This is my blog, A Green and Rosie Life, which is all about helping you live life that bit greener without having to build an off-grid log cabin in the woods or knit your own nettle fibre undies! It's about helping you make simple changes that together will make a big difference to our beautiful world and make it a better place for our children.
Showing posts with label Markets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Markets. Show all posts
Sunday, 3 April 2016
My Sunday Photo - April 3rd 2016
French markets are wonderful places to shop with so many small and local businesses selling their wares. Much of the fresh produce will be have been grown in the region and you will find that the stall owners have will be happy to sell you whatever weight you want or choose fruit of just the right ripeness for your needs. Other stalls sell anything from clothes to accessories, kitchen items and even live chickens. Here are some photos I took at our local market in Condé-sur-Noireau this week although I avoided the chicken sellers in case I "accidentally" bought some chicks that I am not actually ready for yet.
Thursday, 25 June 2015
Plants at a Normandy Market
Today I give you, not pictures from our garden here at Eco-Gites of Lenault but plants I saw at the market in Condé-sur-Noireau, where I went this morning. I go most Thursdays, meet with a friend for coffee and buy any supplies I need. Today I came home with lettuce and red cabbage seedlings, melons, nectarines, cherries and 2 cucumbers. My cucumbers, as I mentioned last week are fruiting but not fast enough to keep the hungry mouths here fed - I think I need more plants next year!
Markets are wonderful places for plants and you can buy a huge variety of either small or large plants, made up pots/hanging baskets, herbs and vegetable seedlings, all usually of very good quality and not too expensive. Often the plants will be grown locally, especially if you visit the part of the market we call "The Little People" - here local people can set up a stall and sell produce from their own gardens. I don't know what the rules are for having a stall (I must find out) but I do love the wonderful mix of things for sale - I bought a kilo bag of cherries but I could have had cut flowers, eggs, jams, potted herbs, fresh veg and even live pigeons and rabbits! I'll try and get some photos another time but the stalls were too crowded today to get a decent shot. Here instead are other photos of the plants for sale on the main stalls:
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| Bright Busy Lizzies |
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| A mix of summer annuals |
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| Delicate Geraniums |
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| Scented Pinks |
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| Pots of Herbs |
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| Leek Seedlings |
And this final one I snapped at a flower shop in the town just because the lavenders were so beautiful in their matching pots that I could not resist a photo. The shop is called Exotic Fleurs which makes me chuckle every time I read it. The French for exotic is exotique but they have chosen the English word and placed it before the noun when in fact the French adjective almost always goes after the noun. The Académie française (note the adjective is after the noun!) works it's socks off to try and stop non-French words entering the French language but it seems it's citizens might not always be d'accord with that!
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| Lovely Lavender |
I love French markets and there are local markets every day in the various towns and villages close to Eco-Gites of Lenault. If you click on "markets" in the labels section to the right you can see plenty more pictures from these Normandy markets. What do you love about French markets?
Joining in with Annie's How Does Your Garden Grow linky as well as the new linky #LoveWhereILive from Elaine at Entertaining Elliot.
Finally an apology - with Simon away last week I was extra busy and did not get round to commenting on any #HDYGG blogs last week (hangs head in shame). I promise not to just dump a link and run this week :)
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
After the eclipse that wasn't to be ...
Posted by Rosie
Our eclipse was eclipsed by thick cloud and besides it getting a bit darker and rather cold there was really no way of knowing that a magnificent celestial happening was taking place right above our heads. I had been lucky enough to see the total eclipse in 1999 but I did feel particularly gutted for the boys. So a weekend of cheering up was needed.
First though, I needed to get to market to buy some veg seedlings. They don't make for very interesting photos but the flower displays, colourful vegetables and cakes do:
On Sunday Tom had an athletics tournament at Caen. He got a lift there and we said we'd collect him after taking the dogs for a walk on the nearby beach at Ouistreham. The weather was cold, to say the least, so a warm, filling brunch was needed to sustain us. Just don't tell Tom he missed out on a fry-up!
