Our local cheese lady (madam fromage) makes the BEST damn yoghurt ever!
It's our breakfast choice most mornings.
Sometimes a sneaky little pain au chocolat creeps up to the terrace too.
Not sure how that happens?
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Be warned. I am about to make a very bold statement here.
Eating at Yard, in the 11th Arrondissement, been to date the best meal I have eaten in all of France.
I may even be so bold as to say it has been one of my favourite meals EVER.
Yes, you heard me correctly. There are not many places (and I've eaten at many) where every single plate put in front of me has made my taste buds sing. On top of that, add amazing service.
But I found it right here, in an almost derelict street in an off-the-radar neighbourhood. A street you may never normally walk down intentionally, only by accident.
This place is definitely worth the effort to find.
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We're back and there are streets to be walked, shops to be looked at, treasures to be bought and of course, food to be eaten.
Time is limited and we're on a mission.
I remember vivid conversations with people about how this trip was not about "buying memories" but just to experience everything French......yep, who was I kidding....that plan has flown well and truly out the window and now panic is starting to set in.
"30kg luggage limit!"
I keep hearing in my head.
Crap!
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Bonjour Paris!
We're back again for another fun-filled food adventure.
Check out the view from our roof-top terrace....jealous?!
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It seems so long ago since we said "good-bye" to Paris and boarded the train south to Provence.
Now it's time to say au revoir to this beautiful part of the world.
To say that I am sad is an understatement. I'm sad to leave our beautiful home. I'm sad to leave the amazing people we've met, and I'm sad to leave the utter peace and tranquility of La Roque Alric.
But, there is so much I will remember - like our fresh country eggs eaten for breakfast in the sunshine on our terrace....
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Take two hungry ladies and send them into the village on a beautiful sunny Provincial day to get coffee and baguette.
Add an impromptu town market.
What do you end up with.......you end up with two squealing little piglets skipping up and down the street, buying way too much food and annoying way too many locals.
We like to believe they love us.
We're very positive ladies!
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We had planned to have lunch along the canals of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Yes, a little touristy looking, but gorgeous all the same, especially in the sunshine. However, plans are made to be changed as after chatting to our new BFF Olivier (a local we just met here in L'Isle-sur), we found ourselves walking, a little hesitantly, down a strange pathway he'd pointed to, away from all the tourists.
What we found was heaven, tucked away amongst the trees.
Le Carre d'Herbes
Outstanding food, friendly and efficient service and no tourists! Well, alright....our constant camera use probably gave us away.
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Today's morning coffee comes to you from the Provincial town of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. A somewhat biggish town located a little further south from our little village.
We were enticed there by the numerous vintage and second hand shops on offer, and of course....lunch!
Having run out of milk at home and after the drive south (on the wrong side of the road), our need for coffee was great, and the sight of the famous blue yoghurt pots showed us exactly where we needed to go. Remember these from my last trip? (see here) You actually can no longer buy these anymore as they have changed the pots to an ugly dark blue. Thank God I stocked up last time. Kind of makes the ones I have all the more special now.
Ahhhh....time to shop!
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We're back on the road and we're tres excited.
It's marche day in Le Barroux!
The streets are blocked, the market signs are up and we have our extra bags to carry all of our goodies back home with us. Along the way we discuss the need to "only buy essentials", as we both have a bad habit of "over shopping". This bad habit is highlighted when hungry or after a vino or two.
"I want lots of photos of the fresh produce...perhaps cherry tomatoes photographed against my white top. Aubergines would work too....."
.....and then we arrived.....
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Our local (see previous post here) is about 30 steps from our front door.
Those 30 steps are all up hill, so we figure we work hard for our lunch....
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Today we headed home to Gordes.
I think, one of the most beautiful French villages in all of Provence, and the special place we called "home" back in 2012.
The sun was out, the shops were buzzing, the wind was in full force (which is how Gordes greeted us last time), and our friends were waiting with lots of amazing food, delicious wine, big smiles and of course huge hugs.
