GlobeTrotteuse

..and we made it again....4.5 hours lunch.

We will have a few friends for lunch tomorrow and I am already now preparing all "mise en place". This will make the cooking tomorrow less stressful. I also bought extra flowers on the market today in order to cheer up the decoration of our home. Unfortunately, the weather will not permit us to sit outside, which is a little bit disappointing. The Mistral has arrived and all our outside life is moving inside again....so the flowers are needed not only for the decoration update but also for the boost of our mood.

Today it is a holiday in Provence so I am not the only one who enjoys the lazy morning. Just to wake up naturally without any alarm, any obligation is the outmost luxury for me. While my husband prepared our breakfast I moved my yoga mat outside and made my stretching/pilates/yoga. To awake the body slowly with a gentle stretch is another of my daily luxuries......and I have many of them:))

Today, it is exactly 23years I met my husband, when we both were on a business trip in Kuwait. I was married at that time and it was a hard decision. However, the choice I made was probably one of the most important in my life. I met a person who is not only my husband but also my best friend. So to celebrate our happy life I cooked a dinner for us two, no wine, just healthy dinner. I always think about the colors, the proportion of cooked vs raw vegetables and little of a healthy protein when I compose the dish. I found that combining cooked lentils with home cooked tomato sauce creates a great dish itself. Today I added also steamed asparagus to the dish and "decorated" it with a grilled gambas.

I have a Swedish girlfriend who owns and runs a galerie in a nearby village. I love almost everything there both sculptures and pictures. It is high-quality art and the prices go unfortunately with it. However, from time to time we have acquired some of those pieces and decorated our home. Earlier, I haven't eye for those things but with age I developed a taste for it. I believe that a home should be decorated with some kind of art, not necessarily expensive but not with posters or pictures from IKEA. Since some months she have accommodated two Cuban artists who live now in her adjacent studio. So today when I visited her and I saw their art I couldn't resist and bought 2 pieces from them.

.....and to our market today with all its pleasures, friends, coffee, fresh fruits and vegetables etc. It is nice to be in our normal life again. Yesterday night we met our friends in the village of Lagnes and had a cozy dinner at the local auberge. Today we are invited for dinner to a Swedish friend. She is a former chef and I am looking forward the food, the company and also her beautiful home. On Monday we are going for dinner to our French neighbours. It is a little bit too much but the whole May we have not been available for any social activities due to extensive traveling and having guests.

We just arrived from a two days trip to Camargue. My brother should fly home from Nimes and therefore we decided to take this trip and come closer to the airport so we did not need get up so very early. The Camargue is a large national park with a lot of lagoons and therefore many birds. We traveled through this marshland, following the river Rhone which ends its journey in the Mediterranean sea. It is a special place and the beauty and purity of the nature  touched my heart. After having left my brother on the airport we continued to our favorite place Pont du Gard. This 2000 years old beauty is a viaduc constructed by the Romans for the purpose of getting water from Uzes to Nimes. 20 years ago we could climb up on the top but today it is a protected monument and classified as a world heritage so we respected its age (and ours) and just walked on the pedestrian road. On the way home we also stopped in Chateauneuf du pape for lunch a for some wine to our cave. Here are some moments from the trip.

In summer, Provence is known for its melons, especially for those coming from our neighbourhood town Cavaillon. They are sweet and juicy and they are on today's menus at all restaurants. Next week we will have some guests who are vegetarians, and therefore I tried today a melon dish with goat cheese which I can serve then as a starter. The salt in the cheese binds nicely with the sweet in the melon and results in a successful combination. Tonight, this will be on the table "Chez Nous" ....

It is not green in our garden only but in the whole Vaucluse. Today, after the rain we decided to make a little excursion to see the river Sorgue at its source in Fontaine de Vaucluse. We also stopped in Isle sur la Sorgue, the city where Sorgue plays pretty dominant role. On Sunday there is also a big market so we enjoyed the day strolling around. After we have purchased grilled chicken and baguette we enjoyed the picnic on the river bank.

After so much rain our Provence got a tropical look. Our garden is so green, the roses have been damaged from the heavy rain but the lavender bushes are just coming with theirs blue color. Imagine also the song of the birds who are happy after having survived the dry season and you are almost in paradise....

Unbelievable.....today it is fifth day of consecutive rain in Provence and the forecast is still about rain. This is not the weather you would expect in June in Provence. Many tourists have arrived for the Ascension Day and they must be disappointed about the rain. However, in our house we have lightened the wood fire, the lamb is in the oven and the smell of rosemary and thyme spreads in the house. It reminds rather about Autumn season but who cares....you need to find pleasure in any situation. Soon I will serve the roasted lamb with roasted potatoes and carrots and steamed asparagus. As dessert we will enjoy fresh cherries. My brother is still with us and I tried to serve such quality food which is not common in his home like lamb and asparagus. Later on we will watch a Swedish thriller on DVD.....pretty cozy in spite of the drizzle and fog outside.

The rain finally arrived and with it also a cold wind which dropped the temperature to 13°C. Now, it is afternoon and the sun is partially coming back. My brother has taken a nap at the poolside imbedded in a blanket, my husband is on his way home from Marseille airport and I am preparing sauce for the pizza.