As I am sorting through piles and piles of pictures for my book and playing around with settings,  I realize that I have enough images to render the 4 seasons of the Farmers’ market. And since I haven’t written a proper post about the market in quite a while, well, here you go! :0) Some photos are older, some more recent. I apologize if you’ve already seen some of them…
There are Farmers’ markets in every town and every village around here. Not one day of the week without a proper market less than 30 minutes from the house. Some are grand, some are small. Some feel more authentic than others. All are quite special in their own way. Visiting them as often as I do is very inspiring and motivating for a foodie like me!
I do hope I get to give you a private tour of my favorite markets someday!
In the meantime, here is a virtual visit of the Libourne market that I hope you’ll enjoy! We even have a guest star in the gallery. Let’s play “spot the Canadian”. It’ll be fun ;0)
Note: I’ve never included so many pictures in one single gallery. It may take a second or two to download properly…
MY FRENCH HEAVEN 
Somehow I missed this beautiful post! It makes me happy to recognize your butcher, your bread guy, and more. by the way, I spotted the guy with the shirt!
I would love to see your beautiful France some day! The markets looks fantastic! It would be hard to choose what to buy everything looks delicious and so fresh! My guess is the Canadian is the baby goose, tee hee! Hugz Lisa and Bear
You are so funny Lisa! No, the Canadian is my friend Steve in the Hawaïan shirt 😉 😀
Beautiful. Your photos took me back to summers in Normandy.
Normandy is such a beautiful part of France. The blossoming apple trees in the spring are a sight for sore eyes… Normandy countryside is so very French… Thanks for dropping by dear Marie and taking the time to right your little comments. They always make me happy 🙂
Great photographs
Thank you!
Stephane, this amazing collage makes us feel like we are right there in your market. Lovely.
I’m glad. That was my goal 😉 I hope you get to experience it for yourself one day. In real life 😉
This is why I want to go back to France. I went years and years ago but only to Paris. I would love to see more of the country to get the full effect of France. I do miss the markets of Europe. I love your beautiful photographs here! Thank you for sharing them.
You should visit the rest of France! Paris is nice, but the countryside is even better with the small towns and the châteaux and… I hope you swing by Bordeaux on your next trip! 🙂
Stunning. Your photos seriously produce a visceral reaction…it’s like an ache. So beautiful.
Sorry for the ache 😉
It’s a good ache. No apology necessary. It’s the kind of ache that springs me into action. Wistful, longing and oddly for something I’ve never experienced.
Alright then 😉 I feel better knowing that 🙂 Have a good evening dear Amanda!
Wonderful series, and nothing beats a farmer’s market for quality food and ambience in shopping.
Hear hear!
You make me miss France! Such rich photos that really get to the heart of the market place. Thank you for a trip down memory lane.
You are most welcome dear Angela! Maybe you’ll make it here even before I make it to your beautiful mountains 😉 🙂
Lovely. Makes me wish I was there.
Thanks Renee! I am so glad you dropped by 🙂
What Beauty is found within your pictures. Thank you for posting them. These, and the others you include in your Blog. Chateau St Jacques Calon has been added to my Bucket List !
Well, I hope I get to meet you in person soon! I’ll leave the lights on 😉
Merci!
Wonderful set of pictures. I have to say that I’m disillusioned with our markets. They are very expensive ( because they have to be or go bust) and have therefore become tourist attractions ( to earn a bit of money ) which is sad. Even 12 years ago, I remember them as very different. Supermarkets are the disease….a disease which is seemingly incurable and which we have all contracted.
Supermarkets are indeed a disease! Markets here tend to be on the expensive side as well, but it is still way worth it. I like to know where my food comes from. Actually, next week, I am visiting my butcher’s farm. I will do a post on beef (probably Rossini Filet and follow the meat from the field to my plate… 🙂
You should hold an exhibition of your photos when you publish your own book. Your pictures always give me good inspirations. I wish I could take a Korean version of market photos someday.^^
You should Jessie!! I love books with pictures of Asian markets. They are at least as beautiful as ours and even more colorful… 😉
Wonderful photos Stephane, I don’t envy your job of working out what photos will make the book, there are just too many good ones to choose from. I am always a sucker for a cute animal shot but I think my favourites were the bag with the paper and the flowers inside and the block of cheese.
