Recent Memories of Provence

• July 27, 2010
• Mari Bickmore
• 6 comments

Checking in again. I fear I am not good at making time for writing while traveling, not to mention working whilst traveling. I need to wrap up the week in Provence, having only reported on the first two days of the trip. Trying to “wrap up” writing about Provence is going to be difficult as I am going to write about four days in this short venue, so here goes….

Tuesday was a gorgeous day, big blue skies and quite warm weather, really a day to lay by the pool;

Now it’s sunflower fields forever

however, alas and alack, we had no pool. One of my traveling companions was eager to call home, so we drove over to Cavaillon to find an international phone shop. We had been here in the past and hoped it was still in business. As luck would have it, we found it rather easily, and headed back to Lourmarin, as it was too hot for a couple of my friends to weather (snigger, chortle, guffaw). I doubt they will be traveling in the summer anymore, anywhere. Even to see the sunflower fields, which cut wide swaths in the countryside. Too much a reminder of bright, sunny, hot days.

So my daughter and I headed out for Roussillon. This is unlike most of the other towns in the

Roussillon The Red

Luberon, which are basically cream-colored structures. It is located in the heart of one of the biggest ochre deposits in the world and is famous for its magnificent red cliffs and ochre quarries. The vivid blue of the Provençal sky and the exceptional quality of light make this a magical site. The ochre façades of the buildings are intense with shades varying from light yellow to dark red, set off by brightly-painted shutters and doors. It is a don’t miss village if you happen to be in the area. However, this particular day it was quite crowded, most probably lending to the pending holiday on the morrow, so we didn’t stick around long.

Back to Lourmarin and the sleeping beauties. Relaxed the rest of the afternoon away on the terrace overlooking our lovely courtyard. Please forgive me, but I failed to get the name of the establishment where we dined on one of the best pizzas ever. Maybe I’ll come across a picture and return to correct this text at a later date; however, it is in the center of Lourmarin and has a large terrasse for dining in the back, so shouldn’t be diffucult to find. I believe it is right next door to a gelato shop, which, I might add, is some of the best gelato you will find anywhere. The fraise yaourt is fantastic and the noix de coco et chocolat……….what can I say.

Ooolala – La Tropezienne – the King of Cream Puffs!

On to Wednesday and Aix-en-Provence. It was 14 Juillet, Bastille Day. Most things were closed and they

Bechard – Fabrique de Calissons – Aix en Provence

were gearing up for the night’s festivities; however, Bechard was not closed (12 cours Mirabeau). It is a fabulous, elegant patisserie, truly, with an amazing collection of mouth-watering choices. Everytime I am in Aix, this is the first place I go. It is like a Christmas dream: “visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.” I do have a favorite, which is the tropezienne (originated in St. Tropez). It is kind of like a cream puff on steroids made of brioche and, of course, cream. They make this in varying sizes. YUMMMMM. They also make my favorite calissons which are a, well not a cookie, but are an addicting almond…confection? And Aix is famous for them. Aix is great for shopping, but not today.

A little slice of Aix market

There was a street market in Aix and it was rich with the colors of summer gardens, pictures for your enjoyment below. So here is our weird French guy story. We were snapping pictures right and left, thoroughly enjoying the abundance and variety of this market when one of the vendors told us we couldn’t take pictures! HA! Of vegetables and fruit?! What? Some sort of trade secret? Designer green beans? He said we weren’t buying, so no pix. Whatever. So I meandered over to the fish market, looking for dinner that night. He actually came over to the the fish market and told them not to let me take pictures, imagine him waving his arms ranting about touristes… They looked at him like he was crazy and we smiled. They were then so nice, and after helping me pick out fish for dinner threw in a lot of shrimp for free. We asked about him and they said he was crazy, but they loved America! It was fun. Then we bought our veggies and walked by his stall with all our bags and smiled. I think he flipped us off afterwards. Armed with food for dinner and having eaten our cream puffs, we headed back for Lourmarin with visions of returning for more cream puffs still in our heads.

Didn’t quite get to make dinner, because we were missing items. However, we found the cutest restaurant

Sweet Restaurant under the stars

in town, down a tunnel falling into an open courtyard. Twinkling lights and discreet lamps, along with good Provencal fare and the occasional screaming from the street due to it being the last game of World Cup Soccer. In fact, our wait staff and some customers would run out when the screaming started to see what was happening. But back to the decor, there were candelabras, perfect green chairs with funky accents and color, even a mini laser light show with crystal chandeliers hanging off trellises of colorful flowers. A cacophony of styles and patterns playing well off one another. Simply perfect evening.

Thursday, it was hot and our friends were suffering so without good old American A/C and ice, so we headed for the beach for a little refreshment. Just picked a spot on the map and headed south to Sausset-les-Pins, only an hour or so drive. Got in fairly early and they had a market on the boardwalk, not the stimulating eye candy of Sorgue, but an enjoyable stroll along the boat docks. Picked up towels at the market for the beach and then realized there wasn’t really a beach there. So after a morning repast, we headed for Carry-le-Rouet, just a few minutes down the coast and a sweet drive, we landed at a sandy beach on the Mediterranean and rented some chairs and umbrellas. As you know, I love a beach day: Sparking Mediterranean water, read, water, read, etc. Headed back about 4:30 and cooked a fabulous meal of fish with white wine reduction cream sauce, fresh green beans a la Mari and my version of a Viennese potato au gratin, along with fresh tomatoes, olives and bread – all sitting on our courtyard terrace. Again, yummm. Wish I knew what kind of fish those guys sold me.

La Plage Carry le Rouet

He had fabulous stuff – would have bought more if only I had room…

Last full day here and it is Friday, and it is market day here in our little village. And what a market it is; I certainly didn’t expect the size of it. Markets are just quite heady for me. I continue to write about them, but I love them. Well, I like shopping in general, so it’s not a wonder that I like markets. I like the crowds, the colors, the smells, the entertainment and sensation of it all. There are many things to tempt one, but it is the food that pulls me in. If I don’t buy anything else, if the soaps don’t grab me, if I can’t find the right outfit, I will inevitably buy food – jelly, tapenade, patisserie – something yummy, and this time was no different. Let me just say, whatever kind of artisanal cheese that was (and I made of the mistake of not writing it down), I will go back just to buy it again.

There are so many things left out, but I will add links to pictures later to fill in some of the gaps.  Oh, but let me throw in a plug for La Cordiere, our studio apartment in Lourmarin. It is located in the village and is an excellent location in the Luberon. Francoise is quite fluent in English, and in French, Spanish and Italian at the least. She is quite nice and helpful. It is modest and our room was without A/C, but is priced well and clean. Ours was with a kitchen, but there are just rooms with breakfast, I believe, also.

Fav shop in Lourmarin village