The market in Arles, France runs every Saturday morning and is the biggest in the entire region. A smaller version of the market runs Wednesday mornings, and this is a Spanish dish I bought for seven euros from Ms. Martin, who makes paella and this pasta seafood variation whose name I cannot remember, along with her own fresh aïoli sauce. That is a garlic sauce and it knocks your socks off! She offered me plastic utensils with this but I didn't accept them as I was staying in a rented house at 24, rue Renan near the Roman area and just reheated this food slightly and we devoured it. She also sells this stuff for 12 euros per kilo and that is enough for about four adults I would say. Arles is in the Bouches-du-Rhône département and is near the Mediterranean sea. It is in an area known both as Provence and Camargue. This is a city with Roman vestiges still present, as Julius Caesar granted Roman citizenship to the residents who supported him in a bid against Pompey, based in Marseilles. The house I rented has three stories and sleeps six. Had six adults actually shared it, the off-season week I rented it in September, 2013, when no bullfights were running, would have cost everyone only 8 euros a day. Renting furnished accommodations in France can be a great way to visit. It's more private, you can cook and wash your clothes there and stuff, and it's kind of playing house in a new location for a short time. My only possibly negative comment for English speaking visitors is that some of the landlords really don't speak anything but French. Also, unless it is in a holiday rental system which is centralized, you have to check on everything, such as, are linens included, and if not, what is the rental fee for them? You also might want to clean the place after but the standards of cleanliness tend to be very exacting and up to European standards and your idea of vacation time might not be scrubbing floors, ha ha, so you decide! copyright 2013 Lisa B. Falour, B.S., M.B.A. cutecatfaith.com Dailymotion: LisaFalour YouTube: CUTECATFAITH, SLOBOMOTION This food had saffron, elbow macaroni and "lotte" (a French name for a fish type), a giant shrimp, mussels, squid, octopus, peas, scallops, sweet peppers, onions and the famous local purple garlic, and other stuff. Unlike paella, this dish did not use rice, chicken, snails or chorizo (pepperoni/sausage). Ms. Martin does catering for events, apparently.

• published: 28 Sep 2013
• views: 85