To the beach.
We reckon this was Harry's first time by the sea and he was completely and utterly excited about the whole experience and may not really have thought things through fully ...
Dashing to the large watery thing:
Discovering the large watery thing is exceedingly cold and well .... WET!
Happy to hurtle along the edge with Saari and his canine friend, Pip:
Did you manage to get fabulous views of the eclipse or did you have to have a fun weekend to make up for the "No Show". Of perhaps you had both?
Our eclipse was eclipsed by thick cloud and besides it getting a bit darker and rather cold there was really no way of knowing that a magnificent celestial happening was taking place right above our heads. I had been lucky enough to see the total eclipse in 1999 but I did feel particularly gutted for the boys. So a weekend of cheering up was needed.
First though, I needed to get to market to buy some veg seedlings. They don't make for very interesting photos but the flower displays, colourful vegetables and cakes do:
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| Fabulous flowers at Flers market |
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| Multicoloured carrots at Flers market |
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| French pâtisseries |
On Sunday Tom had an athletics tournament at Caen. He got a lift there and we said we'd collect him after taking the dogs for a walk on the nearby beach at Ouistreham. The weather was cold, to say the least, so a warm, filling brunch was needed to sustain us. Just don't tell Tom he missed out on a fry-up!
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| A hearty brunch |
To the beach.
We reckon this was Harry's first time by the sea and he was completely and utterly excited about the whole experience and may not really have thought things through fully ...
Dashing to the large watery thing:
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| Yeah - this looks fun - I need to investigate |
Discovering the large watery thing is exceedingly cold and well .... WET!
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| Whoa - that is COLD! |
Happy to hurtle along the edge with Saari and his canine friend, Pip:
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| Fun at Ouistreham beach in March |
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| Guess who got wet trousers? |
Did you manage to get fabulous views of the eclipse or did you have to have a fun weekend to make up for the "No Show". Of perhaps you had both?
Sunday, 22 March 2015
Monday, 8 September 2014
Grande Fête Foraine de la Saint-Gilles
Posted by Rosie
Every day in France has at least one Saint dedicated to it. September 1st is the day dedicated to Saint-Gilles and the first weekend after is always the date for a large fairground (Fête Foraine) and boot fair (Vide Grenier = Empty Loft) in the centre of Condé-sur-Noireau. It is always something the boys look forward to and something I hope they will forget about ... I am not a lover of fairgrounds although I do like a good boot fair. Sadly they did not forget about it and despite offering them a trip to the beach they insisted we went to Condé instead.
So did the boys think they had made the right decision of fair over beach?
Yes and no - we gave them 10€ each to spend or save as they wanted. Ben chose not to go on any rides and saved all his money. Tom went on one ride and saved the rest. Overall they were at the age where they had outgrown many of the younger rides and there was not a huge selection of older ones. They both saw that spending their money of fairground games was probably a waste in view of the poor quality prizes they may have won but the did like the atmosphere and of course came away richer than when they went. Was this better than the beach? I am not sure they actually thought so! It'll be interesting to see if they want to go next year.
As for me - I did get a plant at the boot fair and I loved this tea stall:
I also think I might have preferred the Foire as it was around 1900 - an farm animal fair! Not many ladies to be seen in this photo though, but I love the farmers in their Sunday-best smocks.
Are you a thrill seeker who likes fairground rides? And what about a Boot Fair? Do you love them or hate them?
Every day in France has at least one Saint dedicated to it. September 1st is the day dedicated to Saint-Gilles and the first weekend after is always the date for a large fairground (Fête Foraine) and boot fair (Vide Grenier = Empty Loft) in the centre of Condé-sur-Noireau. It is always something the boys look forward to and something I hope they will forget about ... I am not a lover of fairgrounds although I do like a good boot fair. Sadly they did not forget about it and despite offering them a trip to the beach they insisted we went to Condé instead.
