When I told the guys that they needed to be up and ready to go by 8 AM on their day off, they looked a little puzzled, well Stephen actually scowled at me. I know what he was thinking, this is my one true day that I am able to sleep late and you are going to make me get up early! You see every Saturday from 8-noon there is a Farmers Market at the Gardens here in Bahrain where you can buy local fruits and vegetables. And if there is one thing that I love it is a Farmers Market, because you never know exactly what you will find! Living on an island, we rely heavily on imports and local produce is very limited unless you know where to look, and this is our chance to support the local farmers!
We were out of the house by 8:15 and on our way. We met our friends, Helen, Lance, Mollie, and her friend Mercia at the market and off we went for our early morning adventure. On one side of the venue there are food vendors - omelets, hash browns, samosas, and other yummy foods all made while you wait! Oh and did I mention? They also had my favorite tea! All of this for a mere 2 BD, which converted is $5.30 - breakfast for two! It was delicious!
Seating was a little tricky, as we had one table with five chairs, so we took turns eating. Other families who were there had obviously done this before and brought blankets to sit on - must make note and do that next time!
Next, we were off to buy our veggies. Luckily I had brought my list, otherwise, I would have been so distracted by the abundance of items that I would have forgotten what I went there to buy.
While most of the stands sold vegetables, fruits and herbs, some stands only sold fresh herbs. A few had actual potted herbs to buy. I bought basil, parsley, cilantro and mint plants. So far as of this writing, they are still alive, tho it may have to do with my gardener transferring them into a bigger pot for me and I quote, "little pot no good!"
Nothing beats the fresh smell of herbs!
The cauliflower shown here in this picture is 400 fils which is equivalent to $1.06 in the states. However, as always just because it has a price on it does not mean that is what you pay, you bargain for everything here!
They also sell fresh eggs - chicken, duck and quail eggs. We did not buy any eggs this trip.
There was a section of the market dedicated to local artists. Young and old were there painting and even had some of their paintings for sale. We did not have enough BD with us or we would have come home with one of the beautiful paintings.
I cannot wait to go back this upcoming weekend for some fresh vegetables and perhaps this time we will take home a local painting!