Lunch at L'Estrade

L'Estrade is a wonderful little restaurant, in St. Saturnin les Aptes. It is run by two women, one of whom is an incredible chef. A rarity in Provence, they change the menu often, so we go back often. This was Janie's shrimp and smoked salmon salade. All I got were the tomatoes.

Sunrise on arch, Saignon

This wall is being restored. It was right around the corner from our rental. As we made our way to Chez Christine one morning, the sunrise hit the arch.

Lunch at Cafe de la Poste, Goult.

 This was a wonderful gazpacho with a dill aioli. That's cayenne sprinkled about, with two little breadsticks. Wonderfully fresh.

 Salade de la Poste. This was a lovely fresh salad with the lightest of vinaigrettes, surrounding an omelette. Heaven. The next time back I had this.

Pork belly on mashers with a carrot. The carrot was the sweetest one I have eaten, could have made a meal of just carrots. But the pork belly was to die for.

View from bathroom, Auberge du Rocher, Saignon.

This is the view from our bathroom. Pretty quaint. We had an adventuresome bathroom. The light was on a motion sensor. Cute the first time you use it, but, at three in the morning, to have a very bright light come on was a shock. And we had an electric toilet. It would rumble like a dog and then it was like Old Faithful in reverse.

Cat, Saignon

Every community has their cat lady. Our rental was just up the street from Saignon's. She tends to a large herd of them. You'll often look up and see one like this, perched and watching.

Door, Saignon

Graffiti, Apt

 Apt is a graffiti magnet. Here it is writ large. I sort of like the one on the door.

Merry-go-round, Apt

For most of the time we were in Apt this year there was a mini carnival set up in the main parking lot. This and a bumper car ride. It was open mainly in the evening and kids loved it.

Squash farmer, Coustellet

Every Sunday there is a large farmer's market in Coustellet. The vendors are almost always the farmers that grew the produce. This man had beautiful squash. We bought on of those pumpkin wedges and I peeled and roasted it, then mashed it with a little cream and Moroccan spices.....wonderfully sweet. For Floridians, Publix sometimes sells these pumpkins, which are very heavy and dense, as decor for halloween. It's much better as a meal!

Setting the bar pretty high, Coustellet

Graffiti, Coustellet

This was a tiny parking lot post. I guess any surface in a storm will do.

Mannequin, Coustellet

I was afraid to reach for the hat. Looks like a hard-lived life.

Our living room, Saignon

 These are two views of our living room in Auberge du Rocher in Saignon. Very comfortable chairs and a sofa that accommodated Janie and Becky perfectly. The desk chair was a wee bit small for me but worked. That little white oval on the desk was our portable hot spot for wi-fi. We took it to the Orange phone store in Apt and had a month of internet put on for 25euros. It was dial-up slow but made us feel connected. The iPad was a great help as we had music, internet, Words with Friends, all of our books and a camera. Very comfy digs.

Deux Chevaux, Lioux

It is my firm belief that every town in the Luberon, big or small, is required to keep and maintain, in fairly ratty condition, a 2 CV, that most iconic of French cars. I would prefer the old gangster Citroen myself.

Lioux

 

We do this hike every year that we  go to Saignon. It's a short drive from our base and it's a wonderful workout with a real reward, the view. This year we weren't harassed by the French air force Mirages swooping low overhead. We had a cool start, in the shade, for the first mile, mostly up a pretty steep path. Once we got to the top, the sun was high and it was just right. It's a 2 1/2 mile walk across the top with great views to the north and south. This year I took some pictures of the lichen covered rock, which fascinates me, and am showing one of the views. Not much arable land goes unused in Provence. The top picture is a view of the cliff (falaise) fromn the road at the start of our climb.

And yes, Martina, that is my foot in the third picture:-}