A boulangerie in Faucon that serves breakfast and lunch throughout the year and dinner during the summer.

Faucon is a small village (population 452) on a hill, 7 km northeast of Vaison-la-Romaine on the border of the Departments of the Vaucluse and Drome with a magnificent view of the north face of Mont Ventoux. A fortified village, houses are built of stones from the surrounding countryside. 

We have been coming to Faucon on a regular basis since we bought our house in Sablet, usually to dine at Le Lauier Restaurant in the center of the village near the fountain. Two years ago, our dear friend Barbara from Vaison-la-Romaine, introduced us to Le Boulangerie des Tilleuls in Faucon.

Hilltop village of Faucon

The Boulangerie des Tilleuls (Tilleuls means lime trees) is located at Place des Tilleuls where you will discover Saint-Germain church and its 19th-century bell tower. The original date of construction for Saint-Germain church is unknown. The church was restored in 1668 and again in 1677. 

Bell and clocktower of Faucon's Saint Germain Church

Le Boulangerie des Tilleuls is seemingly set on a balcony where you have great views of the countryside. They serve petit dejeuner (breakfast) in the morning, plat du jour (daily specials) at noon, and dinner during the summer to take advantage of the terrace. They sell bread and variety of house-made savory and sweet tarts throughout the day. I think the rhubarb tart is particularly good.

Le Boulangerie

We normally dine on the terrace so we can take advantage of the views but when we went in late March, it was quite chilly, so we opted to eat inside the boulangerie. 

Chilly outside, so we dined inside on a long wooden table

This is simple food but everything we have tried has been delicious. I usually order one of the daily specials and sweet tart for dessert and Shirley orders a vegetarian plate which usually includes a slice of two different vegetarian tarts, a green salad and some olive tapenade. 

Typical vegetarian plate at Le Boulangerie

Le Boulangerie des Tilleuls food and baked goods are delicious any time. The setting makes it a very pleasant place to enjoy a relaxing lunch when the weather is nice or dinner during the summer months. We definitely recommend reservations during tourist season. 

My favorite dining companion

Le Boulangerie des Tilleuls is open Tuesday - Sunday throughout the year from 7h30 to 15h00 and from 7h30 to 23h00, June 15 to August 31. 

Le Boulangerie des Tilleuls

Place des Tilleuls

84110 Faucon

Tel: +33 4 90 36 12 91

No website

Tulips grown in the Vaucluse for sale in Holland.

We just returned from a short sojourn in Provence after an unusually long absence for us. Sadly, this was the longest time between visits since we bought our home in Sablet in 2008. 

One of our favorite things about Provence are the fields of flowers and orchard blossoms that we find at various times of the year. There are orchards with cherry blossoms in April and early May all around the village of Venasque.

Then, red poppies, known as Coquelicots in France, make their appearance in May. Coquelicots generally grow wild rather than cultivated so you never know where you are going to come across them as you drive around Provence.

Lavender, the most famous flowering plant in Provence, blooms from mid-June to late July depending upon elevation. Sunflowers adorn the landscape from late June to the end of July and are typically harvested in August.

A few years back, we discovered that tulips are grown around Jonquieres, a small village about 20 minutes from Sablet. I am not sure if one person owns all the land where they are planted as the location of the tulip fields changes year to year.  

Dutch tulip farmers outsource growing bulbs to farmers in Provence. While the flowers are still in full bloom, they cut the flower with a lawn mower type machine to save the plant's energy for the bulbs.  The first few times we passed by the tulip fields, it did not appear that they sold any flowers. Now, signs indicate flowers are for sale.  

Since the tulips are in bloom in early spring, from late March to early April, we headed out one recent morning toward Jonquieres to see if any tulips were in bloom. The following pictures are what we found.

Jonquieres tulip field

We have been told that tulips are also grown in the triangle between Lurs, Forcalquier and La Brillanne in the Department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Maybe the next time we are in Sablet in late March, we will head here to explore this area. 

Jonquieres tulip field

Jonquieres tulip field

Jonquieres tulip field

Jonquieres tulip field

Jonquieres tulip field

Another flowering plant we see at this time of year is Colza, in English, Rape Seed. The plant is grown to produce oil for cooking and industrial processes. In the United States, we know the edible version of this oil as canola oil. 

