Jumbo artichokes and jumbo mountains

Five weeks has gone by quickly.  It's Tuesday, and we depart Ansouis on Thursday.  Which means we've had to be judicious when visiting the markets, casting aside all sorts of culinary temptations.  Last night was "everything that needs to be eaten jumble". Which tasted pretty good, but still, you can feel the constraint and the underlying message that we'll be leaving here soon.

It was pouring rain and chilly this morning, which meant that the Cucuron market wasn't hitting on all cylinders. Only a few stalls, and not many people. The rotisserie chicken and potatoes cooked in chicken fat seemed like a good easy choice. And there were a few ginormous artichokes. I'd stayed away from artichokes since the disappointment with the little purple ones early in our stay here, but I'd been wanting to try these artichokes that were the size of grapefruits.

Simple steaming (for only a half hour -- I was surprised how fast they cooked). Simple mustard vinaigrette for dip, and we had lunch. There were some tough outside leaves, but the artichoke was as it should be, and the hear was huge. Part of the stem was edible as well.

The highlight of the week was the climb of Mont Saint Victoire, the mountain that Cezanne was fascinated with. Upon our arrival in Provence five weeks ago, it was an imposing presence as we departed the TGV station in our rental car. We'd been wanting to climb it, and finally did so when B&A invited us along on one of their hiking journeys.

It's even more imposing up close.  From this view, it looks like any other mountain (albeit one that's pretty bare), but from the south, you can see that the mountain top stretches for kilometers behind that pointy summit.  The photo is taken near the start of our climb.  It was a hardy two hour climb, with fantastic views throughout.  I loved the view down the west spine, showing the flowing geology of the mountain. And we had great views of Mont Ventoux off the north side. And lest the food theme that began this post be lost, our simple picnic lunches were made even more splendid by the frequent wishes of "bon appetit!" from the other hikers at the chapel near the summit. Everyone that passed us, without fail, expressed this joyous greeting.

Pics from the day!