Grocery Store and a Surprise

This shop in actually outside of the grocery store but on the same street. It is a specialty shop that sells horse meat. By law it has to be away from the regular market and a shop on it's own. I had a look in the window and it looks just like any other meat shop. Apparently the meat is very tender and lean. No this isn't the surprise!!

We pop into the market for the surprise. Of course there was so much more to see. This was the lettuce area. It all seemed rather fresh and didn't appear to be wrapped up. Our Aunt said it doesn't last long which means that there aren't many preservative sprayed on it to make it last longer.

This was a rack of dried fish. I am thinking it was herring that had been soaked in a brine and then dried. I guess this could be the surprise, but only if you really didn't like fish.

This was the meat counter. It had a lot of specialty meats. The smell was a mixture of spices, meats and salt as you stepped close to the counter. It was more of a deli type of counter. You probably think the surprise is one of those things hanging up. No!!

Our cousin pickup up a dessert for dinner. And what a dessert!!! It had a pastry type of crust not really a pie crust but not really a cookie either. Then it had a layer of filling. I think some cream cheese and maybe whipped cream. Then the top was layered with fruit. It was delicious, very light and each bite was unique with the different fruits. You probably think that this is the surprise. I thought this was good surprise to pick up. But the big surprise was...

SURPRISE...
Two ladies with their dogs in the grocery store!!!! That seems to be very common here. I remember seeing it also in Germany. They are also allowed in the restaurants!!!! (Hey I didn't say it was a jump out and grab you surprise I just knew you would be surprise, shocked, bewildered amazed...)

Saturday Morning Market

In a small village close to where my Uncle and Aunt live they have an open market every Saturday morning and a smaller one on Wednesday morning. It was so fascinating.
Above is a street performer.

This vendor just sold mushrooms.

This vendor has scarves, (Alex bought a beautiful one, she sure hopes scarves are an in thing when we move) hat, baby sweater and jewelry.

This vendor sold olives. I had no idea there was so many different types of olives.

There were several vendors who had fresh produce. The produce had just been picked and brought to market. The quality was very impressive. We bought some radishes and carrots to nibble on. At this main vendor you have to take a number (a helper was passing out the numbers) in order to make your purchases. You can see all the people waiting in line!

This vendor had all kinds of wooden toys. There was such energy in the air. There were politicians running for office passing out pamphlets and roses. People were visiting with each other. No one really seemed to be in a big rush. You could tell it was a real social event.

This is a view out my window this morning. It is 9:00 am and the sun is just peaking over the horizon. It is that time of year. But when you know that you will see a sunrise like this it is worth coming through the dark night.

Old Town Lunch

Did you know that Fondue and raclette are some of the most popular ways to serve food in Switzerland?!?! Well I didn't until our cousin took us to a wonderful restaurant in Old Town Geneva. We went into the basement (I'll show pictures on another day) and had lunch. It consisted of a meat platter. The meat was thinly sliced roast beef. It had been cured and seasoned. They bring it out on a plate and you just eat it. (pictured above) We were also eating it with our bread and cheese.

You can just see Steve' s plate. This was our raclette lunch. They have a large round piece of cheese that they keep under a warmer. As the cheese melts they then scrape it onto a plate and serve it with a boiled potato. The cheese has a taste that is very hard to describe. It isn't mild or sharp. It is just very delicious!! For desert with had a meringue with whip cream and a chocolate mousse (Alex loved this dessert!!). We actually ended up rolling out of the restaurant because we were so full!!! Also notice the bowl of pickles and pickled onions. The pickles aren't really dill or sweet just a very unusual taste. We ate the whole bowl yes including the pickled onions. (Our Aunt also served the pickled onions on the first evening that we arrived with her cold meal.
The cold meal consisted of bread, many different kinds of cheeses, butter and meat along with the pickles and onions. It was a wonderful light meal.)

We had such a great time with lunch that it took us two hours!! Thanks Elenor

Cool Car

Our uncle is such an intriguing guy. He has done many amazing things in his life. At one time he took up car racing. This is the Mercedes 300 Gullwing that he raced. In a room of his basement he has many newspaper clippings, trophies, and pictures of his racing days. We have heard about this car and those days for many years. But it was really exciting to see the car and to have a look at those younger years of our Uncle's life by reading the newspaper clippings and looking at the old photos.

Alex just sitting on the get in part of the car.

Inside of the car. Our Uncle and Aunt take the car out occasionally to keep the engine cleaned out and going.

Steve wanted in on the picture also. You can see Unc in the background lifting the hood for us to check it out. What a fun thing for us to finally see the car!!

Wandering Again

Our time in Europe is getting limited so we went wandering this weekend!! We have been know as the MIA (missing in action) cousins. So we headed off to Switzerland to visit family.

What a glorious weekend we had!! We saw the sites. But more importantly we connected with family. We saw three cousins and their families. We ate and ate and were in awe of the beautiful country and love of family.

Our beloved Aunt and Uncle!!!
I will show and write more this week of the fun we had, the sites we saw and the food we ate!!

TheCattle Auction

While I was at the ranch on holiday, my Dad and I attended the cattle auction. He was selling some yearling that day. Here is where the person pulls their trailer up on the scales. The guy hustling into the shed is a good friend. The gentleman standing by the trailer with a stick in his hand puts stickers on the cow so that they all can be sold in the same lot.

The cow enters through a mechanically controlled door. The arena is actually a scale so as soon as the cow steps onto the scale it calculates the weight of the animal or animals. You can see some chairs in the corner that is where the buyers, sellers, and people who are just curious sit.

The was the auctioneer who speaks a crazy language as the cattle come through the sale. I always have to listen closely to be able to follow the sale and where the price is. It is a language spoken and hand signals like none other.

The gentleman standing in the ring is know as a ring man he keeps the cattle moving so that the buyers can see what they are bidding on, the type of cattle, the condition and and sex of the cattle.

Two long horn cattle came through the ring. The didn't bring a great price because they aren't really a great beef cattle. But my thought my son would sure love to try roping those critters!!

It was a great day at the auction. You sit for hours and smell like cowpoop at the end. But the best part for me was my good friend Dixie was there with her husband so she and I talked and talked. The second best part was having lunch in the cafe downstairs. Burger and fries.

Spurs

When you are riding a horse SPURS can make a difference one way or the other!! They can either help get a horse to something you want it to or else they can help a horse to decide he doesn't want to do what you want him to do and decide he also doesn't want you on his back!!

My nephew Justin made these spurs. He has been very blessed to work for a gentleman who has taught him how to make spurs. (They are working on making bits now) I am not sure of the process specifically but I have seen the spurs at different stages. They first started out as just a piece of thick metal. Then there was involved forging and shaping, inlaying of silver, coloring the metal and many many more steps. These spurs will cost about $250.00 or more in a store. I am trying to talk by nephew into making me a pair. But I am sure with my horse that I would get bucked off. So I will just admire his!!

This is the talented young man who made the spurs.