Yesterday we took the bullet train (180 mph!) from Paris to Provence, where we were met by our family friends Jennifer and James Butler. Jennifer
and James own an amazing Mas (French term for country estate) in the town of Eygalier! This was Courtney and my first time here.. The house is indescribable.. Truly something you have to really see and study to understand. No photos could ever do it justice.
The study was built by monks in 1150 (yes.. over 850 years ago), and the rest of the house was finished in the 17th and 18th century. There is a church on the property which is one of the oldest in France, and also dated to the 12th century.
This is the house
Before we arrived at the house (Jennifer picked Courtney, my mom and myself up at the train station) we stopped at the sanitarium where Van Gough was hospitalized after he cut his ear off.....
Once released from the sanitarium, we stopped in the town of Remy at an amazing exhibition of Van Gough art. This wasnt just ANY exhibit however... This exhibit was in an old limestone quarry, that has been dug out, and had 2000 projectors installed. These projectors projected Van Gough art on the 30+ foot limestone walls of the quarry. The images changed every few seconds. Again, pictures cant do it justice! (Sorry about the blur of the photos. there was no flash allowed, and it was really dark)
After the exhibit we arrived at the house. The first impression you get when pulling into the driveway is "This isn't real." The house is amazing. It's like you cant believe you have really arrived, and get to stay there for 3 nights. Honestly, I could spend a whole day just exploring the house and the grounds (church included)
That night, Jennifer and James prepared an amazing dinner for us. An Omelet and Salad, followed by a cheese plate (James is known locally for his amazing taste in cheeses) and a trio of local ice cream flavors!
After a few bottles of vin we all went to bed. Today we awoke to another wonderful feast prepared by James. fresh pastry and bread with Jam, coffee, OJ and local apple juice, and fresh figs.
We were all surprised that we could even stand up after such a dinner and breakfast, but after we discovered that our legs were still working, we all headed down to the Eygalier farmers market. And WHAT a market......
Farmers Market Frenchie - "Asterix" - - - -
Before leaving the market the 5 of us stopped for some wine and a few (read:18) fresh oysters, then headed back to the house for a lunch of pork ribs with baked potatoes, salad, cheese, and a delicious tart.
After a few hours of well needed digestion, Jennifer, Courtney, my mom and I all piled in the car to drive down to the antique store laden town of Isle. Sur la Sorgue. I only got a few photos there, because my battery started to die and we still have another day and a half here!
As I am typing, James is in the kitchen (Ill post interior pics of the house later.. this is a new definition of KITCHEN...) cooking us all a curry chicken dish!
We are having a fantastic time, and as you can tell, are being well fed. Court and I are still a bit jetlagged.. It takes so long to get over.. I feel like we have already done so much, and we have really only been here 3 days!
No comments:
Post a Comment