To market, to market...

I went to the farmer's market with my friend after work this morning. I love the farmer's market. It's what living in this semi-big city is all about. On every corner, you’ll see a different musician or street player, from a classical violin to bongos on a bench, trying to outplay each other, but creating a pleasant mixture of sound together. Among the noise floats the aroma of freshly baked cinnamon roles and the smell of earthy-ness from the various veggies and herbs in mouth-watering arrangements. Calls from vendors that were perfected in the days of Newsies also vie for attention. Food for the stomach: "get your warm, hot, spicy cheese bread over here, fresh from the oven!" and food for the soul: "get your peace, everlasting peace over here!"
I love this open market atmosphere and the good-natured heckling and banter you can eavesdrop on between booths. The one thing that's different in this open market than from other open markets around the world is that there are fixed prices. No haggling over how much you're going to pay for a pound of spinach. (Though you can pretty much be handed the I-swear-it's-safe-spinach free these days.) Don't get me wrong, the prices are more than reasonable, but sometimes it's fun to barter. Though I'm very much a softy, so I'm the sucker most vendors would pray for. It’s mostly just the remnants of Mongolia speaking now.
After walking around the square twice, I decided on some beef jerky, grape tomatoes, raspberries, sunflowers and these weird magenta flowers that look like coral from the ocean. I have no idea what they’re called, but I had to get them because they’re the coolest looking plants I’ve ever seen. I should also mention I got some green beans, green peppers, pears, apples and cheese curds. As you can see, I just randomly grabbed things that appealed to me. That’s my favorite type shopping, just spontaneous buys rather than an agenda. And the market is the perfect venue for that. Especially after working all night and everything begins to look blurry in the daylight. Now I’m off to eat some raspberries and cream. Well, raspberries and skim milk… but that’s almost the same… right?