Today is market day in Pernes. We learned that most Provencal towns have large markets, and there’s one every day of the week in one town or another. Since this was our “hometown” market, we decided to walk to town and check it out.
We weren’t disappointed. So many vendors with all kinds of food items, along with lots of clothing booths. Everything just looks so delicious, from fresh fish and meats to baked goods to produce, etc. After buying melon, a tomato, a baguette and some beautiful olives we returned home. Our landlady, Estelle, passed us on her bike returning from the market and stopped to chat with us for a minute.
We started the drive and wow, it’s a steep and narrow paved road to the top. Since it was a Saturday, there were scores of bike riders, probably many of them with dreams of being in the Tour de France, which made for challenging driving on John’s part. It was a constant dodge and weave, slowing down and getting around the bikers.
Once on top the clouds came in and the temperature dropped drastically. We started the climb at 84 degrees and by the time we were at the summit it was only 62 degrees. And the wind was howling… we opened our doors and got out for a minute and were practically blown over. Needless to say, we didn’t linger on top!
Back down the other side, equally challenging since a bike race was going up that side, and back into warmer weather. Once off of the mountain we stopped at a cafe for coffee and tea and enjoyed watching the bikers come down.
Then it was on through a few small towns (thought Bedoin was particularly charming) and on to Plan d’Eau des Salettes, a lake with a beach that was on our way. We stopped at the lake and ate our picnic lunch (a baguette and cheese, of course, along with olives from the market and an apple), then walked on the path over to the main part of the lake. Lots of action going on, with many locals taking advantage of the sunny Saturday and water. A large group of teenage boys were having a grand time. There was a nice cafe at the beach (of course) and we bought ice cream cones, a treat since the temperature had climbed into the high 80’s by this point.
By 3:15 we were back at the house for our afternoon downtime.
At 5:15 we ventured out by car to visit L’Isle sur la Sorgue, a town only 15 minutes away that’s known as the “Venice of Provence”. I’d read that there’s a walk around town labeled as the “Waterwheel Walk”, since there are 14 historic waterwheels, so we wanted to visit the Tourist Info center and pick up a map before they closed at 6. We had a few minutes of white knuckled driving (John) and riding (me) when we accidentally turned into the narrow streets looking for parking. Note to self, steer clear of any driving through ancient villages!
Once parked safely at the train station parking lot we hustled to the Tourist Info office in time to pick up a map. We followed the map as best we could, which took us on a nice route through some of the less touristy (aka no shopping) parts of town. The central streets were flooded with people wandering through the streets and shopping, which is always a bit much for us country bumpkins to handle.
At about 7 we visited a restaurant (Bistrot L’Auchineur) and had a great meal. We were seated at a tiny table outside right on the street, so awesome people watching. We both chose salads for dinner and once again they were beautifully presented and delicious.
After dinner it was back to the car and home by 9:15. Another great day!
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