Easter bunnies

Saturday market and very busy. We acquired a stash of goodies, had our coffee and croissants in the sun with Anne. Then decided she simply had to experience Le Comptoir de Mathilde!

It was full of people, and children of course,  but as usual a temple of wonders...and plenty of free samples!

We returned home and sat in the sun on the terrace of le Bar des Sports. It was lovely and even our own terrace is usable now! Sun gradually making its way round.

Happy Easter

From Carpentras!

Twitching

Warm and sunny but big clouds as well. This might be the last good day for a while! There’s an interesting nature reserve near Châteauneuf du Pâpe that we go to from time to time. Today was one of those times. It’s a natural saline pond - or it was... it fills only with rainwater and dries up  only by evaporation. Originally in the Middle Ages it would be used for salt but over the centuries it was irrigated and lost its salinity then was used for forage crop production and eventually as a natural reed bed area. The water level is now managed with ditches so it never completely dries up, though the water levels vary with rainfall.

The whole area is fringed with tall elegant blond reeds dotted with dark teazels and stands of poplar and willow on the outer edge.

There’s a bird hide in the reeds and today for the first time we saw water and some actual birds! Mallard, coots, and these unknown ones. Grebe come too but none today.

The inevitable invisible twittering birds are everywhere. I stood for ages following this one dart about in the branches. Eventually managed to snap it. We think it’s a warbler, possibly willow warbler.

And there are frogs! Noisy ones. As there are no fish the little blighters thrive. Actually they have a few rare species here. Heaven for Herons. Talking of which, after we left we went to the
Rhône levée for a walk near Hers. The river Seyne flows alongside and this is also a nature reserve where you see and here lots of birds, always a heron or two.

As I was strolling back, eyes on the water for a glimpse of  fish, a shadow passed across the path. No sound. And it was a moment before I realised it as a skein of big dark birds with long necks right above me. By the time camera was aimed they were a mere line in the sky over the river so I’ve no idea what they were!





More pictures in the Google album including a fine male mallard and men laying astroturf across the road!

All you can eat

Well what did we do today? Not a lot this morning, but it is getting warm. Then at lunchtime we went to Vaison with John and Louise to a strange café restaurant with a plastic gazebo attached under which one sits in the winter. On the pavement actually. It has a reputation for good home cooked food. We were greeted effusively by owner...well Poncho was greeted! She also has a Pomeranian of some vintage. ‘Nuff said. Staff friendly anyway. The deal here is that you can have a wide range of entrées, mostly salads and veg of some sort, plus several types of salami and pâté for the carnivores. Then a hot main dish from one of the vast covered recepticals. Choice here of gratin of vegetables in cheese, haricot beans and mange tout, sauté potatoes, chicken in sauce, duck parmentier, oriental lamb stew, cod in basil and lemon. So a wide selection. And you can go back as often as you like! In theory. Of course no one does really. You eat a normal amount. Then during the session the chef appears and works the tables, resplendant in his whites and toque!

20 degrees in the terrace!

Beaumes and beyond

Just a little stroll along the canal to Beaumes underneath Notre Dame d’Aubune. A bit grey to start with but it brightened up and was warm enough to sit outside le Café de Siècle with our coffee.

Nature is getting going now. There are still shrivelled husks of pomegranates on bare branches but the banks are flowery with groundsell, orchids, violets, speedwell and periwinkle etc.

And at last, the first iris!

After we’d retraced our steps we investigated the other side of the hillside from Vacqueyras. Drove up towards the hamlet of Montmirail and then walked a bit up the dirt road.

Nice views, some ancient grottoes that might have held water, and a farmer trundling sheep poo fertilizer in a trailer up and down the zigzags
to his vines at the bottom of the valley.

They have these big hoppers at an accessible point that drop the pellets into the smaller trailers.

Week 2

I think! Anyroad it’s Monday, sunny, windy, warm. But we are lazing. Just a walk up past Gravillas and back through the Northern vines this morning. This is a fine domaine with Rasteau behind. That’d do!

