French Farmers’ Market

One of my favorite things to do when we travel is browse through the local markets that are set up in the city center a few days each week.  In my opinion seeing them in the fall is the best.  Of course, that could be because fall is my favorite season.  I was looking through my photos and came across these photos I took last year in a town called Metz, France.  We are gearing up for another European bicycling vacation in a few weeks, and these photos make me want to pack my bag right away.  I hope you enjoy them.

 

The vendors for these markets often have specialties.  There’s the cheese man, the fish man, the beef man, the sock man, the kitchen utensil man, etc.

 

 

There’s usually a vendor who roasts chickens and potatoes and then sells the meal.  They are really delicious.  A few years ago Mr. Right and I rode our bicycles all the way from the top of France to the bottom.  We actually started at the English Channel and ended at the Mediterranean sea.  It was wonderful but very difficult because some of our routes were the same ones covered by that year’s Tour de France.  We had a day off in a village at the top of a mountain, and we bought our lunch from the chicken/potato man.  We bought the whole bird and ate the whole bird.  Yum!!!

People watching at these markets is really fun.  It is almost like walking back in time.  The city centers usually look the same way they did hundreds of years ago except for he addition of electricity.  The women are usually dressed very smartly ( I love that word), and they often ride their bicycles to the market.  If you have read At Home With Madame Chic or Lessons from Madame Chic by blogger Jennifer Scott, then you know what I’m talking about when it comes to the way they dress.

 

 

Market day often comes with its own cast of characters.  This man was in a market in northern France, but I just had to share his photo with you.  He and his dogs entertained for coins.  He played the portable  organ, and the dogs howled.  As a southern girl I have to say, “Bless their hearts.”

Take care.