07 Jul Carlucet Market, Valleys Lot & Dordogne, Occitanie

Marchè  tous les mardis   17h  /  20h  Carlucet                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 The local summer market held on Tuesday evening in Carlucet began on July 14th. !  Seasonal Markets in the Valleys Lot and Dordogne, Occitanie,  are now in full swing after suffering a late start because of Covid 19.   Lots of wonderful fresh produce to buy and enjoy.   Local Wine and Ratifia from the vineyard in Carlucet, passionately created and loved by David and Emilie Verdier.  Bet a lot of you did not know that !  www.cantemerle4c.com  David Verdier Cantemerle-4C .   Locally bred Chickens supplied from the Ferme de Tartayrou ( incidentally their Lamb Sausages are amazing, so bring some mint sauce with you;  just thought I would pop that bit in !)   that have been lucky enough to have enjoyed outdoor living until their time was up.  Prepared on the rotisserie for you by VIPoulette, aka Valerie and her husband Patrick, who actually can speak a little bit of English,  should you get stuck with your French. They will cringe when they read that part.  You can buy and eat at the market, so why not treat yourself to a bottle of  David and Emilie’s wine to go with it.   And of course to enjoy after your meal you can treat yourselves to the renowned smooth & creamy Rocamadour goats cheese supplied by Ferme Landes.    I personally think this is one of the best flavoured goats cheese in the area, so do not forget to try it.  If you arrive at the market early enough there is also freshly baked bread you can purchase to spread it on to.  So if you know you are going to this lovely local market, I would take along with you a knife and fork, however, there are plastic ones given with your meal though.  And a wine glass,  any wine is so much nicer out of a glass, unless of course you just pop a straw into the bottle.  Oh, I must not forget the amazing tasting Ambre that Jean Paul Bessières sells there.  I am not normally an any kind of beer drinker, but in the uncomfortable heat of the early evening sunshine, that was still so hot, I thoroughly enjoyed a gorgeously chilled Ambre, out of a plastic cup ! But it still tasted soooo good.   That was a first for me – drinking beer  !   Stuart and I  actually being able to go the Carlucet Market last week was great, something we have never been able to do before.  But not out of choice of course !  We are normally too busy enjoying the company of our guests, regular and new.  It was really rather nice to enjoy  a little  trip together to the village market and soak up the local atmosphere. The sky was a deep baby blue, with just a few fluffy white clouds, but not enough to create shade from the exhausting heat streaming down from the big bright ball in the sky.  I shall miss not going now, especially as I know what I am missing !  Tonight I am cooking so no trip to the market  for us today! Last week as the market came to a natural close, Stuart and I stayed on and enjoyed a meal  with our  village neighbours, sampling the local produce being sold there.  Totally unplanned and the first time ever, we loved it !   Actually it feels really odd being so quiet, but it is rather nice for Stuart and I to enjoy some time to be together during summertime !  Normally we do not even have time to enjoy a meal together at Lacomté, let alone go out !   As we bumbled down to the Market, I was imagining fresh strawberries for our tea, as we had not at that point planned on eating there, we actually did not realise we could.  Sadly there were no Strawberries, but never mind !  I hope the remainder of the season will go well for the local stall holders, as at present we do not have too many guests chez nous and with the weekend News, it is not looking too promising for August.    Covid 19 and it’s unknown future as life gets back to this unknown, crazy weird, not nice normal,  is causing huge concerns for anyone that is in business. The domino effect is vast & quite disconcerting for us all.   Apparently some of our French Guests told us that Rocamadour was  quite busy today. But gone are the days when you had to walk the pace of the crowds, as there was just no room in the narrow streets packed with tourists.  The Rocamadourians must be so relieved that tourists have arrived, that is good news.  But not many British this year ! However, apparently no one was wearing masks which concerned our guests a little.  One of the main reasons they chose to come and stay with us is because we are situated within wonderful calm  Countryside where clear crystal air flows freely.  There is plenty of space between pitches and for guests to relaxingly wander without getting too close to one another.  And a large pool, so it is possible to swim, cool down and distance yourself from others.  So, once again it is Tuesday  and Market day/evening in Carlucet,  the weather simply perfect. Stuart and I  shall miss going today and socialising with our neighbours. In the  Winter everyone hides, closing up their shutters and keeping warm in front of their fires. I shall feature each of our local businesses separately over the next week or so, our little Village of Carlucet has so many wonderful things on offer to excite your taste-buds. All of the successful business owners being children when we arrived, catching the school bus with A J & V. We were the young parents when we arrived here, with threee young children, and a huge  dream. Wow, how time passes so quickly.  Now, many of those young Children have stayed on in their Village, having created successful businesses and have children of their own. When we moved here I had no idea what “Troisième Age” was –  but now Stuart and I have, sort of, without evening realising it and certainly not feeling like it,  aged into this bracket. Only the mirror tells us otherwise  !!!!!   Scary but wonderful times, where did the time go ?!  So much history behind us, some good, some bad, some scary and some awful ! But isn’t that life for everyone ?   Have a great evening !