StuDudley

You might make a reservation for your Sunday lunch in Gordes. Sunday is a big day for lunches - both for tourists & locals. We had a nice Sunday lunch at the simple Cafe de la Poste in Goult. 04 90 72 23 23. It won't be as touristy s Gordes.

Stu Dudley

StCirq

Just so you know, the Ile-sur-la-Sorgue market can be an absolutely zoo in mid-summer. There is no way I would attempt to take 4 kids ages 2-6 to it and hope to hang onto them. Plus, would they really be interested in French antiques?

I'd go to Ile-sur-la-Sorgue on a non-market day, or better still, substitute Pernes-les-Fontaines, which is a far more "normal" Provençal town, without the issues of swarms of tourists and parking hassles and insane prices for a sandwich, and all that. It's not likely that you're looking to haul home an 18th-century armoire, right? So go somewhere easier and calmer and every bit as pretty, or ride through Ile-sur-la-Sorgue on a non-market day. You don't HAVE to hit all the tourist highlights, especially with a brood along with you.

I'm guessing the reason lots of shopkeepers in St-Rémy close down Monday afternoons, as do most shopkeepers throughout France, is in summer they are just exhausted from dealing with tourists and having to speak English.

Watch the kids carefully at Les Baux so they don't fall over the precipice on top. And get there early, or else you'll be parking halfway down a very big, steep hill and have a heckuva climb up and down.

Christina

I don't think the reason shopkeepers close on Monday afternoons is because they are tired of speaking English, how absurd. This is a custom throughout France, even in areas where there aren't many tourists. It's because it's a slow shopping day and they want some time off and not to incur the expenses of opening on a day with few sales. All small stores and restaurants need to close sometime, so they choose the slowest period that makes sense. Stores may close on Monday afternoon even in areas where they don't have hardly any tourists and the shopkeepers don't speak English.

StCirq

I know perfectly well, Christina, that it's a custom in France to shut down on Mondays. I live here. But St-Rémy is one of the most touristy villages in France, and one might assume that they might buck the custom by staying open on Mondays despite custom. I happen to know several shop owners in St-Rémy, and they have told me they choose to shut down on Mondays not only to honor the time-honored custom but because they are just "wiped-out" by American and English tourists who are rude and demanding and who don't speak a word of French. Take it as you will - do you know shopkeepers in St-Rémy? They are forfeiting a fair bit of revenue for a respite from the English-speaking hordes who descend on their town.It's not all about the language, of course, it's about people who have tried to build a livelihood providing good, local products who have been overrun with tourists who can't even speak their language (and YES, that is a big deal for them - do you know a single French person for whom his language isn't important?). I'd close on Mondays, too. There is nothing absurd about it.