Field of Colza (Rape Seed)

Watch this blog for new posts about visits to new restaurants and villages during our most recent visit to Sablet.

www.sablethouse.com 

If you are looking for an excellent place to lunch in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, go to Le Comptoir de la Mere Germaine.

Chateauneuf-du-Pape is a small medieval village located about 30 km from Sablet. The village spreads out on the hillside at the foot of ruins of an ancient chateau that I told you about here. From the chateau hill, you have an impressive view in all directions, mostly of vineyards and the Rhone River, 1.9 miles to the east. The village is best known for the wine that is produced from the vineyards that surround the village.

There are several cafes with outdoor terraces and a gastronomic restaurant with one Michelin star in the center of the village. Although this is a tourist town, there are not many tourists' shops besides those selling wine as the business of Chateauneuf-du-Pape is wine.

Pope's castle in Chateaueaneuf-du-Pape

The village streets are narrow, curving around the hillside or climbing up and down between the houses up to the chateau. The buildings are old, but everything seems to have been completely restored. 

You can get to the chateau ruins at the top of the village by walking up Rue Joseph Ducos pas the front of the Town Hall to the Church at Rue des Papes. Just to the left of the church are steps that lead up the wide stone-step streets to the chateau. 

Center of Chateauneuf-du-Pape

We were dragging on Sunday morning after our flight from San Francisco and especially the 3-hour drive from Nice where we landed, to Sablet. We hadn't done grocery shopping so eating lunch at home was not an option, so I called Le Comptoir de la Mere Germaine in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and reserved a table for 2.

Le Comptoir de la Mere Germaine is in a relatively new complex, a few steps from its sister restaurant La Mere Germaine and the center of the village. There is a lovely terrace for dining when the weather is a little warmer, in our opinion. 

We entered the restaurant at the time set for our reservation and we were offered a choice of tables inside or on the terrace. Although it was sunny day, it felt a little brisk to us, so we chose a table inside with a nice view of the terrace and entrance to the restaurant.  

 

Le Comptoir de la Mere Germaine

The dining room is large and airy with an open kitchen featuring a rotisserie. We like to sit at the counter and watch the kitchen team work their magic. Like the terrace, the dining room offers a panoramic view out to the vineyards. 

The menu is a la carte and offers a few starters, some larger dishes to be shared, single portion main courses, and a few side dishes to accompany main courses.

To start, we ordered Pissaladière du Comptoir to share. Pissaladière is a dish of flatbread with traditional toppings from Nice being caramelized onions, black olives, and anchovies. It was served cold, quite tasty but I would have preferred it to be warm.

Pissaladière du Comptoir

Shirley chose the fish plate of the day, which was filet of John Dory, served over braised cabbage. 

John Dory filet over cabbage

I chose the veal roasted on the rotisserie and served with a plate full of vegetables. We were both very happy with our selections. 

As you would expect from a restaurant located in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the wine list is large with many selections of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Veal roasted on the rotisserie with vegetables

As we walked out, we had a great view out over the village and Chateauneuf-du-Pape vineyards towards Mont Ventoux, far in the distance. 

View from the terrace over Chateauneuf-du-Pape towards Mont Ventoux

There are few good choices for places to eat in Chateauneuf-du-Pape except Le Comptoir de la Mere Germaine et La Mere Germaine. So, because of this, we recommend highly that you make reservations, so you don't get turned away. The restaurant is open daily for lunch and dinner.

Le Comptoir de la Mere Germaine

4 Rue des Consuls

84230 Chateauneuf-du-Pape

France

www.lameregermaine.com
Tel: 01133428690060

Visit to one of the 7 Most Beautiful Villages in Vaucluse

We usually take daily trips away from Sablet to explore the Vaucluse and surrounding Departments. We probably go most often to the hill-top villages of the Luberon including Venasque, which is what we did a few weeks ago.

Venasque is a small pretty village that clings to a rocky hillside overlooking vineyards, garrigue (areas of shrubby vegetation found in the Mediterranean region), and cherry trees. It is classified as one of the "Plus Beaux Villages de France" (translated as most beautiful villages of France).

