La Maison Bleue, for rent in Paradou, France.
DON'T BE BLUE, GO BLEUE
Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence brought fame to the sleepy hamlet of Le Paradou with a delicious account of local restaurant Le Bistrot du Paradou. Until recently, however, there wasn't much reason to spend more than a mealtime in Paradou. A short stroll from the bistro, hoteliers Andrea and Nick Morris have converted a ramshackle building into the three-bedroom La Maison Bleue. The self-contained villa has a private swimming pool, a lush garden with flowers and cherry trees, and swank en suite bathrooms that are outfitted with fluffy bathrobes and Etro toiletries. The Morrises, who also run an upscale bed and breakfast next door, are on hand to make dinner reservations and sightseeing suggestions, and to share a bottle of rosé and good conversation at cocktail hour. La Maison Bleue rents for $4,457 a week www.maisonduparadou.com
SWEET ON STOCKHOLM
Cupid's arrow strikes at Love Stockholm 2010, a two-week festival that kicks off on June 6 and culminates with the royal wedding of Crown Princess Victoria to Daniel Westling. Exhibits around the city span from the predictable (Flowers of Love at the Bergius Botanic Garden) to the peculiar (snuff boxes-cum-18th-century lovers' trinkets at the Tobaks-och Tandsticksmuseum - in English: the Tobacco and Match Museum). A charming stop is the City Museum's Stockholm Heart of Love, a display of wedding photos from the past 140 years, some of which were taken by famed Swedish photographers Henry B. Goodwin and Jan de Meyere. Visitors are invited to pin their own romantic snaps on a special wall. www.lovestockholm2010.se
ECO-FRIENDLY EATERY
Now that Café Habana has opened its doors in Malibu, Calif., A-listers may be ditching their no-carb diets for pulled-pork sandwiches and fried plantains. With two other eco-eateries under his belt in New York, founder Sean Meenan brings his concept restaurant to the West Coast. Café Habana Malibu is solar-powered, its benches are made from strips of the Coney Island boardwalk, and the bullet-ridden wood bar was salvaged by Meenan himself in Deadwood, S.D. Even the kitchen's used cooking oil is recycled and fuels Meenan's 1965 Lincoln convertible. Nightclub mogul Rande Gerber is a co-owner, so don't be surprised to see his wife, Cindy Crawford, there snacking on grilled corn and shrimp ceviche. 3939 Cross Creek Rd. (at the Malibu Lumber Yard); www.cafehabana.com
AND THE 5-STAR HOTEL ROOM GOES TO…
Bid on the best suite in the house on Off & Away, an online travel auction that sells off swank hotel rooms at a small fraction of their rack rate. The bid-to-auction process may seem a bit confusing at first, so study the site's How it Works page before trying your hand. Once you get the hang of it, luxury travel suddenly becomes affordable. One winner snagged two nights in the Deluxe Suite at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va., for $53.50 (U.S.) - the regular rate is $1,950. www.offandaway.com/index.page
Special to The Globe and Mail