Saturday or Sunday (or both!) is market day in France, and as you know, the French take food seriously. Hundreds of locals browse the crowded étalages of fruits, vegetables, specialty food and other delicacies, from spicy salami and ham to crêpes and goat cheese, from fancy cakes to freshly-caught fish.
I usually don’t have much time to cook (and eat!) with Mark and even though I don’t crave French food, I was happy to buy several kinds of cheese and bread for lunch. Mark didn’t seem to mind the crowd and the shouting match between vendors: “my cheese is the best, the best!” “Can’t have fish any fresher than that!” “Taste my strawberries, local strawberries here!”
Times have changed though, you can tell by the weekly markets. First, there are more ready-to-eat meal options than before, such as roasted chicken, salads, savoury pies, etc.—people no longer cook from scratch. There are also more “world food” offered, even in a relatively small and homogenous city like Nantes: Chinese food with spring rolls and “Cantonese rice” (stir-fried rice), Indian samosas, dishes from exotic islands, etc. Mind you, none of these foods is really exotic, it is quite bland compared to the “real deal” but for the French, it is still quite new.
Finally, many of the vendors are from Spain or from Northern Africa, reflecting some new diversity. Markets are definitely a snapshot of a country!
I’m surprised to see that all the price tags are in Euro only. When I was in Paris two weeks ago all the price tags mentioned Euro AND Franc, only 11 years after the Euro replaced the Franc and many other currencies.
Or maybe it’s only in grocery stores, I didn’t actually visit a market.
Really? Weird, I haven’t seen francs signs in years here!
I love markets like these; it always makes me want to go buy a bunch of stuff and make a picnic! Or buy a multi-course meal over several stages and eat them one by one while walking. 🙂
I know what you mean with the shouting, when we were in Amsterdam earlier this year, the street market there also engaged in heavy-duty shouting, and I was convinced I should try the “lekkere kippen” (tasty chicken), which was chicken finger food with peanut sauce.
Oh yes… we did the sampling all the food while walking in Singapore, as we wanted to taste everything!
Hi Salut,
Bienvenue au pays! You can’t have a visit back to France without going to the market. This one looks particuarly well stocked 🙂
I am looking forward to seeing your posts 😉
Profitez-en bien!
Yes, we are lucky, we have great markets in Nantes!
Such a mean post, when we are sat in our front room super hungry because we forgot to go shopping before today (Canada Day), when all of the shops are shut! Oh, I want some food!!
😆 Sorry…. er… désolée!
Totally salivating over here!!
🙂 I will eat your share of food, just to help 🙂
I missed all the fresh produces especially strawberries & cherries in Europe 🙂
Don’t you have them?
I really miss the outdoor markets in France. One of the things that surprised me about Denmark was the lack of markets. There is what I would call a “luxury” market here in Copenhagen, but it’s just not the same. Your pictures are really colourful!
That’s strange! Maybe the weather is too cold?
so heavenly!
And so good…!