Final episode of Linda and Dave Beach’s story of their first trip to Provence:

The next morning we picked up brioches at Henri’s and went to our friends Suzanne and Jim’s for breakfast. We returned to Bonnieux for the end of the Friday market. This market is one of the smallest in the area, but the vendors were good. Dave purchased some goat cheese and the seller had to shake his hand because Dave was the only American he has met that actually wanted the moldy old cheese! We also purchased honey and a boneless leg of Spring lamb which we cooked for dinner that night. It was delicious! Just outside of the market was a Pizza truck and we bought a few slices for our lunch. They are all made to order and there is even a wood-burning oven inside of the truck. Every market seems to have pizza trucks nearby and I definitely recommend trying a pizza from one.

That afternoon it started raining, but we set off to explore Lourmarin, Cucuron and Ansouis. Lourmarin is beautiful even when it is raining and mom especially loved the little town of Cucuron with its large pond and gateway leading into the walled village. We tasted and bought wine at the Cave des Vignerons de Cucuron, a cooperative wine sale shop.

One of the larger markets in the area is the Saturday market in Apt which you don’t want to miss and fortunately the weather cooperated for us with sunny skies and our warmest day. There are vendors everywhere in the old town, on all of the side streets and in the town center. Parking on market day is difficult, so Suzanne and Jim, along with one of her aunts from Marseille, met us at our house and led us to a coveted parking spot near the school by the Gendarmerie.

It was our last day so unfortunately, we couldn’t stock up on the abundant cheese, fish and vegetables. We did however, buy lavender sachets and a small picture painted with the ocher from Roussillon. (Expensive, but it will bring back memories.) After the market we went to the nearby tiny village of Saignon. Henri’s daughter Christine has a Salon de The here called Chez Christine. She appears to have inherited her father’s talent for making pastries. Saignon is quaint and there is a church on the top which is not open to the public but is good for photographing. We returned to Bonnieux to finally explore our town – the Old Church, the New Church and all along the outer wall just down from our house.

To celebrate a wonderful week in Provence we had our last dinner at L’Arome in Bonnieux. This restaurant, like Le Fournil is built into a hillside. But we found the ambiance, food and service to be much better here than at Le Fournil. We also had an earlier reservation so we were seated before the rush.

The next morning we had café au lait and pastries and said goodbye to Henri and his wife Maria, then drove mom and dad to Aix-en-Provence where they would spend the night before flying home the next day. Dave and I continued on to Avignon. We had a little bit of extra time so we drove around this beautiful walled city, which we would love to visit on our next trip. We then returned our car and boarded the TGV for Paris. Au Revoir Provence!