Thursday, May 29, 2014 - Day 7

We had a full and fun day with Michele and Jim. It was great that they could join us, even if it was for only a day. We started with a turn through the town farmers market, which is held on Sunday and Thursday. This one is much smaller than the Sunday version, but still pretty extensive by the standards of the other markets around here.

We picked up a lot of stuff for dinner tonight. Mich was making a ratatouille, so we got eggplant, zucchini, fennel, tomatoes, etc. We also got some great lettuce, asparagus and hericot verte for making a salad. There was a butcher selling prepared pork products so we grabbed a piece of roast pork loin and a pork terrine en croute. Cheese of course was necessary, as apparently were some pashminas that one vendor was selling. Oh, we got some great sunflowers as well, which is so typically Provence. Then it was back to the house for breakfast.

Our journey started with a trip to the Pont Julien, which is a Roman-era bridge that is still in existence and operational for foot traffic. The wonder of the Roman engineering is that it was built before the invention of mortar, so the blocks in the archways are all held together by the precise shapes of the stones that lock in together. The river below it is barely a trickle, but apparently 2000 years ago it could be quite substantial because the archways are very high.

We then cruised through the small hillside town of Bonnieux on the way to another little hillside town of Lacoste. While little Lacoste is better known for the clothing brand (there's a good bit of Pierre Cardin presence in the town), it's originally the home town of the Marquis de Sade hundreds of years ago. His castle is mostly in ruins except for the lower level, which is now owned by Pierre Cardin and is being restored.

We walked up some very steep and hundreds-of-years-old streets and walkways to get to the top where the Sade castle was. It's was actually somewhat treacherous as the stones were all very slippery and ragged, definitely medieval (perhaps Sadistic?). When we got to the top, it turned out that the castle isn't open to the public! Apparently Pierre Cardin owns it to restore as a residence and not a museum. On top of that, it also turns out that a road ran from the backside of it so we could have actually driven up there instead of climbing up like a Sherpa. Well, the views were good and we got some great exercise that justified a nice lunch.

For lunch we intentionally chose the Café de France in Lacoste because it looks out over the valley at the neighboring town of Bonnieux. The views are great when sitting in the outdoor tables. I have to assume the indoor tables in these restaurants only get used a few months out of the year.

After lunch we drove to the Chateau La Canorgue to taste and buy some wines. This winery is the one featured in the movie A Good Year with Russell Crowe. You can't get up to the house that was the central piece of the movie, because the owners still live there. However, you're very close to it and can see it easily from the parts of the vineyard they let you walk through. It was fun to talk to the owner (through very broken English) about the experience. Apparently Ridley Scott (the director) and Pete Maile (the writer of the original book) had been customers of their wines for quite some time before deciding to make the movie, so they immediately contacted the owner of Canorgue when they decided to make the movie. It was cool to see the site.

On the way back home we drove through the town of Rousillon, where some of the best ochre in the world is mined. The red soil is everywhere and is apparently considered the best variation of ochre in the world.

Dinner home was great, with bottles of Canorgue wine open and the farmers market ingredients brought to bear. Jan had made some gazpacho soup the day before, which was excellent. We followed it with the salad, and then finally the great ratatouille that Mich had made. Dessert was simple, with a variety of fruits that we had bought that day.

Today's photos are here.