If you’re like me, you take a lot of photos on trips. When I get home I go through them — deleting duplicates, turning off “Live” views, and labelling them for future reference. After that, I typically forget about them. These snowy days have left me with time on my hands, however, and reason to remember sunnier days. So, I decided to look at photos of my trip to France last autumn.
Given my recent post about the cooking master class I took in Dijon, it won’t surprise you that I had a LOT of photos of food from that trip. The photos that stand out the most to me are from the various markets I enjoyed.
I arrived in Paris on a Thursday morning and took a train directly from the airport to Dijon. When I exited the train station I was surprised to see a farmer’s market set up right there. It was very small — six or eight stalls — but it was busy with people picking up fresh vegetables, meat, sausages, and bread for their evening meal. Clearly this little market was for people who didn’t have time to shop at Les Halles, Dijon’s huge farmer’s market that’s open four mornings a week.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing at that train-side market was a baker weighing a wedge of bread for someone. I was astounded that you didn’t have to buy a full boule of bread. Imagine the ability to buy just the amount you wanted for the next meal — no need to worry about the bread getting hard, much less stale!
Then there was Les Halles. Though I had read about it, I was still surprised by its size and grandeur. The columns of the 125-year-old metal framed structure reminds one of the metal work on the Eiffel Tower. Though I don’t think Eiffel necessarily had anything to do with Les Halles, Chef François Louvel pointed out the similarity to the work of Dijon’s own Gustave Eiffel.
They say you eat first with your eyes and clearly the vendors at the market make the most of that idea. From heaping stacks of fresh greens, to overflowing baskets of varieties of mushrooms that I’ve never imagined, to lush displays of prepared terrines, and display cases with all manner of ready-to-eat delights. And, as with the baker at the market outside the trains station, vendors are happy to sell just a piece or slice of something you want — no need to buy a whole squash — just ask for a wedge.
And cheese… oh cheese… I love the fact that you could buy a little 1 Euro bon-bon like piece of cheese!
In addition to the many permanent stalls inside Les Halles, on three of the four days it’s open there are additional stalls all around the outside. For example, the truffle seller was at a table on the outside of the market on Friday morning — you could even buy mattresses on Saturday morning!
Next time I go to Dijon I’d like to rent an apartment so I can do some cooking and really enjoy all that Les Halles offers.
The farmer’s market in Arles was surprisingly large, for a city its size. The vendors set up shop one morning a week along the outside wall of the city. There was all sorts of food — meat, fruits, vegetables, and quite a lot of fish. There were sections devoted to housewares, clothes, and a huge section featuring stall after stall of spices. It definitely had a souk feel, with many vendors in traditional middle eastern dress. It was the first place I’ve seen white pomegranates. (Indeed, had one not been cracked open to show off the ruby little gems, I wouldn’t have guessed they were pomegranates.)
In Paris I was staying in the 15th arrondissement — the Grenelle neighbourhood. The second morning I was there (a Wednesday) I headed to the Metro, which is elevated in that area. To my surprise, tucked in below the elevated rail was a very big market. Like the market in Arles, of course there was all the food types you could want, as well as quite an assortment of clothes and household items. And, if all that wasn’t enough, there was a vendor that did chair reupholstery! That market was a true one-stop shopping centre.
