We spent five wonderful weeks in the guest house of Riveloup. Leaving Canada on February 4th, at the coldest time of the year, we were delighted to see that spring had arrived in Riveloup. The mimosa trees were in full bloom, violets and primroses bloomed everywhere, and some trees started to bloom in the second week. The temperature was 12 Celsius when we arrive and 20 Celsius when we left. We had a few days of rain and one stormy night.
The guest house is a lovely place, bright and cheery. The kitchen is fully equipped. The beds in both bedrooms, with bathroom en-suite, are comfortable.
Our hostess, Liesel, made sure we had everything we needed and gave us advice on where to go and what to see.
We walked every day, had lunch out in many of the restaurants and bistros in the area. We found that it cost not much more to have a meal at lunchtime than to cook dinner at home. Most places offer an Entree (appetizer) and Plat du Jour (full meal) between 13 to 16 Euros. Restaurants within ten minutes of driving are the Bistro du Clos and the Capprizio. A higher-priced restaurant is L''Écolle des Filles where we had excellent foie gras.
For a different experience, one that takes a little longer, but is well worth the steep drive, we drove to Greolieres and had lunch at La Vielle Auberge, where the escargots were delicious. From there, we continued another 21 km up the mountain to visit Greolieres des Neiges. It was a beautiful drive with a view of the Alps , ending at the bottom of a ski hill. A busload of students enjoyed a day of sliding on the snow when we were there, but the skiing season had come to an end, as we didn't see any skiers, and the restaurant was boarded up.
We visited Grasse, St. Paul de Vence, Gourdon, St. Tropez, Cannes, Nice, and took the train to go to La Scala, in Milan, Italy. After each visit we were happy to be ""home" again. The peaceful environment in Riveloup is truly addictive.
On Saturdays, the organic farmer sells fresh vegetables, fruits and eggs. For visitors who bring their dogs to Riveloup, there is a large dog-run, just minutes from the guest house, in a park-like setting.
We would go back anytime and recommend Riveloup to anyone who looks for early spring and likes to be surrounded by nature and the lovely, gurgling sounds of the river Loup flowing around and over rocks at the end of the property.
