A while ago I asked an English friend who used to have a property in France, what she missed the most about no longer having it and she said her local grocery store. I laughed, but completely understood why.
I love my local shop. It is in walking distance from our house and means that together with my weekly vegetable market, I can get most of what I need without having to drive to a big supermarket outside of town. Also I only buy what I can carry, so never over-shop.
Here are some photos I took to share the experience with you.
We start with fresh vegetables brought in from nearby farms.
Then move onto olives from Mausanne in Les Alpilles. These are my favourite, they are young and cured with fennel.
And you can buy them by the kilo.
Moving onto bottled produce. These soups are so pretty you could buy them just to keep on the shelf at home.
And these, close your eyes and you could be sitting by le vieux port in Marseilles, and who’s to know you didn’t spend half the day grinding up fish bones to make this soup?
We move on to vegetables in a jar to add to a salad when that unexpected guest turns up.
These are The Artist’s favourite, and he doesn’t even wait for an unexpected guest to open them!
For the die-hard Foie Gras fans these are made with duck liver.
And for those who like their goose cooked in goose fat.
Who knew that cornflour could look so good? And its Gluten Free!
And they even let in dogs. This is Cici, I’m not sure if she was trying to tell me something, but she was definitely ‘waving and not drowning’ and I rather suspect she may have eaten a few too many chips!
And here’s dessert.
And to wash it all down a good bottle of local Rosé wine.
And if the shop is too far to walk, you can always get on your bike.
I hope you’ve enjoyed your virtual shopping trip with me. Please leave a comment below and let me know how it was for you!
terrific photos too Angela .could you bring some Maise
i love the packaging and a tub of sel de camargue…x
Oy vey! Poor Cici has lost her girlish figure. I must cut out the chips myself; I am starting to look alot like Cici!
A fun tour, Angela. Thanks! And Cici is the “mignonest” mascott! Good for you for giving the local shop your business. Perhaps they’ll stick around a little longer… in time for Cici to warm many more hearts!
Angela, now we absolutely have to visit your town when we come! Oh my goodness, how many of those lovely jarred vegetables can I fit in my suitcase? 🙂
This was such fun to read – how much charm, character, and tasty teats can you put in one shop (plus a cute pup!)?! Are all local shops like that? I am jealous.
Love your posts, Angela! Armchair food traveling is my favorite!
Aimée, its pretty much the norm for the local store…..of course there are plenty of huge supermarkets outside of town, but most towns have a little store like this one.
And Cici, was just there, desperate to be photographed!! (Just in case anyone is confused, Cici does not belong to me! My dogs are svelte and trim and can’t sit up!)
I have to also note that I LOVE how your French computer puts the little accent mark in my name. Ooo la la!!
Gorgeous! I love exploring local products. It’s funny that La Laitiere is creme caramel for you. In my neck of the States, it’s the same logo and font, but it’s La Lechera and it’s canned dulce de leche (or cajeta). And Cici’s so cute. 😉
Oh how I wish I had a local market like this. It would put a big smile on my face. Your photos are wonderful and really bring the market to us.
Love it! Can’t wait to visit.
Nothing like the little grocers in France. Sigh. makes me want to catch the next flight Angela. And we love the farmers markets. Just smiling. Thanks.
Loved the small markets when I got to visit for a month 2 years ago!! One of my favorite things was La Laitiere yogurt and I tried to find it in the states when I returned , but no luck!! I even emailed Nestle but they do not export to the US….too bad….it was the best tasting yogurt I ever ate!!! And the boulangeries (bakeries) are to die for!! Thanks for reminding me how much I want to come back!!
When I venture abroad I always make a point to visit the markets, large and small, of my host countries. I just returned from an adventure in Spain and The Netherlands, which means I have been to both La Boqueria and Albert Heijn and everything in between. Thank you so much for this post. I hope to get my own photos up in the next week.