No trip to the Provence region would be complete without visiting the quintessential town of Aix-en-Provence early on Saturday, the town's weekly market extravaganza. The city comes to life with bustling markets teeming with the most fresh produce, homemade Provincial sauces, wine, cheese, bread, and anything else delicious and French. The best part of market day, besides stocking up on goodies to snack on and gifting delicacies for those unfortunate enough not to be there with you, is the plethora of food samples that abound at almost every stand. You could literally skip lunch after nibbling on all the delicious samples. One vendor, Les Macarons de Caroline, offers the most delightful macarons I have ever tasted from her food truck, and if you like macarons as much as I, she's worth searching for... It's not every day that you can find macarons filled with fresh fruit in assortments such as rhubarb, strawberry basil, and white chocolate raspberry. My only regret is not eating all of them on the spot, as they don't keep well after a day.
Aside from the massive food market, the city also hosts a fabulous antique market the same morning with more silverware, jewelry, and fine home goods that you could imagine. All the Provincial table cloths and iconic printed fabric make an appearance at the market as well as tons of plein air clothing booths. While for the first time in my life shopping wasn't a huge priority (mainly because of our weak dollar compared to the Euro) I did manage to score a great floral pant jumper and an antique Indian stamp to add to my collection.
After my dabble with shopping the markets, we strolled through the fish and flower markets. While one could easily spend an entire day perusing all that the markets have to offer, we planned a packed day and left after a satisfying lunch.
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