Anne-Marie
and Wade Hampton pioneered the hosting of small group
tours in Provence
in 1995. As a husband and wife team, they designed
this special
tour for their guests and are happy to share their
knowledge and love
of a cultural paradise.
Anne-Marie,
a Ph.D. in French and Francophone literature from UCLA,
is a native of
Provence who knows her country intimately. She
studied art in
Marseille and Paris and has a degree in Art
History. Her
experience as an art dealer for an international gallery
serves her
well when she helps guests shop for antiques. She
has an
extensive knowledge of French culture and cuisine and is
always pleased
to share her secrets with her guests.
A
designer and an artist, Wade manufactured architectural
designs for the
building industry and patented several innovative
construction
products. He is a land investor and owns several
mountain tops of
rare patented mining claims property which he develops
in the Prescott
National Forest, AZ.
Wade fell in
love with Provence thirty five years ago and knows the
region as well
as the natives - if not better! As an enthusiastic
explorer, he
can't resist taking back roads and has discovered some
amazing
places: "Every village in Provence is a piece of
art. It’s
impossible to drive in this country without
finding something
beautiful to look at!" A very attentive host, Wade
is also a fine
connoisseur of Provençal wines and you will enjoy his
wine-tasting
party.
Wade
and
Anne-Marie’s adventures began in 1995. Tired of
renting houses in
the region when they were on tour, they decided to buy
property in
Provence and make the Luberon the place of their second
home.
This was ideal to invite their guests for dinner and be
close to
Anne-Marie’s family. After many visits of old farm
houses
in desperate need of remodeling, Wade felt that it would
be easier to
buy land and built on it, rather than redoing everything
in an old
house that would never fit their needs. After
three years of
visiting properties they found the land of their dream
in 1998.
This rare piece of land, sitting in the countryside near
the ocher
village of Roussillon, offers a panoramic view over the
Luberon
mountain, the Monts du Vaucluse and the village of
Gordes.
View
of sunset from our house.
Then,
construction began, which was another big adventure...
Now,
Anne-Marie and Wade live in Provence 6 months out of the
year. As
Wade’s dream would not have been complete without a
garden, he started
working on a piece of land, enriching it year
after year with
manure from a friend’s horse ranch and straw from a
local farmer.
Over time, Wade made an incredible garden where he
spends most of his
time when he isn’t on tour. From tomatoes,
to eggplants and
zucchini, from green beans and sweet peas to salads,
beets, corn,
cabbage, squash, melons, watermelons, rhubarb,
rows of basil and
all kind of herbs and flowers, he planted about
everything that could
grow and now, Anne-Marie is asking for artichokes!
Aside
from veggies, Wade planted cherry, apricot and fig
trees, and has wild,
prolific prune (mirabelle) and apple trees which fruits
make
excellent jam. His garden has earned him
admiration from
peasants of the region who are also in awe of his 17ft
tall
sunflowers! And, as a garden couldn’t exist
without our little
friends the bees, Wade installed two large hives!
Now his bees
enjoy the lavender fields behind and below our house and
gave him 24 kg
of deliciously perfumed lavender honey this year.
Of course, all
this bounty keeps Anne-Marie busy cooking, canning,
baking, and making
ice cream for the enjoyment of our guests.
Please see
photos bellow showing part of Wade’s wonderful garden.
