The rest of our visit in Venasque was much less daring. We stopped at Viard-Oberlin poterie where Marie always buys delightful ceramic pieces to add to her set of dishes. Anne and her husband, Etienne, were excited to visit with us. Etienne, a metal sculptor, had just sold 35 very large sculptures to some collectors in New York City. They had been crated and shipped the month before, and he and Anne were leaving in a few days to fly to New York and then Chicago to introduce the works at gallery openings. They were quite excited about the prospect of staying in one of the collector's NYC penthouse.
As we left, Anne gifted me with this small, round dish from her collection. It sits by my kitchen sink holding squares of Provencal soap. Every time I wash my hands I think of Anne, her bubbly personality, and her generosity.
We lunched at Les Remparts that day and sat by the windows to enjoy the spectacular view of the valley below. No blog entry about Provence is complete without the menu: seafood salad with mussels, prawns, anchovies and smoked salmon accompanied by a nice rose and completed with a bread pudding-like dessert--custard and apples. Bon appetit!