And here is Sablet with Dentelles behind. Red arrow marks the house (white terrace to the right of the cypress trees). Talking of Red Arrows, la Patrouille have been displaying round the town this morning. I can never snap them properly.

Sun

At last. Warm. Able to sit on terrace! Not done much except a mercy dash to Intermarché for dairy products then a stroll round the annual brocante in Sablet. Not worth yet more photos of old tools, glasses, hairdriers etc! You know the score by now.

We have new glossy reading matter courtesy of the Mairie. Tells us how they spend our money and bits of bio about various worthies of the village. Plus how to apply online for new passes for the déchetterie! In the course of which I had to upload a photo of the carte grise (car logbook). Luckily I always bring a photocopy with me so that’ll fool them.












As for me, I am engrossed in Le Carré’s Little Drummer Girl In French. I found it in Suzette in their book exchange cabin. Loving it now I’ve got past the intial political deology chapters on Arab Israeli conflict. Adrian is onto the second of his Kate Atkinsons.

Nearly summertime

I think the clocks go forward tonight. Hooray. The day took a while to get going his morning. Grey clouds and that strange distant mist. But no wind and definitely warmer. Ste Cécile was subdued but still plenty of stalls and bustle.

We stocked up on such essentials as walnuts, asparagus and strawberries ! And aubergine paremsan, tranches de gigot, and chili con carne for the week ahead. Teddy looks like he had a good night out!

Then to Nicole for cheese and yoghurt before repairing to Le Bar de l’Union for breakfast. No outside today...the ladies had the door firmly shut and amused themselves by opening it to customers as they approached.

It is actually quite a nice day in a watery washed out way so once unpacked we went off to Rasteau for the walk. The banks are now colouring up with little flowers - blue, mauve and yellow - and between the vines there are those rows of white flowers that smell of honey. A bit like giant allysum. Flocks of unknown birds twittering away as usual.

The views go on for ever on all sides and the sun is valiantly trying to shine. When it does there is a real warmth so we are hopeful the worst of the winter has finally gone.

There’s still snow on the far mountains, but not quite as much as the other day. Even on Ventoux it seems to have retreated a fair bit. And it had better if the summit is to open in three weeks. 15 April is the usual date.

Not a sign of growth on the vines though, even if you look really close!

Great Sablet Bake Off

The Biscuit Competition! I did contemplate making me lavender shortbreads but thought better of it! No foreigner ever wins such competitions. Our Danish friend has entered the annual soupe concours with delicious cauldrons. Never won.

Anyway today is sunny and warmer. Wind is from the south now. We’ve just had a brisk hour and a half round the southern vines and feel rejuvenated! Lots of twittering birds, buds bursting, snow on the far mountain tops.

Eek. Latest news! Hostage taking in Trèbes. A town/village of no interest except it is a noddy boat base on the Canal du Midi. Drove through it on our way here.

Going down

1.9 this morning on terrace at 7 am. You might wonder why I was out of bed so early! Well, oil delivery is due and they sent an email last night giving us a window of between 7 am and 1 pm. They warn that you must be present! So, afeared that we wouldn’t hear the rumbling tanker under our shutters, we set  the alarm.  In the event it fetched up at 8 am as we were sitting down to tea and toast. So at least we were decent!
The wind is still fierce and the sun is out.

At 9.30 we set out for Richerenches to see an exhibition in The Templiers hall. I checked their website and it was updated today so we were hopeful. Should have known better. Fermé for the morning! Probably because of strikes. After sitting in the car glumly for ten minutes wondering what to do, all the while buffeted by the wind, we decided that we’d continue on to Montélimar, only 30 k.

We parked near the recently developed quartier of St  Martin with its museum and civic centre in the old barracks and battled through the icy gusts. No exhibition currently on.

