Contributor blog post by Ashley Tinker: I recently participated in a cooking class held by Jean Marc Villard of French Cuisine cooking classes in Maubec. Jean Marc, passionate about local produce, started the class by taking us to Naturellement Paysan, the local farmers cooperative in Coustellet. …Continue reading here for details …

Last weekend we decided to potter off to enjoy a couple of brocante markets and vide grenier events being held in the area. The last time we’d gone to one we’d found a wonderful French Military History chart for our youngest, Tom, who’s passionate about history, so he too thought …

In early August, Aubagne will once again host ARGILLA the biennial marketplace for ceramics artists. Each year a country is selected as the thematic focus of the event, this year it is Spain. The 14th edition of this international pottery market and festival opens to the public on August 5th and …

Most people (read tourists) go to l’Isle sur la Sorgue for one of two reasons: The Sunday market – one of the largest in the region The 300+ antique stores and dealers Very few would go because they were expecting Venice in Provence. Ginger and Nutmeg had only visited for the …

Contributor blog post by Margo Lestz: How could a fabric that originated in India, was copied by Armenians, and outlawed in France become a symbol of Provence? The kaleidoscope of cotton fabrics that punctuate the Provençal markets today, just seem to shout “southern France.” They are decorated with cicadas, olives, …

Contributor blog post by Vaucluse Dreamer: If you’ve been following my blog for a while you’ll know that one of the things I love most about France is the chance to spend the weekends pottering round some of the fabulous local ‘brocante’ markets. In the Summer, the weekends pass by …

Contributor blog post by Vaucluse Dreamer: Not every day starts with blue skies & sunshine in Provence and Saturday was one of those days! When we woke, the rain was drumming on the roof and the whole place just looked soggy, so any thoughts of a bike ride went out of …

Tell me there’s a brocante nearby and I’m there! If I start off another blog post with “one of my favorite things,” please excuse me. It’s just that it’s so hard for me to contain myself when describing some of the fun things to do in France. Like going to …

Contributor blog post by Michel: You know I love santons, the hand-made clay figurines that depict the colorful people, traditional trades, activities and costumes of Provence. In Provence, they are set out at Christmas in a Provençal crèche (nativity scene). …Continue reading here for Michel’s description of these tiny clay figures …

Contributor blog post by Vaucluse Dreamer: If Saturday is a day for the local market then Sunday has become a day to spend the morning pottering around a local Brocante market or village ‘Vide Greniers’ event. In the summer, we often found that we had to make a choice between …