'My Trip To France' by Rosie Pugh

On my first morning in France I was greeted by a warm sun filtering through the trees which peeped into my bedroom window. After a traditional French breakfast of coffee and croissant we set off on a trip to the country market in the medieval town of St. Anton which is held on Sunday mornings.
We travelled through beautiful scenery and when we arrived we parked the cars and set out to explore through the cobbled streets. On both sides were stalls displaying goods of all kinds. I was enthralled.
Pieces of cheese had been put on crusty bread and were offered to those that wanted to taste. The man behind one stall, with his fine French accent, offered tempting continental meats for you to try. On another stall were olives, green and black, some filled with almonds and others with peppers or soaked in garlic. I must admit I was tempted so I bought the olives with the almonds.
For me the stall with the wonderful display of vegetables was like stepping back in time when a lettuce was big and had lustrous green leaves. The red and plump tomatoes nestled next to pink and white radishes which were very mouth watering. You could tell they had not long been out of the earth as there were grains of soil still on the roots with droplets of dew resting gently.
Further along I asked my companion, ‘Is that mashed potato he’s selling?’
She smiled and asked the stall holder. Although I can’t speak French I could make out some of the ingredients from his reply. So when she started to tell me I got in first: mashed potato, crème fraiche, butter and pepper. She said that people were buying small tubs of this product for their Sunday lunch. It was expensive - but I bet it tasted good!
There was something there for everyone with assorted breads of different shapes and shades of brown which were next to the biscuits and cakes.
Nearby was a café which was very different in style to our pubs. Locals and visitors mingled there and drank coffee, wine and beer. We decided that we too would stop and try the coffee and the French atmosphere that surrounded us as we watched the world go by.
St. Anton was steeped in so much history. For instance the building opposite the café was once a church and further down the road there was a house that was once a brothel.
I felt that all that I was missing was a guide to fill in the missing gaps. It was a town with so much intrigue; but alas it was time for us to leave a place which concealed many mysteries within its walls.