Dear Friends,
Today was the last Saturday market for us for this stay. We go to this market each Saturday to provision for the week ahead and to enjoy the ambience. There are stands that sell fresh vegetables, cheeses, charcuterie, flowers, paella, roasted chickens, olive oil, tapenades of all sorts, flowers, clothes, jewelry, etc. We are so used to going there that we forget to take pictures, so you will have to be content with the "after" pictures.
In addition to the market itself, we take the opportunity to stock up on other necessities. By the time we are done, we are laden down with supplies. Fortunately, the market is at the l'Octroi level so we walk uphill to get there and then it is all downhill once we are loaded down.
Upon arrival at our apartment, I look like this.
I should be as strong as a mule and have calves like watermelons. Here are photos of the goods from each of our stops. The first stop was for fresh vegetables.
All that for just about 12 euros, and she threw in a little parsley to add taste and color to our meals.
Our next stop was the charcutier/fromager. Today we just bought some ham because we bought way too much cheese last week. We can't help ourselves because it all looks so good.
It is just sliced ham, but it is really good, and it comes with a big smile and an attempt to sell us multiple other things. We have learned (sort of) not to fall for buying more than we need.
Those were the only two stops at the market today. Normally we would have bought a few roses or other cut flowers, but we forgot.
We went to the "Petit Casino" which is a chain of grocery stores. There are two in Villefranche, both of which are quite small, but that is where we get necessities such as everyday wine, milk, eggs, TP, creme fraîche, etc. Here are the results of this trip.
The white wine is one we often buy, but the red wine is a new one for us. The name "La Chasse" means the hunt. Unfortunately, it is also a word used to say flush the toilet - tirer la chasse. In this case we hope it is referring to the hunt.
There is a wonderful artisan, organic baker who is open only on certain days, including market days. He doesn't have baguettes, but he has many other wonderful bakery items. His loaves of bread are too big for us to use up before they go bad. He kindly cuts the loaf in two so that we have just what we need.
He told us the secret to keeping his bread fresh for several days. You keep it in the brown bag he gives you, wrap it in a dish towel and keep it in the refrigerator. While the crust gets quite hard after 4 days, the inside is still very good.
Next stop is Picard Surgeles. It is an amazing chain of frozen food stores. Everything that we have had from this store is great even though it is frozen. We still prefer fresh, but we always need ice cream and frozen berries for breakfast. Today we threw in a frozen provençal vegetable casserole.
We wish that Picard would expand to the US.
Our last stop today was the butcher. He is closed Sunday afternoon and Mondays so we try to buy a couple of dinners from him on Saturday. We like him and his meats, but we also often walk to Beaulieu (2 miles each way) to go to Les Halles a wonderful butcher there. Today we got chicken breasts and a big pork chop.
We have a gas grill on our balcony, so we will grill these. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
We love to eat out, but with produce and meats like these, staying home for dinner is really enjoyable. Oh and in case you are wondering what we will do for the rest of the day. Well, I will spend some time sitting on the balcony reading.
Then we will take a walk on the beach and a swim in the ocean. The high today is mid-70s, full sun and a slight breeze.
This is the view of the beach from our balcony.
Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
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