Grasse and Cascades de la Perfumee

For now, Grasse is the last stop on our little driving adventure before returning the car, hopefully intact, back to Budget Rental, its owner. Grasse is known for PERFUME! The Fragonard factory and museum is in this charming hill town in Provence, home of fields of lavender, tuberroses, and all plants fragrant. We lucked in to the Cascades de la Perfumee, just above Grasse. Getting there however, was quite the challenge. The twisty, turny road took us on quite the breathtaking adventure. But, the result—so worth it.

This charming B and B, nestled in the mountains above Grasse is the creation of innkeepers, Paul and Valerie. Getting here turned out to be an unnecessary challenge since I failed to see Paul’s note on What’s App and used Google as our guide. To be fair to myself, it took all my concentration keeping Dana and the car on the correct route. Whichever road you take to stay here, by all means it is worth it. Paul is an engineer and Valerie a nurse. During Covid they purchased a huge home once used as a convalescent home for children with tuberculosis and converted it to this beautiful B and B. On one side is the inn and the other their private residence.

The rooms are all unique and a mixture of old world charm and modern conveniences. The plumbing and electrical is all new and exquisitely executed, the beds massive and comfortable. They grow their own vegetables for their meal preparation and provide locally sourced food and wine otherwise. The jams and jellies served with our morning baguettes were all homemade.

The afternoon we arrived, their youngest son was also at home, visiting from Switzerland where he is studying in a conservatory. He treated us to an impromptu concert of Chopin and Rachmaninoff on an antique piano in the section of the inn Paul and Valerie call ‘the museum’. In the museum, they house family history and finds from antique shops, the internet, and flea markets.

We had a most enjoyable stay.