Panda and this week's maison:
I'll have to give the outdoor shower a try:
(don't worry, there is also an indoor shower)
View from the patio:
Grape arbor shades the patio:
Then got the coffee on -- French press, which is always delicious, and some bread that Julia had kindly offered me the night before, and my trusty strawberry jam. Breakfast on the patio, naturellement:
and cleanup in the cheery kitchen:
The patio was so absolutely charming, and the weather so perfect -- warm but not hot with a pleasant breeze. I thought I might never get off my butt to go exploring. But finally I gathered my things and set out, planning to go out for lunch and try to find a place with wifi. Turned out that finding a grocery store open on Sunday was much easier than finding a place with wifi - just as I was arriving in the center of Pertuis, hoping to find a restaurant, I happened upon a grocery store that was actually open on Sunday. Woo hoo!
Yay, Spar, "Ouvert le Dimanche Matin"
Got a few things and went straight back to the cottage for lunch. (The melon was from Phillipe's wife Julia's goodie bag, and boy was it good):
Eventually roused myself to go exploring. Destination: Lourmarin, home of Peter Mayle, famous for his book A Year in Provence. The drive was just beautiful.
tons of tree-lined roads such as this:
Arrived in the lovely town and walked all around, checking out the chateau (though not going in -- I was truly torn whether to pay the 5.50 Euro fee...somehow I doubted whether it would be worth it, and so I passed):
chateau from across the way:
cool fountain near the chateau -- looks like the faces are puking mossy concrete:
chapel near the chateau:
tower at the chateau:
and checking out the town:
quiet little rue:
kitty sacked out on another quiet rue:
another quiet rue (not all the rues were quiet, but those are the ones I took pictures of):
adorable kitten:
adorable kitten more interested in that drain pipe than in me:
pretty shutters:
one more rue pic and I'll stop:
...then checked out the graveyard where Albert Camus is buried:
view of Lourmarin from over near the graveyard:
most of the graves look like this:
but Camus and his wife's graves look like this:
... and then a rest at a cafe:
(yep, those are ice cubes in my rose...I guess that's good since it was pretty hot outside)
Sadly, there was no free wifi to be found. I guess everyone's having such a nice time in Provence drinking rose and pastis and eating cheese and baguettes that they have no time for wifi. Or, more likely, they're all just using their smartphones and have no need for such bourgeous things as "wifi". For a Sunday, this town was pretty hoppin', with about 50% of the shops open, and a nice little market going on in one of the squares. I felt that I really ought to buy something, but I tend to be somewhat psychologically handcuffed when it comes to buying souvenirs. I did, however, wander into a kitchen store, where, believing after a fairly earnest search, that my cottage was without a cheese grater, I bought "The Italian Job", a grater for hard cheeses that has its own little stand so that you can prop it up, plus it has grates in both directions for maximum output.
Then I made my way to the Pertuis Best Western, which is located somewhat out of town from the center of Pertuis, but I had driven past it while lost the day before, and I thought I had remembered that they have wifi. And so I pulled in, asked the kind lady at the front desk, and she showed me out to the charming outdoor cafe, where one can sit poolside and, among other things, enjoy the free wifi. Had an espresso and caught up on correspondence before heading back to the homestead for the evening.
Next, dinner of pasta with garlic, tomatoes, and grated Parmesan. The Italian Job totally rocks.
After dinner the sun went down...
...and I set up for cello practice on the veranda.
And thus ended another spectacular day on my vacances.
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