While I was lunching with a few friends this week the subject of where everyone does their grocery shopping came up. We chatted a bit about which store has the cheaper prices(and do we really want to shop there even if it is cheaper?), which has the best produce and which bakery or store around us has good bread(that would be none!). Suggestion....bake your own! We all have our preferences, of course, but I came away thinking I don't like any of my choices. Things would be so much different if I could be shopping at the charming Old City Market in Saint John(never St. John), New Brunswick, Canada. While on a fall colors trip to New England and Canada last year it was suggested in the literature to visit this market which is Canada's oldest continuing farmer's market. It was a chilly, wet day so we had a good excuse to do something inside. There is a fabulous Pedway system with escalators and elevators to get you to the market since the streets are especially steep when walking from the port. This was a market I would love to shop in, it was just filled with good smells and fabulous fruits, vegetables, meat and baked goods. It was rather sad that I wasn't buying anything to cook with! I was absolutely enthralled by this great market.
During the American Revolution Saint John became a prolific shipbuilding center and the architecture of this 1876 building reflects this history. You can look up to the bright white rafters and see that they are shaped like an inverted ship's hull. My Viking heritage approves of this kind of architecture. You would never have imagined it was such a dark gloomy day when it was so beautifully bright and open while we browsed through the aisles. I guess I will be back to my suburban shopping experience tomorrow but today I will remember what a market should really look like and look forward to this summer's farmers' markets around here though they pale in comparison.
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