A Challenging Day

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We attempted to go to the Cavaillon market this morning en route to Avignon but the parking situation was ugly so we blew it off and detoured our route via Menerbes where Peter Mayle used to live and wrote his famous "Provence" novels. We've since got scoop that he was driven out of the area by the residents once the books were translated into French b/c the locals didn't see his humourous view of Provencal life. He moved back to Long Island for awhile but is now rumoured to be in the town we visited the other day, Lourmarin. Anyway, Menerbes is another beautiful hilltop town with stone alleys and views of vineyards and mountains.

Our arrival in Avignon was an experience and a half. It was 2pm, we hadn't eaten and were stuck in the walled city's one way "paths" (they're too narrow to be called streets!) for over an HOUR. Both of us were fed up trying to find our blasted hotel so we parked the car, got out, breathed and had a bite to eat. Then, on foot, we found the hotel and discovered that the street we needed was blocked off. When we finally reach the Hotel du Palais des Papes, we are told that our reservation which was booked over 6 mths ago may not be available b/c another couple was deciding between "our" air-conditioned room with a view of the Palais des Papes and another room. After the debaucle of finding the hotel and then being told this, I kind of lost it and got a bit annoyed. We went to investigate other hotels which was a good idea b/c when we went back to the Hotel du Palais and viewed our room options (after getting stuck in the elevator from 1920) there was no way either of us were going to stay there. Ick!!

After evaluating our options we lucked in at the Mercure across form the original hotel. It's clean, got a good shower, air-conditioning and internet service.

Now that we're settled, I can tell you that Avignon is full of character. It's a great walking town and so old - it's got a stone wall around it! Saw Pont d'Avignon and the Palais des Papes en route. Tomorrow we'll investigate further b/c I don't think John wants to drive in France anymore. It's annoying when you get near towns with the roundabouts and scooters whipping past you. And being the navigator is stressful b/c there are 3 types of roads you can take to get anywhere - the highway, the pseudo-highway and the scenic backroads. Trying to decipher those on the map when you're susceptible to car sickness is well....we just don't want to drive tomorrow.

Anyway, the good news is we're settled in a decent hotel, the lavender we bought in Gordes is working its magic on the smoke smell in our room and our window overlooks the main piazza where Festival d'Avignon mistrals sing and perform their music. The challenging day worked out better than we expected and all is good once again.

Tonight we drove into Caromb to visit Bev. Her place is a beautiful Provencal retreat complete with gorgeous Provencal decor, a beautiful terrasse and a view to die for.

After a bottle of rose and a tour of her domain we went to a lovely hilltop restaurant that looked over the Caromb area while the sun set over the mountains. Bev knew the owner - actually she knew a lot of the people around (a reality of village living) and we had a wonderful meal. I had an appetizer of foie gras and felt like I had died and gone to heaven. There was more foie gras on my plate than toast to eat it with and every bite was a moment of pleasure. John even had prawns which he enjoyed immensely!

What followed was a gluttoness euphoria of scallops, cheese, creme brulee and chocolate gateau (cake sounds too crass in this context) and coffee. It was a perfectly paced 3 hour meal with wonderful food, ambiance and company.

Now we're back in Avignon and heading to sleep. It was a long day that ended with no complaints.

Miss you all!

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