Plus de Provence

Claude, Sylvie's husband, arrived from Paris by TGV late Thursday night. We were already in bed and so we didn't get to meet him until breakfast in the morning. Julien resembles him a lot.
Friday we had to get ourselves going by noon. In the country especially, but also in many places in the cities, businesses close at noon and don't reopen until 2:00 or so. We lingered over breakfast (le petit dejeuner) until about 11:00. Then at 11:20 Beth and I walked to the post office (la poste) which was at city hall (le mairie) so I could mail two postcards. In this small village, we managed to get a little lost but, also because it is a small village, we managed to find our way to the poste, then to the boulangerie/patisserie where we bought some meringues and then to the epicerie (mini-mart) for crackers and fruit.
Claude and Sylvie then took us riding in the country to find a special farm where they make cheese. The farm turned out to be closed and we ended up at the house of some English friends. The friends were not there but the caretaker showed us around.



St. Michel l'Observatoire from the road.



Les chevres



We are still enthralled by the poppies (les coquelicots).



We had lunch in the patio again. Sylvie makes great food. She says she likes to make dishes that are fresh, simple and fast to make. She does this well. In a future post I will write more specifically about Le cuisine de Sylvie.









Claude took Beth and me to a priory and garden in a nearby town. It was quite an experience. The garden were enormous and well-planned. They were divided by time era and also by continent. In the old chapel was also an exhibit of early photography.



Had I known we were going to have such a tour, I would have brought my iPad. But I didn't and have to wait until after I get back in the States to post the shots I took on my iPhone.
We took Claude to a wine bar in a local village and came home so we could take Sylvie and Claude to a restaurant in the village. This was a lovely, three-hour-long meal where we sat and ate and chatted in what I have always heard was a typical French dinner.






It was midnight when we left. As we walked back to the house we looked up in the sky and I understood why there is an observatory here. The stars and constellations were vivid and seemed so close. Tonight I will take photos and post them.
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Location:Provence