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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