Market Day

Monday 22 September

Sleeping late does not seem to be an option here on the square in Sablet - lots of cars parked overnight and they all seem to be on the move quite early.  Another sunny day and for the first time quite windy - enough to keep us cool.
After driving a lot in the past two days we decided to take the advice of our house owners and visit the market at nearby Bedoin this morning.  The drive was about 40 minutes through very lovely countryside.  We looped south of Les Dentelles mountains and into a landscape of vineyards, olive groves and attractive small villages - all with the seemingly obligatory avenue lined with tall shady plane trees through the centre.  The views to Mt Ventoux were particularly good from the route - the pale limestone summit was gleaming in the sun above the tree line.  It is by far the highest mountain in these parts at 1912 metres and is of course famous as a stage of the Tour de France.  The whole area is a mecca for cyclists and we saw many out on the roads today.
As we drove into Bedoin we were surprised to see a couple of fields being used as a car park and even more surprised by the large number of cars there.  Obviously the Monday Bedoin market must be a popular event.  It was not far to walk to the main street and we began to make our way along between the market stalls - my goodness, they seemed to go on and on.

Market Day, Bedoin

We reached the town square which was also given over to the market and then discovered that the stalls stretched on up yet another road.  The place was humming - heaps of people, musicians and some great products on offer - fresh produce and local crafts, as well as the usual clothes, table linen and knick knacks.  It was a lot of fun  checking out all the stalls and sampling some of the offerings.

This vendor sells peppers!

And beautiful dried flowers

The streets are shaded by plane trees and we joined the thirsty throngs at a busy cafe in the centre of town for a coffee and a yummy patisserie tart that Gerri had bought along the way.  We were also talked into buying some nougat from a very charming young man - it was extremely delicious.  Bedoin seems like a very attractive town with plenty of facilities and a beautiful location beneath the southern slopes of Mr Ventoux.

Mt Ventoux looms over Bedoin

The market began to pack up around 1 pm so we decided to move on south across a valley of more vineyards to the edge of some fairly rugged hills called the Monts de Vaucluse and the Plus Beaux village of Venasque which clings to a hillside.

Typical Venasque street

It is easy enough to drive to the top of the town and then wander down through its narrow streets to a lovely terrace where the views north to Mt Ventoux and the surrounding countryside are quite simply spectacular.

Mt Ventoux from the terrace at Venasque

The most significant monument in Venasque is the 6th  century Bapistery, one of the oldest religious buildings in France and it has some very rare architectural details, most especially the carved capitals and the central well for whole body immersion.

The church and the view - Venasque

By the time we were feeling hungry lunch time service in the two restaurants was over, but we were able to sit at the terrace bar of the Les Remparts Hotel where we could have great coffee along with entree and dessert - so that is what we did - and no extra charge for the fabulous view.

View towards the Nesque Gorges from Venasque

Our journey home took us through the large town of Carpentras so we took the opportunity to stop at a huge LeClerc supermarket.  We did not need much but it is always fun to check out the big French supermarkets.  I bought some St Nectaire cheese, and a freshly baked baguette - just the thing to have with fig confiture and the bottle of Picpoul de Pinet wine sitting in the frig.  Bliss!  After this indulgence I went for a walk around Sablet village - up to the church on the top of the hill.  Wish I had brought my camera to capture the brilliant red sunset over the Rhone Valley.