"Let's go shopping!"…. (Remember the film 'White Chicks'?)I love shopping whether it's for me or someone else but best of all, I like browsing. Ask someone to research the best X, then I'm the one to check it out.
Everyone talks about the 'Market Experience' in France and I was really looking forward to that when we first arrived. And I wasn't disappointed. 
There is a certain buzz you get wandering around the fresh produce market seeing the locals (who know what they're doing and where the best stuff is) haggling and bargaining but most of all just chatting and gossiping.
Market day is the day to catch up on the latest local who, what, where and when.
Then we have shop shopping which is somewhat different....
Limoux where we live is considered a small town of 10,000 people and so as you can imagine we need to have our fair share of butchers, bakers and wine makers (and maybe candlestick makers).
I was terrified of going to the local butcher at first as experience has taught me that knowing the vocab first really helps. Receiving lambs brains instead of lamb chops somehow puts you off your dinner.
Experience has also taught me that you don't do these things in a rush. Each customer takes 10 minutes to choose and buy their produce and 10 minutes to chat and gossip. Imagine there are 3 or 4 people ahead of you in the queue......
Clothes shopping is not much different. Chat, choose, chat. Being oh so British that is something that really takes getting used to.
I like to sneak into a shop and browse (on my own) and try on things (on my own). So when the shop assistant announces with a big flourish 'BONJOUR MADAME" as you enter, pops up over the rails with a "Can I help you?" and then is continually popping her heard around your cubicle curtain as you're half naked with a "Can I get you a bigger, wider...", it sort of makes you feel uncomfortably British.
Worse still is when you leave the shop without buying anything and the shop assistant says with an even louder boom, "AU REVOIR MADAME" and I feel so guilty that I didn't buy one of those very (very, very) expensive tops.
Maybe I'm just a cheap skate but I do find France expensive for many things especially things that aren't food related. One good thing thought is that it's forced me not to buy too much and it's also taught me that as a seller on eBay France you can do really well.
You'd be amazed at the 'Nearly new' item which looks 'Nearly ready for the bin' and how the price asked for is the price paid for as new. So what if it's second or third hand.
The other thing that takes getting used to is the loooong lunch break. There is no such thing as shopping in your lunch break as everyone is lying horizontal taking that ever so important siesta. That or they're eating a 3 course meal washed down with a nice glass of something red, white or rose.
So on that note, as I see it is nearly lunch time, perhaps I should join them or maybe I'll see what I've got lurking in the garage that I can flog on eBay.
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