My family joined Christmas shoppers en mass last night. We decided rather than pushing and shoving our way around the few horrendously overcrowded shopping centers, to instead visit the Christmas market in Montelupo Fiorentino, near Empoli.[caption id="attachment_3318" align="aligncenter" width="779" caption="Xmas Stall in Montelupo Fiorentino"][/caption]It was bitingly cold, but we bundled ourselves up and braved the weather to enjoy what was in my opinion, one of the nicest little village markets that I have visited yet.Instead of masses of the same chinese produced throwaway gifts, there were artisan stalls full of locals laughing and smiling, negotiating a good price on their old antiques. Each stall produced a new conversation, friendly banter with no hard sell lines.Aside from the great selection of artisan products, their was also an interesting array of Italian food stalls selling eurostreetfoodeuro to the hungry shoppers.We sipped hot Vin Brul in plastic cups whilst picking our way through interesting antiques,clothing and gourmet foods. My four year old daughter spent half an hour selecting two 50c wind up cars (the old school ones that even turn themselves around) from a huge box. My husband found an old glass clock for 5 euro, and I managed to score an authentic 1970euros woolen fedora hat. We left the market still without gifts, but feeling very Christmasy indeed!Heres a recipe for Vin Brul to try at home. Easy, and very tasty!!1 bottle of dry red wine- 4 cinnamon sticks- the peel of 1 orange- 3-4 tablespoons of sugarPut all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Cover and cook on high. When it starts to boil, remove lid and light with a match. Be careful: A beautiful large blue flame will burst out.When the flames dies down, ladle into mugs. Serves 4.By Jessica M