La Vie Est Belle: A Provence Transformation
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September 4 - 11, 2026
La Vie Est Belle is a weeklong retreat in the south of France for women seeking renewal, connection, and adventure, so you can return to your life reinvigorated, inspired, and recharged. Set in a humble yet elegant family home outside a breathtaking Provençal village, this experience blends the simple pleasures of the south of France—long meals, vibrant markets, ancient villages, beauty at every turn—with the play and delight of spontaneous adventures, belly laughs, and sisterhood.
What to expectYou’ve carried so much for so long—family, work, decisions. You’ve held it together even when you were exhausted. You’ve been the responsible one, and abandoned play along the way.
Somewhere inside you, there’s a voice saying, “I want to feel like myself again. I want to feel alive again. I want to shine again.”
This retreat is where that happens.
Who this is forOur Promise to You
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Our Promise to You *
You will return home feeling lighter, softer, refreshed, clear, and most importantly, ready — to live wholeheartedly, embrace joy in your daily life, and claim the woman you’ve always wanted to become.
What to Expect
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Guided Transformation
- Daily circles
- Somatic grounding
- Tenderness practice
- Inner Critic Workshop
- Awareness of different parts of yourself
- Preparation for integration when you return home
- 1:1 Clarity Session With Calysta
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Joyful Activities
- Three market days, including L’isle Sur la Sorgue, the region’s largest and most renowned market
- E-bike ride to local villages
- Hiking in the Lubéron mountains
- Pétanque (Bocce ball)
- Swimming
- Private boat excursion to the Calanques (limestone cliffs) on the Mediterranean sea
- Optional in home massages (additional cost)
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Nourishing Meals
- All meals cooked by a private chef with the freshest ingredients
- Accommodations for dietary preferences
- Buffet lunches featuring local foods (fresh salads, charcuteries, patés, fruits)
- Two café/restaurant lunches after markets
- Apéritif on the terrace overlooking the village
- Dinners featuring typical Provençal dishes
- One dinner at the renowned restaurant in the charming boutique hotel La Bastide de Marie
- Curated local wines at each dinner
This retreat is for you if…
You’re a woman who:
is ready for an adventure away from home
feels stretched thin but rarely says it
feels tired of always having to be the strong one
has lost touch with her own needs, desires, or intuition
wants to sit in silence and feel safe there
craves space to exhale without explaining herself
has been carrying responsibility longer than she realizes
wants joy, play, and spontaneity to feel natural again
The Daily Rhythm
A Note About Intimacy and Safety
This retreat is intentionally small — no more than 8 women — so that every woman can be seen, heard, held, and guided in her own transformation.
The Setting
Outside Bonnieux, on a small plateau overlooking the village, sits a quiet family home filled with warmth, beauty, and soul. Enjoy thoughtfully-decorated rooms, a pool overlooking the village, terraces for morning circles and evening reflections, and walking paths with rolling hills and bird song.
This home holds generations of love. It naturally invites you to exhale.
Room Options
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King Bed with Private Bath and Village View
Single Occupancy: $___
Double Occupancy: $___
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Queen Bed with Shared Bath and Village View
Single Occupancy: $___
Double Occupancy: $___
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Two Twin Beds with Shared Bath, Entrance Terrace View
Double Occupancy: $___
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One Queen and One Twin, Shared Bath, small Lubéron Mountain View, small Village View from Bath
Double Occupancy: $___
Accessed from outdoor staircase.
All programming with expert facilitators who complement each other beautifully with their breadth and depth of knowledge, wisdom, and modalities
All meals from Friday evening through Saturday morning, including one dinner at a restaurant, two lunches in restaurants, and wine at each dinner
A private chef who brings not only exquisite gourmet food but light, joy, love, and her own facilitation skills
Accommodations (options for single or double occupancy)
All excursions, including full day private boat excursion to Cassis/Mediterranean coast
All entries to museums, chateaus, or exhibitions
1:1 session with Calysta
Afterglow integration
What’s Included
Investment: $3,950 - $4,800 (depending on room selection)
Arrival: Friday, September 4th
Departure: Saturday, September 11th
8 nights total
Does not include:
Airfare (to Marseille or Paris are preferred)
Travel Insurance (highly recommended)
Transfer to and from the house (see below in FAQ’s for more details)
Optional wine tasting excursion
Local gifts, souvenirs, purchases, etc.
Payment and Cancellation Policy
Payment plans available.
$1000 deposit required at time of registration to reserve your spot. $500 is non-refundable. The remaining balance is due by July 1.
If you need to cancel, you will receive a refund of all payments made minus the $500 deposit if your cancellation is received in writing by June 1. After June 1, the retreat is non-refundable and non-transferable. This policy is firm, as we make commitments to travel and vendors well in advance.
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance to protect your investment. Many companies offer coverage for retreats and international travel.
A Day in the Life
A sneak peak into a day-in-the-life at our retreat.
