It was one p.m. when I settled into my airbnb in Narbonne, but as I found the hours for Les Halles online as running till 2 pm, I headed there. Wrong. The stalls close up at 1. However, the little restaurant stands stay open and serve continuously. The butcher counter Bebelle grills meats, another stand offers to cook the fish you buy in the market and add salad and fries for ten euros. Apéritifs and glasses of wine with meals are the cheapest I’ve come across. The atmosphere was lively and convivial, a far cry from the sedate scenes at all the other city marketplaces so far. I was too tired to be hungry, and anyway at ‘home’ I had leftover risotto with zucchini blossoms that I’d made the night before in Béziers, so I just went for coffee at a calm terrace nearby. But I look forward to lunching at the marketplace, as it seems an easy place to get into conversation with some local folks. And it’s indoors, so no one is smoking! Hallelujah.
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Some menu boards from the area
Just for fun, showing restaurant menus from two of the Halles counters (Bebelle’s is a placemat), along with some menu boards at restos nearby.
And that coffee …
Chez Mamie served me the biggest café au lait in all these months, bless them! 3.20 euros and delicious. My mini stevia bottle and the cookie package are there to prove the size. Going back in the morning!
