Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Market Day in the South of France



Our local town is not the prettiest town in the south of France. It's far from ugly - it's a small town in the south of France - but it's not picture postcard beautiful either. I don't believe that tourism is particularly high on it's agenda. It is a working town, bustling with local activity, its narrow streets lined with small shops catering to the needs of people who live and work here; oil cloths, chainsaws, candles shaped like cauliflowers. I find them all terrifying to be honest. They are so small, and quiet and piled high with things. The thought of performing my speciality manoeuvre here -  admire something on a high shelf reach for it, turn to show Nye and knock everything from waist to shoulder height to the ground with my backpack - horrifies me. It also horrifies my husband, which is why he mostly refuses to enter shops with me, in any country. 

The market is less scary. At the market I can disappear into a crowd of people, all busy and pushing and shoving to get to the best tomatoes. At the market I can pretend not to hear people ask me questions I don't understand over the din of everyone else in the town talking and laughing and shopping. At the market everything is at table height, so I would have to try really hard to knock anything over. Except for the teetering vats of paella and fritters and grilled chicken; they are at chest height. Which I suppose is sensible in terms of keeping them away from children's fingers, but that the stuff in my danger zone is sizzling hot is a danger that I could do without. 

We haven't been to the market a lot. To be honest I find it completely overwhelming, like a kid at Disney Land; it's fun and it's exciting and there are so many shiny things to look at! but afterwards I feel like something in my brain has short circuited. There is so much choice, so many things I want to eat but don't know how to ask for, so much to try and carry in two hands and one backpack, so many smells and noises and tastes and sights and people and OHMYGOD I need to sit in an empty room for three hours afterwards, at the very least.

The last time we went to the market the asparagus was in full season and apricots cost €5.90 a kilo, which means it was likely about five weeks ago. I think we will go tomorrow, five weeks is far too long. The asparagus will be gone but the sardines and the tomatoes and the rabbit brains in tiny plastic tubs will be ripe for the taking and apricots cost a third of what they did. It's a beautiful time of the year.

12 comments:

  1. introv.butterfly23/6/15 5:52 pm

    Beautiful pictures, as ever. I seriously want to to eat like half those things right now (the edible half, ha, not the little Negociants cart, as cute as it may be).
    I can totally relate to the overwhelming feeling of it all, the whole *bright lights, big noise, oh-so many people, and why is everyone getting in my way?* kind of thing gets to me sometimes. But markets can be wonderful as well, just maybe try again, at least for the lovely food and flowers.
    Good luck with the French learning, it's really not so bad once you get the hang of it (and once you stop being scared of natives who talk really fast)!
    Raluca

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  2. But I so love your photos of multiple fish. <3

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    1. I love taking photos of multiple fish!

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  3. These are lovely photos! I know this part of the world quite well - my parents in law live part of the year in the hills outside Bedarieux, and actually my husband and I were married at the Mairie in La Tour sur Orb. You're quite right that the towns along the valleys in Herault don't have the chocolate box prettiness as the villages of Provence, but they have their own workaday charm. I think historically the area has been quite poor, but also the villages along the valleys and the Orb are not that old (18th/19th century) and sprang up with the railways and as mining towns, whereas the fortified hill villages are mostly early medieval and so much prettier! Anyway, I'm a long time lurker on your wonderful blog, but your photos of Herault have inspired me to delurk.��

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    1. Thank you for delurking! We are actually about 20 minutes from Bedarieux, it's such a beautiful region and it definitely benefits in man ways from it's lack of chocolate-box prettiness; the quietness and the modesty are so special.

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  4. What a blessing to live near such an abundance of good food! Your pictures are gorgeous and could grace any cookbook!

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    1. Thank you! That means a lot as photographing cook books is probably my dream job. And yes, we feel incredibly blessed gastronomically.

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  5. Gorgeous photos, C. I want to shove that paella in my face. I'm gonna have to go to the market in Corrente when I get there, to see what it's like now. I haven't been in ages.

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play nice.