Puyloubier is an ancient Provencal village at the foot of Mont Sainte-Victoire. It is surrounded by vineyards and boasts several renowned restaurants.
Panorama photo of Puyloubier
New meets old and they coexist in Puyloubier.
An ancient stone protects the corner of this house on a very narrow street.
All roads lead to Mont Sainte-Victoire in this region.
This house has sections added on in different centuries.
Philip, our tour guide, arranged for a private lunch at the Michelin rated Restaurant des Sarments. This was our first experience of true gourmet food in France, and we weren’t disappointed. The restaurant opened just for us on a Monday, when it is normally closed.
We followed Philip up the secret staircase…
… and of course had to stop to take photos.
Intrepid wine drinkers that we are, even the France Frolickers were eager to photograph the vast number of wine glasses awaiting us.
The menu was written on chalkboards in French and I’m not even going to try to interpret them. I’m just going to link up photos of the fabulous food we had and let you enjoy them.
The amuse-bouche
We adjourned to the outside patio for coffee and pastries. As it was early in the season, it wasn’t particularly beautiful, but we could see how wonderful it would be when things were blooming.
Another in my long array of toilette shots — I’m just fascinated by necessaries.
The chef and owner, Jean-Sébastien Gentil, finally came out and allowed Jennie to get a photo with him as we were leaving — the waitress said that he is very shy.
Unbelievably (or quite possible, depending on who you’re talking to), our next stop was to a winery after this three hour gastronomic extravaganza. Yes, Virginia, the France Frolickers do love France.
NEXT STOP: CHATEAU VIGNELAURE
France Frolic 2013 