Day 8, July 13

My last day with my rented bike...a Specialized Roubaix, identical to the one I own other than the front chain ring, which is a triple...Hubert, the owner of the rental company, says, "...eet is especially designed for climbing Mont Ventoux."

I took a different route to Rousillon this morning.  Again, empty roads and beautiful scenery all the way.  There was a hot air balloon that hovered over me for a good part of the ride.  He was close enough that I could see the flames and hear his burner as it ignited.  Wish I had a camera!  Again I rewarded myself with a croissant, and marveled at the ochre cliffs one last time.

Once back at the B&B I joined Joni for breakfast:  apple crepes were the featured hot dish.  The usual fresh cut fruit, fresh squeezed OJ and croissants were also on the menu.

Today is market day in Apt, so I dropped Joni off there and I drove to Velleron, about 45 km from Apt, to return my bike.  Hubert recommended that I plan my next visit for the fall, since it is much cooler then, but I told him I was a school principal and couldn't take time off then.  I returned to Apt and found Joni at our rendezvous point and from there we went to lunch in an out of the way, 2nd story outdoor terrace.  You would never know we were surrounded by thousands of frantic bargain hunters.  Joni's research again paid off.

 I got bold and ordered bulots for an appetizer.  BIG MISTAKE!  They turned out to be whelks and they were nothing like escargot...cold and tough.  I actually ate two of the two dozen I was served...but left the rest in the dish.  The waitress was very apologetic and they didn't charge me which was really nice since I'm sure if you like bulots...they were fine.  The rest of the meal was wonderful.  We both had a very light beef bourgeon accompanied by pasta and ratatouille, and for dessert both had that Luberon staple clafoutis!

We stopped at a laundromat on the way home.  This was the smallest and cleanest one I've ever scene.  Four washers and only one dryer.  It was attached to a car wash!  We've been away for 8 days now and we've run out of clean stuff.  After a few laundromat challenges...the soap machine was out of soap so we had to go to a nearby grocery store to buy some...our clothes were clean and we were heading back to the B&B in an hour for an relaxing afternoon at the pool.

Finished the day with a wonderful dinner, maybe our best of the trip, at Le Sanglier Paresseux in tiny village of Caseneuve.  The restaurant is perched high above the Luberon valley, and the terrace where we dined looks directly west, so we got a fabulous view of the sunset throughout our meal.  

The menu is printed below, and we heard from our B&B host that the chef trying to get his restaurant a 3 star Michelin rating, so he's constantly striving to do something better.  We were impressed.                                        

                              

    

The ride down, with a full bottle of rose in us, was treacherous, but we kept it slow and were entertained by a marmotte who scurried off the road when he saw us coming, but then came back for a second look.

Another great day in Provence and tomorrow the Tour de France on Mont Ventoux.  Yowserz....