Hanging out with French friends

Today was SO much fun!  We had made a date to go with Laurence to meet her husband and have lunch, but of course, she made it much more than that.  She is so kind and generous (and so is her husband, Robert -- pronounced Row--beirt) that we couldn't wait to see what she had cooked up for us.  Just wait and see.

She picked us up at our apartment (which as we have said, is no easy thing, since the street is about 5 feet wide) at 10:30.  We drove first to the Boulangerie in Tavel.  She wanted to show us the different kinds of bread that the French eat. Bread is such a part of French life.   The thing about Laurence is that she is a born teacher, so every stop is a lesson of some kind, and we learn SO MUCH!

Jerry, Laurence, and I going to the bakery.
Beautiful day, about 60 in the morning

Already made pizza

Breads in all shapes and sizes

Look at this case!  Strawberry tarts, Chocolate Flan

Raspberry tarts, small tartelettes

Baguettes and Batards

Apple sheet pan

Custard tarts - some with fruit

These are like pillows of heaven -
cookies called Rocher and Chouquette

Chocolate Croissant - a small bar of dark chocolate inside. Yummy!

Big Box Plant Store

We drove over to Lirac, which is where Laurence and Robert live.

These vines have wires for the vines to grow on.
Probably harvested by machine?

They prune all but 2 branches on each plant.

By now it is about 68 degrees.  Gorgeous!

Laurence and Jerry

These are older vines and have no support.

We were going to go and taste wine at a cave but it was closed for lunch, so we went to the local bar in Lirac to have a Pastis, which I have read about for years, but never tasted.  It is a liqueur that tastes like anise (really, black licorice)  and you add water to it and then drink it.  Wasn't my favorite  but at least I tried it, which is more than Jerry did.  He had a Coke.  

Wine Bar in Lirac

When we walked in here, the men just about had a stroke.  

This bar is off the beaten path and doesn't see many strangers.

Now we had killed enough time to go to their house. 

 They live in the small town of Lirac 6 or 7 kilometers from Avignon.

Robert was cooking for us, and we couldn't arrive before 12:30. 

Their house from the garden

beautiful terraces are everywhere

Where we ate, looking into the kitchen

great room, all open

open American style kitchen

Robert cooking

The back yard.  The big white thing is their new pool.

Big forsythia in a wine barrel

Apricot tree

Pool house

Aperitif - Fish paste and cream, pate de fois gras - wine

endive, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms and this

amazing dip that I will make for all of you.

Main course was seared duck breast and potatoes with red wine

Couldn't have had a more beautiful day.  

Our hosts; Laurence and Robert

The grill.  It is a flat top Planchet,  and he grilled the duck on it. 

 He says it makes it more juicy than a grill.

Of course, it is France, so 3 kinds of goat cheese with

honey and jam

Then fruit and the Chouquette that we had bought at the bakery.

and more wine.  Yum!

After that big lunch we started back to Avignon, but first we went to Sainte Baume, which is a pilgrimage sort of place that has a cave that hermit monks lived in for years after a Virgin Mary was found inside it in the 1600's.  Very interesting, and Laurence is on the preservation committee, so she had the key.

A very steep climb to work off the pate

first Virgin you see, but they are all around

and up

and up.  These are all vineyards down there.

Rosemary grows wild here and it is blooming

They hold mass here 3 times a year.  One is on Easter Sunday.

There is a bell you can ring!

The ceiling of the area where the hermits lived

Good friends for life

have to take Jerry to the Wine Coop that I saw on Saturday.

Jerry loves this idea.  Fill her up!

You need a container, not just squirt it in your mouth!

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We had such a fun day.  Laurence brought us back to Avignon and then went off to teach an English class. She is one busy lady.

Meeting this couple has enriched our lives forever, and it might be years before we see them again, but we will be always grateful that they have given us a true "slice" of Provencal life.  Merci beaucoup, Laurence and Robert.

Tomorrow, Jerry and I will start fighting about the suitcases and how heavy they are and what I am taking back.  Can't wait.  Off to Paris on Wednesday.  A benitot!