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Published: September 28th 2012
A typical Luberon Village
They are all "une de le plus beaux villages de France" and they all start to look alike after awhile.Sunday, Sept 23, 2012 - Up bright and early in the morning to have a final tidy-up and take the Ackers’ to Montpellier to catch the train. It was sad to say good-bye; the last two weeks had been a laugh-fest. But ten minutes later, trying to get out of Montpellier, it was all a dream. On the road again…. We have decided to NOT eat out so much, now that our bad selves are gone. It’s Sunday - have you ever tried to find something to eat in rural France on a Sunday out of season? We finally found a little take-away, French-style, in Salon for a (yep, you guessed it…) prefixe menu…a baguette deluxe, a patisserie and a boisson for Euro 6.50. We chose chicken baguettes and Far Breton (couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it) for dessert. It isn’t as good as mine. Maybe because I put an extra dollop of rum in! We also had to find a market to load up on stuff we didn’t have.
After getting to the house, which is huge, dinner consisted of sausage, cheese, fruit, and a salad. Is it me, or does food just taste better over here?
Stairs
Look at the wonderful pattern made by the bricks...quilters see design ideas everywhere! I think it’s my imagination, but I am enjoying it all the same….
Monday, Sept 24, 2012 - Today we took off and just drove, without any real plan. We went to Lauris, a small village not too far from where we are based in Vaugines, but not before a HUGE lightening storm hit the area, for which it is famous. After it stopped, we continued to the town, bought a roasted chicken and went to the supermarket for stuff. Went home to eat the extra baguette from yesterday then back out to Roussillion, the center of the ochre industry in France, at least in this area. The ground is so red! We had been here before, though we didn’t remember until I spotted the café we sat at previously. (See our first blog, six or seven years ago under NZ4ME, Kevin’s screen name) It was after being here that I got interested in the history of color, and dyes, and read a wonderful book called “Color” (http://www.amazon.com/Color-A-Natural-History-Palette/dp/0812971426/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1348517909&sr=8-3&keywords=colors) which spoke about this area of France. After leaving, we wended our way back home, taking side trips to such towns as Gordes, Goult, Bonnieux, Lourmarin for drinks with pictures to
match…A wonderful dinner at home completed the day. I look forward to bed!
Tuesday - Sept 25, 2012 - Today we drove to Carpentras, which is a big town by Luberon standards, 30,000 people +, and we decided to take a walking tour of the old town. One of the highlights is supposed to be the Jewish synagogue dating from the 1300s, but it was Yom Kippur and it was closed to visitors. After an average lunch and the completion of the walk we left…we came back through a wonderful village called Lioux, backed up against a high cliff. It was pretty impressive and photos don’t do it justice.
Tonight we went to a local food fair, and I had a wonderful chat with a local woman who imports tea from a small province on the southern Chinese border. I was afraid to take some with me, because of customs, but I am going to look into maybe having some sent. The website is www.the-puer.com
It is in English, giving a little information on the ladies’ background and the teas. If you order, make sure you mention the New Zealand lady who talked to her at the night
The village of Joucas
It lies at the foot of that HUGE mountain fair.
Wednesday, Sept 26, 2012 - This was a big day, going to Salon de Provence, Les Baux de Provence and St Remy de Provence, on the Van Gogh trail. There was a market in Salon so we headed there first, but were disappointed in it. Perhaps we just weren’t in a shopping mood. It is also where Nostradamus died and was buried, but the church containing his crypt was closed. And his house/museum was closed for lunch for 2 hours. This is one of the REALLY annoying habits of the French, but gives them a chance for those wonderful long lunches. On the way to St Remy, we decided to go to Les Baux. We had gone there one other time, but it was so crowded and we decided to give it a miss, as we don’t need any more tourist stuff. But just outside of the town is an art exhibit of sorts called “Carrieres de Lumieres”. The current exhibit is about the art of Gauguin and Van Gogh, and their convergence, with their works being projected on the walls of a huge limestone quarry, which has a history in itself. The exhibit was breath-taking, stunning, and,
frankly, awe-inspiring. To see their works projected on the walls, and seeing the cut lines of the blocks work in with the pieces defies description. Really.