Yep, a little bit of cheese here, some flowers there, a cute dog and an old lady on a bike, I am literally swimming in clichés 😉 🙂
Lovely series of the markets! The last time I was in France I went to neighborhood market with the intent to listen to the language and take photos. I got so engrossed with the foods, people, and inter-actions of customs and sellers that I only took two images! I need to get back it’s been too long.
Oh! The Canadian in the bunch was the Goose non? 🙂
No, the guy in the Hawaian shirt 😉 You get an A for effort though 😉
Ack! I never would have figured that out. 🙂
You definitely need to come back! This is truly one of the best things we have going on in this country. Access to great ingredients is essential to me…
dreamy! like a whole different world…. is it really so rustic and old and charming and dreamy??? I want to live like that now! Are you just teasing us?? – and by the way, I enjoy your fun engagement with your blog followers. Your kindness oozes.
You are so so kind!! Yes, the markets are really that old fashioned around here. Some more than others of course. When you come visit me, I’ll take you to the one in Sainte Foye La Grande. You’ll absolutely love it… As for my followers, they are like family to me. They are always there when I feel down or need support. It is only fair that I’d treat them with the respect and consideration they deserve…
Stephane, how ever will you choose from all your gorgeous photos, what to include in the book, what to omit. Good luck! I love fresh food markets too, a visual and veritable feast!
A feast indeed. I actually thought of using the word in my title. Something like “THE moveable feast” Ha ha 😉
Absolutely stunning pictures, really capture the feel of the market, the book is going to look fantastic
Thanks! I hope so. It’s just really hard to select the right pictures. I’ll do my best… 🙂
Oh, I have farmer’s market envy! I don’t know why, but Australians don’t do farmers markets very well (there are notable exception). Love!
I love a good market Sara. I would think that, in your beautiful country, distances are an obstacle to many farmers to gather at one single spot… Fish markets must be incredible though. Aren’t they?
You’re right, distances are a problem. And yes, our fish markets are pretty awesome – every decent sized coastal town has one. I guess having a big country with not very many people in it has its drawbacks 🙂
And its advantages believe you me! 🙂
right 🙂
I can’t wait for your book. Now that is the way a market should be, abundant high quality beautiful food, as far as the eye can see. I would so love it there. I think I could spend the majority of the day going from stall to stall or stand to stand, touching, smelling, tasting. So beautiful! I’m experiencing sensory overload.
Besides the quality, abundance is what I like the most about our markets. There must be a few really nice markets in NYC too… The fish markets must be quite incredible…
Yes union square farmers market is wonderful and there are several indoor markets that are very good, Chelsea market, Eataly, the market at Grand Central, honestly the fish markets are a bit disappointing for me.
At least you have a few great options. Oh what I wouldn’t give to be instantly transported to Manhattan right now and have dinner with you in one of those incredible restaurants you have. A hotdog first and then a juicy steak with creamy spinach 😉
Oh would so love that! Peter Luger for steak and creamed spinach. The best hot dog I’ve ever had in NYC was at Yankee stadium chili cheese and onion on a buttered toasted bun. It was heaven!
Oh now you’re being cruel! I’m just having melon for dinner… 😦
Lol sorry! It’s much too hot to eat here in NYC melon sounds wonderful.
Wow !!! Il est 23h35 … et j’ai de nouveau faim !!! 😀
Superbe série (comme toujours)
J’ai mal lu … 23:25 … ça explique tout 😉
Ha HA! J’espère que tu t’es fait un sandwich… 😉
Non, même pas … je me suis couché avec l’estomac qui gargouille !! 😀
Wonderful photos! Like a mini tour of France — particularly appreciated because my traveling days are over, and it’s memories, and reminders like your photos, from here on in.
A la votre!
I am so glad that my modest efforts allow you to travel a little bit… 😉 Thank you so much for visiting 🙂
What a wonderful eye you have, lovely photos! Now I feel as if I should go cook something……how sad for me that I live so far. I really enjoyed the ‘people’ shots. Such stories in those faces alone!
