SHOPPING

For a small village, there is an impressive array of regional offerings in the local shops and an even greater array when the marché rolls around on Fridays (although a short excursion to a larger town like Aix-en-Provence would certainly yield a wider selection). 

For traditional Provençal fabrics (in the familiar colorful patterns as well as the subdued tones), traditional Provençal pottery, santons, cicada knick-knacks, soaps, and lavender-based products, check out Elodie's, La Boutique du Moulin, Les Choses de la Vie, Le Mistouflon, and Au Temps Chaud. 

Freshly harvested lavender bunches are available at the marché during the latter half of the summer, and, in the fall, bunches of wheat that are said to bring good fortune to your home are available at the marché.

For very special culinary products, an absolutely terrific selection of regional olive oils and herb-infused vinegars may be found at Le Jardin d'Ugo.  Look there also for easily transportable tapenades and truffle-related products, sea-salt, and Aix's famed calissons (a regional specialty made of marzipan).  Try also Château La Dorgonne.  For local honeys and jams, look in the marché.

At Le Jardin d'Ugo, you will also find one of the best selections of Pastis, the region's legendary anise-based aperitif, as well as other regional liqueurs and wine. 

Head to Cave Coopérative Vinicole on Place Henri Barthélémy for the best selection of Lourmarin area wines as well as a few olive oils, vinegars, and wine-related paraphernalia.  Château La Dorgonne also has a good selection.  Both offer tastings.

For art, there are 11 galleries in Lourmarin where original pieces may be purchased as well as prints, postcards, and the like.

A lovely selection of books, including Provençal literature written by contemporary and past authors, "coffee-table" books filled with lovely photographs of Provence, and a few books in English await the shopper at Le Thé dans l'Encrier.  There is a charming room devoted to children's books. Beautiful stationery and paper-related products can also be found here.  Plan to have a cup of tea or light meal, too.  Muriel has a small selection of her favorite Palais de Thé teas, too, as well as tea pots and accessories.

Look for Lourmarin's beloved Mistouflon, a character developed by a local elementary school teacher and about which she has written several books.  The family of author Mme. Anne-Marie Chapouton, owns the store Le Mistouflon, where you will find these books and Mistouflon toys.  (The best Santon collection is here, too.)

There are several women's clothing stores in the village with beautiful hand-made items.  There are also several stores devoted to antiques and collectibles, glassware, gourmet kitchen products, and reproduction Provençal furniture pieces.

Finally, one wouldn't normally think of including the local hardware store and pharmacy in a column on "shopping," but both are here because we find that we are always drawn to these two stores; intrigued by their contents, having fun looking, we always walk away with several items in our shopping bag.  La Droguerie resembles something out of another era with contents piled from floor to ceiling, every nook and cranny filled with items you won't find elsewhere, mostly house-related but some interesting regional products, too.  The pharmacy, in a brand-new store recently relocated to Place Henri Barthélémy, houses a wide selection of French lotions, digestive teas, and other pharmaceuticals that you might not have seen before.

And lest I forget t-shirts, Au Temps Chaud and Le Mistouflon have a good selection of attractive t-shirts.