Then round the old town, desperately seeking sheltered sunny spots. But there were very few people about and really you didn’t want to loiter. Montélimar isn’t big and the old town is a mixure of down at heel, smart and former very fine architecture. On other days I love it but today we were pretty much scuttling!

It is of course Nougat Central. At midday we left and drove back through Drôme to Grignan.











The landscape looks bleached and dry in this weather. Bone white plane trees with their hand of glory pollarded branches clawing at the sky, grey clumps of lavender in corrugated rows, regimented black vines. The only green is the dark evergreen oak and cypress with occasional bursts of yellowy green weeping willow just emerging. But now and then there is a patch of misty pink blossom from apricot orchards. The promise of summer.

We had a very good tagliatelle carbonara in a bar in Grignan then tried again to see our exhibition in Richerenches. Success! They were now open and it was certainly worth it. A one woman show of sculpted wood - mostly fashion garments.

Amazing! More pics in Google album.

In the bleak ...

First day of Spring. Oh yeah? 2.9 overnight on the terrace. All shutters are closed as soon as darkness falls in an attempt to keep in the warmth.  This works a treat in the bedrooms, which are a haven of cosiness all day. But it continues dry with a bitter north westerly.

Wednesday being Malaucène day we went out for a bit of human bustle. But oh what a reduced market it was. Scarcely any but the most regular of stalls. Folks muffled up in padded jackets and woolly hats. Except for this hardy young soul at our bar. He must be from Newcastle.

Had a wander round the scruffy but rapidly being done up old village. Marvelled once again at the ancient plane trees lining the perimeter. A couple of giants had been felled and their shorn off bases showed signs of rot and disease. It’s very worrying...these trees are so old and so iconic, what will happen if they all take sick?

We did manage to find some shelter and warm sun at the back of the bar terrasse and warmed our hands on iffy coffee. It varies in quality here but we like the place. And down on the Tourist Office wall our spirits were lifted by this fine doodle do. A prize-winning piece no less!

Cold

Just a preview of the day...our max/min thermometer on the terrace this morning at 8.30 reads as you can see. The giddy heights of 10.6 were what it was at when we reset it in the evening.

Forecast is for 9 degrees at midday, wow.

Not sure what we will venture to do today. It’s bright so we will go somewhere. Thank goodness I brought scarf and gloves!

Later that same day...Well we braved the icy blasts and headed for the canal at Vacqueyras. The air has that strange smoky effect as if it’s foggy but it isn’t. Most weird. Anyway we discovered a whole new stretch of the canal between Vacqueyras and Beaumes. About four miles there and back. Some of  it sheltered, the rest open to the howling gale.

But the dry canes along the banks made a fabulous clattering rattling noise. Lots of stout purple orchids and occasional clumps of dark violets but it isn’t proper spring yet despite the date.

We passed through the backs of domaines and caught glimpses of well tended olive groves and vines. And in one there was what looked like a carriage from Le Petit Train.

Up the snowy mountain

Once again we have clear blue skies. But oh so chill! Went down to 4.1 last night and today’s max forecast was for 12.6. It was the ideal day to visit our friendly giant, detouring first via Bédoin, just for the buzz, not to buy. Nevertheless Adrian got himself a new belt and some soap. Ventoux was snowcapped...this cheese stall was obviously prepared for the worst.

And here is a wonderful expression of that legendary French fashion chic! Only 5 euros a pair.

After a coffee in the warm sun sheltered from the wind we set out to walk in the snowfields. The drive up through the forest is always magical and there were traces of the white stuff despite the road being clear. As you rise out of the tree cover at Chalet Reynard things change. Road still driveable for a bit until you get to the barrier. Then snow!

Not slippy and in fact a very easy stroll up the mountain.

Every now and then we rounded a bend and got ear freezing blasts of wind, but really it was most pleasant. Caterpillar tracks revealed the presence up top of people.

And as we were turning back a shiny red snowcat came down laden with chaps in camouflage gear. They gave us a cheery wave. I assume they were the morning shift at the mast going back to base.