Monday 30th of September
I woke up at 6am again, but after reading for a while, I went back to sleep until 8am. Keith was already up and Sophie woke at the same time as me. I think we'd all had a better night's sleep. It was very dark last night, and quiet!
We enjoyed toast and coffee for breakfast and I put some laundry on to wash. We also turned on the dishwasher, and this tripped the electrics. We thought at first it was a power cut, but our host said to not use too many appliances at once! It would have been good to have known this!
At 11am, we drove to Vaison-la-Romaine and parked a little way from the centre. It was cloudy with the temperature at about 19c, so perfect for summer clothes. The sun was trying to peep through the clouds, but we did see a local wearing a thick coat!
In France, a lot of shops also close on Mondays so the town was quiet. We found a busy café and several tables were taken, the customers drinking coffee or glasses of Rosé. We sat down and ordered two glasses for ourselves and Keith, flustered by the arrival of the waitress, ordered a "Monaco" under the beer section. He had no idea what it was, but he soon found out!
He took one sip and grimaced, and gave it to me to taste. It was a red colour, and sweet. We found out it's a beer cocktail (shandy) made with lager, lemonade and Grenadine! He was not amused! However, sitting in the café, watching the world go by and seeing a feisty little dog trying to take on bigger ones, was bliss. It was a Monday morning! Normally, Sophie and I would be at work!
After our drinks, Sophie and I went to the Tourist Office opposite and bought two more bottles of wine, a bar of heavenly-scented soap (to add to my collection) and a postcard. We then strolled back to the street we parked on yesterday and booked a table at a restaurant called Chez Mon Béou. The place was already busy with lunchtime diners, and the aromas were lovely!
And... relax!
Before going back to the house, we called at a Super U to buy groceries. The supermarket has a pizza takeaway next door, and last night we'd unsuccessfully tried to order one, but they hadn't been cooked!
We bought the usual suspects - beer, wine, bread, salad, water, milk, etc, enough to keep us going for a few days. The plan is to tour the wine villages tomorrow and have lunch at one of them.
Back at the house, Sophie made us cheese, ham and salad sandwiches, and we ate on the terrace. Afterwards, it was time to relax by the pool (not in it) and listen to the distant hum of a tractor. Truffe made an appearance and had a cuddle with Sophie.
It was lovely to relax and read this afternoon. It was what we'd been dreaming about ever since booking the holiday!
Dining out
The afternoon clouded over, but it was still warm. We showered again and were ready to leave at 6pm, hoping to go for a drink at Le Forum, the bar we'd visited earlier. It was next to a large car park and close to the restaurant we'd booked. We parked easily and had a quick look at an information board about the Roman origins of the town which was situated above an archaeological site.
The bar was busy again, and there was a lovely, friendly atmosphere as locals mixed with tourists. Keith ordered a proper beer this time and Sophie and I had an Aperol Spritz. We sat chatting for over an hour, before walking the short distance to Chez Mon Béou.
The owner recognised us from earlier and directed us to a table where we were given menus. Keith ordered a local beer but Sophie and I waited until we'd decided what to eat. We suspected the owner could speak English but apart from the odd word, he kept to French. For some reason this evening, I acted like I'd never learnt the language at all, which was amusing to my family!
We studied the menu trying to work out what was on offer! Some of the phrases did not translate into English, probably because they were names of French foods! Even now, writing this later, we're still not sure what we had to eat! Keith and Sophie chose a "pannacotta" to start while I opted for a tomato "cookie" with caramelised onions.
Sophie and I chose pork for the main course while Keith took a chance on sea bass. As we were having pork, I chose a Rosé and it turned out to be very good, from a local producer. The owner translated the name for us - "For you, I would reach for the moon."
Sophie hadn't managed to translate all the ingredients on her starter and laughed at my efforts to try and work out what we'd ordered. "It's an adventure!" she laughed. Well, it wasn't so much of an adventure when her food arrived and she tried the "pannacotta"... the grimace on her face said it all! It was a watered-down goat's cheese but she said it was the mousse-like texture that put her off. She said eating it was like taking part in a Bush-Tucker trial! She then found out that "Banon" was a French, pungent goat's cheese!
My starter also had a quenelle of goat's cheese, balanced on top of a mound of caramelised onions, served with a dense tomato-flavoured cookie. It was certainly substantial!
Thankfully, our main courses were a little better, but I'm not sure that Keith totally enjoyed his sea bass fillet. Our pork was tender and fell apart and was served with the world's supply of what I think were fava beans. Saying them immediately made me think of Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs...
Sophie and I managed to find room for puds - a lemon mousse with a biscuit base. The bill came to around 140 euros and we waddled back off to the car for the short journey home. Sophie had put on the headlight converters expertly, and the main beam was reflected into the hedge on my side of the road.
Back at the house, we relaxed and Sophie and I watched another episode of Monique Olivier: Accessory to Evil. By the time we'd watched the episode it was almost 11pm. Time for bed!
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