Retelling my travel stories also reminds me constantly about not only how great the entire trip was but how great shopping at the markets everyday was. This is probably what I miss most about France (well that and not having to go to work).
Aix-en-Provence where we were staying is a town that has at least one market everyday. Many days a week there are multiple markets most specializing in different things all located within a few minute walk of each other.
There is the daily market that occurs as the name suggest daily even on holidays like Easter. This is a fruits & veggie market where you can also get your bread, meats, cheeses and fish.
There is the "big market" as I affectionately termed it. You can get many of the same items here and you get at the daily market but there are more vendors and there is also a small flea market section. On Saturday's this market is huge with the flea market section extending down through the streets.
The flower market changes location based on the day of the week. On days where there is no "big market" the flower market is located in that spot. When the big market is on the flower market moves to Hotel de'Ville (town hall).
Tuesday and Thursday's there is also a big flea market that goes down the main strip on Cours Maribeau. Here you will see many of the same vendors that are winding the streets on the big Saturday market.
Our mornings were planned around what day of the week it was and which markets were happening. We often had to visit every market that was on each day just to make sure that I had my fill of markets.
I loved thinking about what we are going to eat that day and then going to the market and purchasing all my ingredients for that meal. There was no point in buying a lot of one ingredient either because you would be back the next day for more.
There is the daily market that occurs as the name suggest daily even on holidays like Easter. This is a fruits & veggie market where you can also get your bread, meats, cheeses and fish.
There is the "big market" as I affectionately termed it. You can get many of the same items here and you get at the daily market but there are more vendors and there is also a small flea market section. On Saturday's this market is huge with the flea market section extending down through the streets.
The flower market changes location based on the day of the week. On days where there is no "big market" the flower market is located in that spot. When the big market is on the flower market moves to Hotel de'Ville (town hall).
Tuesday and Thursday's there is also a big flea market that goes down the main strip on Cours Maribeau. Here you will see many of the same vendors that are winding the streets on the big Saturday market.
Our mornings were planned around what day of the week it was and which markets were happening. We often had to visit every market that was on each day just to make sure that I had my fill of markets.
I loved thinking about what we are going to eat that day and then going to the market and purchasing all my ingredients for that meal. There was no point in buying a lot of one ingredient either because you would be back the next day for more.
The asparagus and strawberries came into season while we were there. So delicious, especially since it had been so long since we had had fresh local in season fruits or veggies of any type.
Not only was our time in Aix planned around what markets to visit. We also planned our day trips based on which days were market days. This took a small amount of planning, given that many places had markets on the same day of the week. But thankfully, very few towns had only one market day so we were able to make it to every town on a market day.
Not only was our time in Aix planned around what markets to visit. We also planned our day trips based on which days were market days. This took a small amount of planning, given that many places had markets on the same day of the week. But thankfully, very few towns had only one market day so we were able to make it to every town on a market day.
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