Last Trip to the Street Market - How sad!

Flower stall at our market.

I have a lot of catching up to do in recording our time in Paris - but I had to post this about our last trip to the market in front of our apartment. This twice a week farmers' market has been a great plus for this apartment location and a big reason we will be coming back. The apartment has a lot going for it but this street market is the icing on the cake -  "c'est la cerise sur le gâteau!"

I'm going to miss tomatoes that taste like tomatoes; our talkative Algerian olive and spice merchant; fresh vegetables and fruit of every description; cheese vendors with too many choices; butchers with everything including charcuterie; and  I cannot forget the baker with our favorite chocolate pear cake - plus this is all at our doorstep.  We rarely make it to the Sunday Market near home in San Diego but we MUST get there more often.

GIANT white asparagus!

The spice merchant deserves more discussion.  He has every dried fruit and nut known  to man, spices of every description, and at least a dozen different olive preparations.  These "recipes" include olives with couscous/olive oil/basil; couscous/dried tomatoes/olive oil/spices; parsley/spices; couscous/anchovy/herbs; etc. They are all good - even the one with anchovy paste!  He always said that these were his recipes.  Maybe/maybe not - his sales skills deserve more comments!

"Our" olive merchant!

Our olive supplier could sell anything to anyone.  He always remembers us as we walk down the line of stalls and speaks to me in English - he always gives samples.  He treats everyone the same - like they were long lost friends. His usual sales pitch - given with a smile - is that the product your are considering is from his garden in Algeria. With a smile on his face, he told the woman next to us that the dried cranberries (that said Ocean Spray on the sign) were from his garden in Algeria.  Then he said they were from Canada - but she replied that she had seen cranberry bogs in Maine!  The world is indeed small.

Our market is not that unusual - they are all over Paris on different days of the week.  As it is often said, Paris is really just a collection of villages!