The Luberon: the country of Jean Giono and the melon of Cavaillon

We leave under the sun of Provence. Vanessa Zha, you are taking us to the Luberon, on the side of the Alpes de Haute Provence. 

Yes, between Manosque and the Montagne de Lure, in the country of Jean Giono, who disappeared 50 years ago. He was born and died in Manosque. And even if his birthplace is closed (too cramped for visits), the Raffin hotel devotes a permanent exhibition to him. But it is by sinking into the hinterland that you can truly discover all the facets of the writer.

So there is obviously a circuit around the Mont d'Or, where he lived, but also a "Jean Giono Route", which starts from Banon and follows a circuit around the Montagne de Lure. 125 km, 20 literary stops that you can take alone, by downloading the route on the web, or in literary outings with the Bleuet.

It is the largest French bookstore in rural areas!

Exactly, it is a real institution, some of you even travel up to 200 km to push its doors. It is located in the heart of the village of Banon. To give you an idea, Banon is 900 souls. Le Bleuet: 120,000 pounds. The bookstore programs literary naps, nocturnes and therefore half-day hikes in the footsteps of Giono this summer. And for connoisseurs, you pass among others by the Contadour, this mythical place in which Giono organized pacifist camps with young people before the Second World War.

And then there is another institution not far away, the Couvent des Minimes in the country of Forcalquier.

That's it, in Mane. This convent was built in 1613 to accommodate the Male Order of the Minims. But in 1860 it was the Franciscans who took over. And until their departure in 2000, they will succeed in making this convent the soul of the valley. People come here for catechesis, fishing, cultivating terraced gardens. And what is magic is that today this place of heritage has been transformed into a very beautiful Relais and castles, and despite everything we have the impression that nothing has changed.

Fabien and Valérie Piacentino, the masters of the place, knew how to keep alive the charms and secrets of the past, even the Stations of the Cross which rises in the restanques. So obviously we no longer come here for catechesis, but for a Provençal weekend from A to Z: lavender massage, tasting at Le Pesquier Bistro of watermelon gazpacho and emulsified ratatouille by Gatien Demczyna. And of course we end up with a game of pétanque with a small glass of Bardouin.

Marion Sauveur, what specialty of the Luberon can we taste right now? 

A summer vegetable par excellence, which belongs to the family of squash and zucchini (cucurbits) and which is eaten like a fruit, juicy, very sweet: it is the Cavaillon melon. The season started a fortnight ago for the field melon, which grows in a soil bathed in sun all year round. And it is this sun which brings the sweet aromas to the Cavaillon melon. He is also in the race to obtain a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). 

The melon is not from Cavaillon, even less from France. It was the Egyptians who would have been the first to cultivate it in Antiquity, before the Greeks and the Romans. He would have arrived in the region thanks to the Popes, installed in Avignon. One thing is certain: melon has been found in Cavaillon at least since 1495, where the mention of the vegetable appears in a regulation given by the two co-lords of the city. But his fame exploded in the 19th century, with the development of the railroad. It is in Cavaillon that all the producers meet to dispatch their production to the big cities. And it was also at this time that Alexandre Dumas negotiated a life annuity of twelve melons per year in exchange for his works. 

With the melon, the most difficult thing is to choose it well! 

The Cavaillon melon is a Charentais type melon. The easiest way is to look at your pet, it's the little name for its peduncle (its tail). It must be cracked. And if you have the choice between two: the sweetest melon will be the heaviest. 

Do you have an address where you can eat Cavaillon melon? 

Yes ! In Cavaillon: at Maison Prévot, at the first melon counter. Chef Jean-Jacques Prévot offers a melon menu, where it is worked entirely and like a vegetable. Even the seeds are used to make a vinaigrette. You will be able to taste in particular a “Melon in lamb tagine with roasted almonds”, a recipe full of flavors in which you even taste the skin of the candied melon. And for dessert, the “Calirond”, like a calisson with a candied melon mousse, with a Breton shortbread and a crunchy meringue and served with an absinthe sorbet. This menu is also available to take away from 45 euros.