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Up at 7am, and packed up what was left. Straightened up “our house” and packed two boxes to go into the storage closet for our return next May. Then we packed the car, waved goodbye and headed off for Avignon.

A smooth, event-free drive took us to the Gare TGV, where we turned in the car and waited for our train to Paris. It arrived on time, and we boarded and settled in for the  three-hour 180-mph ride to Paris. In no time we were pulling in. We grabbed our bags, met our town car driver, and headed off for the Sofitel. There was a lot of traffic, for some reason, so it took almost 30 minutes to get there. Once arrived, we checked in and grabbed a quick glass of wine in the Salon to relax.

Around 7:30 we headed down the Ave Friedlander to our dinner at Dominique Bouchet, our favorite restaurant in Paris. A 20-minute stroll put us at our table and a cordial greeting from Yann, the host, and Dominique, the owner/chef. A wonderful kir, and we were ready to put in our order. I went for cream of chestnut soup with truffles, and David had the salmon tartar, which is so beautiful you don’t want to eat it. We both went for the scallops for our main course. Remembering the fantastic bottle of Vougeot blanc we had with our last meal here, David ordered the same.

The food was wonderful, as always. We started with an amusee bouche, a silky carrot mousse. After this came our starters, then a gift from Dominique, shrimp beignets, with a like tempura-like batter. Incredibly light and tasty. The scallops were served on a bed of carmelized onions, tender, with just a light sear on them. Our coffees came with a small plate of sweets, all of which disappeared.

We left Yann and crew with promises to return in May and headed back to the Sofitel. A quick flute of Champagne to wind down, then we turned in. In sum, a nice day, especially with all the travel.

Morning greeted us with a kitchen full of dishes from the previous night. We decided to try the dishwasher (which is a Miele) and it did a fabulous job. David washed up a couple of pans and the place was looking spic and span again.

Driving back from the clinic in Salon, we decided to try to get a table at Mas du Capoun in Molleges for lunch. We have really liked the food there, and the folks who own it are delightful. While David topped of the MB with gazole, I tried to call them, but no answer. An e-mail also got no reply. We were only three kilometers away, so decided just to drop in. As we pulled up, we recognized the reason for the lack of response was they weren’t open. Our other options were to drive into St-Remy or Eygalieres to have lunch, and we opted for Eygalieres as it was nearing 1 pm. As we had eaten at L’Aubergine several time we chose La Petite Table. We had dinner there earlier in the week so we thought we’d give it a whirl for lunch and hoped it was open. We found that is was, and were seated at the same table, “votre table” as the hostess called it.  David ordered the roasted cod and I had the squab — both delicious. To top off the meal I had the chocolate mini-cake with the melted chocolate inside. What a way to finish your lunch.

We had been putting it off, but it was getting down to the 13th hour and we needed to pack our things for the train back to Paris. We reluctantly went back to the farmhouse and started to get our things in order. Once we felt everything was almost done, we invited the property manager, Patrick, who we very much enjoy, to stop by, have a glass of wine and say our goodbyes. And we also bid farewell to Roxie and her two new chicken friends too, spreading pieces of baguette around their coop.

We had a bit to eat, double-checked everything and turned in early as we had an 10 am train to catch in the morning.

D-Day has arrived. Tonight we cook dinner for our friends from Riboto de Taven. A daunting task, given their culinary skills, but something we want to do to be able to offer them the hospitality of our “home” in France. They work six days a week, serving dinner every night, so it is nice to give them the chance to get out and relax, and we enjoy their company.

We have selected a menu that presents a variety of problems:  the starter is asparagus, which is out of season – ditto the Cavaillon melon. David found some giant asparagus from Peru in one of the vegetable markets, so we will go ahead, but are not sure how to cook stalks this big properly. Raw shrimp is unheard of in this part of France, meaning we have to use cooked shrimp and risk it being overdone, or go with frozen tiger shrimp – we opted for the latter. Panko, or even bread crumbs are not available, so we have made our own from baguettes and a rolling-pin.

Armed with a pound of delicious Isigny St. Mere butter, I started the prep work, putting together the sauce for the tagliatelle, and butter for the garlic bread. The garlic here is wonderful, so soon the house was filled with its delightful aroma. While I worked on that and the filling for the scampi, David got to work on the shrimp, removing the heads, peeling and de-veining them, then brining them for 30 minutes. We arranged them in the dish, and they looked pretty good.

For the asparagus, we trimmed them to a point where they should be tender, then David peeled the stalks. We boiled them until they felt done, then removed, drained, arranged them in a dish, and put in the fridge. Later I will add Buratta (which we found in St. Remy), cooked jambon cru (the French version of prosciutto), and chopped walnuts.

The salad was a snap. We added a bit extra with the addition of smoked bacon, then popped it in the fridge. Our appetizers were simple – slices of pork sausage, anchoiade, and tapenade.

At this juncture we were in pretty good shape – only the wines and dessert left. We headed into town and stopped at the boulangerie, where I picked out a wonderful three-chocolate cake, then strolled down to the wine shop. David picked out a bottle of Deutz Champagne for our aperitif, then two bottles of superb Domaine Trevallon (made by a friend of Philippe’s) for the red. For the white, he picked out one of our favorites, a Coin de Cache from Mas de la Dame in Les Baux.

We now were pretty well set, so relaxed with a glass of wine and a lunch of sandwich jambon, which David kicked up a notch by adding slices of farm Reblochon cheese, and a piece or two of two-year-old Comte.

My phone rang and we were disappointed to hear the Jean-Pierre’s wife, Claire, would not be coming, as she was under the weather. Sorry we will miss her, but it will be nice to see everyone else, and of course Fred.

Table set (and looking nice), dishes prepped, wines breathing and chilled. We were all set when everyone arrived at the mas. They brought a wonderful red wine as a gift, a reserve Rhone bottling done by Mr. Reynaud, owner of famed Chateau Rayas, just for Riboto-de-Taven. We will leave it at the mas and enjoy it with them on our Spring visit. David put out some snacks, and Philippe opened the Deutz. Toasts all around, and the evening was  off to a nice start – everything goes better with Deutz.

David had made a fire, which crackled and warmed the room. and everyone was having a good time. I put out the salad to start. All of it disappeared, which was a real confidence booster. Next, the asparagus, which looked great and was a hit. Everyone loved the Buratta and jambon with it, and almost all of the big stalks disappeared.

The tagliatelle came next and disappeared from everyone’s plate. We turned to Jean-Pierre on the doneness of the scampi, and pulled it out when it was perfect. Plates filled and emptied several times, glasses were filled and re-filled with the wines, and  we all were having a delightful time. Philippe cut and served the cake for a perfect end to a perfect night.

Fred had been perfectly behaved the entire night, but now let it be known that it was time to go home, so everyone hopped in the car for the ride back over the Alpilles.

A wonderful evening.