Truffle hunting in Provence

The first weekend in December found us indulging in a truffle weekend – hunting them and then eating them in copious amounts – in Provence, where we sat drinking chilled rosé wine in warm sunshine, pottered around the Sunday antiques market at Ile sur la Sorgue and even swam in the hotel pool, heated to 29 degrees. A brilliant part of the world for an out of season break, particularly in November which is nearly always filled with blue skies. We flew from Bournemouth to Avignon on Flybe…both airports deliciously empty, and everything easy. The hotel? Crillon Le Brave (http://www.thehotelguru.com/best-hotels/France/Provence-Towns-and-Villages) which hosts truffle and wine weekends in November and has wonderful views across vineyards and olive groves to Mont Ventoux. Better still, it’s partly owned now by Robin Hutson, a superb hotelier who was responsible for the Hotel du Vin chain (which he sold a few years ago to Malmaison) and his wife Judy, who created the Hotel du Vin look and is now weaving her subtle magic at Crillon le Brave. They are old mates and we were lucky enough to be their guests …. a blissful break.