is a documented fact that a well-ordered sense of community benefits individual health. The French have decent free medical care, a mandatory 35-hour workweek, and a socialized retirement system. There is tranquility in that. 
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What can we learn of "La Joie de Vivre", "L'Art de Vivre", the "Je Ne Sais Quoi" of the Provence style of living? How can they stuff themselves with this rich food and not drop dead from heart disease, you may ask? The answer is: Moderation.
Thats what the Parish House is all about. . . moderation, consideration (for your body, and for others), small portions of excellent food, treasuring a moment, taking the time for that sunset, slowing down.
Take "Aromatherapy", for instance. Its not a new concept, you can see its development in Ancient China, and its evolution in Medieval Alchemy. How about "Homeopathy", the curative uses of natural herbs, in this land of 1,000 "herbes" de Provence? That they can make you "feel good" is undeniable. But they are effective and real also, part of a slower, more methodical curative process that is part of the culture, handed down from generation to generation. Both of these "sciences" are part the tour, because they are an intrinsic part of the culture. We can even visit a Medieval Herb Farm, if you like, or an original 18th C. aromatherapy distillery. 
The instant cures of a pharmaceutical society, the "quick fix", these are desperate measures, by comparison. There is much to be learned from this relatively non-mass-consumption, traditional society. Mostly it is the concept of "moderation". 

Pardon us for the presumption of evangelizing Provence lifestyle philosophy under the guise of "Food and Health". If you think pure sightseeing can be curative, you are welcomed at the Parish House. If you like good discussion, amongst like-minded hitchhikers of the galaxy, you are even more welcomed. Try the article below on Grapeseed Oil, some recipes, or just ask us how to stay fit on our excellent jogging and trekking trails.

Some ideas and recommendations Recipes Tried and True

Staying fit during your Provence vacation, caloric intake, exercise, running in Avignon, location of pools, gyms, judo, dancing classes, even yoga is available.

Click Here for Restaurant Reviews.

Shopping the Organic Breadbasket 
(articles on olive oil, Omega Oils, how to buy fish, etc..) 
"The Grapeseed Oil Story"

Grapeseed oil, a byproduct of wine production, has been a favorite of European chefs for hundreds of years due to its many fine qualities as an edible oil. Recent studies have demonstrated that it may also be effective in correcting blood cholesterol levels in certain individuals, thereby reducing their risk of cardiac events1. 

Today's focus is not simply on total cholesterol but rather on the levels of HDL (the good cholesterol) and LDL (the bad one), and the ratio of HDL to total cholesterol. Major studies have confirmed that for each percent of increase in HDL there is a 3-4% droop in the incidence of cardiac events. 

In two studies 2, 3 conducted by Dr. David T. Nash, a research cardiologist at the State University of New York Health Science Center, it was shown that subjects who included a small amount of grapeseed oil daily in a low-fat diet over a four week period experienced an increase in their HDL of 13%, and a decrease in their LDL of 7%. Grapeseed oil is one of the few natural foods known to raise HDL. HDL appears to reduce LDL by loosening it from the arterial walls so it can be carried to the liver for elimination. Grapeseed oil is also an excellent natural source of vitamin E and essential fatty acids necessary for normal cell metabolism and maintenance. 

By increasing the HDL in your blood, and reducing the LDL and triglycerides, through healthy diet and exercise, you may be adding years of wellness to your life. 

FOOTNOTES 
1. Assmann G.; Schulte H. "Modeling the Helsinki Heart Study by Means of Risk Equations Obtained from the PROCAM Study the the Framingham Heart Study". Drugs, 1990, 40 Suppl 1:138. 
2. D.T. Nash; S.D. Nash, State University of NYHSC, Syracuse, NY, W.D. Grant, Dept of Family Medicine, State University of NY: Arteriosclerosis, an Official Journal of the American Heart Association, Inc.; Vol 10, No 6, Nov-Dec, 1990. 
3. Ibid above...Syracuse NY: Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 925-116 Grapeseed Oil, a natural agent which raises serum HDL levels, 1993.

For more information, please contact me at:

toursofprovence@aol.com

or call

970.241.5034