Cherries have been grown in this part of Provence since the 17th century and it remains the largest cherry producing region in France. Cherries from Venasque are said to be the best; the village refers to its cherries as diamants rouges (red diamonds). 

Venasque

Venasque is one of the oldest villages of the Comtat Venaissin often referred to simply as the Comtat. Comtat means county in its original sense, or land belonging to a count. Venaissin refers to Venasque, a former bishop seat which gave its name to the Comtat. 

Saracen Towers and Arched Doorway through Defensive Walls

Venasque's location on top of the hill provided a natural defense against attacks from enemies. Nevertheless, in Roman times, a defensive wall with towers was built around the village. The arched doorways were restored at the beginning of the 20th century.

Defensive Wall

The thick walls of the ramparts which survive connect three Saracen towers and two arched doors. Supposedly the stones in the defensive wall that no longer exist were removed as if the walls were a sort of rock quarry and used to build the school and village houses. 

One of the reasons we like to come to Venasque is because of Les Remparts restaurant. At Les Remparts, you can sit in the interior dining room, a large sunroom or a small outdoor terrace with views of the valley on sunny days.

Les Remparts offers a number of prix fixe menus, including a 3-course vegetarian menu currently priced at 39 Euros. Food is always well prepared and beautifully plated. We recommend you reserve ahead. 

Les Remparts Restaurant

As you can see, Venasque is a small village. There are only 1013 people who reside in the village according to the lastest census. 

Water was piped to houses throughout the village between 1959 and 1965. Prior to this time, villagers got their water from the various fountains scattered throughout the village.

The fountain in the center of Venasque at Place de la Fontaine

Artist workshop in Venasque

Lady taking in the views down the Venasque street

Hotel de Ville (Town Hall)

The Notre Dame church in Venasque dates from the end of the 12th century. The side chapels date from the 17th and 18th century, and the bell tower from the 17th century. 

Notre Dame Church in Venasque

Inside the church, there is a very beautiful baptistry. Its origins are unclear, but it is believed to be the oldest religious baptistry in the region.

Iron Cross near Notre Dame Church in Venasque

War Memorial in Venasque near Notre Dame Church

Arched Passageway into and out of Venasque

It is worth the trip up the hill off the D-4 to visit Venasque. As I said, it is small and will only take you a couple of hours to walk around the village. Try to time your visit so you can eat lunch at Les Remparts. You will be happy you did.

Les Remparts Restaurant

37 Rue Haute

84210 Venasque

Tel: 04 90 66 02 79

A French Memorial to 5 US Airmen who Died in WWII in Plan de Dieu While Attacking Nearby German Airfields

We were invited to dine with Paul and Francoise Roumanille "chez Bruno" in Sablet on a recent Friday. As I told you in this post, Paul and Francoise and their parents before them have been making wine in Sablet since 1939. 

We got to talking during our lunch of traditional Aioli a la Morue, about what life was like for their families during WWII. Paul mentioned that there is a memorial to US airmen in Plan de Dieu, a large area planted in vineyards 11 km west of Sablet. Plan de Dieu translates to "God's Plain."

There are around 2620 acres planted in vineyards at an altitude of 100 meters within the Plan de Dieu AOC. Rather than one named village, the area includes the territories of Camaret-sur-Aigues, Jonquieres, Violes and Travaillan. A few patches of woodlands dot the expanse of vines.

Soil is mainly red clay packed with rounded cobblestones. There is not a lot of soil matter, so yields are modest, barely enough to produce one bottle of wine per plant. The wines are all red, made from the Cotes-du-Rhone's 3 leading grape varieties, Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre. 

The next day, Saturday, we went out to find this war memorial to US airmen. We see war memorials in almost every village in Provence dedicated to the children of the town who died serving their country in WWI or WWII. We have never seen a war memorial to US military personnel other than near where troops landed on D-Day in Normandy. 

Paul said the memorial was on the road to Cameret-sur-Aigues just beyond the turnoff to Cairanne. Sure enough, as we were driving on the D23 toward Camaret-sur-Aigues, we came to a small road going off to the right with a small white sign "war memorial".

War memorial to US airmen who died in Plan de Dieu

There is not a lot of information at the memorial or on the internet about the events that occurred over the Plan de Dieu that inspired locals to build this memorial.

