Farmers' Market

I know farmers' markets are a summer thing, but for me, they are inextricably linked to fall.  I don't know why.  I will occasionally stumble upon a market in summer and buy a few things, but it's when the weather gets crisp and slightly overcast and the hats and scarves come out that I start going regularly.  (And then, at the end of October, I lament not having gone sooner - you'd think I would have smartened up by now.)  There's just something about walking around a market, sampling local apples with a cup of steaming coffee in hand.  I guess it's good for my wallet that there are no Starbucks near the market closest to the Embassy, as the chain is even more overpriced in Russia than in the U.S.  Anyone for a $7 Frappuccino?  No?  Me neither.

The double-stroller parade left the Embassy compound mid-morning, and by the time we had made the mile-ish walk to the market, the toddlers had some energy to expend.

We returned home with sweet peppers, potatoes, carrots, Swiss chard, parsnips, basil, cilantro, corn, cucumbers, apples and grapes.  Total cost: about 1.5 times as much as I would have paid at the supermarket (though I could not have found several of these items there).  But it's more fun this way, plus I got some exercise.