Day 10-July 11

Started the day with another 20 km roundtrip cycle to Rousillon.  Less wind, and clear skies this morning.  This ride is just delightful, no traffic, gorgeous vineyards, fields of lavender, and panoramic views in all directions.

I took a quick swim after my ride, had a delicious outdoor breakfast at 9 AM and compared notes with Matt and Emily from Australia who, for the past three years, have also been staying at Le Mas Perreal when we have.  Matt cycles, Emily shops, and they love to watch the Tour, so we have a lot in common.  After breakfast, we headed to the Lourmarin for market day.  Author Peter Mayle is currently living in this small town which attracts a wealthier clientele than most of the neighboring spots.  (Apparently this town also attracts pick pockets too!)  

As Joni browsed the stalls of the market, I camped out at the Cafe Gaby, enjoying a cappuccino and tartine while I people watched, read l'Equipe, and worked on this blog.  Joni picked up a few items at the market and then we headed for our lunch reservation at La Closerie in Ansouis.  Along the way we discovered our first field of sunflowers, so of course we had to stop for a picture.

The restaurant received a star in the Michelin Guide, which is the ultimate French restaurant rating system.  Just to get in the guide is an honor and takes years of evaluations, so we knew we were in for a treat.  We were not disappointed.

It was pricey, so we went with their menu of the day, which gave us no choices, but we figured we couldn't go wrong.  Our appetizer was very hard to explain; it was fried egg on an emulsion of olive oil, truffles, tiny chopped potatoes, lemon zest, and a few other mystery spices.  Technical difficulties with the camera prevented me from taking a photo.

The main dish was a very large shrimp on a bed of vegetables, and for dessert we had a tangerines and sorbet topped with cotton candy.  This was an amazing meal!

After lunch we drove through Cucheron, quickly revisited the pond that was used in my favorite scene from the film "A Good Year" with Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard.  

We searched, to no avail, for a postcard of the organ in the church, and then headed back to Le Mas Perreal with a final stop at Le Canorgue vineyard to purchase a bottle of wine for tomorrow night's dinner in our room.

 With a several hours to kill before dinner we sat by the pool, took a swim, and enjoyed the sunshine.  The wind really picked up this afternoon, and it's funny because unlike our  home, fierce winds usually mean dark clouds and an approaching storm.   But here, it's just the Mistral, which they say can blow the ears off a donkey.  

Dinner tonight was in Gordes, which is only 17 KM from our B&B.  Gordes is an absolutely beautiful town, and usually featured in any photo spread about Provence.  So it attracts more tourists than any other of Provence's "most beautiful villages".   So you'd never expect to find a restaurant that only serves ten people and has a fixed menu with only three choices of apps, three choices for you main dish, and three choices for desserts.  But Joni did.  The food was great, and we talked cycling with the other dinners who were from Toronto and South Africa.  

Below is a photo of the menu and our starters.  We enyoyed the meal that we forgot to take any more piictures.