I have experienced Market Day

A view of La Canourgue (my house is back towards the clock tower in the upper left-hand corner; you can't see it in this pic, but it's there!)

I meant to write this yesterday, but a trip into a nearby town (Mende) to do a big grocery shop and then a barbeque with a couple of Patrick's friends seemed to eradicate a big part of my day. Sorry about that. So, Market Day.

This happens every week in La Canourgue, on Tuesdays. People from here in town and from surrounding towns/villages come and set up stalls/tables throughout the old part of the village (i.e., outside my front door!) and in the big village square. The food stalls tend to be around the little streets surrounding me, and the clothing and bits-n-pieces kind of vendors favor the larger square.

First, Market Day will never be a day when I can sleep in. Vendors start appearing to set up their wares around seven a.m. (and sometimes earlier), and once things get rolling around eight, there is constant foot traffic below my bedroom and office windows. Ah, the sweet sound of Frenchmen (and Frenchwomen, actually) haggling over the price of sausage in the morning! Nothing quite like it.

The above is coming from my front door and walking towards town. All the little streets around me have several vendors, selling ... well, everything. I saw fruits, vegetables, potted plants and flowers, garden plants and herbs, every kind of cured meat you can imagine, wine, whole roasted chickens, eggs, cheeses (SO MUCH CHEESE), local honey and jams and jellies ... the list goes on and on. Patrick had prepared me, but I still just wandered around like a rube, responding to the occasional "bonjour"s that friendly vendors or passersby directed my way. Funny, coming from a fairly-sized city (Orlando), I definitely felt like the backwards country cousin! I definitely had my "I am a tourist" sign on ... it was probably the camera that gave me away, non?

I begin to realize that I didn't take nearly enough photos. Ah, next week. This is the entrance to the vendors' set-up in the city square. Here there were mostly clothing vendors - clothing of all types. One whole tent was dedicated to women's lingerie - no kidding. Panties, bras, nighties, garter belts, thongs, those weird merry-widow things ... the American in me was horrified that these garments were being sold out of a tent, for God's sake, in the middle of a village square, but the burgeoning French woman in me thought, how practical. I'll have to check this out more thoroughly next week.

There were booths selling t-shirts, children's clothes, purses and bags, sweaters, matchy-match old lady pants suits, skirts, dresses ... the only thing I didn't really see much of were jeans. (Perhaps there is a niche here that I can fill?) And across the street was a huge van with fold-up sides showcasing SHOES of every sort and type. (I think I may need to avail myself of this one soon, as I have quickly realized that my American tennis shoes are hopelessly un-French and will mark me as an outsider as long as I wear them. I need European tennies.)

Lastly, there were a few booths/tables in this area selling various odds and ends, but mostly kitchen implements and knives. The French are apparently very picky about their kitchen knives. As I am, too, I was glad to find a local source for replacements when I need them, and additions to my collection! Also, wooden spoons, mortar/pestle combos, mesh drain covers (no one here has a garbage disposal), meat thermometers, cutting boards, oh, the list is endless. I am still overwhelmed. 

I think it will take several weeks for me to get into the swing of the Tuesday market, and to figure out what's better to buy there than from the regular grocery (a giant place in Mende, called SuperU ... wow. I am having a love affair with this store, let me tell you.). Every day here is an education. And only 5 more days now until the next one! I'm getting out there earlier this time - I missed out on some tomato plants that I want to try for next week. 

In the meantime, I will maybe go and read next to one of the canals today ... below is the one that is literally right around the corner from me (I can hear the water through my office window as I write this). If there's a patch of sun there this afternoon, I plan to spend a little quiet time there. Au revoir, mes amis!