Avallon - Saturday Morning Market

Lillian :  The Saturday morning market in Avallon is really wonderful.
Audrey : So much lovely fresh, seasonal food.

Strawberries / Fraises

Artichokes and wonderful tomatoes / artichauts et tomates

  
Audrey :  There were lots of those tomatoes - so red and shiny and ridged - they looked splendid but not like the tomatoes we are used to.
Lillian :  I think they are Marmande tomates, one of the beef-steak varieties. 


Lillian :  We were in Avallon in early Spring - it was the 16th April.  The season for radishes (radis), artichokes and asparagus.

Radishes, large artichokes & flat swedes / rutabagas

Asparagus / asperge

Audrey :  European asparagus isn't green, it is fat and white ... and yummy.  The food markets in France are wonderful - even the cabbages looked great.

Cabbage & celeriac / choux vert & céleri-rave

Lillian : Our people were astounded at the range of vegetables and the freshness of everything.  We don't see some of these vegies in Australia - Trevise is a radicchio, the beautiful Choux Romanesco are ... well they are simply gorgeous!   

I've found a lovely web site about them here.  

Audrey : So much colour, so many varieties of things - even onions!  This seller had 5 different varieties of onions plus 2 types of garlic and hazel nuts, which the French call noisettes.

Melons / melons

 Audrey : In the photo above - bright yellow tomatoes.  

In the photo below - bright yellow plums.

Lillian :  Ah - Mirabelles.  Our people ate lots of those later on, in Nancy.  

The French staples - bread & cheese.  Such beautiful bread and so many different cheeses.

Audrey : Some of those in the photo on the left are Époisses - a cheese that is so terribly smelly, it is banned from being carried on public transport in France.  Our stylist has eaten this cheese and she says it is really very nice - here is a link to a wikipedia article about it  Époisses.

Lillian :  In the deli section there were some yummy looking pies and terrines and some poitrine fumée ...

Lillian :  Most of that produce was in the covered market building - la halle du Marché  Couvert.





Outside, in rue mathé, there were some clothing and bric a brac stalls and some wonderful busking going on - 

 

Audrey :  They were such fun and sounded great - our people bought their CD!  And the band weren't the only people wearing whacky outfits ...

Lillian :  Yes, there were random medieval folk wandering about - part of Carnavallon.  Avallon's 3 day Springtime / Easter festival.  All good fun and slightly anarchic.  We'll tell you all about it in a future posting.

Audrey : But now, back to the food we ate that evening.  Mostly bought at the marche, including some gorgeous fresh goat's cheese purchased from the young woman who made it.

 Lillian : It was yummy and really very cheap.  

Oh, a hint if you would like to self-cater during a holiday in France like we did occasionally ... pack a cork-screw (in your checked baggage) as most of the wine bottles have corks not screw-tops.

Versailles - and Food

Audrey : Shall we tell the people about the town of Versailles - as well as the Very Big Palace?

Lillian : Yes, why not.  We did explore Versailles a little on that first afternoon, after our people had their lunch.

Audrey : Oh! our Tour Manager kept talking about that veal pie for days!!

Lillian : We went for a lovely walk

 

Audrey : Those double tulips were very big & bwight - 

Lillian : Les tulipes making a nice contrast with the forget-me-nots or as the French call them, les myosotis des marais.

Audrey : This young man was wearing a pigeon and very tight twousers!

Lillian : Poor chap, he never got to be an old man.  His pedestal read (I've translated for you) :

HOCHE

Born at Versailles, 24 June 1768

Soldier at 16yrs

General and Chief at 25

Died at 29yrs

Audrey : That's sad Lillian, did he die being a bwave soldier?

Lillian : No, it seems that he died of TB but Louis Lazare Hoche was quite amazing & packed a lot into his short life.  Right behind his statue you can see a little of the roof of the Eglise Notre Dame de Versailles - a very pretty church.  All white stone inside - this is looking up inside the dome ...

Audrey : The stained glass was quite lovely in this eglise.

Lillian : The Annunciation was behind the altar and the colours were very pretty - especially the purples.

Audrey : Who are these people?

Lillian : They are saints, you can tell who they are by the things they have - their 'attributes' - also their initials are underneath.

Audrey : Well that's helpful - who is the saint with the fish?

Lillian : And the nice purple robe?  That is Archangel Raphael.  The lady with the crown, collecting roses in her robe is St Elizabeth of Hungary, she was a Princess.

Audrey : That's why she has a crown, and lives in a pwetty palace.

Lillian : Some of the windows had magnificent patterning rather than saints - like this.

 Audrey : That would make lovely fabric - a nice silk to make blouses.  I think Coco Chanel said "a Lady can never have too many silk blouses".

Lillian : Outside there were streets of apartments with those classic French Windows and balconies ...

Audrey : Weally Fwench!  And then we went to the markets because our people wanted more food!

Lillian : We had a lovely little self-catered supper back in our room.  With raspberries

 and cheese ...

Audrey : That wocky-foot cheese was smelly ...

Lillian : I think you mean Roquefort.

Audrey : That's what I said.  And we had very small bananas - just the right size for ...

a Carmen Miranda moment

  

Lillian : But what was in this parcel ?

Together : Flan Natur

Audrey : You ate so much Lillian, that you went all funny and hot -

 and had to have a lie down !!

You Should Never Eat Anything Larger Than Your Head !