Day three Provence.

Day three began with toast and raspberry jam on the terrace with the sun rising over Mont Ventoux and a fairly lazy morning with the highlight being a tiny street sweeper truck driving up the narrow laneway below the house. About 9:00 we headed off back to Carpentras to the weekly market.

Carpentras was totally different to the day before. Thousands of people and hundreds of stalls lined every street and lane. Everything from clothes, jewellery, meat, fish, vegetables, leather, fabric... you name it. The selection of foodstuffs were a little bit uninspiring, just the usual eggplant, leeks and bananas.

We stumbled across a little shop called Les Marches de Provence and they had EVERYTHING! Stone fruit, berries, apples, different beans, figs, lettuces, melons and tomatoes... tomatoes and more tomatoes, green, yellow, red, black, pink all shapes and sizes. We bought heaps!

Selecting the tomatoes in the market.

Chanterelles and ceps.

Some of the things we brought back!

The cathedral at Carpentras.

Strange green cauliflower..

We also picked up a lamb shoulder some ham and cheese with the intention of cooking dinner!

Back to La Louche for baguettes with lots of ham and butter and a cos and watercress salad with red and white peaches, aged compte cheese and greenish yellow cherry tomatoes.

It was after lunch that we learned that our bags had arrived at the Caromb post office from Paris! We walked around there and were happy to see that the same lady we had spoken to the day before was there and recognised us so we didn't have to try and explain in "French" what we had come for. We raced home and changed our clothes... Fantastique!

A very lazy hot afternoon found us on the terrace with gins and tonic until it was time for Champagne that we had bought at the supermarket the day before, a blanc de blancs. It was one we hadn't heard of but very very nice - hazelnuts and honey!

Dinner time rolled around so we had our first try at La Louche's very well stocked and thought out kitchen. We made a start on the tomato salad with fresh goats cheese - so light it was almost like a mousse! Iain's main reason for coming to Provence in late summer was the tomatoes!

In the kitchen at La Louche.

We had golden ones, pink ones, green and red striped ones, white ones, yellow ones, beef hearts, black Russians, yellow pear shaped ones and red pear shaped ones! Fresh basil, fresh goats cheese, salt, pepper and beautiful local olive oil!

The tomatoes were followed by the lamb shoulder which we had sealed in the Le Creuset pot and placed into a low oven when we got home at lunch time with some shallots, garlic, tiny potatoes and herbs from the garden, along with tiny green beans and the strange green cauliflower and lots of butter.

...and cave-aged Roquefort with fresh black figs (back inside due to darkness) to finish!