This past Sunday we went to the city of Saint Germain la Coude (near Alençon) to have dinner with James’ brother and his girlfriend at her home. The city had a large market (that happens once or twice a year) going on as well. The best way to describe this market, and give a visual of what it would be like in the states, is a cross between a garage sale/flea market/gold rush sorts of thing.
We had a great lunch and then walked around for a while taking in all of the items being sold and of course did some serious people watching. Some things definitely stood out for me, as it isn’t something I feel like I would see anywhere at a flea market in the US.
The first being crepe stands! There were multiple locations that were making crepes on site and selling them right off the griddle. I think we could adopt this sort of thing from the Frenchies.
On the other end of the spectrum was a booth that was selling meat products. For those of you with weak stomachs you may want to skip over the next 2 pictures. I witnessed the “butcher” funneling the meat into casing and twisting it every so often to make a “sausage.” James tells me that the meat is pork and that it is so dark in color because they also add in blood from the pig that has been boiled. Now, why in the world would such a food exist amongst all of the amazing things that French cuisine has to offer?
It wasn’t until later in the evening I found out that James’ brother enjoys this meat and that he had bought some to have for dinner. It was cooked in a pan with apples (as if that is going to make it more edible) and then served with the apples. He INSISTED that I try it. Keep in mind that the 3 other people at the table refuse to eat this meat. However I obliged and took the smallest bite possible. Needless to say there was a 4th person now at the table that refused to eat it. I am not sure how to describe it other than the texture (and taste) was all wrong! So it’s official I have found a food in France that I do not care to brag about or share with my American friends and family!!!
In addition to noticing the food booths there were many fun and interesting items. I am told that the item below is a machine that was used to separate wheat grain from the plant prior to having machines do this for us.
The other item was something I could have totally seen buying had I any small children nearby or it didn’t cost a ton to ship to my favorite little friends back in the states. How fun that these school desks had a built in buddy right next to you?
So there is what a market experience was like for me in this city of approximately 800 people. I really do enjoy walking around and looking at things. I think it will be even more fun to go to these markets when we are in our own space and start to need things to make it a home!
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