Walls in France: Une pique-nique

Last weekend, we took advantage of the lovely spring weather and had a picnic (or pique-nique en Français…I just love that word!). We invited our friend, Hannah, who is an American living in Eygalieres as an au pair for the year, to join us. We started with a vide grenier (or town garage sale) in Molleges, where Lucie bargained for an old box with an amethyst closure and Bucky pounced on a early 60’s clock complete with date in French for our kitchen. We then headed off to Caumont sur Durance where there was another vide grenier (which was full of junk!) and our picnic. A couple of days prior, Bucky and I had found Le Jardin Romain de Caumont, an archeological and botanical garden built around roman ruins that had been discovered recently. There is a church nearby with a lovely open field, so we decided to picnic there on the grass in the sun. I had packed chicken salad, veggies and dip, chips, and a required baguette or two….we enjoyed the food al fresco and then played a few hands of gin rummy together. In between Kathleen’s turns at cards, she frolicked around the field, singing, dancing and being silly. It was fun!

We then went over to check out the roman gardens which we all agreed were beautiful. Heading home to Eygalieres, Bucky and I suggested we stop in at a place we had seen earlier in the week called Chartreuse de Bonpas. It looked like a big chateau and is on the side of the road on the way home from Caumont. The girls were tired so were less than keen on the adventure, but took one for the team and joined us…And, boy, were they glad they did! It turned out to be an interactive tour of an old convent where you try to solve a mystery. Plus, the independent and intriguing tour ends at the wine cellar where you can taste wines! Basically, everyone was happy with our discovery! It was really a lovely day in Provence.