Amboise is a small town of about 14,000 residents, built on both sides of the widest stretch of the Loire River. In the middle of the river is an island called Golden Island (Ile d’Or). The Chateau Royal d’Amboise stands high on a bluff in the center of the city, but more about the Chateau in another post. Amboise also serves as a second home to many celebrities who tend to have grand mansions hidden behind nondescript facades. Mick Jagger is one of those reported to have a second home here.
Amboise’s big open-air market is held on Sundays in a large parking lot that runs along the river. It draws huge crowds of locals and tourists alike. We had a great time there. Here are just a few of the things we saw.
This cute little French couple with their umbrella was headed to the market.
Of course produce booths are always popular at open-air markets. These fruits and vegetables were beautiful and weren’t just local, although as expected most produce was.
It must be the best time of the year for radishes because these were local and they looked so tasty.
This cow, calf and goats kept watch over this cheese booth, one of several we saw. Both wine and cheeses booths were very popular at the market. The wine booths even allowed you to have tastings before you made your purchase.
There were even a couple of furniture vendors at the market, as well as a place that sold mattresses.
Sprng is the time of year when flowers and plants are popular market purchases. In spite of low temperatures, March-April-May is when Europe sees their huge tulip crop in bloom. Both the market’s cut flowers and living plants, shrubs, and trees looked very vibrant and healthy.
Several sausage booths presented a wide variety of kinds and sizes of sausages.
Two of the vendors that surprised us carried only filled pasta. They looked so yummy.
Another surprising vendor was this one with a beautiful and unusual selection of oil clothes.
One vendor even brought 2 baby goats. Actually I think she was only there to draw attention to the local zoo because she didn’t appear to be selling anything.
These baby Lapis Hollandais (Dutch rabbits) were adorable! At 20 Euros, they cost about $22.50 each.
But our favorites were the chickens. These Wyandotte Naines with their white feathers outlined in black looked like they had been designed by an artist.
I didn’t manage to include the names of these chickens but they were gorgeous with their mohair-soft feathers. Just made you want to snuggle with them.
Springtime in France 