Slept in and got a late start today. I spent a bit of time feeding Madame Canard. I was sitting on the porch trying to update my journal when she flew up from the river to the back yard, walked up the stairs to the porch and came right up to me and started yapping. I interpreted her "duck speak" for "I'm hungry. Get me something". So I spent some time feeding her yesterday's croissant, which she devoured. I did manage to video a couple of minutes of it, so if I'm able to get that uploaded, you'll be able to view it here.
We headed to the town of Menerbes. This town was the stronghold for the Protestants during the 16th century "Religious wars" with the Catholics. There are some building used for defenses still in existence, which we didn't get to see because of time constraints, but we'll try to get back here next week. We did walk the town a bit and got a shot of the "main drag", as it is, of the town.
We did make a stop at the Musee Du Tire Bouchon, otherwise known as the corkscrew museum. "tire bouchon" translates to "cork pull". It's inside the winery Domaine de la Citadelle. We couldn't take photos unfortunately. The guy's collection is really extensive, being literally thousands of corkscrews. They date back hundreds of years. Many are very decorative and probably meant more "for show" than "for go". The most cool for me were three that were a combination of pistol, small saber, and corkscrew. I don't quite understand the basis for putting those three things together into one unit, but they were clearly professionally made and very well done.
As the purpose of the trip is to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, we of course would have a special dinner planned. Since our real anniversary is on Monday, we decided to do our big dinner tonight. We went to Le Vivier (The Pool), the only Michelin starred place close by. It's run by a British couple that migrated here a few years ago after running restaurants in London. I think the name comes from the location, which is right where one of the rivers segments into two and goes through a couple of very small water falls. You can look out at this from the terrace, which is where we had our aperitif.
Dinner was their seven course "Menu Gourmand" and overall was nice, with the selected wine pairings. They did some unique things, such as the lobster meat in a crispy cannelloni enclosed with pureed avocado. The fish course featured mullet and octopus with a salty butter sauce and an excellent corn puree. The meat course was veal sweetbreads, which Jan tried for the first time and didn't mind them, although I think they won't be either of our first choice in the future. Dessert should always be great as the last course and this was, being a pairing of a chocolate lava cake and a chocolate frozen "lollipop". It was a nice setting and a great evening.
You'll find a handful of photos here.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Friday, May 30, 2014 - Day 8
Mich and Jim left early this morning to head out to Lake Como for the rest of their trip. Their visit was fun but quick. I wish it could have lasted longer.
We headed off today to Avignon to see a little museum and to try to find a couple of cigar shops I had heard were there. But we started with lunch at a little creperie in the town square. There was a sea of tables in the square and it turns out that they're owned by about 10 different restaurants. The trick is to figure out which tables belong to the restaurant that you want to dine with. After two false starts, we found a table for the creperie. Their food was very good, with me ordering a crepe with salmon, egg and cheese while Jan selected her usual veggie crepe. Their ice cream was fabulous too!
We finally found the Musee Angledon after walking through about half the town and Jan asking someone for directions. It's a small museum featuring the collection of one person, basically displayed in an old house. The collection consists of artwork, furniture, and other collectibles from different eras. One room was made up as a 16th century castle dining room because all the furnishings and artwork were from that era.
The primary reason we sought out this museum was because we saw a poster advertising a special exhibit of Toulouse-Latrec art. This turned out to be the collection of another single individual. It consisted primarily of first generation lithographs, which is how much of Latrec's artwork got distributed. Some were signed and numbered limited editions. There was one original work painted in oil in the collection. It was an interesting museum but we got through it pretty quickly, especially since I couldn't read the descriptions on the walls.
I couldn't find either cigar stores I had heard about in Avignon. I found the place they were supposed to be, but they were no longer there. I satisfied myself with buying a couple of single smokes from the local store in La Sorgue.