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| Fairground rides |
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| Fairground games |
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| Reglisse (liquorice) in some wonderful colours |
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| Sausage in a baguette anyone? So French. |
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| The Boot Fair |
So did the boys think they had made the right decision of fair over beach?
Yes and no - we gave them 10€ each to spend or save as they wanted. Ben chose not to go on any rides and saved all his money. Tom went on one ride and saved the rest. Overall they were at the age where they had outgrown many of the younger rides and there was not a huge selection of older ones. They both saw that spending their money of fairground games was probably a waste in view of the poor quality prizes they may have won but the did like the atmosphere and of course came away richer than when they went. Was this better than the beach? I am not sure they actually thought so! It'll be interesting to see if they want to go next year.
As for me - I did get a plant at the boot fair and I loved this tea stall:
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| Tea anyone? |
I also think I might have preferred the Foire as it was around 1900 - an farm animal fair! Not many ladies to be seen in this photo though, but I love the farmers in their Sunday-best smocks.
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| Foire de Saint Gilles, Condé-sur-Noireau c 1900 |
Are you a thrill seeker who likes fairground rides? And what about a Boot Fair? Do you love them or hate them?
Sunday, 7 September 2014
Monday, 11 August 2014
A trip to Fougères
Posted by Rosie
On Saturday friends were travelling up from Poitiers to catch the ferry at St Malo at the end of their holiday and wanted to meet up with us somewhere on their way back. Fougères, just over the border into Brittany is an hour and a half from us and en route for them and not somewhere we had been before. A quick look on Google confirmed it seemed a nice place to visit and so the meet up was arranged.
Our friends were due to arrive at around 2.30 so we decided to get there earlier so we could have a look round the town before lunch with them and then a trip round the castle together.
Saturday is market day in Fougères and a very nice market it is to. We didn't buy anything but thoroughly enjoyed perusing the wide variety of stalls and taking in the atmosphere of what was a very pretty town.
After the market and a coffee we ambled our way down to the castle. Interestingly the castle was not on the highest point as you might expect but at the base of the hill and the more modern town is high in the hill. We wondered why but later learnt that this was because of water - a well had been dug in the centre of the castle to provide residents with water when they were under siege where-as there was no well water on the higher ground.
Our walk took us first through what is now the town gardens next to the church where there are some fabulous floral displays which you'll find on this garden post. It is also where we found this pretty heart-shaped window:
After the gardens we found ourselves in the Medieval part of the town with it's narrow streets and old buildings where there were plenty of signs explaining about the buildings and what went on there:
We had lunch with our friends at a very nice and not at all expensive restaurant just outside the entrance to the castle we then went into the castle itself.
As you might expect with a couple of boys, we have visited a fair few castles in our time. How did this one rate? Pretty darn good I would say. It was imposing, there was plenty to see and do and we really liked it. But that is all I am going to say and maybe one day you will visit Fougères and sometimes knowing less about a visit can make it all the more enjoyable. We didn't know anything about the castle but we definitely felt the 20€ we spent on entry fees was well worth it. The only thing I would point is that if you have a pushchair there are rather a lot of steps you where you will have to carry the pushchair up and down.
Fougères may not be the closest castle to Eco-Gites of Lenault but I heartily recommend both the castle and the town itself for a day trip. Have you been and if so what did you think about it?
On Saturday friends were travelling up from Poitiers to catch the ferry at St Malo at the end of their holiday and wanted to meet up with us somewhere on their way back. Fougères, just over the border into Brittany is an hour and a half from us and en route for them and not somewhere we had been before. A quick look on Google confirmed it seemed a nice place to visit and so the meet up was arranged.
Our friends were due to arrive at around 2.30 so we decided to get there earlier so we could have a look round the town before lunch with them and then a trip round the castle together.
Saturday is market day in Fougères and a very nice market it is to. We didn't buy anything but thoroughly enjoyed perusing the wide variety of stalls and taking in the atmosphere of what was a very pretty town.
