Les Halles - the Avignon Market

Our flight took us to Marseilles, where we rented a car and drove to Avignon, which we would use as the base for our wanderings in Provence.

We were exhausted when we arrived, but we sought out Les Halles, the Avignon market, so we could check out the local foods and pick up some things to stock the apartment.

This is the front of Les Halles. The facade is covered with lush plantings! It's quite startling when first seen.

I included a close-up of the plantings because they were so unusual .

Of course, the first place I headed was to the patisserie! This one featured all-butter pastries (my favorite!) and the choices were tantalizing. We bought caneles, those wonderful little cakes that are baked in cylindrical molds at high heat. The results are crispy outsides with chewy, very moist interiors. Such a treat! We also bought some chocolate cake for Mike, a tomato quiche, and a ham and cheese quiche with mushrooms. And just in case we didn't find any other pastries in Provence (!) - I bought a lovely pear tart. We also picked up a loaf of organic whole grain bread, but I don't seem to be able to find the photo of the boulangerie. So sorry!

Now that we had dessert covered, we sought out a cheese vendor. We bought three cheeses: a goat, a cow, and a sheep. They were all local Provencal cheeses, and were absolutely amazing. So sensually vibrant with flavor and texture. We ate them each evening on the small patio of the apartment, along with a local wine or a glass of champagne. It was truly an amazing vacay!

I decided we should have some fresh fruit and vegetables in the apartment, so we stopped at a produce stand and bought local grapes, salad greens, local tomatoes, garlic, and red pepper. All of the produce, at every market we visited in Provence, was clearly marked with country of origin. Most of the produce was locally grown and it all was full-flavored.

We decided to buy some sausages and pate to enjoy during down time in the apartment. Not that there was much of that. This vendor sold excellent homemade sausages that we cooked up a couple of mornings to have with omelets.

We finished our shopping by picking up olive oil and red wine vinegar for our salads, and some wonderful olives to eat with our cheeses.

Now we could pretend we were locals. We went back to the apartment to catch a much-needed nap before strolling around the city.