Tag Archives: market

On The Verge Of Christmas in France

We weren’t certain what to expect at the St. Girons Christmas Fair on Sunday, but we headed across the bridge to see what was unfolding.
 

Headed to the Christmas Fair in St. Girons


 
Oh my — it was all rather underwhelming. I had been hoping for something along the line of the amazing Christmas markets that I had been to in Germany. But the folksy fair was a very accurate portrayal of the fact that France is generally not the same kind of consumerist society that we have lived amongst in Australia, the UK, or the USA. It seems that the holiday season here is more about families gathered around the table to enjoy food, drink, conversation, and company than about how many gifts are under the tree for each person. And isn’t that charming!

Here are a few pictures from Sunday’s Christmas Fair — followed by a few more from the previous day’s weekly Saturday market. That actually would have been a good place to purchase last-minute Christmas gifts since there were some splendid items for sale at very fair prices.
 

Christmas balloon seller in St. Girons, France


 

Carnival-style booth at the Christmas Fair in St. Girons


 

Hand-cast candles for sale at the Christmas Fair in St. Girons


 

Food sales benefiting the Autrefois le Couserons association


 

Christmas quiche seller at the weekend market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France


 

Market stall selling straw goods in St. Girons, France


 

Happy Holidays to one and all!!!

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It’s Almost Christmas In France!

There are only 2 and 1/2 days left until Christmas Day and we had a leisurely ramble through our wonderful Saturday market today here in St. Girons. Thank heavens it is a little less crowded than during the manic summer months!
 

Saturday market shopping in France on the Saturday before Christmas


 
After buying our vegetables and dried fruit, we strolled through town enjoying all of the Christmas decorations and the happy vibe of the people all around. There was absolutely no sign of frantic last minutes shopping and everyone looked quite relaxed.

Now we’re home, listening to Christmas music on the stereo — and working on a super-secret project. Sorry — no advanced peeks!
 

Music for the Christmas season


 

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9 Days to Christmas In A French Town

Taking a break from all of the photos and articles on Spain for a glimpse of a French town when there are 9 days left before Christmas.

The local town council has attached Christmas trees to the lamp posts on both sides of the bridge over the river.
 

Cyclists on the bridge in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France


 

View from the bridge in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France at Christmas time


 
This charming little dog was waiting for his/her owner to finish shopping in the toy store.
 

A little dog waits patiently for its owner to finish shopping in the toy store.


 

A little dog waits patiently for its owner to finish shopping in the toy store.


 

The weekend market now has a wintery Sunday version that has vintage goods for sale. It was quite enjoyable to be able to walk freely through the bare-branched avenue of trees without being jostled by the large throngs of people that attend the Saturday market. We didn’t actually find anything we wanted, but it was certainly was pleasant to walk in the fresh air and have a look around.
 

Shoppers at a winter outdoor market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France in December 2012.


 

Shoppers at a winter outdoor market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France in December 2012.


 

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Photo Of The Day: The Leather Artist

Taken at the weekend market in St. Girons in the Midi-Pyrenees region of France, this man was deeply engrossed in trimming a piece of leather when I walked by and grabbed this photo. Enjoy!
 

Leather artist working on a new project at the weekend market at St. Girons in the Midi-Pyrenees of France


 

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A Weekend Market Outing For The Trolley

It had been sitting there quietly, sparkling brightly, waiting for the inaugural test drive — that bright red shopping trolley that I showed you the other day. And this morning it got a chance to stretch its little wheels.
 

The red shopping trolley


 
Down the street, across the park, and over the bridge toward the Saturday market we went. And shortly after leaving the house, Mark took over because I was juggling my camera and stopping for pictures every few minutes. That’s fine — he looked quite nice as the ‘driver’ of the trolley, too!
 

Mark with the little red shopping trolley on the way to the weekly market in St. Girons, France


 
Into the alley of plane trees we walked — but wait! Where was everyone — and where was the market???
 

Empty market site in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France when the carnival came to town


 

St. Girons is currently hosting the 4 day All Rock Festival and trust me, everyone in town knows that they are here! They began playing last night at 10 PM and didn’t stop until just after 2 AM. Since we are right around the corner from the Palais des Vicomtes and the riverside park attached to the old chateau, the sounds echoed all through these stone buildings from one end of town to the other.

We didn’t realise that a small travelling carnival would tag along with the music festival. Their rides and trailers and gear were silently parked all up and down the tree-lined area that usually hosts the weekend market and none of our usual vendors were anywhere to be seen. How very odd it all looked!
 