After some reading and wine (and a cigar for me) in the back yard, we went into town for dinner. We chose a little hotel and restaurant call Les Terrasses, right along the Bassin. The food was decent. I had a couple of unusual things. My salad had a bunch of baby squid that were very tasty. For my main course, I had beef tartare, raw egg and all. But dessert was back at home, for some good old fashioned chocolate.
You can find a few pictures from today here. Hopefully the evening photos of the Bassin lit up by the restaurants comes through ok.
We headed off today to Avignon to see a little museum and to try to find a couple of cigar shops I had heard were there. But we started with lunch at a little creperie in the town square. There was a sea of tables in the square and it turns out that they're owned by about 10 different restaurants. The trick is to figure out which tables belong to the restaurant that you want to dine with. After two false starts, we found a table for the creperie. Their food was very good, with me ordering a crepe with salmon, egg and cheese while Jan selected her usual veggie crepe. Their ice cream was fabulous too!
We finally found the Musee Angledon after walking through about half the town and Jan asking someone for directions. It's a small museum featuring the collection of one person, basically displayed in an old house. The collection consists of artwork, furniture, and other collectibles from different eras. One room was made up as a 16th century castle dining room because all the furnishings and artwork were from that era.
The primary reason we sought out this museum was because we saw a poster advertising a special exhibit of Toulouse-Latrec art. This turned out to be the collection of another single individual. It consisted primarily of first generation lithographs, which is how much of Latrec's artwork got distributed. Some were signed and numbered limited editions. There was one original work painted in oil in the collection. It was an interesting museum but we got through it pretty quickly, especially since I couldn't read the descriptions on the walls.
I couldn't find either cigar stores I had heard about in Avignon. I found the place they were supposed to be, but they were no longer there. I satisfied myself with buying a couple of single smokes from the local store in La Sorgue.
After some reading and wine (and a cigar for me) in the back yard, we went into town for dinner. We chose a little hotel and restaurant call Les Terrasses, right along the Bassin. The food was decent. I had a couple of unusual things. My salad had a bunch of baby squid that were very tasty. For my main course, I had beef tartare, raw egg and all. But dessert was back at home, for some good old fashioned chocolate.
You can find a few pictures from today here. Hopefully the evening photos of the Bassin lit up by the restaurants comes through ok.
Friday, May 30, 2014
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.
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.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Wednesday, May 28, 2014 - Day 6
Today was a pretty quiet day. We're prepping for Michele and Jim's arrival tonight for their short visit with us as they vacation in France and Italy.
We walked around town this afternoon to pick up a few things. We started with some lunch at a little creperie that had some great stuff. Jan had a crepe stuffed with veggies, dominated by leeks. It tasted great. I had what can best be described as a variety plate. It had four small crepes, one each filled with duck, goat cheese and tomato, ratatouille, and pork. They like to use buckwheat for the crepes here and it results in a dark crepe that looks unusual.
We were looking for some pastries, so we headed to a patisserie we had visited a few days ago. It's run by a woman from New York who had great products. But today it was closed, as was a lot of stores around town. The town is most crowded Thursday through Monday, and some stores stay closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. So we ended up a at new patisserie that was excellent, and got a great variety of pastries.
We've been on the lookout for stores selling fabric so we might find something for tablecloths, This afternoon we found a lady with a variety of fabrics, including some great Provence-looking patterns. We were able to get something perfect for the kitchen island. It's blue based with the typical France pattern with vines and grape leaves. Now we need something for the dining room.
We then ran into a store that sells artisanal cookies and crystalized fruits. They were so attractively displayed that they required a photograph. We of course picked up some items for having with coffee.
Michele and Jim arrived in the early evening. We served a few wines along with Jan's carrot soup and a salad made up of ingredients from the farmers market. It's great to have them here. We'll have a great time tomorrow.
A few photos from today are located here.
