After a trip to the supermarket and boulangerie, we ate a delicious french meal of cheese, bread, grapes, saucisson, cornichons, salad and tomatoes washed down with a very good red wine. I slept so well, finally back with family and in the most comfortable bed, and when I opened the shutters early in the morning it was amazing to see a totally different view of Apt from the centre, with the hotchpotch of roofs and blue sky around me. I snuck out of the apartment and walked down the street to my favourite boulangerie where I bought croissants and baguettes for the day, and set the table for a lovely french weekend breakfast. Suvi and Piers eventually emerged and we had croissants and coffees before getting wrapped up (it is freezing here now) and getting in the car to go to Lourmarin.
The road to Lourmarin winds down through the valley and is quite hair raising with lots of s bends and French drivers overtaking on said s bends. Nonetheless Piers navigated it pretty well, punctuated with some choice (french) words from Suvi in the back. We wandered through the market in Lourmarin, which is so different from the one in Apt, much more upmarket and targeted at the wealthier crowd in Lourmarin and around about. I kept my eyes peeled for Peter Mayle who lives near Lourmarin. We each followed a different path, Piers from food stall to food stall, demolishing most of the samples with a cheery 'bonjour', me to the clothes and Suvi to the bedspreads. At a particular nice bedspread Piers went MIA. We eventually tracked him down at the tourist office, where he was hopping up and down with excitement, having discovered Albert Camus had lived part of his life and was buried in Lourmarin. I didn't quite say 'who?' but I did get an education in the relevance and importance of Albert Camus' work as we wandered into the village. We found 'Rue Albert Camus' and stood halfway along wondering where he might have lived. There was a grand house at the bottom of the street and at that moment the door flew open and two dogs shot out, barking ferociously. A frazzled looking woman joined them, shouting after them and muttering apologies at us- 'they are young!' Piers asked her if this was the house where Albert Camus lived in. 'Yes it is,' she said, 'and I'm his daughter.' We spoke to her for a while, she was lovely and friendly, and then departed, though from the look on Piers's face you could see his weekend had been made already and the bar had been set high. We wandered down to his grave, and then back into the village for hot chocolate and to get out of the rain.
After Lourmarin we drove back up the valley and further west to the beautiful hilltop village of Bonnieux. I had been to these places with Mum and Dad in September and I sat in the drizzling cold, thinking how different it had been in the scorching sun of early September and how apprehensive I had been about the whole experience. Bonnieux offers panoramic views of the Luberon and we stopped there for lunch at 'Restaurant Panoramique' where we had a very charming waiter, keen to try out his English, with several bad jokes- 'excuse me! excuse me, i tell a very bad joke!' We had the 'plat du jour', 'loup' fish with celeriac mash and sautéed spinach which was delicious, and then more hot chocolate (it really is cold now). Then we piled back in the car to drive on to the next village, Lacoste, where the Marquis de Sade lived and also hid himself in his chateau on the top of the hill. It is a strangely eerie derelict ruin, especially when you consider the history of what happened there.
Saturday morning dawned brighter, and the hustle and bustle of the market could be seen but not heard from the apartment. We again, had a lazy breakfast, with pastries and coffee galore, and headed out into the street to browse the market. Suvi and Piers proved a better pair of eyes than mine, searching out greater produce and bargains, so I left with more than they did. I bought a 5€ extremely sturdy umbrella (just in time after today's weather) and my weeks fruit and veg (bananas, apples, tomatoes, cabbage, spinach, lettuce and carrots) all for under 6€. We wandered past the scarves I bought my first week here and Piers muttered, 'wool scarves, 10 euros, what's the bet Suvi will buy one.' She bought two. We bought delicious mushrooms and salmon at quite a price, and then headed home to eat our spoilings for lunch.
Saturday afternoon we did the must see sights of Gordes and Roussillon. They are always gorgeous to see but with slightly less soul than the less touristy places, and Gordes is always full of tourists, even now in mid November. Still, one of the most beautiful sights is just on the other side of the valley to Gordes, the Abbaye de Senanque, a gorgeous abbey that Mum and Dad went in when we came in September but I had slightly run out of steam and didn't join them. All of the famous photographs of Provence show the abbey as a backdrop to the beautiful fields of purple lavender, but even at this time of the year when the lavender is not out, it is spectacular. We did plan to go into the abbey but I found a new friend in a ginger cat that was rather presumptuous in jumping on to my lap and curling up there, so I sat outside while Suvi and Piers went in, and gave the cat some attention.
On Saturday night, after we ate our pricey but delicious salmon, we were all curled up by the fire reading when I went to the sink and looked out of the window. In the darkening square, a boy had set up a tight rope between the lamppost and fencepost and was practising a wobbly walk across it. He also had a set of juggling balls, and between him practising that and the tightrope it was an evening's entertainment for all of us. Between us we would go back and forth from the sofa to the window, saying 'come and see now! He's nearly half way across!'
Sunday dawned grey again, and we took off to Villars, a tiny tiny village just 5km from Apt which doesn't even have its own postcode, but a very quaint square and delicious boulangerie. It was the first place I went with Mum and Dad, and it is missed off the tourist route, but so pretty and more french, so worth a visit. We went to the boulangerie and bought the brioche, fresh from the oven, and continued onwards to Saignon. Saignon again is smaller, quieter and sleepier than the other villages but has a greater french feel and the views from the top of the rock are panoramic and magnificient. After Saignon we headed back for more bread and cheese for lunch and then a wander round Apt in the afternoon, looking for the house Napoleons mother had spent summers in. It was in one of the squares I walk through nearly daily and have never glanced up at the huge house. Suvi and Piers definitely encouraged me to look at Apt with new eyes. Over the weekend, they have been putting up the Christmas lights, an ongoing process since October that will be turned on next weekend. This weekend they have just finished the magnificent cascade of lights from the top of the fountain in the main square, so I can't wait to see them on.
On Sunday evening the owners of the apartment had invited us to their apartment in Bonnieux for an aperitif. All I can say is they do aperitifs differently here! Purple grapes, green grapes, pears, apples, goats cheese, brie, bread, quail's eggs, garlic, cashew nuts, pistachio nuts, almonds, homemade tapenade and lashings of wine to wash them down, all laid out on a beautiful dining room table in front of an open fireplace. They were the friendliest couple and we chatted for ages, about their home in Maine, their travels in England, Pier's fruit, and their arrival in France.
You can see about what they do and their properties in Maine and France here: http://www.marstonhouse.com/rentals/
(Their home is the three bedroom apartment in Bonnieux).
So that wrapped up a lovely lovely weekend, and I was very sad to say goodbye to Suvi and Piers yesterday morning. It was pouring down with rain, as it seems to be when I have to say my goodbyes. But having them here has given me lots of happy memories, and the necessary fuel to last through the four more weeks until I'm home for Christmas. I go to Germany in two weeks to see Paige, Georgia and Sofia, my fourth year housemates and fabulous friends, so there is lots to look forward to.
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