This morning I woke up a bit slowly – not a great nights sleep – but with plans to head to the big Sunday market at Isle Sur La Sorgue just about 35 km north of here. Sandy and I were going to market and Shan was going for a hike since she isn’t the shopping kind. I showered and got ready then woke Sandy to find out she had been sick all night – guess the cream sauces and bites of ice cream finally caught up to her – so I was off on my own. Before I left Shan and I stopped at Henri’s patisserie for pain au chocolat and tea for me. Shan ordered a café crème and it turned out to be a HUGE bowl of steamed milk with a little bit of coffee.
From there we separated and I jumped in the car to head to Sur La Sorgue; I have to admit it was nice to have the drive to myself and mostly to not fear being in the car. It is an easy drive from here to SLS and beautiful as well with all the grape vines just beginning to sprout their first leaves. On the flip side the olive and fruit trees are fully leafed out and done flowering and provide a nice background for the barren looking vines. I’m going to try to get some good black and whites of this, but today I forgot to bring the big camera – too bad the sun shine was perfect.
In SLS it was crazy busy with cars parked down the street for blocks and blocks and rows and rows. I found a spot a good long ways away and started hoofing it towards the market. I was at least aware enough to pay attention to my surroundings so I could find my way back to the car later. The market was HUGE and PACKED with people everywhere. You could hardly move and even I wasn’t having too much fun. I was on a mission for food but wasn’t having much luck, there were a few fruit and veggie stands and a couple small cheese stands, but nothing like what we had experienced in Paris.
The stands were mostly decked out with pottery, linens, clothes, shoes, spices, jams, antiques etc. Everything almost, except the food I needed. On my way to SLS I noticed Coustellet was having their market so I decided to head back that way hoping to get there before closing time. I didn’t really make it, but was able to come away with some cheese and hard sausage and some olives to have for a snack and possibly lunch tomorrow. Unfortunately the boulangerie was closed, so no bread…
Sandy was up when I got back, but no sign of Shannon, so Sandy and I changed and headed out to have some lunch. It was quite warm here today, and had been warmer at the market with the swarms of people and very little shade. Sandy and I found an outdoor spot at Flambees and once we got an umbrella for some shade we had a very nice lunch. I had a goatcheese baked in flaky dough that looked like a calzone all puffed up, but was a nice flat bread with cheese when the air went out. I also had a small salad and washed it all down with 2 glasses of Rose wine, which is quickly becoming one of my favorites here in Provence (don’t tell anyone I am enjoying the pink stuff!). The Rose here is very different than the states and is dry, not sweet, and very refreshing served slightly chilled. Sandy had an omelet and no wine since her tummy wasn’t quite back to normal.
After lunch, we made the restaurant rounds checking their hours to ensure we could get dinner out tonight since my shopping excursion was unsuccessful. I found a place that has been highly recommended by many of my Bonnieux sources, Le Fournil, and made a reservation for 8PM. We then wandered around Bonnieux to better get our bearings in our little village. Bonnieux is considered a perched village and that is kind terminology, since basically you go nowhere here without going up or down. The streets are basically narrow switch backs with buildings on either side and there are all kinds of little connecting pathways and stairways between the switchbacks so one doesn’t have to walk along the road to get somewhere – our butts are getting firmer already! On our excursion we poked into a couple clothing shops trying to find some shorts because if the weather continues on the warm side, we are going to need them – no luck though.
On our way home we stopped again at Henri’s patisserie to indulge our sweet tooth. Shan wandered in while we were chatting with Henri and he complimented her on her “tres belles yeux” – that is beautiful eyes for you non frenchies. With sweets in hand we headed to the house for some rest and relaxation before dinner and we all went to our own spaces for some quiet time, it is really nice to be able to spread out a bit and not always have to be on top of each other!
After a quick 5 minute walk down the steep trail to Le Fournil, we were seated for dinner. It is so nice to be in a small town that still has many options for dinner. Le fournil was awesome, a bit on the expensive side but not really compared to Paris, and considering the delicious food. Shan and I started with some veggie and shrimp dish that was very fresh and yummy and Sandy got pea soup with asparagus which Shan and I helped her eat since her tummy was still not the best. For our main dish I had the duck and Sandy and Shan had the monkfish – both were very good and I devoured mine, Shan devoured hers and helped finish Sandy’s – after her long hike today she said she could eat a cow! Dessert was Chocolat Crème for Shan (sort of pot de crème), raspberry sorbet for Sandy and chocolate and vanilla ice cream for me.
Shan really enjoyed the wine selection tonight, it was a white from the Cotes du Ventoux region. She though it was more in the style of a chardonnay, but no where on the bottle could I find what type of grape it was made from – damn French wine labeling system. I thought it was tasty, but wouldn’t be my favorite, so Shan had a good share and was her normal blooming red self with too much wine – too cute!
