(En Français plus bas:0). Super long, désolé:0)
First, I must apologize for not posting anything yesterday. The thing is, I took so many pictures of this incredible market, that it took me all day to sort through them. There are still way too many below for one single post, but I just couldn’t make up my mind. This is about a fifth of what I kept.
This market is located in a small town on the river Dordogne, called Sainte-Foy-La-Grande. It is located about 30mn East of St-Emilion (about an hour from Bordeaux) on the way to Bergerac.
What is so special about this market, is that it is located in a much more “rural” area than mine. This means that although you won’t find 10 different Butchers or Fishmongers, there are dozens of non professional vendors producing the most amazing organic vegetables in their own gardens and allotments (Ann, this one’s for you:0). You will have a guy with 20lbs of potatoes he just unearthed this morning and right next to him some old lady selling her own jam packaged in recycled jars (see pic below). They all know each other. They all know their customers as well. And they talk and smile and argue and have a grand old time. I don’t think they even care if they sell something or not…
One of the producers was absolutely delightful and so passionate about his organic veggies. He is the guy in the hat. She’s the lady with the glasses and the great smile. He and his wife Anne farm everything they sell locally (except the apples he said. They come from their next door neighbor’s orchard). Anne and Pierre-Noël Bousseau sell at 6 different markets in the area as well as at their farm on Thursdays and Saturdays (05 53 83 71 00).
So here we go. Brace yourselves for way too many pictures, but there are still more where they came from:0)
Je dois d’abord m’excuser de ne rien avoir publié hier. Je suis allé visiter un marché différent du mien et je me suis laissé emporté. J’ai pris tellement de photo qu’il m’a fallu toute la journée pour les trier.
Bref! Marché de Sainte-Foy-La-Grande à 30mn de St-Emilion sur les bords de la Dordogne. Nous sommes ici dans une région plus “rurale” et c’est ce qui rend ce marché intéressant. Vous trouverez moins de choix (moins de poisson et de viandes qu’à Libourne ou à Bordeaux), mais en revanche, vous aurez une armée de petites grand-mères avec leurs six oeufs et trois patates sorties de terre le matin même. Vous voyez ce que je veux dire: UN VRAI MARCHÉ de campagne…
L’un des producteurs était absolument charmant et passionné par ses légumes bio. C’est l’homme au chapeau (et elle la dame avec les lunettes et le grand sourire). Pierre-Noël et Anne Bousseau produisent tout ce qu’ils vendent en fermage équitable (sauf les pommes at-il dit, qui viennent du verger de son voisin). On peut retrouver Anne et Pierre-Noël aux marchés de Duras, Sauveterre, Pellegrue, Monségur et Bergerac ainsi qu’à leur ferme près de Duras les jeudis et samedis (05 53 83 71 00).
P.S: Si vous êtes représenté dans l’une des photos et souhaitez que cette photo soit retirée, n’hésitez pas à me le dire. Ce sera fait immédiatement:0)
MY FRENCH HEAVEN 
Thank you for your marvelous pictures, which have made me homesick (we live half the year in Sainte-Foy). They really evoke the spirit of the market and the faded beauty of the town, and I recognise many of the faces. I’ll be spending a lot of time in your blog having encountered it while searching for info on Sainte-Foy’s Christmas market (and failing).
It is a very special market indeed. This whole area is really really special. It feels so authentic…
great story, we have same markets also in Dalmatia in Croatia 🙂
It must be wonderful! I hear Croatia is a stunning country with very friendly people:)
Trust me it is :-), you should visit us once, it`s woth seeing
you are so making us want to come and stay/visit.
Anytime!! You’d love it here:)
Stunning photos Stéphane 🙂
Thanks Jenn!
Some really good photographs here – you have a good way of capturing everyday life!
Suzy 😀
Tank you Suzy!!
mmmmm you speak-a my language…actually, more like sing it! thank you for the most lovely reminder of marches! One of the best I’ve seen in a long time!
Thank you so much!!
Such beautiful photos!
Thanks!! I had so much fun taking them 🙂 🙂
Beautiful photos and food! Is that goats cheese and do you have any suggestions what to eat goats cheese/chevre with?
Thank you! I believe it was goat cheese. Goat cheese goes well with mixed greens salads or just bread. It’s also great in pastry and oven roasted. I never use it mixed with other foods like fish or meat. Much too strong and acid for my taste…
Beautiful photos! Very drool worthy! The carrots are amazing… we don’t get such beautiful ones here 😦
Thank you so much! I love carrots:) Where is “here”?
You have captured my heart with this post. There’s nothing I like more than photoing markets, the food and the people. You have done it beautifully.
You are very kind Lulu! I had a really good time taking these pictures and an even better time sharing them. I hope someday we’ll get to do it together when you come visit:)
Magnifiques photos!
Merci encore:)
No need to apologize for too many shots. Each and every one of them is beautiful.
