Bouillabaisse!

Katie and I have started a tradition of riding our bikes down to the riverside on Sundays and buy food from the market to eat lunch and hang out by the river. Today, we decided to splurge and buy some Bouillabaisse. I had read about this fish stew in a Peter Mayle book and had it on my list of food to try since I got here. It originated in the Provençal city of Marseille and is a stew of numerous fishes, vegetables, and spices. Here is what is in the classic Marseille Bouillabaisse: fish (sea robin, scorpionfish, red Gurnard, conger, lotte or monkfish, John Dory), live octopus, sea urchins, potatoes, garlic, onions, ripe tomatoes, olive oil, garni, fennel, saffron, salt and Cayenne pepper.

Good stuff but the fish was a little chewy, you must have to go to Marseille to get the real stuff. (Also, in case you are wondering, that white smudge on my hat is flour from the baguette, not bird poop.)

Bon Appétit, girl!

The lunch. The cheese on the left was really good and local from the Basque region of France. Unfortunately, the blue cheese was a little to earthy and fungus-tasting for us. All in all, not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.