Market day in Duras

Most folks who know me well know how I feel about French outdoor markets. To me they are the primary thing that separates the French from much of the world. Happy, lively affairs, they make each village feel like a big party with great food smells, colorful stalls, lots of chatter and catching up with friends. 

Here are the stalls I can see from my door:

I was delighted to see how big the market is in the warmer months. In March, it filled the market square and there were small tributaries jutting into streets a bit. Today, the market stretched from the chateau, at one end of town, to the Place de la Resistance, which is past my clocktower. In addition to beautiful foods, there were table linens, jewelry, lots of flowers, the chicken guy (!), and so on.

The former owners of the house left me a nice, straw market basket with leather handles and I felt very French filling it up with little bits of things as I strolled along. 

Here's what I bought:

At one point I visited the stall with the nice linen table goods and was tempted by the pretty linen pillow covers for the bedroom, but I didn't get them because I didn't know the size of the existing pillows on the bed. So, after I put my groceries away, I walked the 30 seconds back to the stall with one of the pillow forms and tried them out before I bought them. Everything is just so convenient to the house! I love it!