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| Locally made dried sausages - "saucisson". |
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| Organic Fruit and Vegetables |
After the market and a coffee we ambled our way down to the castle. Interestingly the castle was not on the highest point as you might expect but at the base of the hill and the more modern town is high in the hill. We wondered why but later learnt that this was because of water - a well had been dug in the centre of the castle to provide residents with water when they were under siege where-as there was no well water on the higher ground.
Our walk took us first through what is now the town gardens next to the church where there are some fabulous floral displays which you'll find on this garden post. It is also where we found this pretty heart-shaped window:
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| Heart shaped window at Fougères |
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| Town gardens at Fougères |
After the gardens we found ourselves in the Medieval part of the town with it's narrow streets and old buildings where there were plenty of signs explaining about the buildings and what went on there:
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| Fougères was a major tanning town in the Middle Ages |
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| Medieval Fougères |
We had lunch with our friends at a very nice and not at all expensive restaurant just outside the entrance to the castle we then went into the castle itself.
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| A nice spot for lunch |
As you might expect with a couple of boys, we have visited a fair few castles in our time. How did this one rate? Pretty darn good I would say. It was imposing, there was plenty to see and do and we really liked it. But that is all I am going to say and maybe one day you will visit Fougères and sometimes knowing less about a visit can make it all the more enjoyable. We didn't know anything about the castle but we definitely felt the 20€ we spent on entry fees was well worth it. The only thing I would point is that if you have a pushchair there are rather a lot of steps you where you will have to carry the pushchair up and down.
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| Fougères Castle |
Fougères may not be the closest castle to Eco-Gites of Lenault but I heartily recommend both the castle and the town itself for a day trip. Have you been and if so what did you think about it?
Tuesday, 5 August 2014
Normandy markets
Posted by Rosie
Possibly the most popular outing made from guests staying at Eco-Gites of Lenault is a trip to one of our local markets. France is well know for it's weekly markets and Normandy is no exception. Regular Twitter and Facebook followers will probably already know that I go to one of our local markets most weeks and have been known to come back with chickens even when I only went to meet a friend for coffee! At least so far I have resisted the rabbits:
So what can I tell you about our local markets?
There will be a market every day somewhere locally as this list shows
Our most local ones are:
Mon - Tinchebray
Tues - Thury Harcourt
Wed - Villers Bocage, Flers
Thurs - Condé-sur-Noireau
Fri - Vire
Sat - Aunay-sur-Odon
Sun - Caen
They generally run from 9am to 12 noon, sometimes up to 1pm.
Even the smallest of towns will often have a little weekly market.
The markets are open all year come rain or shine although they are a bit quieter in the winter months and a few stall owners will not brave the colder months. Most are open air but a few are (partly) under cover eg Flers.
The bigger markets will be in the town centre which will be closed to vehicles.
These larger markets will have stalls selling a great range of things including:
The fruit and veg that you buy at a market will be very seasonal (no peaches in December or parsnips in July) and much of it will be very local. There is however one thing to be aware of. Although France uses the metric system, many fruit and veg stall owners will sell their produce in livres or pounds. If at first you think the price of something is wonderfully low, just check how much you are getting - a livre (approx 500g) or a kilo!
Most of the larger stalls are commercial businesses. There will often also be a corner of the market for local residents to set up a table and sell their excess garden and farm produce. These tend to be older residents and what they sell is invariably seasonal and usually very varied. There is no such thing as a typical seller here but as an example a summer table from this section may well be selling a couple of chickens, a few pots of jam, some beans, a bag or two of potatoes and some cut flowers.
There will often also be a van or two selling crêpes and or take-away food such as paella, couscous or pizzas ... so there should be no need to get a pizza from the wall on market day!
What you will also find is how busy the markets are - many residents will buy from them on a regular basis and when they have their shopping they will pass the time meeting friends and chatting. French markets are a very sociable place and certainly not somewhere you should try and rush around.
