France Travel Journal. Day 5 (Sat. June 4) - leaving Arles

It was market day in Arles. The main street was closed, and the vendors had put out their wares: tables of fresh fruits and vegetables; breads and fancy confections; refrigerated display cases of meats and cheeses; bins of olives; baskets of and sausages; prepared food (especially poulet roti and paila), and then of course tents with  men's shirts, dresses, printed fabrics, and hand-crafted soaps. This stretched for at least a kilometer.


The vendors were on each  side of the sidewalk and formed a narrow lane. There must have been several thousand people spread down the length, and 75 vendors.

There was nothing especially surprising or unusual about it.  We've seen something similar in every French town we've ever visited.

But of course it was marvelous.

In some form, everything was available in the US.  But not with the same extra-ordinary quality or diversity. The olive stand had 20 varieties, all simply prepared (no olives stuffed with garlic and pimentos); the cheeses shops offered 3 dozen soft cheees, at least half of which were made from goat or sheep milk;  sausage vendor had a dozen varieties of dry sausages, some porc, some beef, some boar, etc.

Kate has a few pictures, which I'll try to add later.

In the meantime, a female singer for a change.  Often cited along with Edith Piaf.

Frehel