SUNDAY AT THE FAIR

One of the delights of living in France is the variety of markets. No matter the day, there is a market happening somewhere. Many villages have a weekly market to sell fresh produce, cheese, honey, baked goods, charcuterie and other meats, wine, etc. These markets are complimented by assorted vendors selling hot food, clothing, jewelry, household goods, rugs, art and crafts etc. 

Every market has its own tone and flavor. The one with which I am the most familiar is the Monday morning market in Mirepoix, 29 km west of my village. It’s a nice drive approaching the Pyrénées and on a wintry day, the snow-covered mountains seem close enough to touch. 

The Mirepoix market is very popular and, like most, attracts a good crowd of primarily locals who are simply doing their weekly shopping or those out for social interaction. As we saw in my last post, there is occasionally entertainment (the photo reproduced here). 

Mirepoix is particularly attractive because of its 13^th century medieval architecture. The market takes place in the center of the village with its colombaged buildings and sheltered arcades. The market is never disappointing. There is a buzz of excitement in the air as people of all ages meander to grab a taste of cheese, sausage, olives or pastry, or pick up items on their lists. One just has to remember to bring a jacket or more depending upon the season as being closer to the mountains, it is often significantly cooler. 

My own village of Montréal has an occasional market but nothing on a regular basis. The markets we see here are mostly vides greniers – attic sales – where one can find all kinds of used items from flatware and dishware to books, clothing, electronics, etc. 

If they desire fresh produce, people from my village mostly go to Bram which has a market on Wednesday morning and is just 7 km away. I find that it is difficult to get a good American-style steak in France. The cuts and curing are different lending to different texture and flavor. But the côte-de-boeuf friends of mine once purchased from a Bram butcher at the market was perhaps the best steak I’ve ever had. 

Of all the markets, Bram is the smallest.

Bram has the reputation of being the largest circulade in France. A circulade is a village whose streets are organized in concentric circles. This was a medieval strategy to protect inhabitants in times of strife. It is easy to get disoriented at the market as a result, but time has made that easier as I have become more familiar with the village.

Carcassonne, 15 km to the east, has two markets. The Tuesday morning market takes place in Place Carnot of La Bastide Saint Louis, the lower city. It’s small with only farm produce but the quality is good.

The Saturday market in Carcassonne is a different story being of a much grander scale taking over a large parking lot stretching several blocks. The Saturday market is also more expansive in terms of a large assortment of clothing and secondhand items of mixed quality in addition to produce.

Another market I love to go to is in Revel, about 45 minutes northeast of my village. It operates on Saturdays and a hybrid of the market in Mirepoix and the Saturday market in Carcassonne with the food items in the central area, and clothing in the parking area a few short blocks away. 

What I’ve found interesting is that each market has products unique to its locale. In Revel, for example, the product that stands out is La Poumpet, a delicious lemon-flavored puff pastry. It is a real treat. Revel also has a small shop featuring products made from the wode dye referenced in a previous blog post. I have found it is a great place to find gifts. Who doesn’t love a scarf or hand towels in a rich blue color? 

One market I have yet to visit is the Sunday market in Esperanza. It has a great reputation but being over an hour’s drive south, it takes some planning and effort. One day I’ll make it. The Esperanza marché has the reputation of being a showcase for hippies who live in the mountains and bring their wares and crafts to sell every Sunday. I’m sure it will be interesting.

This past Sunday, however, was a different story.

In addition to the many markets, there are also special events throughout the year. I received an email message from my insurance agency in Mirepoix advising me of the agricultural fair in Espezel about 60 km southwest in the high valley of the Aude department in which I live. I had never heard of it, but looking at the program, it was very appealing. 

I reached out to my village friends Simone & Morris originally from New Zealand and asked if they’d like to go. With live animals and the promise of a sheep-herding demonstration with Australian shepherds, I thought their children (6 year-old twins) would enjoy it. They agreed, so we made our plans. 

My mornings are generally slow and easy. I’ve become spoiled sleeping in until whenever then feeding my new kitty,, doing my exercises, then finally having coffee before doing whatever else needs to be accomplished. There’s no schedule most days and I like it that way. But on Mondays when I have my French workshops and special occasions like this one, the alarm gets set. This was a particularly early day as we set out at 8 AM given the drive was to take around 80 minutes and events were to start at 9:30 AM. 

It was a winding driving through a variety of small villages in the high valley of the Aude department on the narrow country roads. The roads slow you down because it is impossible to see what is coming around the many curves from the opposite direction. It can be intimidating, and at times it was.

As we approached Espezel, we gained significant altitude. The views were beautiful. We were very close to the already snow-covered high mountains of the Pyrénées. At points we could look down into beautiful verdant valleys with scattered farms and fields. 

The weather was spectacular, a perfect Fall day. It was cool in the morning but as the day wore on, we tore off layers as the sun warmed us up.

Parking, like with many of these rural events, is in a newly harvested field adjacent to the village. The organizers were very efficient at managing the onslaught of visitors and it worked like clockwork. We were lucky to arrive early as we were able to park quite close to the center of the village. 

The event was well-organized. They obviously have a lot of experience. There was a small entrance fee of 2 euros per person but what surprised us for such a rural setting was that they also had security officers to check bags. 

As we looked down the main street lined with vendors, we could see a mountain peak at its very end. The crowd was thin compared to what we saw just a few hours later. We estimate at least 3000 people were in attendance Sunday. 

After some hot tea and a chance for the children to expend their pent-up energy on the playground after the drive, we made our way to the animal exhibitions passing even more vendors including one making the very interesting gâteau à la broche , in other cultures called a spit cake.

The animal competition had taken place on Saturday, so we saw cows, bulls, sheep, horses and goats in pens with signs noting they had been vendus (sold).

What we were able to see in action was the sheep-herding demonstration with an Australian sheep dog. I was surprised at the energy level of the dog as it ran continuously keeping the sheep in a tight circle. The dogs seem to mostly operate on hand signals. It was very entertaining.

Designed for the agriculturalist, the exhibition included a demonstration of hooves trimming on a very patient donkey, and an extensive display of mostly John Deere tractors and motocross vehicles. Something for everyone!

After the children were treated to pony rides (with me put to work leading one of them), we played some games then got lunch. I picked up some lavender honey, fresh lentils and tea to take home then we went back to the park where we able to lay out a blanket and just rest while the children continued to play before the drive home. 

Soon thereafter we made the drive home arriving by mid-afternoon. It was a great way to enjoy the Fall weather and experience the efforts of those who work hard to provide us sustenance. 

Our impression was that the agricultural twist to the market made it especially enjoyable. And the Espezel fair is obviously wildly popular given the numbers. I would definitely make the effort to go again. I think we all would.