Micheline

While the size and variety of offerings at Cours Saleya market draws most of the attention, the simple and understated charm of the daily fish market in Place Saint-Francois holds considerable appeal.  Also located in the old town, a visit to buy fresh fish has become a bi-weekly outing for me. 

Looking down on Cours Saleya Flower Market

Apart from the array of daily fresh fish, this market draws me to it for two reasons.  The first is that it brings back so many fond memories of the fish market I would go to with my dad and my grandmother, nonna Maria, when I was a child and we visited Italy in dad’s home town of Pozzuoli, next to Naples on the Mediterranean.   I find delight in the smells, sights and sounds of the fish market as happy memories stream back.   Flies and wasps buzzing about, seagulls feverishly squawking as they battle one another for the fresh scraps of fish innards tossed aside by the vendors.

Bon Appétit!!

The other reason I am drawn to this market is Micheline, a diminutive, early to mid-70ish year old woman who’s chiselled and weathered face attests to the early mornings and hard work she has undoubtedly endured over the years.  

Today Micheline greets me with her usual wide-eyed grin and blows a kiss my way when she sees me.  She is one of 3 vendors at this market and her unkept appearance and crooked, stained teeth makes clear that she has more important things to worry about than her appearance.   She is delightfully full of piss and vinegar and has a youthful spirit that belies her age.   Her zest for life and the energy with which she seems to go about her work overshadow her dishevelled appearance and seems to draw people to her.   She humours me by agreeing to pose for the camera but not before getting my assurance that her picture won’t appear on some illicit  website.

Micheline

On my first visit she justifiably looked at me with an impatient annoyance and scowled at me when I ask if the fish was fresh.   Today when I ask her what’s good she quips in her unbashful way that “naturalemente monsieur, je suis bonne” which brings hearty laughter by all inspecting today’s offerings.   Unsure what Nancy and the girls might enjoy for dinner, Micheline points to a large slab of fish which I mistakingly refer to as tuna.  She holds a 3 foot knife or better yet sword (no joke) used to cut large fish and pointing it at me enlightens me that it’s sword fish as she continues to mumble under her breath…."another dumb foreigner"!!!   I settle on red snapper and whole calamari which I politely decline her offer to clean wanting instead to prolong the memories and clean the squid myself as dad showed me. 

Bon appétit mes amis,

Sal