We left, to carry on to St Remy, where Van Gogh spent a year in the sanitarium he checked himself into, after cutting off his earlobe. We saw his room, and the fields he looked out on. And olive trees he painted. He painted a good number of his most famous works while in the sanitarium. The place still caters to mental patients, using art therapy as treatment. The displays were well done and tasteful, with good English descriptions, along with other languages. It’s been fun following in Van Gogh’s footsteps in Provence, and I am looking forward to reading the new bio that is out.
Kevin had bought a Groupon dinner in St Remy so, after a bit of a false start with the waiter before opening, we went and had a lovely lobster dinner, with a great sampler starter and desserts. It also included champagne. The ride home, with a dodgey Apple GPS ( only one u-turn required though) took just over an hour and we were glad to be
Purple Cauliflour
I had never seen this before, and the color was so vibrant! here.
Thursday, Sept 27, 2012 - Today we decided to tiki-tour through all the “plus beaux villages de France“, the ones in the Luberon. Only after a couple of them did we realize we had been to most of them before. In Bonnieux we found a Musee de la Boulanger (Bakery museum) which was very cool, albeit unusual. I have since found others in Russia and Japan. There aren’t many, so jump on it if you find one! We went to Menerbes, the home of Peter Mayle, and came to the conclusion his presence didn’t do the village any favors, and the same could be said for LaCoste, former home of the Marquis de Sade and current owner Pierre Cardin (they both owned/own the same chateau). Both towns are very touristy, and we found that a bit sad.
Friday, Sept 28, 2012 - Today we headed out the door to the Market in Lourmarin, about 4 km down the road. After the last couple that I had seen I wasn’t expecting much. Boy! Was I surprised! This market rivals Uzes, and I highly recommend it if you are in this area. Chicken Man from Lauris, along with others
Pumpkins at the market
I think these would be difficult to carve for Halloween... who were from St Remy. These market people travel, which I had forgotten, and I was able to get a couple of things that I had missed out on in other places. Kevin was able to find escargot forks, which we found are perfect for getting lobster meat out of claws. I got another cool outfit, and my summer wardrobe is now complete. A few other odds and sods and then we went home.
Kevin decided for our last night in the Luberon we would splash out on dinner. He had been eyeing a sign going up the canyon and we decided to go there -the Auberge de l’Aiguebrun (Bonnieux) www.aubergedelaiguebrun.fr
Kevin had the Degustation Menu, and I had the Regular pris Fixe menu. Everything was beautiful from start to finish - presentation is everything, and I really thought I was getting the short end of the deal, until I tasted my items. Firstly we were served a Corgette tepenade entrée, then the courses started coming. I had four courses: A walnut tart with tomato coulis and baby arugula, lamb tenderloin served with potato mashed and blended with egg white to make them REALLY light, and something called
St Remy Hospital
The lavender garden looking back at Van Gogh's rooms “chaud froid” for dessert, a ball of chocolate mint ice cream inside a dark chocolate ball, then HOT bittersweet chocolate sauce is poured over it, causing it to melt. Kevin had five:
Two types of fois gras with fresh fig, Bass on a bed of lightly curried pumpkin mash, Pork tenderloin served on a slice of aubergine, and the café gourmand for dessert, consisting of a demitasse of coffee served with a dessert sampler, including marshmallow, pistachio rice pudding, pink grapefruit sherbet and pannacotta. We both also had a small chevre cheese board before dessert. All this was served to us by a wonderful waiter, who looked and acted like Mr. Bean so we were having a hard time keeping a straight face. I am sure he thought I was a restaurant reviewer because I kept whipping out my Ipad to make notes. Over all, the meal was incredible and has made it to our list of Top 10 Reastaurants in the World. Check out all the pictures here, and our waiter on Kevin’s blog.
Tomorrow we are on the road to Gerona (My Girona, as we keep singing…) in Spain for 2 nights.
(Apologies for all the
Chocolate Fondant
Getting closer, but not there yet... photos - I actually took out the ones of mediocre meals....
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Heather Stone
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I always feel so full after reading your blog! Love the website indicators .. go Caroline!