Thanks! Old people make the markets look so authentic 😉 They are my favorite subjects to photograph. I love your avatar by the way 😉
Thanks, that WAS Roger, a very wicked chicken… 😉
Stéphane,
I tumbled into your beautiful blog when you “liked” a post of mine today. I feel a bit like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. What a lovely place you have created. It is very good news that you are working on a book. I look forward to exploring your blog more and also to following along with you into the future.
Amitiés,
Cynthia
The Solitary Cook
I am so glad you’ve found my little blog dear Cynthia (or should I call you Alice now?)! I will be following you as well 😉
Thank you deeply, Stéphane.
These photos make me want to book a flight tout de suite! So gorgeous. Lucky, lucky you to have access to such bounty. And thanks for sharing with us.
Do it! Do it! I’m warming up the car. I’ll meet you at the airport 🙂
Bwahaha! You totally make my day!
I promise I’ll make your week if you come here 😉 Think of all the great food we’d have and all the beautiful places I could take you to… I am the devil, I know… 🙂
Wow such amazing images…your images are so inspiring I learn so much…not to visit a farmers market in France is on my wish list…after seeing your images….
One day soon I hope Natasha! I’d love to be your guide 😉
🙂
So beautiful. Market pics are probably my favorite travel photos and these are just lovely! Love the rustic, romantic, cheerful vibe they convey.
Thank you Lynda! I hope I get to take you there someday 🙂
Me too! 😉 Looks like heaven.
Amazing! Hey, congrats. France won their game today.
Soccer is the opium of the people over here. I’ve never been into drugs I’m afraid 😉 But good on them. At least they are “working” a little bit for the millions they get…
Hahahahah!
A great gallery…and you are off and running with the book!
I am Angeline, but I’d never thought going through the pictures would be such hard work… I have thousands of them… This whole thing will take longer than I thought… 🙂 😉
How do I go about emigrating? 😉
Just take the next flight over. I’ll hide you in the château! 😉
Ha ha. Thank you!
Lovely kaleidoscope of images – really captures the feel of everything ! (Puts our local village market to shame – there are only 4 or 5 stalls if you’re lucky and 1 of those sell housecoats and Charentais slippers!! )
Sometimes I see old people in Charentaises at the market. It’s priceless 🙂
All adds to the local colour – as long as you don’t wear them yourself ! 🙂
Not a chance in hell 😉 🙂
I’m just dishing up my breakfast – those pictures – oh, my! My tummy is aching to taste so many of those foods shown. The Brussels sprouts look amazingly tasty. When I was up in the Pacific Northwest, we could get them still on the stalk. That was fabulous. They would last a long time that way, and I could pick off enough for a meal, leaving the rest happily residing on the stalk for next time.
Virtual hugs,
Judie
When I lived in San Francisco and worked in Half Moon Bay, I drove by the Brussells sprout fields every day. I must say they are not my favorite vegetables, but they are better fresh off the stalk 🙂
We lived for many years in Sunnyvale, 40 miles south of San Francisco, and the coastal fog of Half Moon Bay was legendary for producing the finest of Brussels sprouts, but it was only in Washington State that I found them available on the stalk. The whole of California should be cordoned off from permanent people population to better allow visitors to bask in its wonders.
Is France at all like the San Francisco Bay Area that we love so much? Not Paris, of course, but the more agrarian France.
The Basque Country is the closest with hills, fog and the ocean. A lot of French Basque people actually emigrated to Northern California. There are towns there where they mostly speak French actually…
Even though my husband is pure French for many generations, his only known French phrase is “tant pis”, which his mother used for all sorts of situations! ;-> I am always surprised that my few, what I view as common, French phrases are totally unknown to him. Someday we will sign up for an immersion course to learn French properly. ;->
Come do it with me! 😉
Wonderful photos. There’s nothing like a good French market 🙂
Nothing indeed Kay! Thanks for dropping by today 🙂
Evocative and delightful, Stephane, filled with as much abundance as the markets. Your book is going to be a smash!
janet
who’s four days away from our trip to France
You must be so excited J! I’m sure you are going to have an incredible time over here. I so wish you had had the time to visit Bordeaux while here. You’ll be so close… Oh well, maybe next time… 😉
These photos remind me of how I miss my days in Provence. sheila
I hope it will motivate you to come back dear Sheila!!