Itinerary subject to change due to weather and group preferences.Coffee, breakfast, and inner circle session
8-10am
Group outing to the market
10am-12pm
Fresh, local lunch in town
12-1pm
Rest, pool time, siesta, 1:1 sessions
1-4pm
Integration, wisdom, unwind Apéritif, enjoy one another’s company
4-6pm
Delicious gourmet dinner prepared by our talented private chef
6-7:30pm
Dancing, playing games, night walks to village
7:30pm-bedtime
Markets
L’Isle sur la Sorgue: L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue comes alive on market day, its canals and old waterwheels framing one of the most beloved markets in Provence. The streets fill with vibrant stalls offering antiques, fresh cheeses and produce, flowers, linens, and handcrafted treasures. This market is a feast for the senses and a beautiful place to wander at your own pace. This is the largest of the local markets and not one to be missed. Bonnieux- Bonnieux is a beautiful hilltop village with winding stone streets, panoramic views, and a timeless Provençal feel. On Friday mornings, the village square comes alive with a charming market where locals sell fresh produce, cheeses, flowers, and handcrafted goods. It’s a warm, inviting glimpse into daily life in Provence.Gordes- Gordes is one of Provence’s most iconic hilltop villages, rising in honey-colored stone overlooking the sweeping plains of the Luberon. Its narrow cobblestone lanes wind past elegant façades, ancient archways, and a majestic château that anchors the heart of the village. Bathed in golden light and surrounded by olive groves and vineyards, Gordes offers a postcard-perfect blend of history, beauty, and Provençal charm—an unforgettable place to wander, savor, and take in the landscape.Villages
Lourmarin- Lourmarin is one of Provence’s most enchanting villages—full of winding stone lanes, sun-washed façades, and a gentle, artistic energy. Surrounded by vineyards and olive groves, it’s a place where time seems to slow just enough for you to savor its beauty.Cassis- With the French Riviera only 1.5 hours away, a day in Cassis feels like stepping into a sun-soaked dream. This luminous seaside village invites you to wander its pastel-painted port, linger in little boutiques, and breathe in the salty Mediterranean air. Then slip aboard a private boat with a typical French picnic lunch and cruise into the Calanques—towering white limestone cliffs plunging into water so turquoise it hardly seems real. Lacoste- Lacoste is a striking hilltop village known for its narrow, stone-paved passages, sweeping views of the Luberon, and the iconic château once owned by the Marquis de Sade. Today, the village has a vibrant creative pulse thanks to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), whose students and studios infuse the streets with youthful artistry and imagination. Wandering Lacoste feels like stepping into a living gallery—historic, poetic, and alive with emerging creative energy.Restaurants
La Bastide de Marie - Dinner at La Bastide de Marie feels like being welcomed into an elegant Provençal home, where candlelight and long tables create space for women to unwind and savor. Surrounded by vineyards and gardens, you’ll enjoy vibrant dishes from the estate’s own potager—simple, fresh, and deeply flavorful. Whether dining under lanterns or in the chic-rustic dining room, the setting invites easy connection, warm laughter, and a sense of being beautifully cared for.
Your Hosts
Calysta’s path has taken her from the classrooms of Colorado and Idaho to communities across the world, weaving together a lifetime of teaching, facilitating, and guiding others toward deeper clarity and connection. With a background in anthropology, languages, and human development, she brings a thoughtful, grounded approach to helping people return to themselves.Her work as a facilitator is shaped by 25 years of teaching and by leading retreats for women, entrepreneurs, and mission-driven leaders. Whether she is guiding a circle, inviting a group into creative problem-solving, or helping someone reconnect with their inner voice, Calysta creates spaces that feel safe, alive, and transformative. Participants often leave her retreats with a renewed sense of possibility—clearer, more centered, and more connected to what truly matters. She is a life and executive coach who helps people build lives and show up in their careers in ways that are aligned with what matters most to them.Born to a French mother and an American father, Calysta has been traveling to her family’s home in Provence for more than four decades. This region is woven into her story—its markets, villages, and rhythms are as familiar to her as old friends. Her deep connection to the land and culture brings a layer of authenticity and intimacy to this retreat, allowing participants to experience Provence with the insight of someone who truly knows and loves it.She now calls Sun Valley home, where she lives with her husband, two children, and four beloved dogs. Outside of facilitation, she finds joy in dancing, mountain biking, skiing, cooking, and quiet moments on a paddleboard or a snowy trail.Calysta Phillips
Whitney’s journey has taken her across the world, shaping a lifelong commitment to personal and collective well-being. Over many years, she has developed a thoughtful and grounded approach to the healing arts—drawing from traditions that emphasize presence, connection, and the wisdom of the body.Her work is informed by extensive practice in modalities such as prayerful intention, sweat lodges, kundalini yoga, 5 Rhythms movement, and the facilitation of Cacao ceremonies. Through these experiences—as well as her travels to places rich with story, culture, and ancestral traditions—she has cultivated a deep respect for how individuals find meaning, resilience, and belonging.Whitney believes that growth is a continuous path. She approaches her work with humility, openness, and a trust in the transformative power of honesty and vulnerability. Whether through healing touch, vocal toning, drumming, crystal singing bowls, or ancestral connection practices, she offers her gifts with the intention of helping others reconnect to their own sense of center, clarity, and home.PERSONAL BLURBWhitney Gaved
Your Chef
Chalia
