Painting My World: Painting Provence part 8....Unexpected Treasures in Goult

'Market Day in Goult' 5x7 pastel ©Karen Margulis

It was one of those unplanned days that turned into one of the best days of the trip. By the end of the first week of our adventure we were more than ready for a stay at home day. It was perfect because it was market day in our village of Goult. And we could walk to it! We planned to head up to the market at 9:00 am . That was the extent of our plans for the day.

'The Cheese Man' 5x7 pastel $95

Our home was just down the hill form the village center. We gathered up our market baskets and headed into town. The first booth we came to was a clothing booth. That was unexpected and very intriguing. The clothes were wonderful....all lightweight cotton and linen in wonderful colors and prints. Perfect for the hot simmer days we were experiencing. We all spent time trying on clothes in the makeshift fitting room in a van! Yes I did buy a wonderful lavender color linen shirt.

The colors of the market!

Another popular item at the market was table linens. There were piles of colorful tablecloths, napkins and dish towels. I wish I had bought a tablecloth. But it is probably a good thing I didn't . I don't think it would have fit in my extra duffle bag!

The market in Goult was very much a local happening. At least in the early hours it seemed to be a meeting place for the locals and their dogs! I could have pulled up a chair and watched and maybe sketched them all day.....but I had shopping to do!

Meet and greet time!

Even though the market in Goult had wares such as clothing, jewelry, toys and more it also had many purveyors of food and wine! As we wandered around filling our baskets with wares...it hit us....we should be buying some of this glorious food!

So we put our heads together and made plans for an impromptu picnic. One of us went to purchase a rotisserie chicken. These looked amazing.....cooking on a giant rotisserie on a truck. Someone else picked out some special cheeses. Another chose some kind of olive spread. And of course we needed some produce....some delicious tomatoes and the sweetest strawberries ever. One of us picked up some wine and I head over to the boulangerie to get a baguette (and of course some dessert)

sausages were just some of the wonderful foods available at the market

Here I am with my market basket and my baguette

I loved this poster at one of the shops

We were going to pack our treasures into the car and find a picnic spot.......but when we got back to the house we realized that we had one of the best picnic spots in the area! Our very own pool deck! We quickly rearranged the furniture and set up our special picnic lunch.

It was the best lunch ever! Eating the wonderful food and drinking wine at noon was decadent. Listening to the music of the cicadas and the bees and laughing with good friends made it even more special. I think we all ended up taking a long nap to top off a perfectly unplanned day!