Lazy Weekend in Apt

Bon soir from Apt! After the crazy week of traveling and orientations, Amy and I decided to stay in this weekend, having a nice relaxing weekend in this small, quaint town.

Yesterday, we explored the market together as well as did some shopping at the Intermarche, the closest grocery store* we have here. I finally made a necessary purchase that every woman who lives in a provincial town needs: a straw basket. I feel oh so français now, carrying around my food purchases in this bag. And we had a lovely French conversation with the vendor at this tent, full of advice of when the market is best and parted with him saying "à bientôt!"(translation: see you soon!) We spent Saturday afternoon planning out trips for coming weekends - next weekend, Cannes for Amy's birthday and for our first two week vacation that begins on October 19... well I guess you will just have to wait and see what that one will be, won't you?**

pain au chocolat et amandes - basically an almond and chocolate croissant. delicious!

Last night, we decided to try and cook our first full real meal on this hot plate business we've been given. Though this apartment is nice, I have to say it is quite annoying that we don't have a kitchen. Or even an oven. Or even a functioning hot plate. Our's is constantly making weird popping noises and sparking. Not fun. Even with this, we managed to make delicious poached salmon with green beans, served with fresh baguette topped with olive tapenade from the market, rosé wine, and mini desserts from one of our favorite patisseries in town.

Wine straight from the Luberon, plus a view of our new tablecloth!

After dinner, we decided to go to a movie. There happens to be a small cinema in town here, with three theaters and an incredibly musky smell inviting you to walk through its doors. We saw Diana, the movie which depicts the life of Princess Diana. Considering I was very young when she died, I did not know very much about her or her life, so I quite enjoyed it. Amy had a different perspective, as she is from England and has been brought up seeing the change in the royal family. It is really interesting to hear the different points of view, and to know the story from the lens of someone else's eyes. Not to mention that I am learning so much about the differences in what Americans call things versus what English people call them. For example, what do they call a flashlight? A torch. How awesome is that? Pulling a torch out of your bag to see where you are going... I would be so excited to use one if it was called that!

Sunday, we decided to get a bit of fresh air and exercise. So, we packed a pique-nique and headed on the nearest walking trail which lead to the nearby village of Saignon. The sign said only 3km of a walk. Not bad, eh? What it left out is that the walk itself is quite a steep climb, leaving us out of breath and quite hot on our little Sunday stroll. Once we reached the top though, the views of Apt from Saignon left me breathless from its pure beauty.*** We enjoyed our lovely lunch of salad, baguette and tapenade, wine and tarte au miel et amandes, followed by an afternoon of reading, cat-napping and soaking up sun on the hill.

Trail was marked by these lines on trees, rocks, etc.

Hidden vineyard along the hike.

See that group of beige-ish colored specks in the middle? That is Apt. Pretty beautiful, right?

Our pique-nique

Honey almond tarts!

Such a peaceful end to a wonderful weekend leads me to potentially dread this week. Tomorrow, I start my mandatory week of observation of the classes I will be assisting. I still have yet to receive a schedule of what times my classes are though... so I am not entirely sure when or where I have to be tomorrow, if I even work tomorrow. Oh well, for now I will enjoy the bits of weekend I have left, as time seems to be slipping through my fingertips already.

*Really, what I mean when I say grocery store is not what we would even consider to be a Meijer or Walmart. The place I go to sort of resembles like a Hardings or Family Fare back home, but cheaper prices.
**I know the suspense is killing you.
***Or maybe it was all the walking.

A day of rest? Never.

Sundays in southern France are extremely different than Sundays in America. Most restaurants and stores are closed - the day is reserved as a true day of rest, to spend time with family and friends or go to church if you may be religious (though many are not in this part of France, as I have noticed).

Today, I was invited to spend the day with my coordinating teacher Cathy and her family. She mentioned that a few friends might be coming the other day but wasn't sure. As we hadn't spoken in a few days, I wasn't going to be surprised if she forgot about inviting me. But sure enough, at 10:30am, I receive a text saying she was on her way to pick me up and a note saying to bring tennis shoes, as we will probably be going for a walk in the afternoon. This should have been my first clue as to the day's plans.

