Day 20- Dining Out In Style In the LBD

The last full day for Alex and Erin to be with us. We had big plans. Got up early and went to the Saturday morning market. We checked out all the cool stuff they had for sale. We drove to Aix En Provence, had a nice lunch and went to the Paul Cezanne Atelier where he did some of his best work. We were exactly on time for the tour in English--except, contrary to the website information, it was closed for the holiday. Not daunted, we went to the Fondation Vasarely to see the art and the fabulous building. Well, it too was closed and the website expressly says it's open. We did get to see the amazing building.

A photo of the monster van. On one of our runs, we had a nightmare experience that left us down an alley that turned right and left onto a stairway. Later, Alex said he'd have driven down the stairs if there hadn't been giant holes at the bottom.  To get out required backing through a street just wider than the van for about twenty feet. We were all sweating, not just Alex.

Driving back to Brignoles, we tried to find something interesting to do and we'd either done it or it was closed. We did begin to feel daunted, but then Erin had the idea of a wine tasting at the little vineyard we'd passed the night before. We got there just before closing and had a blast tasting their wines and learning about rosé, as that's the speciality of this family. The woman helping us explained that although their grapes are grown organically, they still use sulfites to stop the fermentation. They do not use chemicals against insects and rot,  but instead use natural products. The wine is really good. It is served locally and along the Cote d'Azur, and is not shipped to the US. Too bad--this is a rose I could actually drink.

The innkeeper at La Cordeline, where we're staying, made us reservations at her favorite restaurant, L'hostellerie de l'Abbaye de La Celle. We didn't know there was an establishment near Brignoles with such unbelievably good food and superior service. We had a lovely evening. I wore the LBD with a warm gray and black patterned sweater--the weather is very chilly, gray tights, and a woven belt. It looked great.