Tour to the International Giulietta Festival, France, May 2022

The Register organised an 11 day tour for Members to participate in the International Giulietta Festival in Provence. Our group left for France on Sunday 22 May numbering 33 in 17 Giuliettas and Giulias. Most of us returned on 1 June. Those that didn’t were not broken down, but still holidaying in France or heading to other places. All of us were very happy that this tour, and the Festival, had finally gone ahead after being cancelled at the last moment two years earlier. In all we covered around 2000 miles of some of the most magnificent driving roads between Calais and Marseilles and back again. We enjoyed seven nights in seven enjoyable hotels, each with their particular French charm and degrees of luxury. Another three nights in the wonderful Moulin des Vernègues, the Hotel near Mallemort, in Provence, which was base for the 2022 International Giulietta Festival.

Checking in to the wonderful Hotel Moulin de Vernègues, near Mallemort, Provence.

Our outward route from Calais took us west to Forges les Eaux, south through Normandy to the west of Versailles to Romarantin-Lanthenay, home of the Matra Museum.  Our third night hotel was on the outskirts of the medieval town of Thiers, renowned as the centre of European cutlery manufacture with streets of small shops specializing in big (and small) knives. Then some wonderful driving roads south through the Livradois and eventually into the beautiful mountain countryside of the Ardeche down to Aubenas and our hotel in an old Bastide high in the hills at Sanilhac. On Thursday we followed the wonderful Gorges de l’Ardeche and a short motorway run to the Hotel Moulin de Vernègues.

The Festival in Provence was superbly organised by Jérôme Barugola. Jérôme founded the French Italian car club Museo Vivo Provence in 2009 and now leads, since 2020, the Giulietta Festival Club dedicated to Giuliettas and Giulias. The Festival kicked off with welcome drinks and canapes on the Thursday evening of our arrival, at the Prieuré Notre Dame de Conil, a 45 minute drive from our Hotel.  Dating from 1142 with some Roman foundations, the priory is now a work-in-progress of the charming young family of Vladimir, offering luxury holiday apartments (Instagram:notredamedeconil) in a romantic setting in wooded countryside. Vladimir was a truly hospitable host. The evening was perfect with an endless variety of finger food, drinks appropriate to the occasion, and bonhomie all round. A great start!

Enjoy this video of the welcoming event on the first evening of the Festival was filmed by Jeremy of Aeropps (www.aeropps.com) for the French Giulietta Festival Club.

Jérôme had distilled his local knowledge of the best driving roads in Provence into a comprehensive Road Book, complete with hand-drawn Tulip diagrams, for all Festival participants. Next day these guided up and down winding roads across the spectacular Plateau de Vaucluse to a delicious group lunch at Restaurant Le Grozeau. Then it was the formidable Mont Ventoux with steep scree slopes and eerie moon-like terrain.  It was a public holiday and we shared the road with other drivers and many cyclists but it was still exhilarating with wonderful views. So different from our Register trip in 2014 when, also with Jérôme, the same mountain road was under heavy mist and visibility was only a few feet.  We now realised how blithely unaware we had been back then of the potential for plunging to disaster.  

Next day, Saturday, we set out again with our bunch of Tulips heading in to the Chaîne des Alpilles,  past busy Les Baux,  then down onto the Plaine de la Camargue to another hearty group lunch at Restaurant Manade des Baumelles. Then on to the beautiful seaside town of Saintes Maires de la Mer where, by the grace of the Mayor, we all parked in lines in front of the Maire.  It was a welcome break to wander the town, climb to the roof of the large old church, eat ice creams, and, in case of one of our number, to take a swim in the Mediterranean.

Homeward bound now, our route took us north east through the Vercors with its limestone cliffs and narrow gorges to our hotel in the centre of Grenoble.  Then another excellent driving day out of Grenoble up onto the Massif de la Chartreuse to Chambery and the mountains of the Jura and down into the delightful town of Arbois. Tuesday it was still northeast to and on to our last stopover at Châlons-en-Champagne. Our final day was a fast motorway run north to Calais and the Shuttle home.

Our grateful appreciation to Jérôme Barugola for his excellent Festival organisation, and to our French friends who made us so welcome in glorious Provence. Thanks to Register Members Richard Wigley for the excellent Tour routes and maps, Bernard Lien-lambert and Peter Bradnock for the Tour hotels and administration. Special thanks too to all the friendly participants from many countries who came together to make this such a memorable celebration of our beautiful Giuliettas.