Scenes down south: the Carpentras marché

One of my mother's three wishes concerning our trip to the south involved a side trip of the greatest order. Shopping. But not just any shopping. The most important kind of shopping in France. Market shopping.

You see, in France, there is one magical place you can find anything and everything your little heart desires. It is not one of the grands magasins, nor is it Carrefour--the Froggie equivalent of Super Wal-Mart.

A good local market can boast anything from the freshest local strawberries or olives, to an entire stand dedicated to buttons. Yes. Buttons.

The particular draw of a Provençal market, in this case, has to do with my mother's slightly uncontrollable obsession with all things 'french country' style. She seemed to suffer from an indecision-induced panic attack when confronted with stand after stand of provençal linens and pottery.

 Let us not forget, as well, the disgusting beauty of produce from the region. You remember my obsession with asparagus season ? no ? well I had to carry around a hankie to wipe the drool off of my face from seeing those lovelies above.

And what provençal market would be complete without soaps from Marseille ? or beautiful flowers ?

Or dried sausages ?

Or buckets of olives ?

Though I have to say, one of the most impressive things about this market is not the food stands, or wide variety of products, but the inability to find a parking place. 

After circling the center of town for almost an hour in unbelievable traffic, we proceeded to circle a grocery parking lot in fervent hope of spotting someone pull out at just the right moment. Said moment arrived, but in the next lane over. Worried that someone would snag the place before I had the chance to make a u-turn, my ever-quick-thinking father jumped (as much as someone who only has the full use of one leg can jump) out of the car and scrambled over to the place, standing in the middle and gesticulating wildly at the four (FOUR) cars that tried to pull in despite his standing there. 

Needless to say, I feel terribly proud of him. He has learned quickly. And...... it was an excellent day at the market.