10.19.06
The Open Air Market
Today I found myself with some extra time between a couple of appointments, so I decided to take a stroll through the open air market. Every morning about 20-30 vendors set up tents and tables along a certain street. I don’t go their often, but today I noticed that suddenly everyone was selling winter items. Sweaters, big coats, scarves, mittens – no more swimming suits and flip-flops.
It’s an interesting experience. The vendors yell out their little catch phrases: “Good quality! Low prices!” … “Real leather” … “Must go” … that kind of thing. In between customers they take time to greet friends as well as the other vendors. It’s really a community “watering hole” of sorts, were people (mostly ladies) go to catch up and see what’s going on with so and so.
About 6 or 7 in the evening, they pack up their stuff, take down the tents, and take it all to their storage units. The street cleaners come by at night to clean up, and it’s like the whole thing never happened.