Saturday, May 28, 2022 - Market Day in Vannes

We're headed back to Vannes today to go to the market and to find a restaurant for moules-frites (mussels and french fries) for lunch. We're not early birds to the market, but we aren't in much hurry either as we don't have a lot on the grocery list. 

We found a parking space in the underground lot near the tourist office, but it was slow going as lots of cars had the same idea we did. The crowds weren't noticeable until we got into the old town and into the market area. One needed patience and politeness to negotiate the spaces between the stalls selling all sorts of food as well as clothing and household goods. There was even a 30 second zipper repair person today. 

The 30-second zipper repair booth

This woman is vaping. There's still a lot of cigarette smoking in France (but not as much as 10 years ago) and a lot of people have traded cigarettes for vaping.

There is a system to shopping at a market - people do stand in line and wait their turn to be waited on. For fruit and vegetable vendors it is polite to let them choose the produce for you. My experience is that they do a much better job at picking just the right ripeness than I can do on my own. 

mounds of cherries on left, cantaloupe in front and a long line - this producer likely has good produce

my place in line at the stall of the vendor from above. patience required

Clark is looking at the olive vendor - they sell lucques olives - hooray!

We went inside the covered market to have a look at their wares. The last time I was here, this market was empty, a large empty ballroom with no indication this sort of commerce was going on. Today is another story. 

the wine stall

of course there's a café - coffee, beer, or wine

charcuterie - sausages and prepared meats

Janis walks past a fish vendor

Dave takes our purchases to the car, putting them in the bag with the ice pack in it. While he's gone, I need to find a bathroom and I know there's a unisex one outside the fish market. Just be sure to always carry tissues with you. In places like these, toilet paper is often a missing commodity. 

The one stall WC outside the fish market

Finding lunch is a matter of waiting for a table to open up. Restaurants like these around the market are unlikely to take lunch reservations, unless they are pretty upscale. 

Clark has found a menu he likes - meaning the restaurant serves moules-frites. A lot of people at these sidewalk cafés are simply having a drink before going home for lunch, so especially early, just before noon, tables turn over quickly. Clark gets us a table after only a couple of minutes wait. 

And it's moules-frites for lunch. Yum. 

moules frites and a bottle of rosé wine in a bag of ice

Dave shows the art of eating moules - empty shells go in the shared dish

a pile of empty shells is all that remains from that delicious lunch

We're finished by 1:30. Dave suggests we spend a couple hours looking around Auray. It is a beautiful day and just the right temperature. So it's off to the car for another adventure. 

the pleasure port at Vannes

See you next blog.