Where To Go Next for Tuesday, July 29

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Bargain Shopping in Provence

By Judi Janofsky & Rich Steck

With the U.S. dollar in such a weakened state, traveling to Europe this summer can be expensive. A quick lunch in an outdoor Paris café set us back almost $60 last month - it doesn't help when a Diet Coke cost $8.

But there are some places to go and things to do that you won't have to take a bank loan out to enjoy. One of those is a day of flea market exploring in the village of L'Isle sur la Sorgue in Provence.

Located in the southeast area of the Vaucluse region where the Sorgue River branches out in five directions, the village was a swampland until a bunch of fisherman decided to build houses on stilts there in the 12th century. Eventually the river was reined in by canals to power waterwheels and turned into a mill town.

Known now in France as the "peasant Venice," the picturesque L'Isle sur la Sorgue is a major European haunt of antique hunters who arrive on Sunday to shop the town's famous antique flea market and stalls.

But we don't go to L'Isle for the antiques, instead we join the sometimes hordes of other bargain hunters and locals who browse the local outdoor market that goes on at the same time.

We spend the morning strolling the streets buying gorgeous fabrics, colorful woven tote bags, lavender sachet, attractive pottery, beautiful scarves and leather shoes - all at prices we could never find in the U.S.

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