Next day we got up when we felt like it, ate brekkie al fresco by the pool, and then drove back up to Bonnieux to check out the weekly markets. The markets kind of move around the local villages day by day, and are very good, selling lots of great local foods and products. We wandered around, I bought a hat, we bought some lunch ingredients, then headed back to LMdelS for a leisurely lunch by the pool with a bottle of rose (which reminds me of a book Susie read titled "I'm not an alcoholic, I'm European."), and a quiet afternoon. Susie had a swim - I looked on in envy, not allowed yet.
That night was a "dine-in" night at LMdelS, which mates at MWKC had told us not to miss, as Richard is a great cook. They were absolutely right, and Richard served us up a fabulous meal.
The other nearby village, sitting on top of another hill, was Lacoste, complete with a ruined castle at the very top. We went up for a visit, walked around, stopped for the mandatory coffee, and at Susie's suggestion bought tickets to a concert to be held that night in an old disused limestone quarry on the hill top near the castle. The village's patron and part owner is our old mate Pete Cardin (he just uses Pierre for marketing purposes), and he apparently has a large hand in bringing cultural events to the village. The tickets cost us E120 each, but were worth it.
After a little rest in the arvo, we packed up a picnic and drove up to the quarry, did a tour of the castle, sat in the grass admiring the view, ate our picnic dinner, and then walked down to the quarry. What a venue for a concert! The limestone must have been taken out in large blocks, because the walls were all vertical and smooth, with passages and square arches, and quite visually stunning.
And the concert itself was something else again. Our old mate Pete was there, all shaggy white hair and double breasted dark blue jacket, and was introduced to the crowd to warm applause. The concert was in 2 acts. The first was a quite quirky interpretation of Carmen, with a fabulous troupe of ballet dancers, followed after interval by my favourite of the night - a selection of music by Karl Orff backed up by wonderful dancing, a large and incredible choir, and 3 vocal soloists who would have lifted the roof off if there was one! What a great night. We drove slowly back to LMdelS feeling very culturally enriched.
Susie wanted to check out the markets again, so on Sunday we went to the village of Isle Sur La Iforget. A beautiful village, with canals running through the centre of town. We ate a late, and large Pizza lunch, before returning home for a few games of Petanque on Richard's custom built pitch, then watched a movie, and bed. The following day was spent visiting yet another small village in this beautiful part of the world, called Goult, then back to Bonnieux to look at a gallery which Susie had spied on her morning walk. The gallery was owned by, and filled with the works of local artist Marjolene Lasne, and I was taken by her work straight away, and one painting in particular. After much chat with Marjolene, we left to think about it, but I knew I was hooked.
That night we dined in again at LMdelS, and this time it was deadset the best roast lamb I have tasted in my entire life. He does it in a slow oven with honey and a few herbs that I can't remember, basting often to keep it moist. Tie that to a couple of very nice local reds and I was in heaven.
Next morning we had to be up at sparrow fart to drive an hour into Avignon to the hospital to have the staples in my leg taken out. The insurance people had teed up the appointment for me, and assured us that the hospital knew we were coming, I was registered, payment was guaranteed by them, and all I had to do was front up and they would be expecting me. Didn't happen. They knew nothing about me, had no appointment on the books, and insisted I had to pay after the procedure. The actual removal of the staples was carried out very quickly and efficiently by a cheerful nurse, a new dressing bunged on, and out we walked. Straight out the front doors. We figured Insurance could sort out the payment.
Five minutes after leaving the hospital and trying to navigate our way out of Avignon, the heavens opened, accompanied by crashing lightning and thunder. It bucketed like I haven't seen in a long time, filling the road with water and reducing visibility to almost nil. Susie was having kittens as she was driving, so we pulled into a company parking area and stopped. Five minutes later it was like it had never happened. We got back to LMdelS just before 10 for a late breakfast.
That afternoon we went back to the gallery and bought the painting. Marjolene must have known I was coming back because she had already rung the post office to get freight costs to Oz. I must be so transparent! Can't wait to see it on the wall at home.
Wed 20 July was our last day in Provence. We drove to another village, Sault, for another markets fix (I think Susie has an addiction!), bought some lunch ingredients, and headed off for the nearby Mont Ventoux. It's a 26km unrelenting climb to the top from Sault, has been used in Le Tour a few times, and is the testpiece for local cyclists. The road was alive with riders all the way to the top, which was cold, windy, and in cloud! Some arrived in good style while others looked like they were wishing they'd never started!
We lunched back down the mountain a bit, met an Aussie couple who had done it easy to the top, then drove via the pretty villages of Lioux and Gordes on our way home.
Next morning we said fond goodbyes to Richard and Lucine, and headed off to Avignon to meet Susie's cousin Lynne at the station before driving to Geneva. Lynne's train was 2 and 1/2 hours late which made us a bit late in Geneva, but we sorted things out, dropped off our much loved Pug at the airport, and eventually piled into a shuttle bus for the hour's ride up to Chamonix and the beautiful old Richemond Hotel.
Friday 22nd - the start of our much anticipated Tour de Mt Blanc - a 13 day walk around the Mt Blanc massif. We had an early breakfast, the girls grabbed their packs, and we caught the bus to the village of Les Houches, the start of the trek. I accompanied them to the top of the cable car, gave them a kiss and a hug, and waved them off. Then it was back to the Hotel Richemond and my 2 weeks of getting to know Chamonix while the girls walked.
As it turned out, other events meant I didn't spend long in Chamonix, and required my return to Oz for a couple of weeks.
As I didn't get to do the TdeMB, the next blog will be from guest blogger Lynne Parsons - Susie's cousin and best mate.
