Stuck inside

The rain washed away all hope of sticking with our plan for today. We had hoped to drive to the top of Mt. Ventoux, the lovely mountain to the north that rises up out of the plane with its bald limestone top. But we could hardly see Bonnieux let alone the mountain, and so spent the day inside, packing, tidying, and getting ready to leave. Leave! It was not a happy thought. We had to get out at least a little, so we drove to Bonnieux for some bread, taking a road we hadn’t been on before to cheer us a little. Starting a fire in the fireplace cheered us a little more, and we planned to go to Mt. Ventoux tomorrow, rain or no.

Photos come down and the clouds come up

We spent the morning taking down the show, saddened to be taking nice prints out of nice frames but there was really nothing else to do. The mistral wind was blowing, but we got the photos back to the house, where we sorted through the ones we wanted to keep and the ones to throw away. Alan had talked to some other students about doing some trading, so he bartered two of the small matted photos for a few pieces from two of the printmaking majors. I’m excited to get home and find them some wall space : )

The clouds were rolling in, and the wind was blowing really hard, but in the afternoon we decided to take one last walk though the valley anyway. Alan never did walk to Bonnieux, so we took that path almost to the town, and then branched off to the south to walk some roads neither of us had been on yet. It seems no matter how much I walk there is always somewhere new to go around here! But the wind was tiring, and we were glad to get home.

Odd vine holders

A walk and a farewell dinner

The Forest of the Cedars, which we went to once before, seemed like a good starting point for today’s walk. We were surprised by the number of cars in the little lot at the top; it was more tourists, or locals, than we has seen in a while! After passing a group of hikers and three serious looking runners (they had to be like training for cross country or something) the people quickly gave way to the secluded trails we have become accustom to around here. We chose a path that lead over the other side of the Luberon, down into a valley, and then back up through the valley bottom. The weather was beautiful, the path was nice, and all was going well till we came to a ten-foot high rock wall which the path definitely said to go up. Lets just say it was a good thing we hadn’t picked this particular trail when Mom and Dad were here! The rock did have toeholds and some handholds, but it was wet and slippery with the extremely heavy dew that seems to happen so often. I went up first, with Alan holding on to me in case I should slip, but I made it too the top with muddy jeans and hands being the only casualties of the climb. Alan made it up just fine as well, and we contemplated circling the spot on our map just in case we should ever come back someday and walk the same trail… but then again I don’t think we are going to forget that rock!

Tonight, the Café de Sade was hosting the SCAD farewell dinner; with Vernissage being over, the quarter here in Lacoste is finished as well. Guests were invited, so I joined in with the few other parents who had come to see the show. I happened to be talking with Shea right next to the buffet table when the first course came out; she is non-dairy vegetarian and knew that the quiche didn’t have any meat, so we grabbed our slices and some bread and headed for a table inside. What we didn’t know was that that was the only vegetarian dish of the night, except for some au gratin potatoes, which she couldn’t eat and I wasn’t sure were worth eating. The tart de pomme (apple tart) for dessert did not fill us up, but while the food was a disappointment it was fun to get to know more of Alan’s classmates. Hopefully we will be able to stay in touch, at least with the ones in Savannah.

Vernissage

I found myself caught up in Alan’s whirlwind of last minute to-dos, which was heightened by the fact that while the show didn’t open till 3pm his professor had already bought two photos and SCAD was thinking about buying two others (they only ended up getting one, however). But another large print had to be made as another person wanted a same size print as one that had already sold, and Alan hurried to make three more slightly smaller prints of the sold photos, which later also sold. Whew! Here is a glimps of all the photos he had in the Vernissage show: