Yurtgrl

I am a planner. I am often spontaneous but I tend to plan. I say this because I will be on this board a lot over the next few months and I hope you regulars will bear with me.I am grateful for every bit of wisdom you share. If you ever visit New England...I will return the favor.

We will take the TGV from Paris and arrive in Avignon around 1pm. We will pick up a rental car at the station to drive to our rental near Saignon. We'll pass though Apt. Along the way we will need eat and buy groceries. On a Saturday afternoon in September will this be easy and any suggestions of a good one or two stops for grocery basics ( coffee, bread, etc...) and wine ...and lunch?

Waldo

I can't guarantee that it's still there, but it must be. Here we go-- a few years ago, I was in Avignon and wanted to get something to eat. Wal;king along the main street from the rail station, I (really my wife and I), came upon a McDonalds. We had no desire to eat there, but there was a COIN department store and deli directly adjacent and beneath it, down a flight of stairs. We went down and we saw the most beautiful deli ever. They had a full range of groceries and wines. On a whim, we decided to ask if we could have sandwiches made. The nice man behind the counter proceeded to make the best cold cut sandwiches I ever tasted. We took our sandwiches and a bottle of wine and paper cups, walked a few hundred feet to the carousel nearby, sat down on a low wall there and proceeded to have one of the best meals ever. We were not ashamed to do this because we noticed that many of the townspeople were doing it before we were. In any event, we kept going back to the deli for all our groceries. They have a tremendous selection. I'm sure they have anything you want. Besides, it is so clean and neat that you will love it.

Gretchen

I think your towns are small. It shouldn't be difficult to find the supermarche.
From your first post, you may be really overthinking things.
I LOVE to have things planned, but the location of a supermarket is not something I would obsess about. BUT that is "me".

dugi_otok

Last year we shopped at Leclerc on the D943 in Apt.

Leclerc, Apt, Luberon provence E. LECLERC, APT
Chemin Abattoirs, 84400 Apt
tel. 04.90.74.05.04

openinghours:
mo to sa: 08h30 - 19h30
July and August mo to sa: 08h30 - 20h00

Some other markets:

Intermarché, Apt, Luberon provence
368, Avenue Libération, 84400 Apt
tel.: 04.90.04.45.60

openinghours:
mo to sa: 08h30 - 19h30

Atac, Apt, Luberon, provence
SIMPLY MARKET (former ATAC), APT
554, Avenue Lançon, 84400 Apt
tel.: 04.90.04.45.40

openinghours:
mo - tu - we - th - sa: 08h30 - 19h30
fr : 08h30 - 20h00
su : 08h30 - 12h00

For a simple lunch I recommend Chez Christine in Saigon. It is a bakery-patisserie (great salads), open all day. It is down the hill from the church. There is a free parking lot there.

The place Waldo mentions is not near the TGV station.

dugi_otok

You will find a GPS very valuable in navigating around the Luberon.

Yurtgrl

Thanks Waldo and Dugi. Very helpful.

msfaz

Thank you dugi_otok who posted the market details. We are now in Bonnieux and we head into Apt daily. Ugi recommended Chez Christine in Saignon (I think dugi_otok wrote Saigon)... Saignon is tiny hill side village just outside of Apt..only 5 min by car. Chez Christine wasa wonderful experience for a quick informal al fresco lunch. We had the salad with quiche and carafe of vino! Beautiful! Thanks dugi!

Msfaz