I can’t believe how quickly June went by - it feels like just a week ago that I sat outside our Burgundian cottage, writing the previous issue of MarketMail. My writing setup today is not quite as dreamy, but I’m eating a cinnamon roll and sipping a cafe au lait, so I can’t complain.
I promised to share the link to the Airbnb, so here you go. It was a fantastic place to stay. It felt super remote, but was actually close to the town of Châtillon-sur-Seine, which had all the most important amenities. The kilometre-long dirt road that leads to the property is private and is not used by anyone else. It runs along a field of wildflowers with the river Seine on the other side. We spotted foxes running across the field, and one day a curious deer was sniffing around the front gate.
The only thing that disturbed my fairy tale vacation was the tick I found on me… We removed it pretty quickly and I haven't developed any symptoms, but it's definitely something to keep in mind for your summer adventures. Don't be stupid like me, use a repellent! Ticks spread nasty diseases.
We didn’t always have a destination, and spent days driving through Burgundian villages and towns, stopping every now and then for a walk, a stop by a boulangerie or for a picnic. Semur-en-Auxois is an enchanting little medieval town that’s definitely worth a visit. We also visited the source of the river Seine. It’s not that spectacular of a view, most rivers have very modest springs. But for some reason, it felt magical.
The market hall of Dijon is an experience not to be missed. Every Saturday morning the indoor market hall fills with people in search of a delicious bite, a glass of wine and a good conversation with friends. You can pick up food from any of the stalls and take a seat at the wine bar: I’ve seen people eating ham out of wax paper they just got at the butcher, cheese and charcuterie plates or seafood. We had a plate of oysters and washed it down with white Burgundy. The food on the photo below belonged to a French couple who kindly let me take a picture of their meal.
We barbecued for dinner almost every evening and picked up food at markets, supermarkets, farm shops and bakeries. My favourite dinner was made up of asparagus from the market, entrecôte from a random farm shop and red Burgundy I picked up directly at the winery.
I keep harping on about vide greniers, but they are my absolute favourite way to spend a Sunday in the French countryside. I used brocabrac.fr to find three markets in the nearby Aube department, which belongs to the Champagne region. The vide grenier of Bar-sur-Seine was a bit lackluster. It's a cute town with half-timbered houses, but there weren’t many sellers.
We then went to the village of Villemoyne where it was held on a grassy sports field. I got the cutest little teapot shaped like a wine cabinet and some strawberry jam. I have this thing with jam: I love the idea of it, but I never really eat it. Do you have any recipes using jam?
The vide grenier of Vaudes was the biggest and best of the day. Sander found an extension cable for €5 which he says is sold for like €30 at the Gamma, so we celebrated with a €3 glass of champagne!
In today’s MarketMail:
Seasonal produce to look out for now
The markets I’m most excited about in July
Links you might like
A selection of the best flea markets happening in the Netherlands in July
See you at the market!
Hajni, Founder of Where is the market?
‘tis the season
We made it to stone fruit season: peaches, nectarines, apricots, here I come! This past weekend I baked a hazelnut, peach and raspberry cake by Ottolenghi. The recipe is in Simple, but I found it online as well.
Another seasonal dish I cooked this weekend is ratatouille: tomatoes, zucchini, aubergine and paprika are all coming into season.
My favourite markets in July
Middelburg flea markets - now that I’ve visited the regular brocante markets of The Hague, Gouda, Haarlem and Delft, I have to venture a bit further away from home. Middelburg in Zeeland is such a cute little town, I can’t wait to visit again this summer. There are several flea markets to pick from: one at the Graanbeurs on the first Saturday of the month, a book and collectors market on Mondays and a flea market once a month on Saturdays on the market square. Hard to pick!
Summer braderie’s - I don’t often post a lot about braderie’s, because generally, they are my least favourite type of markets. What’s a braderie, you might ask? According to Wikipedia, “a braderie or jaarmarkt is a type of grand yearly street fair and street market found in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Northern France and north-west Switzerland.” Most braderie vendors sell new, imported products: think clothes, bags, shoes, jewellery, toys, soaps, candy, etc. But that doesn’t mean they cannot be fun! Summer is major braderie season in the Netherlands! I heard the night market in Kolhorn, a village in Noord Holland is worth a visit!
Sharing is caring
💖 June went by so quick and I don’t have any travel plans until the end of September, so I put together a bucket list to make the most of the summer. On my list:
Watch Back to the Future trilogy
Barbecue in the garden
Visit Middelburg
Visit Bergen op Zoom
Get a pedicure
Make chicken and waffles
Do you have a summer bucket list? What’s on it? I’d love some inspiration!
💖 Herb garden update: I started a little herb garden from seeds and even took them with me on vacation to make sure they don’t die. I ended up replanting them in France and with all the sunshine we had recently they grew A LOT. I even started harvesting the basil to ensure that it gets bushier. Make no mistake, I’m not a herb expert at all. All my “knowledge” is from TikTok.
💖 Oysters are having a moment on social media and I’m not immune to their allure. There’s nothing quite like sharing a half-dozen oysters with some bubbly on the side. Recently I had them at the market of Delft, at the food court in Kijkduin, in the market hall of Dijon and already have plans to go oyster-chasing next weekend. If you have oyster tips for me anywhere around the country, let me know!!
💖 I mentioned Bianca Bosker’s second book “Get The Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See” on Instagram and there was some interest, so I wanted to share it here as well. The author’s first book, Cork Dork, changed my life and turned me into a winey. This second book about art didn’t have quite the same effect, but it’s a super interesting read regardless!
💖 I’m sorry for using the c-word so early in the year, but I started uploading Christmas markets to the website and got the idea of creating a physical issue of MarketMail about Christmas markets in the Netherlands and Europe. It would come out probably mid-October. Let me know if you think it’s a good idea!
A selection of flea markets in July
Bakkeveen, Friesland
Huge flea market in Friesland with over 500 sellers. It also comes highly recommended by the Where is the market? community
6 & 20 July, 7:00-13:00
Free entrance
More info here
Ouderkerk aan de Amstel
Car boot sale with 140 sellers by the Ouderkerkerplas lake near Amsterdam
7 July, 9:00-16:00
Free entrance
More info here
Hummelo, Gelderland
Vive La France! Brocante and Art Fair
13-14 July, 11:00-18:00
Entrance fee: € 6,50 (€ 7,50 on location)
More info here
Hemelum, Friesland
Flinke Flea Market
14 & 28 July, 10:00-16:00
Entrance fee: €2,50
More info here
Breda
Over 250 stalls
14 July, 10:00-17:00
Entrance fee: €3
More info here
Sibbe-IJzeren, Limburg
Rosamarkt Sibbe: brocante and flea market with art and regional products as well
21 July, 9:00-17:00
Entrance fee: €2
More info here
Berlicum, Noord-Brabant
“Parisian Market”
28 July, 9:00-17:00
Entrance fee: €3,50
More info here
Woerden
Over 250 stalls
28 July, 9:00-16:00
Entrance fee: €3
More info here
Elst, Gelderland
Over 100 stalls between Arnhem and Nijmegen
28 July, 9:00-16:00
Entrance fee: €3,50
More info here
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Love your bucket list! I’m hoping to:
- go for a boat ride
- eat everything in season (thanks for your guide 😌)
- have a picnic/bbq in the park
- swim in the ocean
- read atleast one book