To market, to market to buy a .......

What does a morning shopping look like to you.  A drive in the car, parking undercover hopefully if it is summer or wet, trying not to forget the green bags, so I don't feel guilty about my contribution to destroying the world, plastic bag by plastic bag.  Rushing round the aisles, trying to sniff the fruit and smelling nothing, taking my number at the deli counter for the very plastic looking sandwich cuts and the dull olives and dried tomatoes.  Squeezing oranges through the plastic bag, it's cheaper to buy them prepacked, they say.  Sound familiar?  Well move to France, daily market shopping is a wonderful experience.  Most towns have a twice weekly market day and the produce comes from the farm to you.  In Cannes there is even an indentifying mark on the price signs that tells you it really is local produce.  I love that. 

The bubble of voices gets louder as the morning wears on and it isn't just about grabbing those essential items for the weeks dinners, it is chatting to the farmer or baker or cheese maker.  It is sampling the latest produce and sighing because it is just so darn good.  The colours entice and the smells seal the deal.  The excitement rises when the white asparagus comes to the show, the queues longer than most concert ticket queues.

White Asparagus is given rock star status at the beginning of the season.  And these people seem more than happy to wait in line for their bag full.

Translated Boudin a la creme means cream pudding, well I think this is like a blood sausage, I'm guessing it is creamy oh my I refuse to try this one.

Rabbit is another common meat found in the markets, I must admit I have never seen any presented like this, we rarely if ever even have them at our butchers, so this market scene was so intriguing to me.

Beautiful Beefsteak tomatoes, huge, red, juicy, smelling divine I had to have one.

Pungent smelling sausages, make my mouth water.

Here they even take their dogs to the market, this little guy looked very content in his little buggy.  Not a lot of green bags here, mostly everyone had one of these little gadgets, piled high and overflowing with the weekly purchase and of course sometimes the dogs.

What meal is complete without something sweet?  What trip to the market is satisfyingly complete without a sweet treat.  Beautiully coloured fruits, sugary  sweet and delicious tiny clementines.  Preserved oranges absolutely marvellous.  So let's go to the market, it's a totally different experience in France, well are you coming?!