Closed up rides during the daytime in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France


 
The normally busy town was quite subdued and I wondered if everyone was home sleeping off the effects of the previous night’s partying. But then as we entered another one of the squares, I began to see people with shopping bags full of vegetables and fruit and Mark and I both realised that we could walk for a few more minutes and go to Tutti Frutti — the veg shop on the other side of the town ring-road.

As we got closer, I saw bright-coloured kiosks and I told Mark, “They’ve moved the weekly market to the other side of town because of the carnival people.” And there on that street in front of us were the throngs of shoppers that we usually see beneath the riverside plane trees. It must be unthinkable to cancel the weekend market for any reason!
 

The temporarily relocated weekend market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France


 

Artisan bread at the weekend market


 

The knifemaker at the weekend market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France


 

An artisan cheesemaker at the weekend market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France


 

Candy seller at the weekend market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France


 
We had a lovely outing on a cool and misty day, came home with fresh food and lots of photos, and I now have a bright green straw hat hanging on the rack in our bedroom next to one of Mark’s Tour de France souvenir hats. All in all, it was a very nice way to give the lovely wee trolley a spin in the fresh air.
 

Straw goods seller at the weekend market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France


 

Green straw hat from the market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France


 

P.S. Stay tuned for pictures from the Rock Festival and the night-time carnival over the next few days!
 

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London’s Funky and Vibrant Spitalfields and Brick Lane

One of the nicest aspects of living in a thoroughly metropolitan place like London is the market scene and we’ve recently discovered two back-to-back and quite wonderful areas. The neighbourhoods are gritty and funky and full of a mix of old shops, new shops, converted warehouses, and vast spaces that formerly housed manufacturing of some kind and which are now partitioned into market stalls where up-and-coming fashion designers ply their wares. Art galleries, performance spaces, and the vintage clothing and goods scene are all quite well accommodated in this part of London, too.

The markets at Spitalfields and Brick Lane are both a short walk from the Liverpool Street Station which serves both the London Underground and the regional above ground trains.

Just getting there is an interesting walk past a mix of old multi-story buildings with shops or restaurants on the ground floor and apartments above juxtaposed with glossy, glass, and oh-so-contemporary skyscrapers such as the London landmark amusingly nicknamed ‘The Gherkin’ and more correctly named 30 St. Mary Axe.

 

London landmark skyscraper nicknamed 'The Gherkin' looming over older buildings.


 

The walk that leads to the Old Spitalfields Market has the beautiful Christ Church, Spitalfields at the end of the street. Shops, pubs, and galleries flank both sides of this lovely street.

 

Christ Church Spitalfields at the end of Brushfield Street.


 

We entered the vast glass-covered area filled with market stalls and stumbled upon an in-progress beauty pageant featuring four-legged contestants — the Paw Pageant.

 

Spectators and participants at the Paw Pageant in Old Spitalfields Market.


 

The Paw Pageant in the Old Spitalfields Market.


 

Leaving the market and turning right onto Hanbury Street, we popped into a vintage store, Absolute Vintage, that was lined from top to bottom with purses, dresses, shoes, and more. In case you were wondering, that perfectly posed female is not a mannequin in the picture below — it’s a shopper frozen in the moment of deciding what purse to take off of one of the many overflowing displays.

 
Shopping in Absolute Vintage on Hanbury Street off Brick Lane in London.
 

We walked a few blocks further and arrived at the cafe-lined Brick Lane. I can honestly say that I have never seen such a concentration of Indian restaurants in one place!

 

Brick Lane in London's East End is lined with a vast variety of Indian restaurants.


 

More markets are held within the old Truman Brewery buildings — the smokestack of which is seen in the photo below. Everything from one-off sales to designer samples in sparsely furnished warehouses line Brick Lane so it is a slice of shopping heaven for the hip and trendy.

 

Smokestack of the old Truman Brewery off Brick Lane in London.


 

The funny, funky streetlamps on funny, funky Brick Lane in London.


 

One last note — in spite of the occasional crowds in various restaurants (and that is to be expected on any weekend!), this entire area felt less like a ‘tourist market’ and more like a local market with quality products that are aimed at London residents. In a previous post that discussed a visit to the Camden Markets, I aired my aggravation with the throngs of pushy people, the overlapping food smells, the sheer tattiness of most of the goods on offer, and the distinct sensation that it was being touted as a ‘must do’ thing for tourists in London.

