Thouars is known for the best market in the area. On Tuesday it's the little market day where only food is available, and on Friday it's the big market day with the addition of clothes and shoes and all sorts of other necessities. It's huge and takes up all the central square of the town, plus a warehouse that opens just for market day and houses the fish and cheese and meats - all the things that can use cooling.
The assortment of cheese is mind-boggling and you can choose from cow or goat, young or ripened to an old age, white, yellow or blue. I even found Boursin cheese for about 2 euros (worth $3), while in Canada this is almost $7. A real bargain here!
Olives of every shape and colour. Some are more ripe than others and some have added spices or pimentos or parsley to add a different taste or flavour.
The pastries... oh my! Which one to choose!
For those who question what came first, the chicken or the egg, this farmer brought both to avoid all arguments. The live chickens are in the baskets and the very, very fresh eggs are on the top. We like our chicken fresh, but given that we didn't have a place to guillotoine the poor bird, we chose to buy some pre-killed.
Veggies and very sweet berries.
One can buy absolutely any part of the pig here, whether that's the trotters, the snout, the tongue or the stomach. Or you can buy it fully prepared in sausage form! We preferred the cooked or cured ham.
The fish is fresh and varied. They also have a very unique way of displaying it, judging from this one that seems to be biting its own tail.
Love those market days!
~ AM
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