Of all the local markets, we’d been advised that the one not to miss was the one on Monday in Forcalquier. And we were also told to arrive before 10AM, as this particular town draws crowds. So, despite the protestations from Paul, we were all up and out early (for us), and arrived in the town center by just after 10:30. And it was pretty amazing. Not only were the best local producers of cheese and olive oil and vegetables displaying their wares, there were rows and rows of stalls with clothes and accessories and jewelry and some hand crafted wood products. As well as beautiful sausages and hams and a fish vendor, and the latest to picked locally — apples and grapes. It was all pretty overwhelming, and easy to see why people would come and spend the morning browsing. And filling up bags with scrumptious things. This is the town that also had really charming narrow streets and gift shops, so it was really quite hard to leave. But the sun was high and hot and the pool was calling us all.
This was Lucy & Paul’s last night, and so I had arranged for a lovely sunset, and a group-paritipcation dinner on the patio. It was a perfect end to a wonderful visit. I felt lucky to have had two holidays with my Winchester friends — one in the cold, dreary English countryside, and the other in sunny, breezy and beautiful Provence. In the end, only the company mattered!
On Tuesday, after getting Lucy & Paul on the road to Avignon, Kimberly and I headed to a little town called Bonnieaux. We had heard it was beautiful and quaint, but what really sent us there was that it was a key location in a book we both enjoyed called “The Little Paris Bookshop”. The last 10km of the route to this town was a bit harrowing — narrow roads, curving along a cliff’s edge, sheer limestone walls on one side. The geography had changed completely as we climbed over and through the Petit Luberon mountains. I was glad for my experience on Rt 1 up the Cali coast!
The town sits sprawling down a hillside, seemingly suspended along the cliff’s edge. It is separated into two parts — the lower, more modern and with a bit more commerce, and the upper, which is older with narrow alleyways and old buildings. There is a long straight staircase called Rue des Penitents which climbs straight up the hill to the top of the town. This staircase passes the old town hall with its overly grand stone entrance and a bell tower. At the top there is a sweeping view of the area, and then a second staircase leads to the 12th century village church, which is undergoing renovations: a small part of the original roman style church still exists but most of the church was rebuilt in the gothic style in the 15th century when the Popes were established in Avignon. It was the views that we found most breathtaking, but after a brief respite and a cold drink we were on the road again to our next destination.
In addition to the wonderful Friday market in Lourmarin, the town offers an evening market, much smaller, and focused on food only, but with the added feature of a cooking demonstration by a local chef. We ran into our airbnb hosts, Tim and Danielle in the market, so joined them for a glass of wine and luckily had Tim to translate the cooking demonstration for us. From there we wandered through the village, poking into shops, and then Kimberly treated me to a wonderful dinner in a very nice French restaurant. I have mostly been eating in cafes or bistros, so it was very special to have a beautifully prepared dinner in a nice restaurant.
But we were out later than usual, so had to drive home in the dark. The route isn’t a hilly or curving one, but it was the first time I’ve driven in France at night. So it was an experience on these little country roads, with no streetlights at all to follow the GPS and remember to turn off the brights , and watch the road. Not brain surgery, but it required some concentration.
And that was Monday and Tuesday.
Oh, what a perfect day….