St. Tropez, France - Place des Lices Market

Arrived in St. Tropez late Friday night from London for a long weekend of sun, lots of Chateau de Pampelonne rosé wine, and partying with my friend Aruna Seth. On Saturday morning, we woke up early and drove into port to check out the market that takes place every Tuesday and Saturday at the Place des Lices. At the market you can find everything from fruits, vegetables, olives, and spices, to typical Provencal products like lavender sachets, tablecloths and soaps. There are many stalls that sell beach gear, such as sun hats (the Panama is still the most popular this season), bikinis, towels, cover-ups and straw bags. There is even a small antique section where you can find pieces of furniture, silverware, vintage bags, paintings and jewelry. 

After a tour of the market, we went for a big slice of the local Tarte Tropezienne for breakfast. La tarte tropezienne consists of two layers of brioche filled with pastry cream and butter cream, sprinkled with rock sugar on the top. As the story goes, in 1955 a Polish pastry chef, Alexandra Micka, began selling sandwiches and cakes to the cast and crew of the film "And God Created Woman" starring Brigitte Bardot. Brigitte and the cast loved this one cake in particular so much that they asked the baker to give it a name. La tarte tropezienne was born and is now a mainstay in French Riviera gastronomy.