We walked around town this afternoon to pick up a few things. We started with some lunch at a little creperie that had some great stuff. Jan had a crepe stuffed with veggies, dominated by leeks. It tasted great. I had what can best be described as a variety plate. It had four small crepes, one each filled with duck, goat cheese and tomato, ratatouille, and pork. They like to use buckwheat for the crepes here and it results in a dark crepe that looks unusual.
We were looking for some pastries, so we headed to a patisserie we had visited a few days ago. It's run by a woman from New York who had great products. But today it was closed, as was a lot of stores around town. The town is most crowded Thursday through Monday, and some stores stay closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. So we ended up a at new patisserie that was excellent, and got a great variety of pastries.
We've been on the lookout for stores selling fabric so we might find something for tablecloths, This afternoon we found a lady with a variety of fabrics, including some great Provence-looking patterns. We were able to get something perfect for the kitchen island. It's blue based with the typical France pattern with vines and grape leaves. Now we need something for the dining room.
We then ran into a store that sells artisanal cookies and crystalized fruits. They were so attractively displayed that they required a photograph. We of course picked up some items for having with coffee.
Michele and Jim arrived in the early evening. We served a few wines along with Jan's carrot soup and a salad made up of ingredients from the farmers market. It's great to have them here. We'll have a great time tomorrow.
A few photos from today are located here.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 - Day 5
We went off to Vaison La Romaine late this morning to visit the market and to do a bit of sightseeing. We got there late and most of the vendors were just starting to pack up. However, we still got some nice produce including some really cool looking baby eggplant that will be cool roasted whole. Most of the vegetable vendors have eggplant, but this was the first baby eggplant. I've also seen baby artichokes that I'll have to give a try.
Since we arrived in France I've been searching for a Croque Madame sandwich for lunch to no avail. It's odd because every brasserie in Paris has these, but not down here. This sandwich is basically a grilled ham and cheese with a bit of béchamel sauce on top, like a Croque Monseuir, but it has a fried egg on top. Well anyway, I found a brasserie in Vaison La Romaine that had them on the menu, so that's where we had lunch. Jan had her first steak frites off the trip. A pleasant bottle of the local Ventoux wine for 12 euros topped everything off. Oh, except that we had to stop afterwards so Jan could get a crepe with chocolate sauce.
Since we were in this area, I wanted to visit the winery Domaine Escaravailles. I have some of their wines in the cellar and they're always great. We let them know this as we started the tasting, and they were very receptive to opening some of the excellent 2009 and 2010 vintages to taste instead of the current vintages that they normally have for the tasting. I didn't know they make a white wine, which was very pleasant. We ended up buying two bottles each of three wines, including the white.
They offered to take us through the winery, which we gladly took them up on. It was a short tour as it's a small producer, but we got to see the vinification area, which also included the barrel cellar for the Syrah they produce.
On the way to La Romaine we had seen a castle in the distance at the town of Le Barroux along with a sign about an abbey, so we decided to stop there on the way back. It turned out to be a great stop and one of those things that you miss if you fill your schedule with things.
We first stopped at the Abbey St. Madelaine. It's been there for centuries and is run by a small cloister of Trappist monks. We stopped at the gift shop first and Jan spoke with one of the monks running the shop while I grabbed a bunch of products that the monks make like olive oil and different breads and jams. Since we were there late in the day, the monks invited us to go to the church for Vespers, which was going to start within 20 minutes. That's an offer that can't be turned down!
As we started to walk up to the church, the bells started to ring announcing Vespers, which were going to start in 15 minutes. They subsequently rang at 5 minutes before and then at the appointed hour while the monks filed in, which is an interesting site to see. You'll find a short video of the bell ringing here.
The Vespers service was really pretty amazing. It's chanted in Latin and sounds cool and a bit creepy at the same time. But what I found really amazing was the age of the monks. I expected a bunch of really old guys similar to the ageing of the Catholic clergy in the US. Instead this group ranged in age from about 30 to mid-50s. It's interesting to see so many younger people entering the church. Many had the weird hair halo cut on their head while others didn't, so this must be a symbol of stature. The whole thing was pretty cool.
