Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Today Leslie and I set out from our rental farm house in Bonnieux with the goal of visiting the Abbaye Saint-Hilaire followed by a visit to the charming village of Menerbes, often touted as one of the most picturesque in all of the Luberon. A pleasant walk in the city followed by a leisurely lunch and a drive into Cavaillon for another visit to the Orange Telecommunications store to figure out our phone networking problems was the agenda for the day.

The day started off very well, a beautiful drive in the Luberon a region of Provence that is reminiscent of Colorado, rolling hills, high mountains in the distance, hot sunny days, dry with beautifully cool nights. The first stop at the Abbaye Saint-Hilaire was a treat. Off the beaten path, this former 13th Century Carmelite convent offers spectacular views of the country side. The abbey has been privately owned for over 50 years and has been restored by the family who owns it.

After the tour of the abbey, we had a short ride to the town of Menerbes perched upon a hill not unlike the 2 dozen other medieval towns sprinkled around the Luberon. At the top of the hill leading to the town we were forced to pull into a parking lot and pay 3 Euros to park the car. Unfortunately we were out of cash as we had to pay 8 Euros to get into the abbey. You can find the most beautiful bakery on almost every other block here but ATMs not so much.

So we said “Merde”, drove back down the hill and headed to Cavaillon. Of course the Orange telecom. store is closed for 1.5 hours for lunch as are most business establishments here so we headed to lunch. Found a place called “Le Paris Cafe” and settled in for a typical 1.5 hour lunch. Well this is France and it is lunchtime, so I’m learning to forget the travails of the day, enjoy the moment I tell myself the food should be good. So the friendly waiter convinced us to order the Melon de Cavaillon, jambon Cru salade avec tomates. A memorable meal indeed. The Cavaillon melons are famous here, currently in season, the prosciutto was excellent and the small salad and pesto dressing were delicious.

So the lesson for the day. Don’t worry too much about the day’s chores, have more melon.