As I mentioned on Monday’s blog, we would take morning trips to various villages near the house in Puyvert,
Roussillon
Roussillon is about 30 minutes by car from Puyvert, and is another village perched on a high hill. It’s known for rock formations of ochre, that produce the rich, warm color used for paint pigment, We caught a glimpse of the ochre deposits in the center of the village. There’s a designated ochre trail you can follow but we opted not to do it because of the impending heat. There’s an Ochre Conservatory which offers tours, classes, and information about the function of ochre. Many of the building facades in Roussillon have an ochre wash on them.
There was a small market that day offering local specialties and we bought a typical Provencal product, a round straw tray with collapsible netting on top to protect fruits and vegetables from bugs.
Pigments
Net covered basket
Lourmarin
On Friday is the big, outdoor market in Lourmarin, the next village over from where we were staying. The walk took about 25 minutes on a narrow country road filled with ancient and giant trees, vineyards, and open fields and meadows.
At the entrance to Loumarin is the handsome Chateau de Lourmarin, originally built as a fortress in the 14th century, which then became a chateau for a royal family in the 15th century. The last owner was a historian and industrialist who bought it in 1920, saving it from demolition, then restoring it and furnishing it. Today the chateau is a museum featuring a fine art collection with 16th to 19th century furniture, engravings, paintings, musical instruments and objets d’art.
The Lourmarin market was vast, covering many streets. An adorable, young French man was selling red and green olive tapenade, and one taste had us swooning and buying enough to last the week. It was the end of the lavender season, so we bought 10 sachets for 10€, and now every nook and cranny of our apartment has the soothing scent of lavender. I buy local soaps wherever I travel, an inexpensive souvenir, and I found a vendor who sold soap produced in the Luberon. I bought six bars for only 2.20€ each, in scents of olive oil, olive oil and lavender, and honey and lavender.
After the market we strolled to the lively, main street of the village and cooled down with cold Perrier on the rocks with a twist of lemon at a café. Leaving the village, we listened to a jazz trio playing on the street.
Smell that lavender!
Cute olive guy
Super-size me artichokes
Cucuron
On Sunday there was a brocante in Cucuron, another village which is a ten-minute drive from us.
The brocante was setup around the large, rectangular water basin in the town square, surrounded by big trees. It consisted mostly of stalls and tables with bric-a-brac and antiques and my friend bought a few glass tumblers with the Ricard logo on them for the new house. There was an eclectic array of linens, rugs, paintings, ceramics, sets of china and dishes, and books and cookbooks.
After the flea market we climbed up to the residential part of the village, again discovering the charm and beauty of the Provence villages.
The next evening, we returned to the square to have dinner outdoors facing the basin.
I am happy to have the prolific author John Baxter as my guest on A Bite of Paris. John has written many books about Paris including The Most Beautiful Walk in World, We’ll Always Have Paris, and books about the neighborhoods of Paris. Montmartre, Saint Germain des Pres, and Montmartre. John has also written two books about food in France, The Perfect Meal and Eating Eternity.
John and I had coffee outdoors at the pastry shop and café, Gerard Mulot, in Saint Germain des Pres.
Please watch the video at this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpPCLR-6ACg
For more about John and to purchase his books go to https://www.johnbaxterparis.com/
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