In April this year my wife and I celebrated our first anniversary by hiring a convertible Fiat 500 and exploring the South of France for 10 days.

We spent the first few days in central Provence based in the hilltop town of Gordes. The beautiful town made a great central point for us to venture out and visit areas like Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Orange, St Remy, Les Baux-de-Provence, Oppède le Vieux, Ménerbes, Bonnieux, Roussillon and the Roman Pont du Gard. Our home in provence was Mas de la Beaume, a quintessential provencal b&b, with lavender hanging from the rafters and olive trees in the garden.

Half-way through the trip we drove through the mountains to visit the stunning Gorges Du Verdon, before making our way down to the coast. Based in the artists’ town of St. Paul de Vence we spent the second part of the trip exploring the French Riviera. Our accommodation at Orion B&B had us sleeping in a treehouse with a hammock on the balcony – a wonderful throwback to our adventurous Southern African honeymoon.

One of the highlights was lunch at a wonderfully secluded beach – Anse de la Scaletta on Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Absorbing the beauty of the Côte d’Azur we drove along the Grande Corniche with spectacular views of the coast as well as venturing slightly inland to the mountainous villages of Gourdon and Tourrettes-sur-Loup.