Sarlot, Off to Le Marche

Every Saturday morning, Sarlat, the capitol of the Perigord hosts Le Marche, a grand produce market filled with everything good that the Dordogne has to offer in the way of culinary delights. This beautifully quaint, Medieval city is a delight in itself, with its honey colored stone buildings and charming alleyways.
These photos were taken in the old town center that is surrounded by much more modern city so they do not give an accurate picture of Sarlat, but a romantic one. Vive la romance! Market day is filled with typical hustle and bustle, so get there early to find parking or you may discover more of the modern city than you would like.

Whether it was being intimidated by the cheese monger who yelled at me for daring to take a photo of his "wares", even though I was not interfering with business, or bad photography, I have only the above photos to share. The first shows the breadth of variety offered on the market with red, yellow and white onions of every shape and size along with 5 varieties of dried legumes. The second is my favorite; it documents the flavored oils I brought back from this trip. The Perigord is famous for walnuts and foie gras, so I couldn't possibly pass up walnut oil. In an old building at the foot of the market I discovered a vendor selling sunflower oils flavored with chantrelles, truffles and morel mushrooms, that certainly deserved to be purchased. The market was lush with produce, cheeses and charcuterie and well worth a trip.

Did I Mention Romance?

It's not that I'm obssessed with Sarlat, but it does exemplify the word romantic when you look at it through the eye of my camera. It makes one want to explore the Dordogne and Perigord in more depth. One day I hope to do just that. In the meantime, I just may use this setting as the backdrop for my dreams.

Morning in Sarlat... A French Breakfast

What could be a better breakfast than coffee or tea and a chocolate croissant? Short answer: nothing! On our way to the market in Sarlat, we wound our way along small medieval streets and found a patisserie for this light repast. Notice the hand tied teabag on the table; I found it rather charming in this age of mass production. As you can see, we also had to try a chocolate macaroon, that did not make it to the plate in one piece for the photo.

I'm certain we will take better advantage of this lovely city on our next visit. More time to spend in Sarlat would certainly enhance another trip to the Dordogne region of Southern France. Each trip to a new place always becomes a reconissance for information that we study and refine for another visit. It would be such a pleasure to rent an apartment in this area in order to be able to cook with the local ingredients.