Day 6, Friday, 7/10/26

Welcome to Le Mas Perréal

We started our day with another fabulous breakfast prepared by our host Kevin.  Kevin and his wife Elisabeth are avid gardners and their terrace is surrounded by a variety of very colorful plants including many different succulents.

A new edition to Kevin's breakfast specialties, banana pancakes.  They were delicious.  

Our first stop on today's tour of Provence was the pottery studio of Pascale David and Chenal David which is located just outside the hilltop village of Simiane la Rotonde.  

Chenal's works focus on the avant garde.  For lack of a better term, this is a totem pole that greets visitors at the end of their drive way.

Joni and Pascale, whose pottery we first started purchasing in 2008. Much of our daily dinner ware has come from Pascale, so our yearly trips usually include a visit to her studio to replace specific pieces that we've broken or chipped.

Our next stop was at the Jardin des l'Abbaye de Valsaintes.  The Valsaintes monks operated this abbey from the XIIth century to the French Revolution. As you approach the property it looks a lot like an abandoned farm with rusted equipment everywhere.  

"The property includes a number of different buildings including an unusual garden. The old dry-stone terraces host a variety of vegetation to which the owners have added a collection of 500 varieties of roses, bulbs, hardy perennials, annuals, plants suited to the dry soil, trees, shrubs and vegetables. The current owners maintain a beautiful restaurant and gift shop, and there are a variety of hiking trails leading in every direction.

Duck

    Aubergine with granola and pomegranate seeds

Not part of the menu, just a dinner guest.

Dining on the terrace

Leaving the Jardin des l'Abbaye de Valsaintes we began our search for lavender.  The extreme heat of this summer has both muted the lavender and also caused much earlier harvesting.

Harvested lavender fields just below Simiane la Rontonde.

Harvested lavender

Lavender fields below Mont Ventoux

A hitch hiker we picked up along the way.

We returned to our B&B early enough in the afternoon to allow time for both a swim and a nap before we headed to our dinner destination in Rousillon.  The setting, the staff, and the food were all incredible.

Le Pique Spritz

Amuse Bouche

Shrimp on a base of vegetables with a remoulade sauce

Pigeon stuffed with foie gras

Cod and mashed potatoes hardly describes this incredible dish.

Moelleux au chocolate with creme amaretto

The owner's pool which is located just below the dining terrace.  In the distant background, shrouded by the evening clouds, is Mont Ventoux.