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Our Tour "Themes"...

The Bike Tour
The Roman & Castle Tour
Art and Beach Tour
Camargue and Féria Tour
Le Lubéron Tour
The Wine Crush Tour
The Fall Colors Tour
The Marmiton Cooking Class
The Avignon Festival Tour
The Senior Tour of Provençe
American Student Tour of Provençe
Abbeys and Cathedrals of Provençe
The Dive Trip

Other...

Pictures of the Parish House
The Manse
The Cloisters
Doing Business in France
Products of Provençe
Places by Name
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Non-Food Shopping

We unabashedly pay homage to the art of shopping at The Parish House. You don't have to buy, you can just look, admire the quality, and consider. Its different from FOOD shopping, where its impossible to just look! In deference to those who do NOT shop, we often let some of our guests roam the markets while we take YOU to visit something more historic or cultural (like Nostradamus' house, or a boat trip in the pirate coves). Did you know the locals have an antique "Attic Swap" day that we can visit while the others food-shop? Only few Americans even know where this takes place, but we take you there, and negotiate for you, if you can't resist "just looking". 
Here are some tips for "shopping":

A. Francs and Euros
Carry cash to negotiate prices. All prices are posted in "Euros" but the Provencals still insist on negotiating in Francs with their local customers. Unless you speak French fluently, and without accent, stick to "Euros" when discussing price. NEGOTIATING for price is one of the "arts" that we can teach you. The first lesson is distinguishing between items that are negotiable, and those that are not. You'd be surprised to learn that unless you are a local, speaking the dialect, even a Parisian's ability to negotiate is seriously curtailed. You DO have ONE advantage: they don't much care for Parisians in Provence. This old Kingdom, with its "backward" language, wasn't really incorporated into the rest of France until the 19th C., hence why its traditions are not really "french" at all, but Italian, Spanish, and even Greek! 

B. LANGUAGE: Your tour leader is adept at the LOCAL PROVENCE DIALECT. In addition to being a dialect, with its musical Italian-Portuguese intonation, it is also a separate language entirely. You won't often hear it, because its a local "patois"spoken amongst the tradition-bound locals. Provencals can pick foreigners out of a crowd from 50 paces, so they will never talk "to" you directly using the "Langue D'Oc" (Literally, the "tongue of the Western People". Seasoned travelers will recall that an entire region is named for this language, the "Languedoc", just West of Provence. We actually touch on its edge during one of our DayTrips, when we visit west of Uzes. Its a language that precedes French. If your group is interested, we take you to the "Feria" festivities and markets where you can hear, and perhaps learn, some of this exotic language. In their "Course Camarguaise" the locals emulate the spirit of "the running of the bulls" at Pamplona. The local artisan fairs at these events are priced very differently than the more touristic outdoor markets. . . that is, if you are with a tour guide who speaks the dialect! Very few tours take you to the Renaissance market fair at Uzes, with its particular brand of more medieval products. We can even take you to an ancient medieval garden.
In Avignon, home base for the Parish House, you can speak English to the "brick and mortar" shopkeepers. Its a University Town, and they all speak English.. Visitors from all over Europe come specifically to shop Avignon's sophisticated boutiques. I often tell people who want to visit Paris to avoid it entirely, and come directly to Avignon, where the people are friendlier and glad to see foreigners, which they prefer over their northern counterparts, who subjugated them in the 17th century. Paris shopping is way more expensive. Avignon's "Grande Marques" boutiques receive the Paris styles with about 3 months' delay, but at a 50% price reduction. Thats how important "style" counts in France! Never, for instance, ever ask someone on the street "where they bought that darling skirt". No one in this country wants to be copied... go figure!
Why all this emphasis on SHOPPING? Because its FUN, its part of the "Joie de Vivre" of Provence, to compare cultures, to marvel at the "individuality" of the society, how it drapes and festoons itself, how it preens and sashays. Its part and parcel of watching the parade of life of Avignon, the early-morning croissant clickety-clack of high-heels-on-the-pavement people-watching, to the evening sweet-wine "Kir" at the open-air cafe, watching the children play on the baroque merry-go-round. All of Provence is a feast for the eyes, and the nose. Don't miss "shopping", and "looking", and reflecting on your observations in the warmth of the company of like-minded traveling friends.

C. Clothes and Souvenirs: 
If the weakness of the dollar in the last two years is a Put-Off to actual purchases, we remind you to consider the benefits of "Observational Shopping".
But before I go on, consider that I can show you how to import 15 bottles of french wine for $3 apiece, for your next dinner party, or two. Each bottle will have a different story, and your import tax will be about $5, total ! If not wine, then at least take home some of the premium local FRESH olive oil which consistently wins accolades at the Paris food shows. Its the products you simply can't get in the US that will tempt you, from the "original" aromatherapy distillery we visit, and from the withered artisans' hands his traditional Christmas "santon" figurines. I guarantee you will take back some of the artisinal olive oil soap, and get addicted to what it does for your skin.

OSCAR DE LA RENTA, CACHAREL, JEAN PAUL GAULTIER, YVES ST LAURENT, VALENTINO, UNGARO, VERSACE, and CHANEL.... if you live in NY, you don't need these boutique "experiences". If not, this is your chance to peek into the world of "Grand Style". To the French, Style Is Everything .. . which of course is the reason that Avignon, and Provence, is a feast for the eyes. 

D. Art and Antiques:
Provence is an artist's lair. From all of Europe they come down to catch that "yellow halo" of diffused light. The locals buy from them "on the sly" to avoid the taxman. Even if you ARE from a sophisticated burg, you cannot beat the prices on ART. I can take you directly to the studio of an artist that sells in the US for three times the price in Avignon, guaranteed. He is an Impressionist (a "colorist" he says), and a famous oil-painter. His name is Alfred Persia. He is one of the reasons that each year we have an "ARTIST'S TOUR". We take you directly to the places where Cezanne, Van Gogh, and Picasso painted, where you set up your own easel and paint away. All this is IN ADDITION to the Parish Van Day Trip Itinerary, of course! Imagine a better venue for eating that Parish House Alfresco lunch, with cold wine, under the shade of a giant sycamore!
Antiques are worthy "observational" shopping, although at least a few of our guests ship back items each year. Connoisseurs of antiques know their value, and so do we at The Parish House. Each year we lead an "Antique Tour" that attends to 2 major shows within 30 miles of Avignon. They are for "dealers only", but we can get you in under our dealer's umbrella! In August there is an antiqueing event not to be missed. The "good buys" are the very large pieces, armoires, buffets, massive dining tables which cost twice as much in the States. Live with it for a decade, then sell it at a profit! We take care of shipping, which is NOT expensive, but takes three months. 
If you buy, we help you negotiate, as your sole agent. If you don't buy, this is just another opportunity to observe, and soak in the culture through the object of your affection.

For more information, please contact me at:

toursofprovence@aol.com

or call

970.241.5034