Brunch and the Market

Sunday morning paper at the Circolo dei lettori : Turin, IT

One of our favorite places in Turin is a hide-away reading room called il Circolo dei lettori. People come here for special events and lectures, but mostly they gather here to read. Newspapers, real books, ebooks, iPads. Whatever can be read. During the week, there is a café/bar where you can get coffee and drinks. On Sundays, the Circolo serves brunch. So, that's where we went with Maya's parents and her father's cousins. I snapped a photo of a very distinguished looking Italian man reading the paper.

Happy apple man : Turin, IT

After brunch, we wandered through the farmer's market. This was the happiest man in the entire area. He was selling apples and was quite enthusiastic about them. He spoke a little English and he told me, he is "very happy to grow and sell apples." Can't get better than that, eh?

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 5/2012

Pasta!

Advantage : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

Shopping in the Ferney farmer's market this morning, I noticed this little kid with his dad. He's standing on the ledge of the pasta seller's stand. It completely cracked me up and I had to take a picture!

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 2/11

100 Strangers: Madame LeFevre

Madame LeFevre of Poterie de Hohwiller in the Alsace sells her wares
at the Ferney Pottery Market : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

It's unusual for me to do more than one stranger* a week, but this week was exceptional. As I mentioned yesterday, this past weekend's farmer's market also featured the annual pottery fair in Ferney. Most of the work was by local artists, but the pottery that caught our eye and our pocketbooks was by a potter from the Alsace. We liked her stuff so much, we bought a wine cooler, a teapot and two tea cups, a salad bowl, and a tatin dish. I can't remember her first name, but this is Madame/Frau LeFevre. Fortunately, being Alsatian, she also spoke German, which made purchasing from her a breeze!

* In truth, I probably should have classified Bernard as a friend or acquaintance, because I've been buying produce from him now for nearly a year, which hardly makes him a stranger. The potter from the Alsace, on the other hand: total stranger. C'est la vie, eh?

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 9/10

100 Strangers: Bernard

Bernard : Fruits and Veg Stand : Ferney Farmer's Market : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

One of the sights we enjoy sharing with our guests is the weekly market in Ferney. Fortunately, Rachel was here for a weekend, so we took her to the farmer's market. Coincidentally, there was also a pottery fair going on that weekend. In addition to enjoying all the market has to offer, in terms of food, we also enjoyed the work of local and national artisans. More on the latter tomorrow.

Today's post features another addition to my 100 Strangers series. This is Bernard, the guy from whom I buy most of my fruit and some of my veg. He's a great guy with a wonderful, flirtatious sense of humor and he's very patient when it comes to language shortcomings. We banter back and forth in a mix of French and English and I always learn something new every week. If you shop at the Ferney market, be sure to look for Bernard. (You can also see him at the Divonne market on Sundays.)



Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 9/10

100 Strangers: The Coffee Lady

Nicola Bishop-Shaw, the Ferney/Divonne Market Coffee Lady : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

This is Nicola Bishop-Shaw, the Coffee Lady. She runs a coffee and tea business called Le Moulin à Café. On Saturdays, you can find her selling Fair Trade coffees and teas at the market in Ferney-Voltaire. On Sundays, she's in Divonne Les Bains. Nicola hails from the U.K., but has made her home in France for the last 15 years or so. If you shop at the markets in Ferney or Divonne, be sure to stop and visit her booth. She'll give you a cheery hello and can brief you on all things coffee and tea!

 Nicola sells Fair Trade beans from Costa Rica...

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 3/10

100 Strangers: Charles

Charles, the Savoyarde bread man at the Ferney market : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

This is Charles, the Savoyarde bread man from Annecy, France. He's at the Ferney market every Saturday selling his FABULOUS! breads. There are three things the French do well: bread, butter, and cheese. Charles is a lovely Frenchman who always greets his customers with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. When you buy his bread with olives or lardons (bacon bits), he winks and tells you not to share it with your friends! Seeing Charles and buying bread from him is one of the highlights of my Saturday market errands.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 1/10

Pain et charcuterie

Fresh bread, croissants, rolls: heaven.

More food. This time, it's bread and meat. Can't tell you much about the baker, but the photo below is of a couple of Basque butchers carving ham taken from pigs that are raised on nothing but black acorns. (The bald guy is carving the leg of Iberico ham.)

Bon appetit!

Chatucerie from the Basque country

Photo copyright: Janet Kincaid, 05/09

Flower Girl

Market florist : Geneva, CH

The young woman in the center of the above photo noticed me taking pictures in the market and asked me if there was anything she could get for me when I was at her flower stand. Of course, she did this in French, which reduced me to saying, "No parle vous Francais" (or however you spell it. Sorry Francophiles and speakers of French.) She was gracious about it, though, and broke out her English. Then the woman with the red hair and the wrap came along actually wanting flowers (as opposed to just taking pictures of them) and she was off to be helpful.

The second picture is an example of how I'm trying to learn to tighten up my framing when I photograph people. Not an extraordinary picture, by any means, but just one more step in my growing comfort with photographing people. Now if I could just learn how to say, "May I take your picture and post it on my blog" in French, I'll be in tall cotton!

Photo copyright: Janet Kincaid, 05/09

Radis et artichaut

Three kinds of radishes. Amazing!

Just a couple more pictures from the farmer's market in Geneva. The variety of fruits and vegetables was really magnificent!

Small artichokes

Photo copyright: Janet Kincaid, 05/09

Fraises et framboises

Variété

Just a simple picture or two of some of the many berries to be had at the market in Geneva.

Mûres et framboises

Photo copyright: Janet Kincaid, 05/09

Market Day

Intimate Portrait : Buying Flowers at the Market : Geneva, CH

Saturday was the Farmer's Market in Geneva. Lara--the friend I'm staying with while I'm in Europe--and I went and acquired some of the yummy produce and meats and cheeses to be had at this open air market. This couple buying flowers especially caught my eye, though, so I snapped a few pictures of them.

Photo copyright: Janet Kincaid, 05/09