When she came to pick me up at the school, she called and told me to meet her across the street as she couldn't get through. I was confused by this, until I reached the front parking lot and noticed the whole lot was taken up by people selling their old stuff. Like a garage sale but in someone else's lot. When she asked me what was going on, I tried my best to explain in French the scene. She then gave me a new word to describe it: vide-grenier - literally, emptying everything out of your attic. If they are items of actual value (read: antiques), it is known as marché brocante (translation: flea market) - but in this case, it definitely was a vide-grenier.

We proceeded to drive to Cathy's house which is in a village that is about a 10 minute drive away from Apt, called Saint-Saturnin-lès-Apt, a littler, more typical provencal town. I was immediately greeted by the rest of her family, her two daughters Eloise and Amandine, and her husband Marc who is another one of the English teachers I will be working with here at the lycée. Then, with the dog Fluffy in tow, we proceeded to do a quick hike of the village and the historical buildings it posesses. Now, when I say quick, I was later told that that same hike is normally done in an hour and a half. We completed it in a half hour.

As I didn't bring my nice camera with me (I wasn't sure of the day's plans), here is what I managed to capture of the beautiful hike throughout the hills of the Luberon through the view of my camera phone.

View of the rolling hills of the Luberon. Yup, this is where I live!

L'eglise de Saint-Saturnin-les-Apt, the church of the village.

Le moulin, or windmill, which dates back to the 12 century. Actually there are 4 of these on site but this one is in the best condition.

The walking was a little rough, I almost slipped several times.

La chapelle de Saint-Saturnin-les-Apt, which also dates back to the 12th century. You can only reach it by foot, and again it is a little slippery to make it all the way to the top.

Beautiful view of Saint-Saturnin-les-Apt from the pathway leading to the chapel.

Another view of the pathway and town (and that's Eloise on the right!)

After that light hike, we returned back to the house to meet Cathy's friend, Patrick, and his wife. Patrick is also and English teacher and him and his wife live in Nice. We all sat down and had a typical French Sunday lunch with 4 courses. First, vegetable salad with a chilled white cheese sauce*. Second, and main course, poulet et poivrons rouges, which was chicken with green and red peppers served over rice. Third, the cheese plate, which included three goat cheeses and even the American delicacy "Philidelphia" (aka: cream cheese)**. Fourth, and finally, dessert which was an almond and raisin tart AND les flambottes (spelling?), which resembled whipped cream mixed with crème anglaise. Yes, there were two desserts, and of course bread and red wine filled for every course. As I haven't eaten much since I've gotten here, I ate about two day's worth in that one sitting. It was absolutely marvelous.

After lunch, we went on a more leisurely stroll through the hills of the Luberon. It was just so nice to spend such a beautiful day with such kind people. Although the entire day French was spoken between everyone (with a word or two in English every once in awhile), I had little trouble comprehending. When they asked me at lunch why I've come here this year, what do I hope to accomplish, I said without a doubt to improve my French. I really think that they took that to heart, as I learned so much already today, and it sounds like they will continue to help me in my quest. They already agreed that when we are at school in front of students, we will speak in English. But at any other time, French will be used so I can continue to practice. The pure generosity and kindness I have been greeted with just being here for five days makes me realize what an amazing experience this already is.

After talking for a bit more, and saying goodbyes and mercis, complete with me exchanging la bise (as they said "tu es française maintenant!" translation: you are french now, it was almost an expression saying ‘you are one of us!’), I left with Patrick and his wife, as they could drop me off on their way back to Nice. As they dropped me at the school, they said that if I ever want to go that part of the coast, I would surely have a "stopover" with them. Again, so kind after knowing me for such short a time.

I guess you could say I checked off one of the things from my bucket list already today: "hiked around the hills of the Luberon with no itinerary in mind." Although my incredibly sore legs would not agree that this was truly a "day of rest", I think I can truly say that it was a day well spent.

*I know what you all are thinking: yes, I had the cheese sauce. It looked like and tasted sour cream, so that was fine.

