At the tourist office in Le Grand-Pressigny, you can pick up a leaflet giving details of market day in all the towns and villages in Touraine. It's very useful.
So, during our week there over Easter, we went to the market at La Roche-Posay which is on Tuesdays.
La Roche-Posay is a small spa town about twenty minutes drive from us. I am told that if you are suffering from certain ailments you can have a period of rest and a stay in the town prescribed for you under the French health system. What a great idea. We have also noticed people helping themselves to spring water from a tap in the village square.
Tuesday was a fine but cool day. We arrived at the town to find the market in full swing, along with a small funfair. The bright sunshine really brought out the colours of all the goods on display.
We bought olives and sundried tomatoes from the olive man.
We bought some cheese from the cheese man.
I bought some beads from the bead lady.
There was a stall selling ladies clothes and I noticed that the lime green colour we had seen in Amboise (here) seemed to be very predominant. In fact, later in the week we had lunch at the creperie in Descartes and that had also been redecorated in the same green, contrasted with a dark chocolate brown. It looked very smart and attractive. I asked the owner what the colour was called, was it citron vert or perhaps pistache? She said it was called vert anis. As luck would have it, I had just the previous week bought myself a new cardi from M&S in the same colour and was able to wear it on my hols feeling very à la mode !!
An example of vert anis. I didn't get the Hermes bag, just the cardi !!
Jean, Toilets in France can be grubby indeed. Yet sometimes they are surprisingly clean and fresh in places where you'd least expect them. I usually send my friend on a 'scouting trip' before venturing in myself.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Great market shots!
What's a pair of Marigolds?
ReplyDeleteHi Jean,
ReplyDeleteWe will visit the market at La Roche Posay the next time we are out. In fact it was in the market square there that we made the definite decision to buy our house. We made an offer (which was rejected) but always knew that we would, within reason, pay whatever we had to to secure it.
I also agree with you about the toilets. I'm happy to accept different standards of fitting/decoration/style and all I ask is that they are clean or show evidence of having been cleaned that day. It is particularly important where food and drinks are being served! However we have also been to some excellent toilets in France and our way of dealing with the less celubrious places is to try someplace else next time!
Walt - Marigolds are those bright yellow washing-up gloves !
ReplyDeleteMartine - same here. I send Nick in first to check them out and give them a score. Anything 6/10 or above I will use.
Gaynor - worst of all is when you see the chef or waitress coming out of a toilet that you know has no paper or clean hand towel. It hardly bears thinking about.
I love the French Markets they really are the best. Have you ever been to Rouillac over towards Cognac. The whole town just gets taken over it is amazing.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it some French loos are so disgusting, I have never worked it out. I also will not return to a place where they are as you describe. Diane
The food displays look sooooooo yummy - lucky lucky you! I'm off to the local Tesco, and it's freezing in Norfolk! We were hoping to have a barbi as it's Sunday, - alas! it's got to be a can of soup for lunch (again!). Enjoy France! N
ReplyDeleteIn the UK we use 'marigolds' to describe any kind of rubber gloves, just in the way we use 'hoover' for vacuum cleaner and are beginning to use 'i-pod' for an MP3 player!
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures! I agree with you on the toilets. Makes you wonder what else might not be clean.
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky that you found different stalls at this other market. The same old ones do the rounds of Brittany, so our Tuesday market will be in the other biggish Breton towns the remainder of the week.
ReplyDeleteHi Jean,
ReplyDeleteWe've just got back from GP.
Your pictures of the market remind me to tell you we now have a new baker in the village... Stephanie.
She started full time on the 1st of May, the day that Pauline and I returned [so we haven't been able to try out the new pastries!!]... the article in the paper said that the Marteaus had left for'new skies'.
Thought you'd like to know.
Tim
I'd have said pistache too. Last summer I bought an elegant little shruggy effort in something that alleges it's "pistachio". you've reminded me of it so I must look it out for when we're not in vest-wearing weather any longer.
ReplyDeleteAnd remind me, why didn't you buy the Hermes bag? I've always fancied a Kelly since I think that a Birkin would be too big. Well, a girl can dream, can't she? And in dreams, you don't worry about the cost ;-)
Mad x
Mad - I didn't see the Hermes bag in M&S otherwise I would have bought it, not just the cardi. Of course I would !!!!
ReplyDelete