Market day at Lacanau Ocean

Wednesday is market day at Lacanau Ocean. Being only a 20 minute drive away, it seemed like a great way to spend the morning. Turns out Lacanau is fairly popular on a Wednesday. Crazy!

As with most French markets it was absolutely packed with typical French foods including all the usual suspects such as oysters, garlic and mountains of cheese. One of the things I absolutely love about these type of markets is the variety of aromas that infuse the air as you meander from stall to stall. From the aromatic scent of the herbs to the pungent 'whiff' of the cheeses!

Lots of people in such a restricted space makes things a little claustrophobic which is a problem if you're like me, and enjoy having the freedom to saunter. Don't get me wrong I do love a good french market but they do have their downsides. I even managed to get hit in the face by a child who was having a whale of a time waving her arms around whilst sat on her Father's shoulders - she just so happened to be perfect face-hitting height!

No French market would be complete without its resident 'weirdo' with musical instrument in hand. On this occasion we were treated to various renditions from this 'hippy's' less than extensive musical repertoire! The children loved him though… bless. He seemed lovely.

Thanks for reading,

Martha x

*All images unless stated are photographed and copyrighted by Martha Sanders

Monday

Day 1…

Today started with a super lazy breakfast - which actually ended up becoming brunch. Day 1 in France usually means food shopping, so after navigating our way through the back streets of St Medard in our flashy new hire car (see the picture… who ever thought that bright red 'accents' was a good look) we finally arrived. 

Before we even made it to the supermarket I noticed a shop nearby and just had to take a closer look. Why? Well, the shop was called 'Real Chocolat' - I was already sold - not only that, but it was pink and when I say pink, I mean PINK inside and out, I just couldn't resist. The service in the shop was fab, the assistant was really helpful..we managed with a combination of 'pigeon English and French' and a series of extravagant hand gestures - its great fun when you can't quite understand each others language. She gave us some suggestions, including her own favourites and was happy for us to try what ever took our fancy - which of course I didn't turn down. Overall the shopping experience was great and its fair to say I came out with a large bag full of 'goodies'.

Having left the mouth-watering delights of 'Real Chocolat' (much to my dismay) we made our way in to Leclerc, the supermarket. Personally, I love going food shopping in foreign countries and looking at all the different food that they have and comparing it to that of the shops we have in Wales. Some things however I do not enjoy, like seeing fully intact, (but short of its furry coat) rabbit at the meat counter along with horse. Mid shop I decided that I was getting a bit peckish and I managed to find bread tasters, which I ended up visiting on multiple occasions.

My Auntie has been having 'mole issues' (the animal kind) and during dinner the next door neighbour, Eveline (aka the 'Mole Catcher') visited with tools in hand to help out… lets see if it works.

Mmmm... think we may need another visit!

The best thing about holidaying in France has to be the fact that you can eat as much bread and cheese as you like and still be considered normal.

Thanks for reading,

Martha x

*All images unless stated are photographed and copyrighted by Martha Sanders