To Market!!! To Market!!!

To market, to market!!! The song sings. Do you recall it? Well, here in Lyon, the market is THE place to get great produce, wonderful breads, cheeses, flowers, sausages, nearly everything you might need to create Culinary splendor in YOUR kitchen !

Challenges facing one when going to market are the same as one going to shop anywhere!

* have a game plan of some kind... at least some ideas or possible ideas of meals but BE FLEXIBLE (try to think of WHOLE meals, not just individual ingredients... once you find your core meal, fill in with your ingredients!)

* Be ready to think on the spot and have cash on hand.. this can be tricky, because deals come up quick! yet you still have to be able to come home with more than just odds and ends... you need to be able to pull together actual meals! this can be a challenge...

* Be willing to walk away! Some vendors charge too much... Sometimes 3 or 4 times as much as the table next to them for no apparent reason! The fruit looks the same, & is JUST as fresh too. It can take time figuring out who is who at the local market. Frankly at first I thought it was because I am a foreigner, but my concerns were put to rest when I asked a friend, and found out that some vendors just charge what they can get away with... be willing to walk away, and say, no thank you, when the bill runs higher than you can afford....

* Be willing to Pick it out yourself... Some vendors like to run their stands in such a way that they are picking your fruit for YOU. BUYER BEWARE, this is the fastest way to get the ROTTEN fruit! I highly recommend one of two choices if this happens to you
1) either go back to the stand and PICK it out yourself the next time, :)
2) Be sure to walk past saying hello, EVERY day you are at market, after that (getting the point across to them, that you were NOT just some tourist, and that THEY have lost repeat business)
you have to choose wisely which one you will do, and HOW nice their produce is, and how nice they are in general may determine this... sometimes it may be worth doing #2 for a day or two, and then trying #1 being very friendly, especially if you are in a country that is of a different tongue than you.

* Walking carts are a MUST! be willing to purchase one of these, especially if you are going to be in the country for more that a month, and are living in a city. If you live up stairs, they have tri wheels, which makes going UP stairs easier :)

*Have cash on hand, bartering is allowed at most markets., though often the deals are so remarkable, you'd feel rude doing so!

*Always be friendly, always try to speak their language, KNOW your currency, study at home! get a translation book! and HAVE FUN!!!

p.s. don't forget some flowers :)