Marcher au marché

Every couple days, I go to the open-air farmers' markets in thecenter of Aix-en-Provence to get fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms around the Southern region of Provence in France. This time, I finally remembered to bring my camera so I can give you an idea of what I get to experience when I go grocery shopping each week! To the left, you see picture of the market. There is a courtyard/square paved with smooth cobblestones where local families and farmers bring their produce 3 or 4 times a week for the residents of Aix to purchase! The fruit and vegetables here, I've found, are much cheaper and much better quality than the things you'll find in the supermarkets.
You can choose to use the plastic bags here, but we tend to re-use plastic bags that we get from buying stuff at the supermarket and bring a big basket or reusable tote bag to carry our purchases home with us. You'll see a lot of people with durable shopping bags attached to metal carriers with wheels to carry heavy produce like potatoes and tomatoes home. And everyone walks :) Today, I bought enough 2 nectarines, 4 big carrots, 4 big potatoes, and 2 bell peppers to last me probably for the rest of the week...for about 2, 50 euros.
Today, I also went to the Marché aux Fleurs (Flower Market) for the first time. The picture above and to the right gives you an idea of the overwhelming explosion of color with which you are greeted when you turn the corner from the produce market to the flower market! I decided that my room is lacking some color, yes, even with my prayer flags and tapestry and various photos and hangings. So, I bought a pot of orange flowers for 4 euros. And I don't think they will die for a while because you only have to water them once every 10 days. Very hardy. BUT they're gorgeous and will make waking up for my morning run all the more pleasant :)
Below is a picture of me stopped in the produce market on the way back through town after buying my lovely new flowers:
When I got back to the house, I took a picture of the crocuses that have blossomed in the backyard right in front of our Cabanon. I mentioned to Claire that it's not the season for crocuses, they're supposed to blossom in the first few days of Spring. But she brought up a good point in response! It's always warm enough here for things to grow, so there is no "season" for flowers. That "season" lasts all year long :)