Photoblog: Le Marche Raspail

I recently got back from a long weekend in one of my favourite cities - Paris.  From London, it's a short two hours by train, and its gastronomic and couturier inclinations both delight and inspire me every time I go. As I have been almost annually since moving to the UK seven years ago, I have seen most of the major sights at least once or twice, so recently I have been trying to find things to see that are off the beaten track. This past Sunday (while my husband ran the Paris Marathon), I discovered “le Marché Raspail”, which claims to be the largest Organic Market in France, and one of the largest in Europe. I tasted and smelled my way along the stalls (even managing to converse en Français with a gentleman who sold local organic honey – which, as he described, is floral without being over-powering... I describe it as tasting like bees, summer, lavender and heaven... I’ve been eating it straight from the jar), and although the market was smaller than I expected, it was even more lovely than I imagined.

It was a beautiful morning, the sun was shining, and I sampled homemade crepes with organic jam, fresh goat’s cheese and freshly baked bread. I revelled in the copious displays of vegetables (only the French can make something as simple as an artichoke look sexy), the laid-back atmosphere (French vegan hippies DO exist, despite the French inclination for all things cheese and egg related), I bought an artisanal tart for the marathon runner to enjoy post-race, and felt like I was in my element once again.

 

GG Rating: Good for Spelt Supporters - Everyone should go!