We then stopped at the castle we had seen earlier in the day. It dates back to the 12th century and was for the lord of the area. It had closed by the time we got there but we could still walk around the area and got some photos. It was interesting that the castle had been restored once but then got heavily damaged by the Germans when they occupied it in WW2. However, the German government now has offered to help pay for the new restorations.
Another simple dinner at home, with the monk's bread with some cheese and salami from the market. Oh, and a bottle of red wine too! We've eaten at home more on this trip than we have in the last couple of months at home.
Here are some photos from the day, consisting of Domaine Escaravailles, the abbey and the castle.
Since we arrived in France I've been searching for a Croque Madame sandwich for lunch to no avail. It's odd because every brasserie in Paris has these, but not down here. This sandwich is basically a grilled ham and cheese with a bit of béchamel sauce on top, like a Croque Monseuir, but it has a fried egg on top. Well anyway, I found a brasserie in Vaison La Romaine that had them on the menu, so that's where we had lunch. Jan had her first steak frites off the trip. A pleasant bottle of the local Ventoux wine for 12 euros topped everything off. Oh, except that we had to stop afterwards so Jan could get a crepe with chocolate sauce.
Since we were in this area, I wanted to visit the winery Domaine Escaravailles. I have some of their wines in the cellar and they're always great. We let them know this as we started the tasting, and they were very receptive to opening some of the excellent 2009 and 2010 vintages to taste instead of the current vintages that they normally have for the tasting. I didn't know they make a white wine, which was very pleasant. We ended up buying two bottles each of three wines, including the white.
They offered to take us through the winery, which we gladly took them up on. It was a short tour as it's a small producer, but we got to see the vinification area, which also included the barrel cellar for the Syrah they produce.
On the way to La Romaine we had seen a castle in the distance at the town of Le Barroux along with a sign about an abbey, so we decided to stop there on the way back. It turned out to be a great stop and one of those things that you miss if you fill your schedule with things.
We first stopped at the Abbey St. Madelaine. It's been there for centuries and is run by a small cloister of Trappist monks. We stopped at the gift shop first and Jan spoke with one of the monks running the shop while I grabbed a bunch of products that the monks make like olive oil and different breads and jams. Since we were there late in the day, the monks invited us to go to the church for Vespers, which was going to start within 20 minutes. That's an offer that can't be turned down!
As we started to walk up to the church, the bells started to ring announcing Vespers, which were going to start in 15 minutes. They subsequently rang at 5 minutes before and then at the appointed hour while the monks filed in, which is an interesting site to see. You'll find a short video of the bell ringing here.
The Vespers service was really pretty amazing. It's chanted in Latin and sounds cool and a bit creepy at the same time. But what I found really amazing was the age of the monks. I expected a bunch of really old guys similar to the ageing of the Catholic clergy in the US. Instead this group ranged in age from about 30 to mid-50s. It's interesting to see so many younger people entering the church. Many had the weird hair halo cut on their head while others didn't, so this must be a symbol of stature. The whole thing was pretty cool.
We then stopped at the castle we had seen earlier in the day. It dates back to the 12th century and was for the lord of the area. It had closed by the time we got there but we could still walk around the area and got some photos. It was interesting that the castle had been restored once but then got heavily damaged by the Germans when they occupied it in WW2. However, the German government now has offered to help pay for the new restorations.
Another simple dinner at home, with the monk's bread with some cheese and salami from the market. Oh, and a bottle of red wine too! We've eaten at home more on this trip than we have in the last couple of months at home.
