Day 13-July 14

Last night we had a great dinner in nearby Villars.  We've eaten at this restaurant each time we've been here for the past three years.  It's small, cozy, relaxing...right off a movie set...and the food is great.

After dinner we drove in our village, Saint Saturnin-les-Apt, to check out the local street festival.  It was a hoot, as we approaced a French singer was belting out "New York, New York".  A few couples were dancing, and lots of kids were  doing their thing...chasing each other...just like home.

It's Bastille Day in France.  They don't celebrate as much as we do in the US, usually village festivals and fireworks.  Nationally they have a big military parade in Paris which looks like something you'd see in North Korea or Russia, but the French don't dress up in red, white, & blue, or display lots of flags.  

Our private courtyard outside our room.   

Anyway after  our regular breakfast routine we were in the car by 10:30 and off to stop in the village of Murs and Joucasa which are both in the Monts de Vaucluse range.  Both are charming and of course are on hilltops with great views into the Luberon valley.  We stopped at a terrace cafe in Joucasa for a coffee, and just plain relaxing.  The view from this cafe is so serene, we didn't want to leave.

But we did and headed for the village of Fountaine de Vaucluse which is located at the source of an incredibly fast flowing spring.  This place is gorgeous and the photos speak for themselves. We visited a museum that's dedicated to Resistance during WW 2.  It was very moving and we thought Bastille Day was a very appropriate time to visit it, although we were the only ones there.

After the museum we had lunch at a breathtaking terrace cafe that sits right on the river.  The water is so clear, so the green in the photos comes from the plant life below.  Our meal was very good:  we both had pork for a main disk, I had a risoto with escargo for a starter, and Joni had a salad.  And for desert we both had a pistachio tarte with raspberries, boysenberries, and vanilla ice cream.

We stopped in Gordes on the way back to the B&B for some souvenir hunting, and we caught the last 15 km of the Tour which was being streamed live on the internet.

Got a swim in before dinnner and then we headed to  the town of  Goult to a retaurant called Le Carillon.  We had a great table, outside, and overlooking the town square.  

Joni had scallops and I had steak. Mine was great, but didn't photograph well; Jon's looked and tasted great.  We also shared a cheese plate, a bottle of rose, and dessert.  A delightful meal in a delightful setting.