Subject: South of France - 4
The D99 between Cavaillon and San Remy is lined on both sides with single rows of plane trees - like driving under a green Gothic arch for miles. We call and make reservations for a 1 pm lunch at Bistro de Paradou - highly recommended by Patricia Wells, food critic for the International Herald Tribune, as well as Bob and Sue Winn, founders of Provence Byways, and authors of the Concise Guides, recommended by Gretchen, I think. They have a marvelous program of one-week self-guided tours of the Luberon. http://www.provencebyways.com

>Charming San Remy is bustling this morning, the ancient squares and winding streets full of fascinating market stalls. We find our favorite water color artist, and buy gifts for friends and ourselves. And the fabrics - I can't get enough of the lovely prints, and buy a bunch of placemats, breadbaskets, aprons, and tablecloths, again for gifts as well as us. One seller has a marvelous array of every imaginable item that can be made of olive wood - more gifts here. I've been using the nice salad tongs often since returning home. Well, that's Christmas shopping almost done! One last purchase - a frilly, tiered dress of bright blue and yellow for our 3 year old grand daughter. (When we give it to her at home, her response is everything one could hope for ''Oooh - it's beee-yoo-ti-full, Gran. I LOVE it! Thank you so much.Then she wears it, delighting in twirling for us, for 2 days straight!!