Our First Market in Provence - Isle Sur la Sorgue

Our first day in Provence was pretty amazing, I must say. I'm madly in love with our previous experiences the people, food and wine in Bourgogne. I understand that everyone loves Provence, but my heart was in Bourgogne. Today just might have opened my eyes.....our first market day in Provence - Isle Sur la Sorgue.

This market is in a town that has the second largest antique dealers for interior decorators and on Sundays the stores are open to the public in addition to the market going on in town. We began our drive to Isle Sur la Sorgue from Puyvert. I was kind of disappointed in the scenery as I truly had expected something out of a movie. It was just kind of scruffy with unattractive buildings and overgrown vineyards and not much else. Where is the Provence that I've read and seen in movies.....fields of lavender, vineyards and scenic perfection?

Fortunately, when we arrived in Isle Sur la Sorgue, it was awesome. This is the cutest town with a river running through it and it was absolutely bustling! We parked and made our way to the market. I have never had such sensory overload of fragrances -  the lavender, herbs, soaps, cheese, olives. It was so amazing just to stand in the middle of all of it.
(PS- we don't know these people in the picture below, I was just trying to get a picture of the market on the street. But I am trying to persuade Steve to dress like a local and start wearing a scarf & sport coat!!)

London attacked the first soap stand that she saw to select her bath soap and she couldn't decide pink or purple, so the vendor gave her both! Pretty impressive how a little french 'Bonjour' from a 3 year old will melt the locals hearts....We left with a tower of soaps.

Then we found amazing lavender sachets and London had to get one a monogrammed one.

After enjoying the market and discovering new local cheeses that we hadn't ever tried and realizing how much we love the olive tapenade (even though I never really liked olives), it was time for lunch. We found a cute little restaurant and sat inside because unfortunately all the outdoor tables were taken as the weather was absolutely perfect! Lunch was amazing - A carafe of the local rose wine &  Chaud Chèvre Salade with Provencal herbs for me and Canard for Steve....London had the usual Menu Enfant - Steak Hache & Frites followed by Ice Cream/Glace. What a wonderful afternoon!!!! We will be back next Sunday!