Here are some photos from the day, consisting of Domaine Escaravailles, the abbey and the castle.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Monday, May 26, 2014 - Day 4
Did a more feeding of "Madame Canard" this morning using the baguette remains from last night's dinner. These ducks just come right up to you, they're so used to people. This evening I was having a cigar on the patio (a great Cuban Partagas Series D number 4), and Madame Canard just came up to within a couple of feet from me and looked up like she was saying "I'm hungry, what have you got?" She likes bread, and Pringles potato chips. It's funny listening to a duck crunching on chips. At least she didn't ask for dip.
We visited Les Baux Des Provence today, one of our favorite places in Provence. It's a medieval village at the top of a hill, originally anchored by a castle owned by the Marquis a thousand years ago. Now it's a village filled with shops and restaurants. We did a bit of shopping, picking up a cool little souvenir for Tommy 3. Then we went to a little creperie that looks out over the hillside. The crepe was excellent, with bacon, cheese, mushrooms and onions. They had monster ice cream sundaes too, so we shared one of those.
Les Baux is a great area for olive oil and wine. We visited Mas De Gourggonier, a winery I'm familiar with, to taste their wines and the olive oil they make. They have olive trees on the property in addition to grape vines. They make a number of different wines that you don't see in the US, and they were all excellent, so we picked up a few bottles. Their olive oil was very good as well, so a bottle came away with us.
On the way back home we stopped in Valleron to go to the only evening farmers market in the area. It's primarily a produce market with a couple of cheese makers there as well It's frequented primarily by locals, and there were a bunch of people there waiting to get in when it opened at 6pm. We blew through there in about 20 minutes, buying cherries, asparagus, hericot verte, carrots, fresh from the farm eggs, a couple of little melons, and a couple of pieces of goat cheese, all of it produced locally to Valleron. The markets here are great.
This evening's dinner was stuff we had procured from the farmers market, along with a couple (yes, a couple) of bottles of red wine. The 2000 Mas de Gourgonnier Reserve was excellent. We also opened a 2010 Chateau Le Nerthe Chateauneuf-du-Pape, which was also really nice but was way too young.
A small number of photos from today, which you can see here.
We visited Les Baux Des Provence today, one of our favorite places in Provence. It's a medieval village at the top of a hill, originally anchored by a castle owned by the Marquis a thousand years ago. Now it's a village filled with shops and restaurants. We did a bit of shopping, picking up a cool little souvenir for Tommy 3. Then we went to a little creperie that looks out over the hillside. The crepe was excellent, with bacon, cheese, mushrooms and onions. They had monster ice cream sundaes too, so we shared one of those.
Les Baux is a great area for olive oil and wine. We visited Mas De Gourggonier, a winery I'm familiar with, to taste their wines and the olive oil they make. They have olive trees on the property in addition to grape vines. They make a number of different wines that you don't see in the US, and they were all excellent, so we picked up a few bottles. Their olive oil was very good as well, so a bottle came away with us.
On the way back home we stopped in Valleron to go to the only evening farmers market in the area. It's primarily a produce market with a couple of cheese makers there as well It's frequented primarily by locals, and there were a bunch of people there waiting to get in when it opened at 6pm. We blew through there in about 20 minutes, buying cherries, asparagus, hericot verte, carrots, fresh from the farm eggs, a couple of little melons, and a couple of pieces of goat cheese, all of it produced locally to Valleron. The markets here are great.
This evening's dinner was stuff we had procured from the farmers market, along with a couple (yes, a couple) of bottles of red wine. The 2000 Mas de Gourgonnier Reserve was excellent. We also opened a 2010 Chateau Le Nerthe Chateauneuf-du-Pape, which was also really nice but was way too young.
A small number of photos from today, which you can see here.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Sunday, May 25, 2014 - Day 3
This morning we went to the huge farmers market in town. It's gigantic, stretching across probably 20 blocks of the town and some side streets. It's more like a flea market than a farmers market, as there are many more booths with clothes, ceramics, jewelry, etc than food booths. But there were definitely plenty with food.
