Travelling, baking and general musing: A familiar stomping ground...

After an excellent but very filling dinner last night we were late risers this morning. Dinner was the recommended "un verre d'un" in Salon. Specialising in cuisine from Lyon, the portions were huge but so tasty that it was impossible to leave anything on the plate. We scoffed foie gras with fig jam to start with, before moving on to duck breast on an apricot and mint compote for me and lamb shank with orange for the bearded one. A modest but well chosen cheese selection was followed by apricot tart for him and a very light fromage blanc with red berries for me. It sounds so simple but it was very tasty and took us more than two hours to get through. Hardly surprising that we slept so late!When we finally did emerge this morning we decided to head for the very familiar surroundings of St Remy de Provence. We've been coming here for 14 or so years and have seen the place change from a quiet but pretty small town into a tourist Mecca, especially for Americans. The old places we knew have closed to be replaced by chic and epensive designer boutiques and pricey art galleries. There are still many good places to eat and a growing market, and of course the nearby Roman ruins at Glanum, but we are wondering whether we have seen the best of St Remy and that maybe it's time to find the new St Remy somewhere else. But putting that aside, we strolled the market for a while before deciding it was lunchtime. We revisted a favourite place L'aile ou la cuisse, receiving a warm welcome and a good table. The lunchtime "formule" was good value for St Remy, so we went for two courses, main and pud. Cod fillet for me (mindful of the scales when I get back) and duck breast for the bearded one. A nice half bottle of local rose to wash it all down. But the main event here is the dessert window. All fantastically tempting, but we went for raspberry tart and a chocolate covered chocolate mousse and shared them. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.