The Beautiful Market

I'm not very bold, so I didn't take pictures of the beautiful, bright eyed fish or the tiny, plucked partridge bodies at the market this morning. It seemed that I ought to buy something to earn photo privileges--and I'm not up to it yet. So far, I haven't bought anything but fruit and vegetables at the market. I have very little French and wouldn't know how to cook much of what I see at the market. Hopefully time and lesson (in both French and in cooking) will change that,

What I'm really intrigued by are the meat, fish, and cheese stalls. The market we visited this morning in Orsay-Ville (not the neighborhood market we usually visit) had at least three different meat stalls, a stall devoted entirely to poultry, and several for fish. Much of the merchandise was terribly exotic. There were cows tongues, meats mixed with gelatin, mysterious sausages, and what must have been entrails. There were innumerable cheeses with colorful rinds--the only ones I recognized were Camenbert and goat. The poultry counter had tiny game birds that were only partially plucked and looked like they'd provide only two or three tablespoons of meat. The fish counter was a revelation--"so that's what a turbot looks like." It was rather grisly, but also beautiful. We are carnivores after all, and it makes sense that all this artfully arranged carnage should awaken the appetite. I hope that someday soon I'll take home a rabbit or a duck complete with head and feet. I bet it would make a wonderful soup....