Chronicle #7 : Markets, olives & the secrets of Provençal grannies

In Antibes, going to the market is never “just going to the market.”

It’s an immersion —
a sun-soaked scene where colours spill over the stalls, scents drift through the air, and people greet each other as if they’ve shared breakfast for the last twenty years.

You taste an olive, then another, then another (just to be sure).
You breathe in the thyme, hesitate in front of the tapenade… until a Provençal granny settles the matter:
“Take this one, darling — the other one’s too salty.”
Here, no one lets you make a poor choice.

A Provençal market is a sensory show:

- tomatoes that actually smell like tomatoes,
- herbs so fresh they perfume your whole bag,
- cheeses that speak before you even get near them,
- and of course, the olive stall — the true rite of passage.

But the real queens of the market are the local grannies.
Rolling carts, sharp eyes, sharper tongues:
they know which olive oil changed mills, which vendor raised prices, and which tourist is about to buy an off-season melon at summer rates.

A few Jabotte-approved tips:

go early, taste everything, buy a lavender soap you absolutely don’t need… and above all,
never say “smells like vacation” to someone who shops here all year long.

Then come back to La Jabotte.
Drop your treasures on the counter.
We’ll prepare the perfect picnic for the beach — bread, olives, tomatoes, cheeses, glasses, plates, cutlery…
All you have to do is follow the sun.

And if a granny whispers a recipe while you’re admiring the apricots…

Keep it close.
It means Antibes just let you into its inner circle.

— Nathalie & Pierre

About La Jabotte

A small boutique hotel 60 meters from the sea, with a secret garden, rescued animals, a heated pool and a gentle Provencal soul. An intimate escape in Antibes.