Camden Market was such a jolting disappointment that we were thrilled to visit the Spitalfields and Brick Lane area after a recommendation from our friend Claire. This is the happy, upbeat, relatively uncrowded, and genuine market experience for the kinds of quality items that we were looking for in London.

Try it for yourself and see!

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Frugal Travel in Expensive Melbourne – Part 3

What to do — what to see. You have arrived in one of the most vibrant cities in the world, so how can you make the best decisions about where to spend your energy and your dollars?

First, wrap your head around the idea that you are going to nibble at the edges of a very LARGE cake full of delights. That will give you some perspective as you begin to realize that you will be coming back to Melbourne again and again before you can begin to say that you ‘know’ the place.

Consider planning your to-do list by going to either of these websites for information prior to your arrival. The first one is the That’s Melbourne site where you can click on the various categories in the left-side column to find out what art, music, festival, sports, or other events in your own particular areas of interest are available during your visit. The second site to check is the What’s On Melbourne Guide which lets you search by DATE or by TOPIC.

You can learn a lot about a city and its ‘vibe’ by people-watching and often this proves to be a highly amusing free activity.

Lunch hour tap dancer on Bourke Street, Melbourne, Australia

Lunch hour tap dancer, Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne, Australia

A few days ago as I walked down Bourke Street, I saw a young red-haired man with a backpack and a bright yellow milk crate suddenly stop and plonk a portable tape player down on the pavement. Next a flowerpot appeared. Finally, he carefully placed a square of timber halfway between the tram stop and the steps in front of the GPO building. Without saying a word, he began to tap dance vigorously (and well!) for the lunchtime crowd that was milling around, his flowerpot began to fill with coins, and the silent tap dancer smiled sweetly at everyone. It was a tiny bit of magic on a cold and gloomy day.

Having walked a mere few metres further down the street, I began to chuckle quietly when I saw a faux-concrete mime who had removed his hat, thus revealing part of his un-made-up face and hair beneath. As he stood next to his upturned hat, his hand resting on his cart full of props, he dropped all pretense being in character as he made a phone call. As surreptitiously as I could, I raised my camera and began to take pictures of this unguarded and funny moment.

Mime Making Phone Call

If fine arts and culture are as much ‘your thing’ as they are mine, you will be happy to read that Melbourne is quite blessed to have three art museums that charge absolutely NO admission price. The only exception to that statement is for those blockbuster travelling exhibits from overseas that arrive once a year or so.

The permanent collection at the beautifully proportioned bluestone building housing the NGV International – National Gallery of Victoria on St. Kilda Road is quite comprehensive and covers several floors of exhibits that range from the ancient through to the contemporary. You can easily allow yourself a half of a day or more to see it all. And as an added bonus, there are wonderful cafes on both the ground floor and the first floor that serve quite good food. Seating areas are tucked around on every level and are much appreciated by those who wish to enjoy the various galleries at a more leisurely pace. The large gift shop on the ground floor, just before you exit next to the wall of water, is a joy for art lovers, book lovers, or anyone who appreciates finely crafted jewelry, stationary, art objects, and educational toys.

Another entirely free (except for those previously mentioned special exhibitions) museum is the Ian Potter Centre at Federation Square (corner of Swanston Street and Flinders Street). This smaller museum is dedicated to Australian art. Although it is part of the National Gallery of Victoria, it is housed up the street from the main NGV in a light, airy, and very contemporary glass and steel building set amidst the ultra-modern Federation Square complex.

Finally, there is the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art — ACCA (111 Sturt Street in the Southbank area) and it too is completely free of entry charges. The stated goal of this particular institution is as follows. “It is the only major public art gallery in Australia focused on commissioning rather than collecting.” For that reason, there is a non-stop stream of cutting edge exhibitions to entice those interested in contemporary art.

This three-part article on frugal travel in Melbourne has barely scratched the surface of your options for places to stay, places to eat, sights to see, or walks to enjoy. My intention was to allow the reader to fine-tune their trip according to their interests and needs. I also hoped to let you understand that absorbing the media’s ongoing statement that Melbourne is one of the world’s most expensive cities comes at a cost. It closes people’s minds to the alternatives to big-price-ticket travel — alternatives called frugal travel, budget travel, manageable travel that keep those dollars in your pocket to spend as you choose, not as you must if you are booked into 5 star hotels and are only eating at 5 star restaurants. Frugal travel makes the world a better place for all of us because it gives us freedom and choice.