The Chestnut Wagon in Toulon

I’ve already told you that one of the reasons fall is my favorite time of year (beside the wonderful weather and the lack of tourists on the French Riviera) are the chestnuts.

Here in Toulon we have a chestnut wagon that sits on the corner of la Place de la Liberte (which is about a block away from us), and i wanted to share a couple of photos of it with you.

The price of chestnuts – like everything else, has gone up this year.  A small bag of hot, roasted chestnuts (roated on an open fire) costs 3 Euros this year.  Last year they were 2,50.  Oh well, that’s the price of indulging your passions, I guess!)

So here’s a picture of the chestnut wagon – you can see the burlap bags full of delicious chestnuts.

And the second picture shows the front of the chestnut wagon and my chestnut seller.  (It’s the same guy

The Chestnut Man at La Place de la liberte in Toulon

every year.)

Have you ever eaten roasted chestnuts?  Chestnuts come off the tree with a spiny kind of outer covering – which is usually green, which you crack open to find the nut itself.  Then you roast the chestnuts in their shell.  Be careful when you peel the shell away – they’re hot!  (I’ll get some photos of the chestnuts in their outer covering and in their shells this weekend.

By the way, you have to be careful about picking chestnuts here – even if you’re in a forest.  Because some people – or entire villages may own the rights to them – and if you pick them illegally, you can be fined. Personally, I’m just as happy to have someone else pick them and roast them – my favorite part is just getting to eat them!

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