Wild West in Provence

"No way am I riding that!" I said when I first saw the mechanical bull.

It was the first night of the Saint Pantaléon fête.

We were pleasantly surprised a few weeks after landing is this tiny hamlet in the Luberon, that in addition to their one shop/restaurant/bar that they also had a very popular annual fête!

Night one was the warm up, we dressed nice and headed down to the fête early, filled with anticipation of what the night might hold. We were humoured when we arrived to see that the staff literally outnumbered patrons by 2 to 1.  

 

To the back of the Mairie (aka Town Hall) a car park had been converted to the Wild West. Inspired no doubt by the Mayor's Scottish brother-in-law, who lives in Austin, Texas, U S of A. 

They had done a stellar job in transforming the otherwise unused car park with a spectacular view into an authentic looking mini-Texas, with one exception reserved for the local twenty-somethings who rocked their tightest and brightest new tracksuits to the fête and parked themselves at the corner of the bar all evening, looking ever so sharp. 

Night one we came, we saw, we had beer(s), wine and a cupcake - and said we'd return for night two, the dinner. Some 200 people in a town of only 150 had booked their spots. 

We requested that Agathe, our host, and our only English speaking friend in St Pantaléon, seat us near some English speakers.

We arrived later on the second night and the crowd was building. Elliot was thrilled to see that the jumping castle was back in action, and the line dancers were just warming up as we arrived, a dancing group from nearby Goult. 

The night was a hit. Not only did we get English speakers, we landed the seats next to the Mayor of Saint Pantaléon, and his extended French / Scottish / American family. 

We had a terrific time chatting about them, about us, about the town, about Australia.  

The 5€ carafes of wine ensured everyone had a good time, it also lead to my decision to take on the bull at 11pm. The man with the controls spoke little English, but asked (in French) whether I played rugby, Alison quickly answered on my behalf saying 'yes'. That pleased him, he had played with some Australians and South Africans back in his day, it also caused him to turn the buck and spin dials up and laugh intensely.  

I didn't win the longest ride prize, but I was pleased I didn't throw up.
That was a win in itself.

Scott