It’s August and, as tourist season moves into full throttle in little Lourmarin—crowds bulging at the seams by mid-morning in the Friday market and bonnes tables harder and harder to snag—it’s good to know there is relief in one area. Lourmarin has some new public bathrooms and, all snickering aside, this is un grand soulagement!  (That is, a big relief!) Two free public toilets with automatic cleaning—one with handicap accessibility—opened in May. They are conveniently located near the main parking area (called Parking des Cerisiers) and La Place Henri Barthélémy.  You may have seen this type of toilet in larger cities (in France and elsewhere)…

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 I know, I know: it’s the antiques that draw people from all over the world to the Isle-sur-la-Sorgue market. This pleasant but otherwise unremarkable Provençal town is the indisputable go-to place in the South of France for serious antique shopping and its huge market on Sunday mornings is a magnet for those looking for things like the perfect Louis XIV chest of drawers or a Napoleon Bonaparte bust in bronze. In my visits to the Sunday market over the years, I have been known to find room in my suitcase for a pair of brass candle sticks, a couple of wrought-iron wine bottle carriers, and a set…

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