For me, no trip to Provence would be the same without these special moments and memories.
mwah
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We were told, by the weather channel, that Provence was experiencing weather in the high 20's.
So of course I packed my trusty thongs and my favourite stripped Summer dress.
The weather channel forget to mention the wind over here, which can drop the temperature in a split second. Needless to say, my dress was staying in my suitcase........until today.....
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We desperately needed to stretch our legs so we set out on foot to the next village - Le Barroux, for a wee spot of lunch.
It's only 4.5 km away from La Roque Alric, but there are hills in between.....yep....a lot of hills. So as you can imagine, we were ready for some well deserved sustenance when we arrived, only to find the village empty. A ghost town. This was wonderful for us taking photos, but not so good for our growling tummies. Even the one restaurant we did stumble upon happened to be closed on this particular day...doh!
Finally we spotted a little "basic" store where we grabbed a baguette and a wedge of camembert. Our impromptu lunch for the day....or so we thought.....
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If you've been following our little adventure in France to date, then you'll completely understand our utter excitement when after meandering around the curved little cobble stoned paths of our tiny little village, La Roque Alric, we stumbled upon the sweetest looking French country restaurant ever - l'Acacia en Provence.
We never expected it. We were told there was no restaurant here!
I think we squealed.
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Basically, we needed food and coffee!
There was a moment there when visiting the little town of Beaumes de Venise, that we didn't think this would happen. The lady (and I use the term loosely) standing guard behind the counter at the lovely looking boulangerie, stood between us and our daily baguette and pain au chocolat order. She wasn't budging. What was the problem? Were we not smiling sweetly? Were we not speaking French? If there is one thing we know, it's how to order food in French!
Finally after a lot of pointing, frowning and pfft's she finally, begrudgingly, handed over the goods.
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As always, I have a hard time saying good-bye to Paris, but the time had sadly come to say au revoir (for now) and board the train south.
With baguette in hand and a paper bag full of berries (we never go anywhere empty handed since "the day we nearly died" on our last trip - see here), we whizzed through the French country side reading, napping and of course, eating. Three hours later, Paris was a distant memory as we stepped out into the warm country air of Provence.
Into the village of La Roque Alric, to be precise.
I was in giddy, head over heels, love.
I was tres happy.
I was home!
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Today was a big day for the little ladies.
Having already walked over 20km (and I'd just like to add that we had done 19km the day before....are we amazing or what?!) and having already treated ourselves to one of the best mille feuilles so far, we decided we needed another treat. Yes, this treat also came in the form of food. Surely you're getting the gist of this holiday by now so this should be no surprise?
If you ever head over to Paris, and in particular the Marais area (really, why wouldn't you?) then you need to do yourself a favour and eat HERE!
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We awoke to a stunningly beautiful Parisian morning. The sky was blue, the sun was out and our tummies were rumbling (yeah, I know, something new!).
So after our morning ritual of yoghurt and cafe cremes on our terrace , we set off on foot, not giving a toss which direction we headed or where we ended up.
Our discovery of the day .....hehe....
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Have you ever looked through a restaurant window, stopped dead in a crowded street, skipped on the spot (and yes, clapped your hands in glee), and without having looked at the menu just known you HAVE to eat there?
To be honest, I'm a skipper and clapper from way back as I do this constantly, and today was no exception when I looked through the window of this little beauty....Miznon
Fresh produce lined the windows (and any another available surface area inside), and big smiles welcomed us into this loud and bustling little venue.
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l'oeuf.
Or as we (when I say we, I mean those of us that are French or who like to believe they are) like to say "oh mon dieu!"
I'm not shy in saying that I've dreamt about this little French egg. Seriously! And it's exactly how I remember it. Bright yellow yolk, slightly salty and wonderfully creamy.
Dipping a well buttered baguette into it is simply the cherry on top!
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