Another entry, another restaurant meal. This one promises to be top drawer, and I'm not just saying that because I'm in the village perché of Venasque. The goats cheese ravioli I had as a starter was quite good. Now I'm expecting the chicken diable and then there's the cheese and an Ile flotante still to come. All that for €17 and the stunning view is included.

After a rather adventurous detour I spent the rest of the morning in Pernes-les-Fontaines. Pernes-les-Fontaines is not a good place to be urgently needing a loo. Trust me on that one. But once I had, I discovered a sleepy little town that lives up to its name. There were also rather a lot of obviously well loved cats around. I managed to take pictures of a few even if none of them wanted to talk to me.

My next stop is a monastery, Abbaye de Sénanque. I could do with some stillness. A spot of meditation would be nice. My final destination is Gordes. The hotelier called Gordes "jet set". A native Brit might say posh or even snooty. He recommendes Venasque as a place that is as nice as Gordes was before the jet set invaded it.

It's an interesting expression "jet set". It's basically a group of people named after their preferred mode of transportation. The only other established such expression I can come up with is "bikers". Quite.

The host at my hotel has been very helpful. He seeks me out at breakfast every morning, tells me about the weather forecast, asks me about my plans and gives me tips about things to do or places to go. He speaks both German and English and is always friendly and professional. I'm impressed.

Mmm, this Ile Flotante was not bad at all. It's basically marshmallows in custard but it's better than it sounds. French magic. I think they bought points in gastronomic magic.

Ile Flotante means "Floating Island"

Wallpaper, feel free to use

mood: sleepy and content