For us, the day that we bumped into Giselle at the Friday market in Carpentras France was a shopaholic\u2019s dream-come-true. There she was, this chic young Frenchwoman, haggling over the price of a stunning olive wood bowl. We pretended to look for potential souvenirs while being far more intrigued with the volley of rapid fire exchanges between vendor and potential buyer. <\/p>\n
When she won the round and realizing we were drinking it all in, she turned and said, in triumphantly perfect English, \u201cIt pays to bargain.\u201d <\/p>\n
Thinking, \u201cWhat have we got to lose?\u201d I asked if we could follow her around the market. \u201cMais oui,\u201d she said, obligingly delighted to play a Pied Piper role. <\/p>\n
We lucked onto a pro. Giselle had been the concierge and hostess at an elegant inn and now was a freelance consultant helping visitors discover her Provence. Her not-so-little black book bulged with details on this and other markets, wineries, cheese shops, clothing boutiques and artisans\u2019 workshops. \u201cThe purse-size three-ring binder makes it easy to add or remove pages,\u201d she said. \u201cI file stores by category locally or by country when I travel.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cYou must try Banon. It\u2019s the chestnut-wrapped cheese of the region,\u201d she urged us as she trotted us off to the \u201cbest\u201d cheese man. Next we stopped at a stand selling \u201cthe best\u201d hand crafted soap. Without her, we would never have known which cheese or soap vendor to choose. Then it was on to check out unique hand-made jewellery, then decadent pastries, then full circle back to the splendid olive wood man.<\/p>\n
Copper pots? She produced an address in Avignon. Wine tasting? She suggested a trip to Chateuneuf du Pape to taste in an old Roman cellar. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a safe market,\u201d she said when asked I asked about such matters. . \u201cBut wherever I go, I stay alert. Pick pockets can be anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Giselle also had suggestions and caveats for shipping in third world markets and bazaars.
\n\u2022\tMake sure it\u2019s legal. You don\u2019t want to endanger the flora or fauna of the country you are visiting or arrive at customs to discover the pretty scrimshawed bracelet is actually ivory.
\n\u2022\tMake sure you\u2019re not removing precious artifacts and antiques form where they belong. Opt for replicas and reproductions.
\n\u2022\tApproach bargaining with a sense of humour. It should be fun. Halve the first asking price and start from there. Walking away usually brings the price down quickly. Pay what you think an item is worth and don\u2019t worry if you see it for less later.<\/p>\n
To say thank you we suggested she join us for lunch at her favourite restaurant. We might have guessed. It was small, charming and \u201dthe best\u201d food around. <\/p>\n
As they say, nothing beats chatting up the locals. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For us, the day that we bumped into Giselle at the Friday market in Carpentras France was a shopaholic\u2019s dream-come-true. There she was, this chic young Frenchwoman, haggling over the price of a stunning olive wood bowl. We pretended to look for potential souvenirs while being far more intrigued with the volley of rapid fire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":209,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/beyondlavenderhill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/189"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/beyondlavenderhill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/beyondlavenderhill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beyondlavenderhill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beyondlavenderhill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=189"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/beyondlavenderhill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190,"href":"http:\/\/beyondlavenderhill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/189\/revisions\/190"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beyondlavenderhill.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/beyondlavenderhill.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}