When researching the area near our week's rental home, we learned about a weekly 'not to be missed' market in the nearby city of Mirepoix. We were in need of more food by day three, so off we went to the Mirepoix marketplace.
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| Mirepoix marketplace |
The best way to describe the fab market is 'French hippy-dippy.' It had all sorts of food, incense, handmade textiles, arts and crafts, and locally produced wine all sold in the medieval town square of Mirepoix.
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| Under medieval balcony |
The town square and its buildings were well over 500 years old, with much of the wood, carvings, and construction being unique and beautiful. The people at the marketplace were either friendlier and more patient with us Americans (compared to the Carcassonne marketplace from day one) or we had been in France long enough to acclimate to the people, language barrier, and customs. Either way, the people here were fantastic and their wares were also of the highest quality.
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| Mirepoix marketplace |
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| All of the sausages!! |
We bought lots of food, including sausage. Bill bought a litre of cheap but good wine (in a reusable gasoline-style jug) and a vest (called a waistcoat in the UK), and I picked up a super-cute handmade dress. I probably also took a hundred photos of the fantastic architecture.
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| Gorgeous 15th century town hall building |
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| 15th Century market with apartments above |
In the three photos below I try to show how each of the balcony's wooden beam's end in a carved figure or face. Each carving was unique, but had definitely weathered over time. How amazing they must have looked when freshly carved!
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| Wooden beam ends (in shadow) |
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Up close photo of three wooden beam ends
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Another view of several wooden beam ends.
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I wasn't the only one taking photos of the amazing architecture!
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| Photographer Dan (carrying his sausages) |
Bill and Reg talking about their purchases. I think this was the stall where I found and purchased my French dress.
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| Discussing purchases |
Someone's happy with their purchase!
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| I found another vest! |
One thing I absolutely love about France is that they pay attention to detail and enjoy beauty in the commonplace items. For example, here is a planter that includes an ongoing motif found throughout Mirepoix.
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| Mirepoix planter |
I also loved how, in Mirepoix, adjoining building looked so very similar yet so very different.
I don't know if it's the same in France, but in England people used to be taxed on how much land their home/building occupied. This led many during the middle ages to build on a relatively small plot of land only to build the upper floors with a larger footprint. One of the many ways historically people have pulled a fast one on 'the man.'
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| Mirepoix architecture |
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| Ground floor smaller than the upper floors |
I also loved the amazing brick work on some of the buildings. The photo below showcases a fab zig-zag pattern that we saw on a few different buildings. I think the building below had at one time been a warehouse or some such thing, given the upper-floor doors that would have been useful for loading/unloading wagons.
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| Window with shutters on upper left, loading door on the upper right |
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One of the many crests seen in and around Mirepoix
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We hung out at the market until all of the vendors starting shutting down. We ventured over to the city's cathedral, which was small, but very pretty. The cathedral's foundation was laid in 1298 but construction continued (off and on, due to wars, etc.) for the next six hundred (!!) years.
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| Mirepoix Cathedral |
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| Mirepoix cathedral |
The stained glass seemed to be fairly new (within the last hundred years, by my guess), but it sure caught the sun!
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| Cathedral's stained glass |
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| Reflection from the stained glass |
If I remember correctly from reading the info panel inside the church, it boasts one of the largest (or maybe the largest?) gothic arches in all of Europe. All I know is that the arch was pretty darned impressive!
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| Cathedral's gothic arch |
Did you know the following? I knew of it, and thought it an interesting name for a town. (From wikipedia)
ReplyDeleteA mirepoix (meer-PWAH; French pronunciation: [miʁˈpwa]) is diced vegetables, cooked for a long time on a gentle heat without colour or browning, usually with butter or other fat or oil.
Then, when I went to this website: http://www.francethisway.com/places/mirepoix.php , there was this note at the bottom:
Note: the name Mirepoix is also used for a crucial ingredient in French cookery including carrots, onion and celery and acting as the base for many recipes. The name derives from an 18th century Duke of Mirepoix who invented the recipe.
So I find it interesting that the town wasn't named until the 18th century, yet the cathedral was started in the 11th century. The website says it is the 2nd-largest, single-nave church in Europe.
It's little towns like that that make traveling the back roads so interesting. It sounds like a real gem. We felt that way when we went to Marburg somewhat near Wiesbaden on our last full day when we were visiting with friends in 2010. One day when I was in the Whalers Cabin, a visitor came in who was from Marburg.
I do hope you get to explore some of Germany before you head home. I know it's a little further, but there are some beautiful places there, especially in southern Germany.
Sorry, Eileen, I've only just spotted your comment! We knew of the cooking term, and figured there was a connection, but forgot to look it up, thank you! I plan on visiting Germany at some point, but have yet to do so. I'll keep you posted!
ReplyDeleteAn interesting story: We are friends with a British couple in our wine group, the same wine group we go to France with every year (Gary and Katie are members of this group). Anyway, at some point they heard our home is Monterey and they told us a wonderful story about their visit to California a number of years ago. They had a great time at the Monterey Bay Aquarium where a docent pulled them over to watch as a male seahorse 'gave birth,' which, the gal told them, was very exciting to see and rare to see in captivity. They looked at their photos shortly after they told me the story… and I was the docent that pointed out the seahorse birth to them! Small world, huh?