Before the crowds

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is a pretty town built on a network of canals linked by the Sorgue river. It was once famous for silk mills, paper mills and tanneries, all powered by giant water wheels. Now the town is known for antiques with lots of dealers around the town. 

And they display their wares along the quays on Sundays, attracting many visitors. They are only part of a huge Sunday morning market, which brings  visitors in droves. Today we arrived early, so early that the stall holders were only just getting themselves organised. It was fascinating sitting by the water with a cup of coffee watching the stalls coming alive. 

We had a brief wander round whilst it was quiet, bought what we wanted and then left before the masses of visitors arrived and there were more American and English voices than French. I bought a lovely boutis or Provençal quilted cushion cover. Gordon bought cheese (quite a bit!) from the lady he has been buying from for years. It's always good to see her again. 

As we left, everyone else seemed to be arriving - I think we could have sold our parking spot many times, if we had been so inclined. 

It has been so hot this afternoon, we just stayed here. Gordon was going out on his bike, but thought better of it and stayed by the pool. 

And look who was arriving on this day last year!