As I said, I try to go to the market at Condé-sur-Noireau every week. I meet up with a friend, we drink coffee and wander round buying our wares and enjoying the atmosphere. I buy a lot of my vegetable seedlings and as a regular I now often find a few extra plants thrown in for free. I also did well at one of the fruit and vegetable stalls last week who, at the end of the day, were selling off melons at a reduced price. 3 large melons for 4€ was a great bargain and the seller was happy to chose those of different ripeness so I could make them last over the next few days. That is the kind of service you will get at French markets.
Do you like to visit French markets and if so what do you like to shop for?
Possibly the most popular outing made from guests staying at Eco-Gites of Lenault is a trip to one of our local markets. France is well know for it's weekly markets and Normandy is no exception. Regular Twitter and Facebook followers will probably already know that I go to one of our local markets most weeks and have been known to come back with chickens even when I only went to meet a friend for coffee! At least so far I have resisted the rabbits:
So what can I tell you about our local markets?
There will be a market every day somewhere locally as this list shows
Our most local ones are:
Mon - Tinchebray
Tues - Thury Harcourt
Wed - Villers Bocage, Flers
Thurs - Condé-sur-Noireau
Fri - Vire
Sat - Aunay-sur-Odon
Sun - Caen
They generally run from 9am to 12 noon, sometimes up to 1pm.
Even the smallest of towns will often have a little weekly market.
The markets are open all year come rain or shine although they are a bit quieter in the winter months and a few stall owners will not brave the colder months. Most are open air but a few are (partly) under cover eg Flers.
The bigger markets will be in the town centre which will be closed to vehicles.
These larger markets will have stalls selling a great range of things including:
- Fruit and Veg
- Meats - cooked, processed and raw (sometimes even horse meat)
- Fish
- Cheese
- Clothes, shoes and accessories
- Make-up
- Music and games
- Loom bands - well until the next craze comes along!
- Toys
- Chainsaw other other gardening tools
- Poultry and other small animals
- Flowers
- Housewares
- Double Glazing!
- Plants, flowers and vegetable seedlings
- Honey
- Bread and cakes
- Wine and/or cider
- Organic produce
The fruit and veg that you buy at a market will be very seasonal (no peaches in December or parsnips in July) and much of it will be very local. There is however one thing to be aware of. Although France uses the metric system, many fruit and veg stall owners will sell their produce in livres or pounds. If at first you think the price of something is wonderfully low, just check how much you are getting - a livre (approx 500g) or a kilo!
Most of the larger stalls are commercial businesses. There will often also be a corner of the market for local residents to set up a table and sell their excess garden and farm produce. These tend to be older residents and what they sell is invariably seasonal and usually very varied. There is no such thing as a typical seller here but as an example a summer table from this section may well be selling a couple of chickens, a few pots of jam, some beans, a bag or two of potatoes and some cut flowers.
There will often also be a van or two selling crêpes and or take-away food such as paella, couscous or pizzas ... so there should be no need to get a pizza from the wall on market day!
What you will also find is how busy the markets are - many residents will buy from them on a regular basis and when they have their shopping they will pass the time meeting friends and chatting. French markets are a very sociable place and certainly not somewhere you should try and rush around.
As I said, I try to go to the market at Condé-sur-Noireau every week. I meet up with a friend, we drink coffee and wander round buying our wares and enjoying the atmosphere. I buy a lot of my vegetable seedlings and as a regular I now often find a few extra plants thrown in for free. I also did well at one of the fruit and vegetable stalls last week who, at the end of the day, were selling off melons at a reduced price. 3 large melons for 4€ was a great bargain and the seller was happy to chose those of different ripeness so I could make them last over the next few days. That is the kind of service you will get at French markets.
Do you like to visit French markets and if so what do you like to shop for?
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| Winter flowers at Condé-sur-Noireau market |
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