Chalia is the founder of Lia Catering and a deeply intuitive chef whose life’s work is rooted in nourishment, beauty, and connection. Raised in a vibrant Mexican household, she learned early how food brings people together. Her formal training at M Tech Culinary Arts School, along with years of hands-on experience—including the founding of Chalia’s Bakery and later The Brulee Catering—shaped her into an accomplished chef known for bold, refined flavors and impeccable presentation. Chalia will bring the flavors of Provence to life through thoughtfully prepared offerings made with the freshest seasonal ingredients—drawing from local markets, regional traditions, and her own culinary training to create meals and boards that feel both nourishing and celebratory.After a near-death experience at 19, Chalia never saw life the same again—something within her changed forever. She returned with heightened intuition and claroaudiencia, gifts she didn’t yet know how to understand or manage, and for a long time, she kept them hidden, afraid of being misunderstood. Still, her heart kept guiding her toward a moment when she would share freely and inspire others through her life experiences, with love and strength. After the passing of her two children, that calling deepened profoundly; the pain became a lived experience that evolved and transformed her soul. Along this path of healing and purpose, she has committed herself to deep inner work and learning, completing certificate courses such as The Power of Words with Dr. Eder Campos and Eudinamia with Dr. José Cruz; participating in Circle of Women; using Reiki to heal trauma; practicing hypnotherapy through the Marisa Peer system; attending 5 Rhythms retreats; and dedicating herself to yoga, meditation, and conscious movement—practices that center her soul and keep her deeply connected to her true self.The Afterglow Integration
Leaving doesn’t mean letting go of what you’ve found — we support you in the unfolding of what began in Provence and continues after you arrive home.
Two group calls post-retreat to support you through the integration
Reflection prompts to help anchor your insights as you return to daily life
Optional coaching add-on package upon returning home (additional cost)
FAQs
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This retreat is designed for you to immerse yourself in the beauty, culture, flavors, sights, and rhythms of Provence. It is intended to help you slow down, reconnect with yourself, and gain clarity about what you want in this next chapter of life. Through gentle guidance, meaningful conversations, nourishing meals, and curated excursions, you’ll return home with a renewed sense of possibility and a deeper connection to your own inner wisdom.
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Yes. While you’ll enjoy the beauty of Provence—markets, villages, slow meals, and sunshine—the true heart of this retreat is the inner work. Through guided practices, discussion circles, reflective exercises, and thoughtful facilitation, you’ll gain new perspectives, release what no longer serves you, and reconnect with the parts of yourself that have been waiting to be heard.
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Women who feel called to pause, reflect, and reconnect—often at a moment of transition, curiosity, or reinvention. Many are professionals, creatives, mothers, entrepreneurs, or women simply craving a reset. You do not need any prior retreat experience; just an open mind and a willingness to be present.
There will be a limit of 8 women.
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Each day blends spaciousness with intentional experiences. You’ll enjoy morning practices or sessions, a curated excursion or village visit, and time in the afternoons to rest, swim, journal, wander, or simply breathe. We’ve crafted the rhythm so that you feel held—not rushed.
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Our excursions involve gentle walking through villages and markets. There is an optional morning walk to the top of the village which is a little more challenging. There are also longer hiking trails into the Lubéron mountains. We are planning an e-bike excursion that is appropriate for all levels of fitness.
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Most guests fly into either Marseille (MRS) or Paris (CDG).
From Marseille, you can take a train to Cavaillon (1 hour 15 minutes, about 25 euros) and arrange a taxi ride to the house (30 minutes, about 80 euros).
From Paris, you can take the high-speed TGV to Avignon (4 hours, about 60 euros) and arrange a transfer (about 50 minutes and 100 Euros).
We will help coordinate a car pick up and ride-sharing among participants when possible.
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We will have two vehicles- a larger van that can transport everyone in one vehicle, and a smaller vehicle for 5 for extra flexibility. You do not need to rent a car. Once you arrive at the house we will handle all your transportation needs.
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Gentle early-fall weather: September brings cooler, more comfortable temperatures, making it easy to enjoy long walks, village markets, and outdoor meals without the intense heat of midsummer.
Lavender fields in their sculptural beauty: While the lavender has already been harvested, the soft curves and patterned rows of the fields remain.
Fewer tourists: The summer crowds have thinned, offering a more relaxed, spacious experience of Provence’s villages, cafés, and landmarks.
A slower, more authentic pace: With locals back into their rhythms and the region less busy, everything feels more accommodating—easier parking, calmer markets, and a general sense of ease. -
No, the lavender fields are already harvested this time of year. The lavender rows are still lovely, but they will not be purple.
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Provence is relaxed, elegant, and all about comfort. Bring light, breathable clothing, a sweater for cool evenings, comfortable walking shoes, a swimsuit, a sun hat, a pareo, and anything that helps you feel grounded (a journal, a favorite scarf, a book). You won’t need anything fancy—just pieces you love to move, rest, and wander in.
More questions? Feel free to email calystaphillips@gmail.com