L'Antiquaire - Lourmarin

We had a great day in Lourmarin.....(other than the kidneys for lunch) and had dinner reservations at L'Antiquaire where we had dinner our first night here. On our first evening in Provence we were so excited to see Bouillabaisse on the menu, only to learn that you have to pre-order a few days in advance - so tonight was our night to try it.....Or so we thought.....Turns our David had us down on the book for Friday, so no bouillabaisse for us. Fortunately their food is fantastic so we still had a great dinner! In a short time this has become one of our favorite local restaurants - great food and a great owner!

Here is Steve's attempt to adopt the scarf look......

 London and her usual pink ice cream....

 Steve's impressive dessert assortment....

 Local favorite....goat cheese with provencal herbs and black olive tapenade.....

We are trading our Mini Van

On the way back from Bonnieux we were being followed along the mountain road by the pictured car.  We all ended up in Lourmarin.  We have decided that we are trading in our mini van for the Ferrari California, which comfortably seats four people and would fit London's car seat.  

Lourmarin - What did Sherry Eat??

London getting ready to hit the road to Lourmarin.  She must be completely coordinated, including underwear, or she will not leave the house.

A very interesting day today regarding our lunch.  After much discussion Sherry decided to order the Rognons de Veaux.    As those who follow the blog from last year may recall I decided to order veal early in our Burgundy visit and ended up with Tete de Veaux, or essentially cow head or brains.  Today took a different turn.  When Sherry's meal appeared she was immediately skeptical.  One bite, inclusive of a vein of some sort sent the conversation spinning as to what the pictured meal might be.  Was it Cialis infused parts or something completely different.   One thing for sure was that the meal would not be consumed.  A little research on the internet subsequently revealed that Sherry had not consumed any male parts of interest but had consumed another veal organ  - Kidney!!!  Another lesson learned.

Fortunately we missed out on the Rognons.  Finished up with a nice Strawberry ice cream while Sherry contemplated the few bits of Rognon that she had.  One thing for sure, never order anything with Veaux attached to it unless it is a filet.

More fun in Lourmarin!!!

We continued to explore Lourmarin this afternoon and had so much fun. The cobblestone alleys of shops and restaurants are so amazing.

As we were walking down the alley, we ran into the 'Johnny Cash' of France. He of course asked where we were from and when we said Texas, he was so excited for us to hear his country music! So, of course we went into his shop to listen and buy a CD - Cabaret de Campagne! His record label is out of India and we were invited to hear him play live vendredi soir at a local restaurant.....I think we definitely need to go experience it!!!!

When we returned to our house, we were greeted by our wonderful neighbor and he offered us some local apricots marinated in honey.......sooooooo good!!!

Cucuron Market...Cafe de la Gare

Today was so much fun, almost fateful with everyone we met! We started at the local market about 5 km away in Cucuron. It was quaint and sweet. We stocked up on the delicious local chèvre cheese and tapenade as well as some fresh fruit for London.

Then it was on to lunch. I have been so excited about going to this restaurant since we got here. It is Cafe de la Gare and it was mentioned in Peter Mayle's book, 'A Year in Provence.' Although the original owners have probably changed considering they were in their 80's when he wrote the book, it is still family owned and still amazing. Supposedly it used to be the old train station of Bonnieux. You know a restaurant will be perfect when the clientele is all locals!

They offer a fixed menu for 15 euro that includes a plate of their salad buffet (which usually I'm not a buffet fan, but this was quite impressive with all the fresh salads and vegetables), the plat du jour (this changes everyday and is whatever they cook) and then your choice of dessert or frommage and of course wine. Today's special was Blanquette de Veau. It was like having dinner at your grandmother's house on a Sunday afternoon. The food was amazing. London even ate an adult portion of the plat du jour!

While at lunch we met an interesting English lady that has lived here for 8 years and her dog Charlie and also a group that stopped in for lunch while they were on a wine tour out of Avignon. We will probably be taking a wine tour with this company later in the trip, they were so nice.

After lunch, we started our way back home and decided to stop in Lourmarin and we are so happy that we did. We haven't really explored Lourmarin and it has so much to offer and so many great people. We first stopped at a wine coop/distributor that had a shop and we met a future member of our family in person!!!

This 'little guy' is a Dogue de Bordeaux and is in the French version of the Cane Corso that I've been looking at since our 'incident' at home. This puppy is 2 months old and weighs a mere 9 kilos (20 lbs). He loved London and I couldn't stop playing with him! We will definitely be stopping in here for more rose wine and to watch this little dude grow over our visit! J'adore!!!!!

Marseille Surprise....Lunch in Aix en Provence

Our day started out great as we were going to head to the coast and have lunch ocean side in Cassis. We were probably 20 minutes out when we exited the toll and took the wrong road. What a surprise when we  were pulling into the ports of Marseille. Ocean side, yes.....charming town, not that we could see.

So we learned the hard way that it is very difficult to turn around should you go the wrong way on the highways. After some creative driving in Marseille traffic, we were back on the highway and headed to Aix en Provence. We found an interesting place for lunch and London had the biggest bowl of pasta ever!

The cafe that we ate at had some very interesting people watching. The people in Aix take their fashion VERY seriously. I would almost say it was as fashionable if not more than Paris!! I'm still trying to get Steve to adopt the blazer, button down and cardigan, scarf combo!!!!!

After lunch on to the carousel.....London has an eagle eye for them!

When we arrived home we all took naps from our adventures, or long car ride. ;-> Then it was off to the Super U to get some essentials. On the way back to the car I found 20 euros in the parking lot!!! Quelle chance!!! Where oh where to spend my found money........

Our drive back to Puyvert....Understanding Provence Perfection

We decided to take a different route home from the Isle Sur la Sorgue market today and we are so thankful that we did. We discovered the Provence that everyone is madly in love with. I can safely say that we were in awe the entire drive home, jumping out the car to take pictures like crazy American tourists because we have never seen anything like it.

This was the road through the Luberon mountains and it was absolutely stunning. We first went through Lacoste. Steve was disappointed they weren't selling shirts on every street corner. :->

Then we went through the town of Bonnieux, where they filmed some of Peter Mayle's 'The Good Year" movie. The pictures don't even do it justice.  We cannot wait to come back here and explore this amazing village.