You can see the vast plain of vineyards to the west of the war memorial

At first glance, the site is unremarkable. Set in the middle of a vast plain of vineyards, the simple stone monument is set just off the side of a one-way dirt road. 

The memorial is festooned with flowers and red, white and blue ribbons

I found that on Saturday, April 16, 2005, approximately 200 French men and women along with French and American military representatives gathered during an icy spring rainy day to dedicate the new memorial to the five P-38 Lightning pilots who died while attacking nearby airfields.

2005 was the 60th anniversary of the liberation of France. The locals thought it necessary to express their appreciation with this memorial stone to the young pilots for their dedication in the darkest hour of French history, and active participation in the liberation of France and victory over Nazi Germany. 

Three of the honored pilots went down on June 15, 1944, trying to weaken German defenses for the Allied assault of southern France that would follow the Normandy invasion. 2nd Lt. Hugh Crandall Jr. and 1st Lt. Harold V Duggleby from the 94th Fighter Squadron were both brought down by anti-aircraft fire on strafing runs against the Orange-Plan de Dieu airfield. 

At about the same time, 1st Lt. Warren E. Semple from the 49th Fighter Squadron was shot down by a German pilot while strafing the nearby Orange-Caritat airstrip. 

Several weeks later in early August, 2nd Lt. Robert D. Simpson of the 48th Fighter Squadron and 2nd Lt. A. Tracy of the 49th Fighter Squadron were downed by flack and killed on similar missions. Watching the attacking planes get shot down was shocking for those on the ground said one of the local residents who was 11 in 1944.

Listing of the names of the 5 young US airmen who died in Plan de Dieu.

Across the narrow country road from the war memorial, there is the Bergerie du Bois des Dames. The name Bois des Dames (wood of the ladies) comes from the thick oak woods and pastures that once covered part of this area. The woods belonged to religious ladies who had retired to a high valley in the hills of Gigondas, at the convent of Prebayon, hence the name Bois des Dames. 

Bergerie du Bois des Dames

I couldn't find any information about this bergerie. I do know that bergeries are enclosures that shepherds used in old times to contain and protect their sheep. In the picture below, you can see in the corner of the bergerie, the remains of a very deep well. 

Interior of the Bergerie du Bois des Dames.

In the picture below, you can see where the water came out from the well into a water trough that delivered it into a basin for the sheep. 

Trough for water to run from well into the water basin

The next time we are in Sablet, I will go to the Domaine Bois des Dames and see if anyone there can tell me why the memorial and bergerie are located on different sides of the country road. I would also like to find out the age of the bergerie structure. It looks old, so I assume it is but sometimes looks as we know can be deceiving. 

As I have told you several times. we frequently see pilots of the Patrouille de France, the French precision flying unit, practicing their stunts over this area. So sobering to think, while we get such enjoyment from seeing the Patrouille flying overhead, there was a time in the last century when the planes flying overhead were engaged in serious, deadly warfare.

Friday is Market Day in Sablet

In previous posts, I have shared the criteria that we considered as we searched for a house to buy in the South of France. Near the top of the list after Shirley's #1, "no-fixer-uppers", was our desire to own a house in a village that was active year around so we could visit whenever we wished. 

This meant we wanted a "living village" which for us meant, not tourist dependent as they essentially shut down from early November to middle of March. This eliminated a lot of villages in the Alpilles, Luberon or near the Mediterranean Sea. 

We discovered as we searched that small villages in the Cotes du Rhone and other wine making regions are open year around as wine making is a year around process. Thus, we considered these villages "living villages".

It seems that our village has only gotten better as a place to live or visit since we bought back in 2008. The village of Sablet has a population of 1381. We have a boulangerie that is open 365 days a year. We have a butcher shop; a very well stocked grocery store called an épicerie, a bar/cafe in the center of the village, a pizzeria, and a fine dining restaurant called La Table de Magali.

We have a pharmacy, a medical office, a dentist, a floral shop, two salons, a dress shop, a tourist information center where they sell local wines, and a tabac where they sell stamps, and French, English, and German newspapers and magazines. There are two churches and a bank with ATM machine. 