**Again, I see your confused faces out there: yes, I partook in the cheese plate. Again, since I was their main guest they kept serving me first, and I didn't want to be rude. However, one of those goat cheeses... really scared me... I had to just swallow it hole with a sip of wine. Cheers!

Market Day

Think of the quote I said in my last post from the man that worked at the bank, with his opinion that "Apt is dead". Now take that image in your mind and completely reverse it, and that is market day here in this quaint, provençal town.

I went to bed early last night, knowing it is good to get up early to go the markets in whatever town you may be visiting in Provence, as they tend to get busy and picked over by the end of the market time. I was greeted this morning with the natural alarm of the Luberon countryside - a rooster crowing to signal the sunrise. I was up and out of the apartment by 9:30.

Now, Apt is known for its Saturday market so when I looked up the time and place online (8h-13h, place de la bouquerie), I figured it probably wasn't just in that square in town but thought I would have to go searching for it a bit. I couldn't have been more wrong. Immediately, once I got to the gate of the school, the school parking lot was completely full. No, the cars weren't of parents or faculty members picking up children*, they were all overflow parking, with the outlined spaces on the asphalt clearly being just a suggestion. I looked across to the center of town and immediately, down every narrow street and square you could see were vendors selling their trade. And people. Lots of people.

I have been to many provençal markets before, as when I studied in Aix, there were several there and with each small town we visited (gordes, lourmarin, st tropez, moustier ste marie, etc), we explored their markets. However, this may be the most extensive market I have ever seen. With every winding turn in the incredibly narrow streets in this labyrinth of a village, you continued to find more and more people selling their craft. Just when you expected it to be done, you turned another corner and there was a gruff, rotund man sharpening knives or a gray haired main selling wooden toys to a little boy.

The atmosphere of the market in Apt in one word... alive. Without a doubt. The vendors are yelling wildly as each passerby examines their goods, hoping to make some type of sale. Old friends meet and exchange la bise and catch up while buying their fresh produce and spices. However, everyone is a new friend at the market and you are treated as part of the family as you go about your weekly shopping. The smell of olives, herbes de provence, and lavender permeates the air. The faint strains of an accordion, the upbeat strums of an acoustic guitar and the energetic bleats of a harmonica all set the soundtrack for this chaotic yet completely organized affair. You can find just about anything with this extensive outdoor mall from fresh fruits and vegetables, to old books and DVDs, to clothes and jewelry, to linens and home goods. The possibilities are endless, and so are the crowds of people.

You will find that I didn't get many pictures of this amazing experience I am having trouble putting into words and that is because of one thing: too many people. I had heard that this market could get pretty busy, especially during the summer and when the weather is nice. I had underestimated this warning and found that I was little stuck shoulder to shoulder in the small passageways that are the streets of Apt. Every time I got a little space, I attempted to capture the pure, simple beauty of le marché d'Apt. 

Les lavandes

Les cigales, or cicadas, are celebrated here in the South of France. Their nightly sounds signal the beginning of a summer, a good omen you could say.

One of the many fresh produce vendors

Spice vendor

Here is one of the street musicians I was talking about

Olives (and therefore olive oil, olive tapenade, etc) are one of the main produce items grown in Provence.

Knowing my incredible hatred for cheese, I stayed away from this table. But had to get a picture!

I was anticipating spending just over an hour at the market today, as I just needed a few things and was going really to enjoy the experience of the market. I have never been one to buy a lot at one. I ended up leaving after almost three hours, with lunch, a new basket, some fresh produce, a towel for the apartment and mason jar. All for under 30 euros. That's the other thing great about the markets, you can get a lot of stuff, at a very little price.

After such a wonderful time today, I am definitely returning to the Saturday market here as often as I can.** As the weather cools down, I have heard that it gets less busy, which may be better get some wonderful pictures for all of you. Tonight, I am beginning to check off one of the items on my Europe bucket list - I am starting to read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in French. It was left here by a past assistant and it sounds like a fun read right now. After seeing so many interesting books at the market today, I definitely think I will be reading a lot more than just the one I put on the list, but it was a way for me to start. And fyi, Hogwarts in French is Poudlard - definitely doesn't have the same ring to it.