One of the day to day joys of living in Europe have been visiting some of the amazing outdoor markets. The village of Garches (where we live) has a market on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the town square.  This morning we went to a much larger outdoor market that we also love to stroll around, in Versailles.  Both of these markets are lively, and both are filled with character and charm.  ~ Mo

Chris’ Blog

Although there are a lot of similarities to the market we have in Peterborough, there are  also some notable differences.  Vendors shout out their “specials” from one minute to the next (all in French of course), and there is a much larger selection of products and produce.   It is also extremely ‘fresh’.  For example, the Versailles market has a lot of seafood (oysters, prawns, lobsters, large clams, octopus) caught the day before. Also, a lot of the poultry is cleaned right in front of you.  You can often choose your “bird” (feet, head and all) and wait while it is plucked and prepped (apologies to all vegetarians about this description).  Rabbit as you can see below (lapin) is also sold at some markets.  As you would expect in France, the cheese and wine selections are impressive and delicious. There is also an abundance of ethnic foods to sample (Jamaican, Indian, Lebanese, and Thai).

We are glad it is so close to where we live that we can go to it on a regular basis.  Today we bought a couple of leeks and pepper for a quiche we’ll make tonight, a slab of Appenzeller cheese, two fresh baguettes, an artichoke and olive tapenade  (Lebanese), two fresh grapefruits, some avocados, and a falafel pita for lunch.

On our way back to the apartment, we looked out the train window to see the Eiffel Tower in the distance.  Both of us took the moment to reflect on how special this experience is and we both feel it was such a good decision to live abroad and experience life in France.  Having the opportunity to live amongst the locals and participate in their traditions and “way of life” has been a very unique experience.