More recently, the village has seen their Friday morning market in the center of Sablet expand with the addition of new vendors, some of whom are shown in the pictures below. While the market is small (we recommend you go to one or more of the larger weekly markets in the area), the quality of fish, cheese and fruits and vegetables sold at the Sablet market is excellent. 

View of Sablet from Rue du Stade

Fruit and Vegetable Seller

Mobile Fromagerie

Le Poissonier

Seller of All Things Related to Honey

Something akin to a Mobile Italian Alimentari 

A Close-up Look at the Products on Offer from the Mobile Italian Alimentari 

Another Fruit and Vegetable Seller

Freshly Made Paella to Go

I have written posts about weekly markets in Vaison-la-Romaine, Nyons, Carpentras, Sainte-Cecile-les-Vignes, and Uzes, I have never written about our own smallish market that takes place every Friday morning on Place De L'Aire De La Croix, in front of Bar des Sports. 

Between the shops in the village and the Friday weekly market, you can live very well in Sablet and never venture out to shop anywhere else. Parking gets a little tight late Thursday night until after market on Friday as there is no parking on Place De L'Aire De La Croix, which normally is full of cars. 

If you are looking for a home to rent for a holiday in Provence, we still have multiple weeks available in May and June as well as a few single weeks through the end of October.  I hope to hear from you. 

Newish Bistro in one of our favorite villages

As long time readers of Our House in Provence blog know, one of our favorite villages besides Sablet is Villedieu. Its a small village (population 514), built on a hill overlooking vineyards, olive grows and pine trees near the Eygues River on the border of the Drome Provencale. Villedieu is located about 7 1/2 miles northwest of Sablet in the direction you would take if you were headed to Nyons. 

Villedieu Cafe

Villedieu dates back to medieval times when the village was a Commandery of the Knights Templar who owned a chateau with a single tower. The village was founded during a time when potential invaders would come around so defensive fortifications were built which you can see as you visit the village.

Villedieu Town Hall

In the center of Villedieu is a square with a fountain, recently dry to due to the extreme drought and plane trees call Place de la Liberation. The Mairie (town hall), a cafe, a creperie, and until just before the pandemic, an excellent pizzaria called La Maison Bleue were located on the sides of the square.  

Le Bistrot de Villedieu

During warm weather between April and October, the square becomes a grand terrace shared by the cafe and restaurants. Tables and chairs arranged around the fountain with the area for the cafe and restaurants defined by the color of chairs. 

Villedieu Place de la Liberation

Shortly before the start of the pandemic, our friend and chef/owner of the Maison Bleue Pizzaria sold the restaurant to chef Laurent Azoulay. He and his wife Rachel reopened the restaurant in June 2020 as the Bistrot de Villedieu.

Bistrot de Villedieu Server

Chef Azoulay retained the wood burning oven of Maison Bleue and most of the food served at the Bistrot is cooked in the wood burning oven. Because of the pandemic, we had not been able to dine the new restaurant. We made up for that during our current stay by dining there twice; once at lunch by ourselves and once with friends for dinner. Menu was identical both times.

Chef Azoulay is clearly a talented chef. In addition to the Bistrot de Villedieu, Chef Azoulay owns a one star Michelin restaurant called L'Ekrin by Laurent Azoulay in the mountain town of Meribel.

Zucchini Blossoms 

Mussel Soup in Saffron with Spelt

Spelt Risotto with Summer Truffles. 

Baked Tomato stuffed with Rice and Beef with Arugula over Rice and Beef. 

Apricot Crumble

With our friends, he and I split the 1 kg Angus Beef "Cote de Boeuf" which was expensive but delicious.

The owners of the Bistrot de Villedieu split their time between the Bistrot de Villedieu and their second restaurant in the mountains so the Bistrot de Villedieu is only opened during festival season from June 1 to September 30. 

The food was delicious and perfectly cooked and very attractively plated. The servers were very friendly, although service is a little slow when the square is full of diners. The only person who didn't seem to go out of his way to show any charm was the owner/chef.

Le Bistrot de Villedieu

Place de la Liberation

84110 Villedieu

France

Tel: 04 90 28 97 02

website: Le Bistrot de Villedieu (azoulay-gastronomie.com)