You're dreaming of spending a vacation in sunny Provence? Staying in one of those typical hilltop towns where history just oozes off the walls every corner you turn? Sipping your pastis in the village square letting the hot afternoon go by at the sound of a refreshing fountain? We'd like to propose to you some smashing holiday rentals in the very heart of Provence between the Mt.Ventoux and the Luberon mountains. All of our houses are ideally located for
	visiting Provence with towns like Gordes, Menerbes, Roussillion, Avignon and St-Remy-de-Provence. The Mediterrenean (Cassis) is only 75km. away.

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	LOCAL MARKETS
	THE FORCALQUIER MONDAY MORNING MARKET     Looking for something less touristy then the markets in the Luberon villages west of Apt we decided to visit the Monday morning market in Forcalquier this time. We left early because it promised to become another hot day (July 26th). The drive up to Forcalquier took us through the upper part of the Luberon valley, east of Apt, through small Provencal towns like Cereste and Mane. The landscape is different here, the hills seem less steep, the fields more gently rolling, the sturdy looking farm houses looking more Alpine.   Getting there early (around 9.30 am) we found that parking was no problem. Arriving into town there's a huge field to the right which has been turned into a parking lot (free). After only about 100m on foot we were on the market. The market it self is big, set up on the main square in front of the church (Place du Bourguet), on a large parking lot a little further down, along the N100 going through town and on a number of small streets going up into the old town and on the Place de St. Michel.   Along the N100 and the main square we found mainly food stands, many with local produce like goat cheese (Banon!), olive oil, lavender extract, honey, épautre, but also sausages, very nice bread etc. Further down there were some interesting stands with used books (most of them in French of course). We also did see a lovely hat stand, nothing to do with the usual panamas 'Provencal' for tourists, but with very stylish hats fit for real ladies.   We had our 'cafés crêmes' on the terrace of the café le Bourguet (7, place du Bourguet, 0492750023) overlooking a busy part of the market sitting in the shade of the 'platane' trees.   One area of the market has mainly handicraft stands where handmade jewellery, trendy cloths and exotic materials can be found. The ambiance here was all the more pleasant because of the musical support of Michel de Menestrel, a singer-guitarist with an endless repertoire of French popular songs.   Making our way up into the old town we came onto the Place de St. Michel where we were pleasantly surprised to find antiques, brocante, and old books. By this time we had finished our shopping and our basket contained: a delicious local tomme (cow cheese), a little sac of épautre, one multi grain bread 'au levure' and 1 kilo of the best apricots ever. Time for lunch! Chez Karim on the Place the St. Michel (04 92 75 04 63) looked tempting, but then we saw the lovely terrace shaded by a 'treille' of Olivier & Co (3 Rue des Cordeliers 04 92 75 00 75), closed Monday night and Tuesday. Simone had a combination of 3 tians (small tapas like dishes) of egg plant, artichoke and sweet potatoes followed by a goat cheese with pear. I had a lovely lamb 'confit' stewed in white wine followed by a very special 'tartiflette aux framboises'. We had some local rosé (cote de provence) with it and a coffee to finish it off. All in all for 55 euros!   This trip turned out very nice and we'll certainly be back in Forcalquier!           home

Sejours & Provence  *    *  wim.simone@wanadoo.fr