This article is part of a series about our ten favorite markets in Provence. Thus far, we have written about Aix-en-Provence, Apt, Cadenet, Cucuron, Gordes, Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, and Lourmarin. When we chose our top ten markets, we considered the quality and variety of the offerings, the friendliness of the vendors, and the ambience of the venue. Practical issues (e.g., traffic and parking) were also weighed, but, in the end, it was the market itself that mattered most. Get there early and avoid the inevitable traffic and parking challenges! These are the markets we visit again and again when we are in Lourmarin.  Saint Rémy comes alive…

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Second of a two-part article.These chocolates are so delicious that most people say, ‘They are to die for.’ I would say, ‘They are to live for.’ Hope for a good long life, so you can try every one.   –My mother, 80-something C’est arrivé. The chocolates arrived just in time for my mother’s birthday. They were carefully packed with the knowledge that they would be traveling far from Saint-Remy-de-Provence and they arrived in perfect condition. Regular readers of The Modern Trobadors may recall that, last week, I wrote about my favorite chocolates in Provence: Joël Durand’s L’Alphabet des Saveurs. We have been to this renown chocolatier’s…

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First of two-part article L’Alphabet des Saveurs chocolates  Photo: 1j2M Some of the best chocolates in the world hail from France. In Paris, I think of La Maison de Chocolat, JP Hévin, La Durée, Michel Chaudun. But it is to Provence that I would head for my favorite: the best chocolate in the region is made by Joël Durand in the small village of Saint-Remy-de-Provence. We visited this alluring chocolate shop this past August. The number of times we have been drawn to Monsieur Durand’s chocolate shop has long passed double digits. This time we were en route from Lourmarin, the Luberon village we have…

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