Le Cave De Lumières Wine Cellar (10/08)

We were in the middle of wine country in Provence, nearing the end of our week, and still hadn't taken in a dégustation. It was late in the day, but we were determined to fit in a tasting. After driving around in the countryside looking for an independent farm that was open for business, we were completely out of luck. All week we had passed more than I could keep track of, but now that we were looking to stop there was nothing. We passed the Cave de Lumières Wine Cellar several times, and much to our luck, they were still open. Not keeping track of time since we were sur les vacances, we strolled in looking to taste and buy. The staff were so friendly and helpful. Marjorie was kind enough to speak to us in English, despite the fact we could speak to her in French, which we greatly appreciated. Mathilde reminded me ever so much of my friend Emily D. We were pleased to see a wine that we had the night before on the recommendation of the local grocer that we befriended in Rousillon. It was nice to see he not only suggested a very local wine, but also stocked them in his shop. After sampling 5 or so wines, we settled on 3 that we liked and settled up the bill and were on our way. Once we got to the car we realized that they were actually supposed to have closed 10 minutes before. We never once felt rushed or unwelcome, so would highly recommend a visit if you are ever in the area. I definitely look forward to stopping in again.

Lunch at L’Aïgo Blanco ~ Forcalquier (10/08)

At the recommendation of my sister-in-law, we drove to Forcalquier in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence to have lunch at her favorite restaurant there, L’Aïgo Blanco. Located off a small side street from the Place Saint-Michel, L’Aïgo Blanco was a warm, bistro style restaurant that specializes in Provençale food. I had a look at some of the dishes walking in and decided that one course would definitely be enough. There were several things I could have happily ordered, but my sister-in-law said that their Lavender Honey Duck was very good. They served the duck as an entrée, but as I wasn't feeling up to a full main course with all of the trimmings, so I opted for the Roasted Duck Salad. This was partially down to the fact that the ladies at the table next to us had ordered it and it looked sublime. It also came with baguette with fig compote, need I say more? The duck came served in a crock, covered in sliced potatoes, and then was roasted. It wasn't too much duck, just the right amount. I don't remember the menu saying that it came with jambon de montagne, or if the chef took pity on me for only having one course, but it was a nice and very welcomed addition. The duck was nice, but I wish that it had a little rosemary to balance out the sweetness of the honey. There was so much salad to that I was completely full when I finished that I had to pass on the tempting desserts.Oops, I almost forgot to mention my favorite thing about lunch: upon ordering, our server brought us a bowl of olives that were coated in olive oil and fennel seeds. They were probably my favorite olives of the trip and if I remember to purchase fennel seeds, I would love to make.

L’Aïgo Blanco Restaurant

5, place Vieille - 04300 Forcalquier

Telephone: 04 92 75 27 23

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My hunger had subsided enough by the time we reached Apt, so I stopped back into A Bouchard Pâtisserie for three more Passion Fruit Macarons. They were the tastiest of the ones I tried the night before and I couldn't leave Provence without having more.

Suppose I could have taken them out of the bag before photographing. The oil marks on the paper don't add much to the appeal, but I can assure you that they were heaven!

An Apt Dinner at La Colombe d'Ocre (10/07)

Our local boucher in Roussillon was closed that day, so we set off to Apt where we found a fantastic Boucher - Charcutier - Traiteur: J. C. Malavard. He had an amazing selection of meats (that you could have cut to order) and prepared foods. We chose a heavenly Gratin de Chou-Fleur to go along with our steaks (seasoned with a little herbes de provence). We had some left over ratatouille to finish off and roasted some tomatoes and onions too. As we were nearing the end of our two weeks in France, we were trying to finish off the edibles that we had accumulated while there.

La Charollaise - Apt en Provence
Boucherie ~ Charcuterie ~ Traiteur: Jean-Claude Malavard
8 rue de la Sous Préfecture, 84400 Apt en Provence
Tél. : 04 90 74 14 16

To finish off dinner, I had three beautiful macarons from a place I discovered while in search of beef. We were walking through Apt and it was sort of like I had a honing mechanism: I had this strong urge to look right and there to my surprise was a massive display of macarons in all of the colors in a box of crayons. With approximately 16 flavors to choose from, I walked out with Passion Fruit, Lavender, and Rose. There isn't anything to say other that I was pretty sure that I needed to move to Apt. They also had floral flavored marshmallows, which I regretfully didn't try. Still, I guess it gives me a reason to return.

