We decided to spend yesterday close to "home" and started out by driving into town and stopping at a sidewalk cafe for lunch. They were unfortunately out of the special I was hoping for, which was some sort of eggplant dish served with pasta, so I opted for a salad similar to the one I had the day before. Jarrett, Tim, and Kate all opted for the second special -- steak with what looked to be roasted Yukon gold potatoes. We had the white house wine, which was very good, and spent some time leisurely people watching (and dog watching!). I was actually quite surprised by the number of Americans just at this particular restaurant -- some I can just pick out, but others have to speak before I know for sure. I sometimes wonder if we stick out like a sore thumb... I'm sure my and Tim's dueling cameras are dead giveaways.
After lunch we did some shopping at the local stores. We visited a chocolate shop we read about in a past issue of National Geographic Traveler, which is owned by a man named Joel Durand. Suffice it to say that it is probably the best chocolate I have ever tasted. Jarrett and I ended up buying a box of 48 chocolates, half of which are the favorite of the samples I tried -- coffee. Another shopping highlight was an olive oil and vinegar tasting; yes, apricot vinegar really is good.
We took a midafternoon siesta at the pool and then prepared ourselves for our splurge for the week -- dinner at Maison Jaune. It was an eight-course meal to die for, and adventurous at that. We opted for the Provencal menu for the table. I was a little scared, but figured if I was ever going to have French Provencal cuisine, this is the place to do it. We started out with a glass of rose champagne, accompanied by olives and a toothpick skewering a small piece each of cured sausage and cheese. We then moved on to a salad of artichoke and other vegetables. Next came the two potentially challenging dishes -- mussels and then anchovies. The mussels were exquisitely prepared, and we all raved about them. Kate and I both thought the anchovy dish was surprisingly better than ever expected, but Jarrett and even Tim found it to be quite difficult to swallow. Jarrett didn't quite finish his, but his attempt was of extreme valor (by the way, these little fish were not cooked and still had the skin on them -- and, yes, you should be proud of me). Next came the main course of fillet of lamb, which was served over a bed of mixed cooked -- but cold -- vegetables. I have only had lamb twice in my life, and I didn't like it either time. I found this experience to be quite different, and enjoyed the dish immensely. We were then served a very mild goat cheese with crostini, which we figured to be a palate-cleansing dish, followed by dessert, which was this unbelievable blood orange sorbet atop fresh red fruit and drizzled with red wine. We were served a platter of digestives at the end of the meal (nougat, meringue, etc.), which Kate and I enjoyed with coffee; Jarrett had a glass of port and Tim a glass of cognac. I didn't want to lug my camera into such a nice restaurant, but part of me wished I had because the presentation of the food could have earned the restaurant it's Michelin star in and of itself, and the patio we sat on was amazing.
Oh! I almost forgot to mention the humor of the evening -- provided by myself, of course. We were having a bit of trouble finding the restaurant after parking the car and headed down the alleyways of Saint-Remy and we walked past a couple of gentleman, one of which was trying to help the other back a truck out into the street. Well, just as I approached them, a gust of wind shot up the alley and basically blew my dress up around my waist. They made some exclamation in French, and I just tried to get the dress back down and keep it that way while saying, "Ay, yi, yi." Tim, Jarrett, and Kate all missed the view. Needless to say, I'll be a bit more cautious if I wear the dress out on the town in Italy.
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