Magnolias' Day 6

Magnolia's Day 6

     We are in the groove now.  So we agreed to meet for breakfast at 9 ish.  Our breakfast table was outside and was set with breads, juice, coffee and fresh apricots and nectarines from their orchard.  We kind of missed Joel parading out an assortment of tarts and cakes, but our waistlines need this.  They do have an espresso machine, which thrilled the Italophiles in our group, and fresh squeezed orange juice.  Delicious!!!!  

     We arranged our day and headed off for new adventures. First, though, we decided to take advantage of their French laundry.  What a treat not to have to do the wash...

     Tarascon was our first stop.  There is a castle there that is in unbelievable condition.  They fought regularly with the people in the castle across the Rhone, but the tale is that a dragon saved the people of Tarascon when they were invaded and the people lived happily ever after.  Whatever.... The interesting part is they had bathrooms in all of the bedrooms!!!!  Who said these people were medieval?!! We really enjoyed it.

     Next we drove east into the Alps to Les Baux.  The area is like a patchwork quilt of olive and apricot orchards and grape vineyards  until you enter the mountains.  There are farmhouses dotting the roads, two-story with red roofs, nestled among the vineyards.

       Les Baux  is another medieval town established as the family home of the Grimaldi family.  They mined bauxite at that time up until the last 20 or 30 years.  The town has been restored and is full of retail shops and restaurants, and, yes, we did make purchases.

    First, though, we hiked to the very top to the original castle which is mostly ruins, but they  have working catapults -- we got to see a demo-- and they have regular displays of battles and weaponry used during medieval times.  There were panoramic views of the Alps, vineyards and even the Mediterranean.   

     We ate a late lunch at a restaurant back down in the village  and had crepes, Mediterranean, ratatouille, and roquefort, three unique crepes.  Then we had creme brûlée a la lavender and a chocolate pyramid. Fabulous!!!!  And of course vin.

    We shopped a bit more and headed back to the manor, but first we stopped at an old abbey along the way.  It wasn't open, but we hiked up there anyway -- and I do mean hiked.  We have renamed Debbie "Julie Andrews" because she encourages us to "Climb Every Mountain."  Not only did we trek to the church, the crew headed even further up the mountain and found what may have been an old monastery.  Someone was building a bridge out of logs.  We don't know why a bridge, but we suspect they're up to no good.  

     After coming down the mountain, some more gracefully than others, we headed to the supermarket for our late evening feast, cheese, foie gras, sausage, pears, cherries and fabulous wine that blows our minds at how good the cheap stuff is.  Oh, if we could only bring it home.

     Back at the manor, we're in our sitting room, visiting, recounting the day and planning our day for tomorrow.  We will be taking a cooking class here tomorrow morning.  Do we have six Julia Childs in the making??!!!  Stay tuned.....