Apt in the Luberon Valley

Before I take you on a short tour of another lovely village, I wanted to say thank you to Pink Chalk Fabrics for choosing my Modern Chevron quilt tutorial for the finals of the Handmade With Love Tutorial Contest 2012.

Voting closes today so pop over and vote for whatever takes your fancy in the four categories. You'll also find a link to all 130 tutorials that were submitted to the contest - tons of free inspiration all in the one spot!

So, back to the lovely town of Apt which is located in the Luberon Valley, Provence.

We visited about a month ago on a Saturday, because Saturday is market day. And Sara Louise had told us Apt is one of her favourite markets so we thought we'd better check it out.

Sara was right. The markets are large, stretched out along many of Apt's picturesque streets and alleys, and have a great variety of vendors.

Provençal quilting (known as boutis) where stuffing is used between two wholecloths

I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the cheese.

Walking through the stalls we came upon the 11th century Cathédrale Sainte--Anne.

Looks a little spooky, huh?

If you want more spookiness you can go down under the main altar into a pre-Roman crypt.

And then down another level to the spot where Christian worship supposedly first occurred in the town.

The passageway has stone tiles (around 1000 years old) decorating the ceiling and there are relics housed behind the grate (said to be the bones of Saint Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, but I have no idea how they verify these things.)

Notes and prayers to St Anne had been stuffed through the grill:

After the markets began to close up we walked a little further, trying to find a restaurant for lunch (they were all full).

So instead we went to a wood-fired pizza van and picked up some lunch-to-go:

Which we ate in the park across the road:

The pizza was fantastic and the kids had a ball running around the grounds.

So don't forget - if you're looking for a great market, try Apt on a Saturday.

It's exactly two weeks and two days until we leave France. I think I've finally come to terms with it.

Plus we've run out of Vegemite so it must be time to go home.

Have a great weekend, everyone. We're off on a one-night getaway in Gordes for our 14th wedding anniversary. Photos will follow! (Of Gordes, not our anniversary celebrations. Ahem ;)

It's bloody cold here

After several weeks of balmy high teens temperatures (say 60-65˚F), winter has finally caught up with Provence.

We had snow today!

Of course we have our fingers crossed for a White Christmas.

The Aix-en-Provence Christmas Markets have been open for a few weeks now.

This is our fourth Christmas here and I still can't get enough of this tradition.

But before we toured the markets we attended a Christmas Carols concert (in English) at the St Sauveur Cathedral. There were adult and children's choirs complete with ringing bells and candles for the audience.

The highlights for me were singing The Twelve Days of Christmas (everyone really gets into that one) and the 3 year old asking his father when we would be singing Gangnam Style. Hmm.

After the carols we enjoyed the magic of the markets.

The lights:

The stalls:

This stall smells divine - ribbon-woven lavender

The book markets happened to be on at the same time (in the Hôtel de Ville square)

The Santon display:

(And buying a few more to round out my own collection)

The kiddie rides:

And of course the mulled wine and roasted chestnuts.

The Rotonde Fountain at one end of the Cours Mirabeau looks stunning in lights:

The shopping strip doesn't look too shabby either:

Speaking of shopping, how's yours going?

I need to get into gear. I've sent the Christmas cards and my handmade gifts are coming along well, but the shopping...not so much. There's still plenty of time, right?

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend (perhaps with some Christmas shopping)!

Malta: Mdina

Here's a recommendation for another great day out in Malta: the ancient walled city of Mdina.

It's old and beautiful and serene (although I imagine in the high season not so much that last one).

The birth of the city can be traced to the Phoenicians in 1000BC who apparently built the first wall around the hilltop (and called it Malet).

Then the Romans built a small city on the same spot and called it Melita.

In the 9th century, under Arab occupation, the city walls were further fortified and a moat built. The name Mdina is derived from the Arab word medina, meaning 'walled city'.

By the time the Knights of St John took up residence on the island (1500s), Mdina was the home of the governing council of Malta as well as many Maltese aristocrats.

The Knights built a new capital, Valletta, and Mdina was left in peace to become the 'Silent City' as it's often called.

We wandered the streets for a while before eating lunch at the Indian restaurant Sharma. It was the best Indian food we've had since leaving Australia - absolutely delicious.

After lunch we took in the Knights of Malta 'Show' for which I only have a half-hearted recommendation. If it's raining or your kids are really bored then it's not a bad bet. There is a short film followed by a walk amongst the mannequin dioramas (which might scare the Mdina out of your kids). The audio guide equipment was hit and miss - a few of us had a hard time hearing over the static.

In the afternoon we visited St Paul's Cathedral. St Paul, who was shipwrecked on Malta in 60AD, supposedly lived in Mdina for a while before he returned to Rome.

Then we had a spot of afternoon tea at the Fontanella Tea Gardens.

The view from the balcony was fab.

By the time we'd finished the sun was starting to set, bringing a beautiful golden hue to the stone walls.

As we walked back to the car (none allowed in the walls, there are two large car parks outside the city) we enjoyed one last view back at the Mdina Gate:

And then at the city itself from afar:

A great visit - don't miss Mdina if you ever find yourself on the Maltese Islands.