Market Day in L’Isle
Just steps from our apartment is the main street along the river Sorgue, and on this Sunday morning it was choked with shoppers. The produce vendors offered juicy figs the size of lemons, sweet fleshy melons a bright orange, peaches, nectarines, berries and more exotic fruits from afar like mangoes. You could sample anything, and we did. As in all these weekly markets in the region, you could buy shoes, clothing, toys and souvenirs, and beat the heat with gelato shops every hundred yards or so.
Our plan had been to take in the market in Coustellet also, but the morning got away from us. After what sounded like a refreshing Provençal salad but turned out to be wholly indifferent, we sought refuge for a brief rest in our cool apartment away from the crowd — but that short respite turned into a few hours, until we knew the market at Coustellet would be finished for the day.
Instead, we dressed up a bit and had an exquisite dinner at Mets de Reynaud. There were three appetizers, a choice of plat and three desserts, meaning no agonizing choices. The apps were gazpacho, a lobster salad in a spoon, and smoked salmon with cherry tomatoes and basil.
My turbot came with a fleur de courgette.
For dessert there were three delectable morsels that satisfied the sweet tooth but didn’t lay heavily on the stomach. Perfection!