Alain et Valérie Bouchard Pâtisserie

34, rue des Marchands 84400 Apt en Provence

Tél. : 04 90 04 84 71

Je T'aime: Sibell Chips à l’Ancienne aux Herbes de Provence (10/07)

Tired from all of the uphill walking, we decided to have a relaxing dinner at La Colombe d'Ocre. To start things off, we had a lovely G&T with a bowl of chips. I'm not a big fan of potato chips (unless you put out Lipton's onion dip, now that's another story), but when I spotted this bag of Herbes de Provence flavor at the hypermarchés Géant Casino in Avignon, I couldn't resist.

The flavor was so strong and they were absolutely divine. I couldn't stop eating them. They had the right amount of salt, and not too greasy. This is yet another reason why I want to live in France.

Le Chats du Lacoste (10/07)

Not only was Lacoste steeped in history and picturesque, it was full of cats. Art, fig trees, atmosphere, cats: what more do you need?

Lacoste ~ The Mystery of the Illuminated Castle (10/07)

We were exhausted and parched after our uphill explorations in Oppède Le Vieux, the cafe there looked like they were closing so we set off to Lacoste in search of liquid refreshment. When we first arrived, the entire grassy area where we parked was cover with these curious white snails. There were hundreds, if not thousands of them.

We first stopped for a lovely thé au citron at Le Café de France where we also enjoyed the views of the vineyards in the valley bellow. Afterwards, we were fully refreshed and ready to explore Lacoste: the picturesque medieval village where cobblestone streets give the impression that time has stood still.
James was the first to spot a sign for SCAD: Savannah College of Art and Design. SCAD have partnered with the Lacoste School of the Arts to host four quarters for art students and professors from around the world the learn and teach together in this beautiful setting. Now this would have definitely been an incentive to me as a budding young art student, to spend a quarter in France learning in an international class setting. Oh, if one could only turn back time...Amongst the ancient village setting, we saw many pajama clad, crock wearing American students either strolling to get to a lecture short of being on time or carrying around dirty laundry with all the coolness of the "I don't care" attitude that only an art student can carry off. Yes, that was me through most of my teenage years.

Now I'm not one to slander, but we did witness one rather bizarre scene: as we were walking up one of the winding cobbled roads, we could hear a rather loud conversation from what appeared to be a professor giving advise to a student. From what I witnessed, he was giving her ideas for an interview that she was going to conduct with a fellow artist - including all of the questions to ask and a potential title for the interview. As we got closer I could see that the student was wearing a hearing aid. Now, I really took offence for the student over what I was witnessing: fair enough that she might not hear well, but that doesn't mean she can't write? I may be speaking (or typing) completely out of term as I don't know the entire story, but honestly, did he really need to do the job for her? I mean, as a budding journalist/artist, wasn't she there to learn using her own mind and not be dictated to? Let alone at a volume that could have been heard all the way in Bonnieux. After that strange encounter, we continued on uphill...

At the very top of the hill was a fantastic collection of sculptures from the visiting students...

One of which solved the mystery of an illuminated caste we would see at night from our terrace:
In the distance, almost at the center of the photo above, you will see something that is lit up. We couldn't quite make it out through binoculars, apart from that it appeared to be some kind of castle or large building. Now while this isn't quite the making of an episode of Scooby-Doo, we were excited to solve the mystery, nonetheless. This sculpture made it all very clear:

What we were seeing in the distance was the ruined castle of Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, or the Marquis de Sade. It was the Marquis' vision that Lacoste would be a haven for thespians and artists, so I think that he would be please. Apart for the state of his castle...

Oppède-le-Vieux, Luberon ~ The Hilltop Ruins of an Abandoned Village (10/07)

Oppède-le-Vieux is an ancient village located in the Luberon mountains of the department Vaucluse. First mentioned (as Oppeda) in 1008, what exists today is a touristy and extremely fascinating ancient ruin of a village that was abandoned after years of war and turmoil, only to be hit by the "Black Death" and a violent earthquake in 1348. The lower valley has been brought back to life and is a thriving village with the region committed to preserving this history of this historical gem.

More text to come, but for now, please enjoy my images of Oppède-le-Vieux. Indulge me, I did take a few...