While reading this little piece, you can listen (by clicking on the link above) to Gilbert Becaud’s “Markets of Provence”.

Les marchés de Provence

Voici pour cent francs du thym de la garrigue
Un peu de safran et un kilo de figues
Voulez-vous, pas vrai, un beau plateau de pêches
Ou bien d’abricots ?
Voici l’estragon et la belle échalote
Le joli poisson de la Marie-Charlotte
Voulez-vous, pas vrai, un bouquet de lavande
Ou bien quelques œillets ? 

Here is for one hundred francs, thyme from the scrubland
A little saffron and a kilo of figs
Do you want, right, a beautiful platter of peaches?
Or apricots?
Here is tarragon and the beautiful shallot
The pretty fish of Marie-Charlotte
Do you want, isn’t true, a lavender bouquet
Or some carnations?

********************

Everything done outdoors is more fun, don’t you agree?
And shopping at an open-air market is one of those things.

Last Sunday my wife (a seasoned shopper) and I (a klutzy customer) journeyed to the Marin Civic Center Farmers’ Market (to do a little shopping.
It is one of the largest farmers’ market in California and that’s where around 200 local farmers and artisans come to display and sell their products, especially fruits and vegetables.
It is the closest thing in our area to a European open-air market.

Visitors come to such a place for different reasons.
Some come to do some shopping of course, but many go there to soak in the festive atmosphere or to strut their stuff.
Because on sunny days women like to show-off in their “Casual California Chic”. Short shorts, flowery shirts and tight-fitting stretch pants are almost “de rigueur.”
As Hemingway would say “it is a moveable feast”.

I go there to take pictures and to buy a difficult to find French specialty called “rillettes”.
Rillettes are made variably of pork, goose, duck or rabbit meat and they are used to make sandwiches as well as spreads for toasts.
These rillettes by the way are manufactured locally by Fabrique Délices a French outfit specializing in “charcuterie”.
It is extremely tasty and probably a little fattening, but heck, you only live once.

Taking pictures in a crowded area on the other hand is not for neophytes.
You have to aim and shoot from the hip. But you also have to be fast and discreet because some people don’t like to be photographed.
It might be because just like Australian Aborigines they believe that I am trying to steal their soul.
Goodness gracious! I would not do that. My own weary soul is cumbersome enough without being burdened by another restless spirit.
So be reassured my fellow Homo sapiens, I might have a Rubber Soul, but I am no soul robber.

Even if you don’t need anything, go and experience the atmosphere of the Marin Civic Center Farmers’ Market. I bet you that you won’t resist buying something.
Savvy shoppers show up around closing time (1:00 p.m.) to get the best deals, but they are really missing what makes shopping there such an exhilarating experience.

Alain

Watch this cool video:

https://youtu.be/ttjhOZjL59w

You cannot shouldn’t wear everything you like.

Yesterday while slumming at Starbucks (peeping at the girls, drinking coffee and munching on a permanently stale croissant) an older shorts-wearing dude caught my eye.
Big ass, skinny legs, non-descript jacket… It was not a pretty sight!
Somebody should have made a citizen’s arrest… or at least alerted the fashion police…

You are of course, entitled to wear what you please, but what looks good on somebody else doesn’t necessarily look good on you, and vice-versa.
If Kate Upton looks good alluring smoking hot in a bikini, it does not mean that men will fall all over a woman if she wears the same outfit.

The French say “the cloth does not the monk make”, but what you wear tells a lot about you and has a way of opening or closing doors.

Fashion icon Miuccia Prada said:

“What you wear is how you present yourself to the world.”

 And she is right.

[like]

Clothes above all are supposed to enhance, not to undermine your appearance.

When you go shopping for new duds, it is a good idea to take along an impartial observer.
Somebody who will tell you without any hesitation if you look dowdy, fat, old, skinny, ridiculous.
Women are good at that. Men not so much.

In my crystal ball, I see the emergence of a Faux-Pas Detector.
It will work like a metal detector and act as a deterrent against flagrant attire blunders.
You will walk through a gate, and if your outfit is unhip, uncool, nerdy, dowdy, frumpy, lame, unsexy, old hat or square, a buzzer will ring and you will be taken aside for a little talk.
You will probably also be added to the “No Fly List” as a threat to fashion and aviation.

To sum it up, when stepping out be aware of your shortcomings and dress accordingly.
Don’t dress too tight (or too loose).
Don’t dress too young (or too old).
Don’t dress too trendy, especially if you are of a certain age.
Don’t show all your tattoos at once and don’t wear too much mascara and black eye liner (especially men).

Above all, have a critical look in the mirror before leaving home.

Please don’t thank me, I like to help.

Alain

https://youtu.be/vnVuqfXohxc