Friday is market day in Bonnieux, and after our hike we went up to do some shopping. We had invited our new friends Doug and Carol to come to our house for lunch after the market, and we needed to buy our provisions. We told them we'd meet them at 12 noon in front of Le Terrail, and then we'd drive together down to the house.
The Bonnieux market isn't big like Apt or L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, but we're partial to it because it's our village and it's convenient and it's festive. Most of the market takes place on the Place Gambetta (where Le Terrail and several other restaurants are located), but it also spills down several smaller streets. There's always a couple singing in front of Le Terrail, which makes it fun, and we always see sellers we know and friends from the village. The first person Kelly and I saw was our waiter friend Michel, and then we saw Doug and Carol. This was their first market in Provence, and they were having a great time.
I think a market picnic is just about the best lunch you can have in Provence... a casual meal that requires very little work, with everything bought fresh that morning. Charley parked the car, went to the boulangerie, and then had a coffee at Le Terrail where he ran into our friend Janice. Kelly and I did the more serious shopping, making the rounds of our usual stands.
Our market picnic on the terrace: Kelly, Carol, Doug and Charley
At the big vegetable stand we saw our friend Pierre, who owns Le Clos du Buis, one of the places where we stay with The Luberon Experience. He has a new piano and wanted Charley to come try it out. (Charley has played the piano pretty much every day since he was a boy.) This seemed important, so after our shopping, we met Doug and Carol and invited them to come with us down to Le Clos du Buis. Pierre now has a beautiful antique piano, and Charley played several songs. Pierre served us a glass of wine from La Canorgue, and I gave Doug and Carol a tour of the B&B.
The new piano at Le Clos du Buis
Then it was home for our market lunch. While Kelly showed Doug and Carol this beautiful home we're taking care of, Charley and I organized the lunch. It only took us about 15 minutes to get everything ready. We set up a little buffet in the kitchen, but we ate outside on the terrace with Bonnieux in the background. It was a beautiful day.... sunny, clear and not too hot, just a bit of wind.
Carol and Doug in the kitchen
Almost everything we ate came from the market today. Here's what we had:
Our main course buffet:
- Tapenade
- Olives
- Roast chicken with some extra sauce
- New potatoes from the roast chicken stand
- A green salad with cucumber and red onions and my own vinagrette
- A bean salad (made earlier in the week)
- A beautiful sliced beefsteak tomato (called a "coeur de boeuf")
- A big "restaurant" loaf of bread
- Sliced nectarines
To drink: rosé wine from the Cave de Bonnieux, the local wine cooperative.
Then after, a cheese course: brie de meaux, brebis (a sheep cheese, chosen by Kelly), a fresh fromage de chevre, and bleu d'auvergne.
And last: a citron tart brought by Doug and Carol at the patisserie on the corner, fresh raspberries, and fresh melon that our neighbor gave us.
Our market picnic buffet
We had asked Doug and Carol to bring their swimsuits, and after lunch we swam and talked... well, Kell, Doug and Charley swam... Carol and I did put our feet in the water. What good friends they have become in just a week!
"This is just like something in a movie," Carol said a couple of times. And I know it did... the old stone house, the ancient village, the grapevines and cherry trees, the beautiful swimming pool, the cold rosé wine, our market picnic on the terrace.
But it's even bette than a movie... it's our lives this summer.
