Sunday, February 27, 2011

Market Day Montpellier




The Arc de Triomphe and the Place Royale Peyeou with Louis XIV on horseback are just a couple of blocks from our apartment. They were built in the 18th century, and the pavillion building was a water tower with reflecting pool serving as a reservoir. Behind this is a "Roman Aquaduct" built in the same period, though not Roman, it is stlll very picturesque. We followed the shopping carts and bags to the market beneath and beyond the aquaduct and found the regular Saturday market. What a treat.

We wondered the length of the stalls admiring a huge selection of fresh produce, meats, fish, oysters (we are only 1 mile from the Mediterranean) eggs, chesses, and breads. Then, made our selections as we walked back. I bought large sweet and crisp apples, juicy pears, tasty goat cheese, some comte and another kind of cheese - both very distinctively flavored. The friendly cheese lady gave us tastes of several, and it was extremely hard to choose. I wanted a piece of each one. We also bought a chunk of moist brown bread with a crusty exterior, the freshest lettuce, and a "jug" of white wine. This is my kind of shopping. I was grinning the entire time, so I don't know how Bill managed to get me with a basket full of stuff and looking so serious. I have avoided the meats so far as they don't look much like ours at home. The chickens have heads and feet, there's very little beef and it is cut differently, the veal? I don't quite know what to do with it. I'll get over being intimidated soon.

After stowing our treasurers, we walked through more of the medeival streets and ate lunch in an outdoor cafe. Last night, it was an omelettte in our lovely dining room with a fresh pear for dessert. We are off to the train station this morning to see what day trips we can make. Lots of sun and temperatures in the 50's.

1 comment:

Neil said...

Glad you guys are having such a good trip - I'm very envious! Montpelier seems like a great place to spend 2 weeks.

Keep posting!