🙂
Wow, I would love to go there some time in my life. You took some great photos!
You are welcome here any time you want!
What amazing photographs!
Thank you!!
Gorgeous photos! What a great market.
🙂
Merci pour cette bien belle ballade!
@+, Anne.
Avec plaisir!
Stunning! The photos are mouthwatering.
I am usually pretty self conscious about my pictures, but these I really am happy with:)
& for good reason;-)
Thanks for stopping by my blog. This is my first visit to your blog… Wow your photos are amazing! Just lovely!!! 🙂
You are very kind! Thank you:) I love your blog and pictures as well! That sage chicken…Oh my god!!! 🙂
Thanks for letting me tag along…
You are most welcome! I hope we get to do it for real one day:)
Ahhh..what a day that would be…
Gorgeous pictures – no wonder you wanted to keep so many!
Thank you!!!
We were at that very market (and many others) a couple of years ago. We had been staying near to Libourne and St Foy is just down the road. Like so many of the larger town markets in southern France, it is excellent.
Best,
Conor
Well I hope you’ll come back sometime soon!! 🙂 It was a very special and unique market indeed…
superbes photos, bravo, quels beaux poduits !
Merci!!
How beautiful, tres belle! I do hope to visit France one day. Dead of winter here, how I miss fresh veggies already! Thank you for the journey.
Thank you so much Katie!!
Such a wonderful place, I can just imagine the sounds, the smells and the feel from you pictures. I’m sure it’s a lovely way to buy beautiful produce and also spend a few hours out and about. I love markets, unfortunetly most markets in Sweden are so boring and have non of the homey-rural-feel like this one! =) Loved you pictures! =)
Thank you Karoleen! Maybe you’ll visit us someday:)
I’d love to! =)
You’ve just posted pictures of my French heaven! How fun. What a delicious and colorful day.
Thank you Julia!!!
Absolutely beautiful!
Thank you! 🙂
I don’t think you can too many pictures of such beauty. Of course, being a lover of the soil and farming, I am smitten. All this did was make me even more want to travel to France. Beautiful
Thanks Holly! You should travel to France! You should come here:)
Amazing! I just returned from a vacation in France that didn’t cost me a dime 🙂 Thank you for bringing your beautiful place in the world to us, Stephane.
Oh! At first I really thought you just came back from France and I thought to myself: “WHAT? and she didn’t call?!” Then I understood what you meant and felt happy again…:) 🙂
Stay happy, Stephane 🙂
🙂
Those are some amazing shots! I love every single one of them.
What a lovely comment! Thank you so much!!!
Your photos tell an amazing story on their own! No need for wordiness.
🙂
Not too many pictures at all! They are beautiful shots and I love them all!
You’re being very kind Lesley! I always worry that the blog has too many pictures and not enough interesting text…
Absolutely beautiful. I miss France.
Thanks Mimi!!!
Fantastic photos, Stephane. Such food. Such glorious medieval architecture. But most of all, such faces!
Thanks! The guy with the hat looked like he came out of a cartoon… I had so much fun taking these pictures, I might just make a book on Farmers’ Markets and produce…
Oh my gosh your pictures are so amazing! I love that they capture the character of life in France. It just seems so ideal to me! I live in a rural area too and we have farmers markets in the summer. They set up in empty fields amongst the trees! There is nothing as great as fresh produce. I hope you make a book with all these wonderful pictures! I for one would buy it to look at over and over!
Oh Elizabeth, this means so much to me! My dream is to tour the whole country and make a book just about markets and produce… I took about 500 shots yesterday. Usually, 95% of my photos are absolute crap, but yesterday, I don’t know if it was because of the light or because I was so excited about this new place, I kept about a 100 photos… Anyway, thanks a lot for your comment! By the way, dare I ask, what do friends call you? Liz, Lizzie, Elizabeth?
Objective way of communication and poetic pictures! oh yes…i guess someone said it already! it happens just the same here, in Italy!!! but i still did not find someone able to show it as you’re doing..:(( BRAVO!!!!
Thank you so very much!!
Aie… ridicule faute de frappe… cette photo me touche sans “r”… milles excuses… c’était sans doute l’émotion 😉
🙂
J’aime bien le monsieur avec le petit sachet DMC à la main, il a du faire quelque menue course pour madame… fil, aiguille… 🙂
Toutes les photos sont belles, mais celle-ci me trouche.
Bon dimanche
Je n’avais même pas remarqué la petite poche:) Touchant en effet:) Merci d’être passé(e)!!
salut! you captured some beautiful moments there, I like the pictures so much that I would have loved to see more. Don’t think they are too many at all. Lovely writing as well ❤
Thanks so much Dennis!! I will post more soon:)
ok forgive you having such a lovely market,,,pictures wonderful x
🙂 Did you notice I mentioned you?