The food vendors were pretty incredible. The vegetables and fruits were extensive, although I was surprised that there were no mushroom vendors. We still were able to get some great veggies for a big salad.
There were many cheese vendors and cured meat vendors. We picked up a nice salami made with chanterelle mushrooms. Then at one of the cheese vendors we got a chunk of local hard cheese from Noyes. These two will be great together.
Our last stop was a shop that sells local olive oils and olives. We got a great oil made with black olives from Noyes and another from Les Baux des Provence. They were more fruity and distinctive than anything I've had in the states.
We stopped at home to drop off our bounty before heading out to lunch. We opened up the house doors as is the custom here to let the air in. While we were doing stuff in the kitchen, Jan noticed that one of the ducks had come from the rive and walked into the house! This was the mother duck who must have been hungry from sitting on her nest. We shooed her out and gave her some bread, and then closed the doors. She kept trying to get in, walking around the back porch from door to door. These things must get fed a lot around here, that they've become this domesticated.
We went to the town of Bonnieux for lunch. It's built on the mountainside and looks across the valley to the town of Gordes. I don't know what causes the building of a town on the side of a hill, but usually there's a medieval castle connected with it. I didn't see one of those here. It's quite impressive how steep the streets and walkways are here.
We stopped at a winery outside of Bonnieux called Les Eydins. We had a bottle of their wine with lunch and it was excellent. It was unusual for the winery to be open on a Sunday, but it was. We got two bottles of red, two of an excellent white, and two of a great sweet white.
We spent the late afternoon sitting in the back yard, with Jan feeding the ducks potato chips. After she stopped, they came up and walked around the back yard, looking for some food. They eventually went away, but they're not too afraid of people anymore.
We used our farmers market bounty for a great salad for dinner. It went well with a Les Eydins white.
I just noticed that my travel adapter is overheating and starting to smell. That's not a good sign. If I can't find another one, this blog will end in a hurry as I'm going to run out of power quickly.
Here's the photos of the day.
The food vendors were pretty incredible. The vegetables and fruits were extensive, although I was surprised that there were no mushroom vendors. We still were able to get some great veggies for a big salad.
There were many cheese vendors and cured meat vendors. We picked up a nice salami made with chanterelle mushrooms. Then at one of the cheese vendors we got a chunk of local hard cheese from Noyes. These two will be great together.
Our last stop was a shop that sells local olive oils and olives. We got a great oil made with black olives from Noyes and another from Les Baux des Provence. They were more fruity and distinctive than anything I've had in the states.
We stopped at home to drop off our bounty before heading out to lunch. We opened up the house doors as is the custom here to let the air in. While we were doing stuff in the kitchen, Jan noticed that one of the ducks had come from the rive and walked into the house! This was the mother duck who must have been hungry from sitting on her nest. We shooed her out and gave her some bread, and then closed the doors. She kept trying to get in, walking around the back porch from door to door. These things must get fed a lot around here, that they've become this domesticated.
We went to the town of Bonnieux for lunch. It's built on the mountainside and looks across the valley to the town of Gordes. I don't know what causes the building of a town on the side of a hill, but usually there's a medieval castle connected with it. I didn't see one of those here. It's quite impressive how steep the streets and walkways are here.
We stopped at a winery outside of Bonnieux called Les Eydins. We had a bottle of their wine with lunch and it was excellent. It was unusual for the winery to be open on a Sunday, but it was. We got two bottles of red, two of an excellent white, and two of a great sweet white.
We spent the late afternoon sitting in the back yard, with Jan feeding the ducks potato chips. After she stopped, they came up and walked around the back yard, looking for some food. They eventually went away, but they're not too afraid of people anymore.
We used our farmers market bounty for a great salad for dinner. It went well with a Les Eydins white.
I just noticed that my travel adapter is overheating and starting to smell. That's not a good sign. If I can't find another one, this blog will end in a hurry as I'm going to run out of power quickly.
Here's the photos of the day.
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