Outdoor lunch: third time, no charm

DATELINE: Tuesday, Oct.17. Another market day in Vaison

Walking out to buy pastry in this morning's grey pre-dawn light, I could hear clanks and clicks as the metal frames of booths were being assembled for today's big market in Vaison.

The bustle wasn't just in the Post Office parking area, but also on the narrow streets I walked through. People were pulling large plastic tubs out of their vans, laying out the contents on just-unfolded tables, and stacking the tubs back in the vans. A surprisingly calm buzz of conversation filled the air, as stall neighbors greeted each other. It was chilly, so warm jackets and sweatshirts were the uniform.

A few cars and vans, having deposited their contents at a booth, were leaving to make more room. These added a mobile challenge for we few "civililan" pedestrians threading our way to bakeries and cafes. Still, it was a pleasant glimpse "behind the scenes" of French daily life. Tomorrow, this will all be repeated in some other town or village. And on and on....   

Around 10:00AM, Roz and I headed out to the now-open market. As usual, she found more to buy than I did: fresh seasonal fruit for her, but no zip-front sweater for me.

After noon, when we walked through town toward our lunch destination, the same booths I'd seen and heard being erected this morning were already being folded into cars and vans. 

Our table with aperitifs,
the high point of the meal.

Our destination was a restaurant just across the old Roman bridge from downtown Vaison. We'd eaten at Le Moulin à Huile last year, and found the new chef/owner's cuisine to be very good then. Sadly, we aren't even certain that the same guy was in charge today. 

After two great meals, our third outdoor luncheon in a row was disappointing for several reasons:  (too much salt here, too little there, for example) and when the chef came out to talk to the diners, we didn't recognize the man from last year. Maybe the restaurant has changed hands again.

We stopped short of dessert there, but yielded to temptation as we walked home past Léone on the town square. Their ice cream lifted our spirits, and we arrived home much happier.

Late afternoon involved little excitement: got the car from the cathedral parking lot and put it back in the Post Office lot now that the market was gone. Another quiet evening followed.