A Day in Luberon, Provence
It is cool and sunny here in early June in Provence. There is a wonderful breeze blowing through our hillside villa near Gordes. No air conditioning is needed at this time of year, and the crowds have yet to arrive.
Richard and Yvonne were biking into the village to pick up fresh croissants for breakfast and baguettes for our picnic this afternoon at the vineyard. Ted and I have made coffee and gotten the rest of the group out of bed. It looks like Laura and Jeff have gone for an early morning swim in our pool then walked to the village market to get some fruit and cheeses for the picnic. One of the best parts of being in France is the great variety of fresh foods available in the local markets. Lizzie is still sleeping. It doesn’t matter—we are all on our own schedule.
It is now mid morning, and we are being picked up by our vineyard guide for the day. We have decided to visit just one vineyard each day so that we can appreciate each type of wine that we sample. Today we will visit Domaine de Boissan and then picnic on their grounds. We obtained permission to do so through our VillaHost Angelique. She made all of the arrangements, including the guide/driver for us, which makes our life here so easy. No hassles.
From there we will go to St. Remy to visit an olive oil shop where there are tastings of different olive oils just as there are tastings for wine, a novel concept. Of course we will shop for the charming fabrics of Provence and buy lavender soaps and santons, those cute country figurines so popular in Provence.
It is now very late in the day, and our group is tired. It is great to simply get into our van and have someone drive us back to our villa. Everyone wants to do a little swimming before cocktails. How wonderful it is that we have a kitchen full of chilled white wines, or sunny reds and roses, and we have no place to go!
We have a cook for several of the nights that we are staying in Gordes. We will just enjoy the beauty of the area from our own veranda and enjoy our cook’s array of hors d’oeuvres that are fresh from local suppliers. Some of the group has decided to skip the wine aperitif in favor of a glass of the local pastis, (which tastes like a cross between licorice and cough syrup to me. I’m sticking with the wine!)
Although we are not near the coast, we have requested bouillabaisse for dinner. Our cook, Jean Pierre, has had his brother in Marseilles send up the fish today. He also supplied the pastis, which probably comes from somewhere local as well.
We end our sensational Provencal dinner with a glass of Frigolet, which is another local liqueur. I could get used to this routine over the next few weeks!
