¿Qué es eso? ¿Cuánto es?

First blog post from Steven:

"¿Qué es eso? ¿Cuánto es?" "What's this? How much?" This and many other Spanish phrases were what I heard - and did not understand - today with Hannah at the Georgia Farmer's Market in Forest Park, GA. We were able to buy a cornucopia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornucopia) of food for only $13.50! At our local Kroger it would have cost twice as much. (Dave Ramsey would be proud).

The trip would have been much more expensive without Hannah's fluent Spanish. My wife is truly amazing! Apparently at the farmer's market there is a white price and a non-white price. As soon as the shop keepers heard Hannah speaking to them in their native language one of two things happened - their jaws dropped (guys) or they got really animated and smiley (women). All of the shop keepers were impressed with Hannah's Spanish speaking abilities and dropped their prices by half. So, "caveat emptor!" (Let the buyer beware). At one stall we were trying to buy peppers and the guy literally was going to give us an entire crate for $1.00. Before he knew Hannah spoke Spanish the price was 5 for $1.00. So, 200 peppers for $1.00 later ... my eyes are burning! For anyone who is interested in really cheap prices for very fresh produce - Hannah will accompany you for $20.00! Trust me, it's worth the experience. We will definitely be going back, but I will take her unless I learn some Spanish.

For all the guys reading this post (or the wives reading the post) the Georgia Farmer's Market is my secret (not so secret now) spot for getting flowers for Hannah. There is a great store in the rear that sells 24 roses for $9.99! Super bargain.

So, this random excursion immediately followed our morning brunch with the Smiths and Flanarys (Kate and Charles - would that be Flanarys or Flanaries? Not sure). I had been bugging Hannah to go to the Farmer's Market for some time, but we had not had been able to find the time. On the way home I found that Hannah secretly didn't want to go, but ended up really enjoying it. She thought it would be much like the madhouse DeKalb Farmer's Market - which really is a madhouse and not fun for someone who hates shopping as much as Hannah and I do. The Georgia Farmer's Market has been around for a long time (see photo below) and reminds me of child hood trips to a similar Farmer's Market in Macon, GA. The roofs of the Farmer's Market are the same strange inverted shapes from the 1970s as the picnic sheds at Georgia rest stops. Check it out on your next road trip.

I wanted to make the trip to buy lots of peppers (pimientos) to make the Southern delicacy called 'pepper sauce'. Basically, it is vinegar and peppers and is useful for making unpleasant but healthy green vegetables, like turnip & collard greens, appetizing. Here is the end result:


A fun random trip in Atlanta. Enjoy!