Market day in Saint Didier and Paradou

It was time to go to market on Monday! (Can you believe I haven't REALLY been able to do that yet???) Since the plan was to zip by Venasque to say hello to friends we headed to Saint Didier nearby. This is the most adorable little town with a main street leading to the church clock tower.

Saint Didier is the perfect spot for a coffee under the plane trees that line the street.

I have not been to market here in the past few trips so I was delighted to see how much it has grown and changed. So many different types of stalls and vendors. Tons of fresh produce of course,

but also flowers, linens, artisan wares and some unique clothing.

Next to this hats stall the table is piled with artisanal salami type sausage of many varieties.

At this linens stall we had the most wonderful conversation with the lady vendor with accent and vocabulary straight out of Pagnol. It is hard to describe here but the language and vocabulary choices of the Provençaux is just so image filled and evocative.

On top of that the weather was just perfect as you can see!

I took this picture through the gate of a really lovely house near the ancient lavoir.

People used to come to the lavoir to wash clothes...there is a sign above that says the water is not for drinking.

We had the pleasure of babysitting last weekend so we took the chance to go out and walk with stroller and older sister with her jump rope.

I took this photo in a mirror of a cafe across the square from the cathedral. If you look closely, the two figures stepping out of the church in the back left are Jean Claude and Maya! Not a planned shot just pure coincidence. That's my new sun hat!

This courtyard in Carpentras has a borie behind the olive tree and all sorts of ancient farm tools and machinery.

We had fun. 

Maya wanted corn on the cob and here is how it is sold here!

On Wednesday we met our friends Chris and Chuck with Danielle in Paradou for lunch at the famous bistrot du Paradou.

En route I spotted the first field of sunflowers beginning to bloom.

Get ready...I'm going to be showing what we had for lunch. The menu at the bistrot is set so everyone eats the same thing. This restaurant is always full of happy people! We sat outside and I forgot to take pictures of the interior. Maybe on the next visit!

Starters: Aubergine with coulis of basilique and timbale de tomates:

To get our tastebuds revved up we had some olives first...

Main dish: lapin sauté à l'ail(rabbit with garlic), fresh pasta and tomate provençale.

Cheese platter!!!!!

All this followed by dessert and coffee. (I had sorbet de poire, but by the time dessert arrived I was no longer thinking about photos!!) JC and I had a glass of mineral water and apricots for dinner by the way!

We walked back to the car after lunch taking in the views of Paradou village.

We drove home past Les Baux and through St. Remy.

A perfect day! Bon voyage Chris and Chuck! A bientôt!

Cassis 2

Cassis in June is such a lovely spot!

The weather was perfect and the first thought was that we could go off to the beach, which was a short walk down a little narrow street.

On the square near the beach a game of boules was en route of course. I do not think I have ever seen this spot empty. Even in wintertime, when I was studying in Aix, there were always boules players here.I think with a view like this I would like to go play boules everyday too!!

It was time for the inaugural swim in the Mediterranean and the fist few moments were pretty chilly and gave pause...

...but once into the waves...HEAVEN!!!

So many fun things were going on in Cassis. After our swim, we were greeted by a group of colorful deux chevaux coming up the little street towards the beach! As you know I love these darling little cars and it gave me a real smile to see all the various colors! Everyone in them seemed in a great mood too!

Later we heard the music of a pipo (a type of Provençal flute) and tambour (tall drum). Looking down in to the street a stream of Provençal costumed people were passing by.

They treated us to a short performance on the port in wooden shoes and playing a variety of instruments. What luck!!

Walking through Cassis there are lovely little narrow streets with colorful houses and shutters everywhere. It is a real feast of color for the eyes and color has a great influence on mood so as you can imagine our mood was good!!! take a look...

I'm always looking for interesting shop windows too and I liked this one with all sorts of ceramic ware made in the region

Here's another lace dress like all the many seen around here

What about this woman off to do her marketing?

These two little dogs were out for a stroll with their owner. The white one had an idea to take another route and was refusing to go further because he wanted to go HIS way....the little brown one was pacing back and forth by the harbor waiting for the white dog and their person to agree on a route! All this with a Provençal accent...totally charming!

On our walk up the hill to the Calanques we came across this bistro...Le pastis by Little Papé! So apropos for Jean Claude! This bistro is across the street from a lovely little beach in the crook of the shoreline and within walking distance of centre ville.

After a great evening out and about in Cassis...

it was time to leave  and head back to Carpentras...

Our direction is towards Lyon....

as we drove along we saw Mont Sainte Victoire and Notre Dame de Beauregard in Orgon

We had a great time and I think we'll go back before too long.
A bientôt!