What is it that makes France so special as a holiday
destination? I think what we experienced today encapsulates it. It was the
weekly market in the nearby medium sized town of Vaison. We were warned that it
would be difficult to park so we left early. The streets of the town were already
at 9am engulfed with stalls selling everything from local produce, takeaways to
handbags. The colour and vibrancy of it all was fantastic.
There was brilliant selling taking place. At the
olive stall I had many tastes of tapenade before I decided which one to buy.
Each one was accompanied by a smile, and what do you know I bought more than I
intended. Before buying any fruit or veg it was thoroughly poked and prodded.
As we had left early we sat in a street side café
drinking coffee and eating croissants watching the world go by. The smells of
the herbs, and cooking all mixed together into an aroma that you might describe
as the essence of France. Some stalls were inexplicable, one sold camouflage
netting that looked as though it had dropped off the back of an army truck. It
was odd, as I did not see any para-militaries around, though I suppose that I
would not if they were well camouflaged.
Lunch was eaten in a outdoor café overlooking the
main square as all of the stallholders cleared away into their white vans. Then
in almost a miraculous cleansing the market was gone, the streets were returned
to normal traffic, and the town settled into a sleepy French afternoon.
The rest of the day saw the weather deteriorate until
the evening when there was quite heavy rain. We gained solace in a competitive
game of Scrabble, though it was misery for me again as I comprehensively lost.
C’est la vie.
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