Friday Market Day in Lourmarin

Another beautiful morning in Lourmarin. Friday's in Lourmarin are always quite a bustle of activity because it's market day!!! I got up early to run my favorite route to Puyvert and on my way back the market was beginning to set up. It amazes me how much time and effort goes into each stand at these markets. So much set up involved and everything always has such attention to detail in their displays. I took a few pictures on my way back to the hotel to change and get ready to visit the market. This is certainly the most quiet the street will be all day!

I cannot believe how much has already been set up so early in the morning

Early shoppers looking for the best goods

Market trucks line the village with vendors setting up

A busy day ahead

Pappy Hats!!!!

 We get ready and head to the market - first stop....Macarons! haha! While these are beautiful they don't live up to our standards for excellence. Oh well, we will always give a macaron a try.

Macarons? Yes, please

What else can I say other than...YUM - Tapenades in every variety and the most amazing olives. I am still amazed that I didn't think I ever liked olives until we arrived in Provence 2 years ago.

Beaurtiful colors, flavors and aromas

I wish the seafood section of Whole Foods could live up to these standards!

I don't even know what to say - the most perfect selection of my favorite cheeses from the area and we don't have a kitchen yet. I would love to take these all home with me.

What is a market without some music to add to the festivity.

 Market in Lourmarin means lunch at La Recreation for us! It is amazing to me that we made our way throughout the market and the exact same vendors are still there in the same locations. I found all my favorites from lavendar pumice/soap stones, grilled/salted pistachios, table linens, photography and artwork in the exact location they set up 2 years ago. This is like being in a time capsule and I absolutely love it. Now it's time for lunch....Rose wine and Salad Nicoise are calling my name!

Our favorite lunch spot in Lourmarin, La Recrea

The flowers here amaze me. You can't turn your head and not see the most amazing arrangement of fresh flowers.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel to drop off all of our loot. I foresee another suitcase in our future to get back to Dallas and we have only been here 4 days. London is quite proud of her new purse she acquired during the market. We were going to go for a ride to drive by our house in Puyvert and I wanted to show London the largest dandelions that I saw on my run. Off to explore!

What little girl doesn't love a dandelion, especially when they are so HUGE

Lots of wishes to make with these dandelions

Sweet French country girl

After hunting all the dandelions between Lourmarin and Puyvert, we happened upon Greta the house manager for our wonderful house in Puyvert. We had a nice time chatting with her on the side of the road and catching up. We stopped by the house on our way to search out the lavendar. It was truly my favorite place we have stayed in France. Love this house!

Puyvert house

After reminiscing on our Puyvert stay we headed to Apt in search of the lavendar fields. We left too soon in the previous years to see the lavendar in full bloom so we were hoping for some great photos. Another adventure on my favorite windy, twisty, narrow mountain roads - I sure hope this lavendar is worth it.

 Well we made it to the lavendar fields and they are just on the verge of blooming. Once again we are a little too early. Something tells me that we will have to return to Lourmarin later in our visit for another market day and to actually see the lavendar. I think we are only a week or two away.

Please Pop Lavendar Fields

So close to popping

This absolutely cracked me up. Who lost their tweety bird?
'I thought I saw a putty cat'

My favorite narrow mountain roads

Yikes!

Back to the hotel to get ready for our dinner at David's restaurant, L'Antiquaire. Yes, again. We loved David's version of Bouillabaisse when we were here before so on Wednesday we placed our obligatory advance notice order. We certainly weren't disappointed.

Dressed and ready for L'Antiquaire

I love a 'coupe de champagne' so we were a little early for our dinner reservation and it was such a pretty night that we decided to go back and see our new friends at The Terrasse for a pre-dinner 'pagne. I suppose we were trying to make up for lost time since we completely missed this little treasure of a place on our last visit. A round of Champagne and Sirop (for London) before we head over to see David.


So I give Steve one responsibility to take a photo of London and David since he was facing them and this is what I got. Hmmmmm. Note to self - double check Steve's photography before we leave for the night.


I have to laugh because I forgot about the abundance of soup that you get with this order. I was perfectly content with the first helping of bouillabaisse and even indulged in a potato and the amazing croutons that accompanied the soup. I almost fell over when David brought out the remaining vat of soup for our second and third helpings. Who knew soup could be so filling. Perhaps when there are 4-5 different types of fish fillets in the soup it can make a difference. London even got involved in the Bouillabaisse eating frenzy and helped us finish off the fish in the soup. So good!

Full and Happy

Of course London is never too full for ice cream, especially when she can go in the kitchen and select her own with David!


This was one of my most surprising favorite things on our last visit. I am not usually an after dinner drink kind of person but this thyme liqeour is absolutely divine. It is a little like gasoline going down but the after taste provides the sweetest, lingering flavor that sums up Provence. I still don't know the exact name or if it even has a name as this could be one of David's homemade concoctions. Love it!

Thyme-shine

As much as I adore this after dinner drink, Steve still has a hard time with it. It will clear any sinus problems for sure.



Yes, these are glasses for just 2 adults - wine and thyme-shine.


We had a wonderful dinner (as usual) with David and we headed back to the hotel. But we had to stop for a nightcap at the new restaurant in town Numero 9. We have stopped here every night due to the close proximity to the hotel (next door) and London has become quite famous with the proprietors. We visit for our last night in France with the owner and somehow London bamboozles them for yet another ice cream. (I think the Thyme-shine had kicked in because I didn't even think to stop her) I believe I can speak for our whole family when I say J'adore Lourmarin!! This is truly our home away from home.