Sorry for being so behind on posting. It’s been a busy few days and very hot so by the end of the day I’ve been pretty tired. Managed to get a heat rash on both arms – certainly less painful than a sunburn but still not so enjoyable. High temperatures in the afternoons have been running well into the mid-90s every day, with some humidity although it’s nothing like the humidity in Boston. It does get cooler around 6:30pm and overnight, thankfully. So we’ve been making sure not to be back at camp until 6pm or so – the late afternoon is especially uncomfortable without air conditioning. I can only imagine what August is like here!
On the 5th, we went to Abbaye de Silvacane, one of the Three Sisters – Cistercian monasteries in the Provence region, located not too far south of where we are camping. It was a beautiful site, especially the interior cloister and the long reflecting pool filled with koi fish and water lilies on the grounds. The abbey is not in use as a monastery but is used for concerts – unfortunately none are planned while I am here – would have been a real treat to experience a live evening performance in such a stunning place. We had gotten a bit of a late start but were hoping to get back to Gordes for lunch at L’Artegal, the restaurant that Nancy and I ate at several years ago and we missed the other day when they were closed. Thankfully we made it, thanks to Jim’s speedy driving and friendly wait staff who sat us outside in a charming little mini terrace.
Le menu: fresh zucchini shaved into spaghetti shape with smoked salmon (delicious), lovely fish main course for Nancy while Jim and I had pork fillet with caramel and four spice sauce with new mash potato combined with arugula (they are known for their pork and this did not disappoint; the four spices were cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and black pepper). For dessert we had flourless chocolate cake, macaroon, and pickled goat cheese with rosemary infused olive oil.
On the 6th we got a very early start and made the over two hour and a half hour drive to see Abbaye de Thoronet, located in the Var region, inland and north of Toulon. Like most Cistercian abbeys, it was purposefully located in a hard to reach location. Much of the drive was on the autoroute, but we eventually had to get on smaller roads and the scenery was much more beautiful – rolling hills, fields of vines and sunflowers, big old trees, and extremely windy narrow roads that were pretty dicey to navigate, so a long day for Jim in terms of driving. Luckily when we finally arrived we realized it was well worth the trip. The abbey is nestled in a grove of trees as you enter and has a much cozier feel than the other two Provence abbeys. Just like Silvacane, Thoronet is not in use as a monastery but is used for concerts. There were several tour groups who went through as we were exploring; each of the tour guides seemed to be a trained vocalist and was chanting/singing in the church for the tour groups, so we sat and listened to a few. The acoustics were incredible. There was so much to see, including a giant wine press, that we ran out of time and had to break for lunch. We found a decent restaurant in a hotel in the nearby town of Le Thoronet. Jim and I had scallops with squid ink risotto; the scallops were okay but the risotto was fantastic. We went back briefly after lunch to finish up our tour and check out the gift shop, then repeated the long drive home. Definitely a long day but well worth it to see a place all three of us have wanted to see for some time.
Finally on the 7th we visited Abbaye de Senanque, which is the most well known and iconic of the Three Sisters. It is located in the valley next to the town of Gordes and is surrounded by lavender fields. It was pretty crowded with tourists but I have finally gotten to see the lavender fields at Senanque, so mission accomplished! Lots of really pretty butterflies in the lavender and it was another gorgeous day. Senanque is a functioning monastery with around eight or ten monks. They give a short service every few hours throughout the day, as well as a mass at noon, so we stayed for both. Very interesting service, very spare and simple which of course it would be given the Cistercian traditions. From there we were off to lunch at a restaurant just down the road called Le Estellan, which we stumbled on but saw the parking lot was full which is always a good sign. Le menu: aperitif of champagne, muscado sugar cube, bitters and grand marnier; Jim had beef, Nancy had salmon and I had scallops with risotto again but this time the scallops were amazingly good and the risotto was realy interesting – it was made with a local whole grain called epeautre with ground almond sauce and fava beans that were cooked perfectly. Melon soup with vervene sorbet for dessert. We had an excellent waitress who spoke very good English and so she explained lots of details about the food to us. The restaurant had a lovely terrace and herb garden in the back.
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