Venasque and Sault

Before getting ready to connect with friends in Venasque, JC and I strolled through Carpentras.

The city is decked out in all sorts of fabric banners as part of the summer arts.

We looked in some store windows and this pillow says it all...

I think this might be one important activity in Venasque with all the heat going on right now.

We were too hot to make dinner so we drove up to Venasque and had dinner at Les Remparts. I started with this delicious Schweppes agrum...

so refreshing in 100 degree weather!!! We started with melon with Beaumes de Venise muscat

and then I had raviolis with cèpe mushrooms...yum!!

JC chose pork.

Friday the 8th arrived and so did our friends!!

Summer Fridays in Venasque means "Marché Estival"...summer evening market which fills the narrow streets of Venasque with delicious fresh produce and other things. Susan is shopping for tapenade at this stand, freshly made the day before.

I loved this little stand of sausage and paté by the fountain.

Next to this was one of those "orgue de barbarie"which is a kind of hand cranked organ.

Everyone was having a great time.

Here are some more stands.

These shoes lead to a small artisan boutique with darling dresses and tops!

We had a late dinner on the terrace to watch the sunset and to cool off.

Strolling around Venasque was the best solution to beat the heat mostly.

On Monday we made the drive over to Sault.

We thought it would be a good solution for some cooler air because it is high in the hills. As a bonus we saw the blooming, lavender fields! It was breathtaking and lucky for us the harvest does not begin until next week. Everyone took turns posing in the gorgeous blossoms!

We had coffee and walked around the sweet streets of Sault with the scent of lavender floating throughout. Sublime.

We liked this cute hat shop.

This blue shop is frequently seen on calendars...it used to be a flower shop and card shop and has gone through several transformations!

We could see many lavender colored shutters in town too.

From the terrace overlook we saw this unusual "tree" carved into the wheat field down below. Not sure what it was for.

Some of us headed home for lunch and saw this sign on the road into town...

Here's a map of the route in our region.

Lunch is ready and so I'll say à bientôt!!!