Market again and Bonnieux at last

In view of last week’s success, L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue’s Sunday market was the first item on today’s to-do list. Alan wanted to arrive while the vendors were still setting up, so we braved the very cold morning wind to arrive before 9am. We decided to first walk around and look for the eight water wheels placed strategically along the branches of the Sorgue. Used in the past to power all sorts of industry including paper, grain, and oil mills, the wheels turn today for the pleasure of the tourist industry. So we dutifully walked around till we found all of them, surprised that no two were the same! Each had a different shape, size, and paddle arrangement, I suppose to properly power their respective mills.

The market began to awake, with vendors forgoing umbrellas in the cold wind and tourists remaining scarce till later in the morning. We took shelter in the church for a while, admiring the blue and gold décor and relishing being out of the wind. Back outside, Mom searched for some fabric she could use for a quilt, but none we found was suitable. We stocked up on more veggies and fresh pasta before meeting Alan (who had gone off on his own to take photos while we shopped) and heading again to the SuperU to round out the pantry.

The antique section... Yes, Texas is antique...

In the afternoon Alan needed to prepare photos for his two upcoming critiques, and Dad was happily engrossed in a sudoko, which left Mom and I to set out once more for Bonnieux. We had studied the map and put our binoculars to good use studying the valley from our window, and this time we were pretty sure we could make it all the way. And the third time is the charm! It took us just over an hour to walk the 3km across to Bonnieux, and we only got barked at by two dogs, both of whom were more excited to have something to bark about than interested in bothering us. We startled a few people out collecting firewood, and other than that were left to ourselves. Upon reaching the bottom of the village we turned home again, walking the 3km back in the evening light.

Borie we saw on the walk

Dad had barely welcomed us back before announcing that he now was going to go on a walk around the village, and did we want to go? We declined to answer such a silly question, letting our busy food-making preparations to fill our hungry bellies and groans about tired legs answer that question.