So this last Friday I went with my cousin and her husband to a modern jazz production at the Grand Palais in Paris. We met up with a friend of hers at the location, which is a sort of modern/surrealist museum. It was weird. It had this huge open center, like a train station and it was filled with huge cargo crates, upon which an enormous Napoleon hat sat, and then twisting above and around was a silver serpent skeleton. I didn't grab a brochure so I have no idea what they were going for. But the music was just set up to one end, out in the open of this giant train station museum. And it was very weird. It was jazz, at times, but at other times there was such dissonance that it appeared that everyone was reading a different set of music. Sometimes that wasn't bad but at other times it did not harmonize very well. All in all, it was fun to get out. And then we went around the corner for a bite to eat. It was cool to see what local Parisians do on their nights out in Paris.
Yesterday (Saturday) was a pretty relaxing day. Easy at work and then I was tired and just having one of those homesick days, so I came back to the apartment and took a nap. But today I was off the whole day so I took advantage. First I let myself sleep in, but then I decided to explore the Marché aux Puces, also known as the Paris Flea Market. My boss told me about it. It's a bit to the north in Paris, so I had to take the train into Paris and then transfer to another and ride it to the end. But there are signs to get there since it's pretty well known. The first area is all tourist trap stands with futbol jerseys, sunglasses, polos and sneakers, and the occasional "African" novelty booth.
Then you get into the "antique" section. They've got some pretty cool stuff but they are also shop fronts, so you are getting charged more for the items because they have done their research and have to pay for rent too. The camera shop was awesome. And I found some fantastic velvet furniture that I would totally put in the salon of my little French cottage that I hope to have one day. And the vintage Patisserie sign would be super cool since that's what I love to do. But all of these are very pricey.
Then, if you continue on a bit further (which most tourists don't), there is a passage that brings you through to a back area where there are antiques being sold on tables and you just sort through everything. This is where you can find little treasures. And they have just about everything. My favorite is that most people don't seem to know about this area and yet there is a sign that lets you know where to go.
As you can see there was an amazing assortment of goodies. I soooo wanted to get one of the little copper pots, or kitchen accessories. Because how cool would that be to have a copper cooking utensil or pot thats actually vintage French?!?!? Or the adorable little medicine bottles (I already have a ton of the cobalt blue ones). And obviously I stopped at the amazing little bookseller. I LOVE the way the old books look. I would have bought all of them just to have my library LOOK like that. But my rule is that I have to know the story or the author, or have some deep connection to the book, or else I would end up buying all of them. Most of these books were easily from the 1800s and some were back to the mid 1700s. Sadly, just being old is not one of my rules (unless it was from the 1600s or earlier, and then I might make an exception if the price is good). Many of you who know me know that I have a serious hoarding gene from my Grandma that is balanced out by my mom's "trash-it" gene. So the hoarding gene is stronger, but years of moving while growing up forced me to purge every 3 years or so. And something like the copper pots...do I REALLY need something that I won't cook in, just to sit there and look pretty? YES! Ok, well maybe not, but it would be really really cool, but the space and weight in my suitcase wouldn't be worth it...ok fine! I guess not. (This went through my head about 50x today, at least.) But I did not leave empty-handed. I settled on one book that was hidden under a pile of others. It's in fairly good shape considering it's from 1842, and it's illustrated. Even cooler, it was only 8 Euros!!! ($9.02 in US) I think a new hardcover copy of the Odyssey is worth more than that on Amazon!
So all in all I'd say it was a successful venture. It was very fun and I definitely recommend checking it out for anyone who feels like wandering through the off-beat areas of Paris. Just be careful for pick pockets. It's the kind of place that they would love. I don't carry anything in my pockets. My purse is zipped and stays under my arm and my phone (which I needed for directions and photos) was up my sleeve, in my hand. I haven't had problems so far but Paris (as well as most other big tourist cities) is notorious for pick pockets. I finished off my trip with a little lunch in a cafe across from the antique shops and had a DELICIOUS bananas flambé for dessert. Au revoir.
Yesterday (Saturday) was a pretty relaxing day. Easy at work and then I was tired and just having one of those homesick days, so I came back to the apartment and took a nap. But today I was off the whole day so I took advantage. First I let myself sleep in, but then I decided to explore the Marché aux Puces, also known as the Paris Flea Market. My boss told me about it. It's a bit to the north in Paris, so I had to take the train into Paris and then transfer to another and ride it to the end. But there are signs to get there since it's pretty well known. The first area is all tourist trap stands with futbol jerseys, sunglasses, polos and sneakers, and the occasional "African" novelty booth.
Then you get into the "antique" section. They've got some pretty cool stuff but they are also shop fronts, so you are getting charged more for the items because they have done their research and have to pay for rent too. The camera shop was awesome. And I found some fantastic velvet furniture that I would totally put in the salon of my little French cottage that I hope to have one day. And the vintage Patisserie sign would be super cool since that's what I love to do. But all of these are very pricey.
Then, if you continue on a bit further (which most tourists don't), there is a passage that brings you through to a back area where there are antiques being sold on tables and you just sort through everything. This is where you can find little treasures. And they have just about everything. My favorite is that most people don't seem to know about this area and yet there is a sign that lets you know where to go.
As you can see there was an amazing assortment of goodies. I soooo wanted to get one of the little copper pots, or kitchen accessories. Because how cool would that be to have a copper cooking utensil or pot thats actually vintage French?!?!? Or the adorable little medicine bottles (I already have a ton of the cobalt blue ones). And obviously I stopped at the amazing little bookseller. I LOVE the way the old books look. I would have bought all of them just to have my library LOOK like that. But my rule is that I have to know the story or the author, or have some deep connection to the book, or else I would end up buying all of them. Most of these books were easily from the 1800s and some were back to the mid 1700s. Sadly, just being old is not one of my rules (unless it was from the 1600s or earlier, and then I might make an exception if the price is good). Many of you who know me know that I have a serious hoarding gene from my Grandma that is balanced out by my mom's "trash-it" gene. So the hoarding gene is stronger, but years of moving while growing up forced me to purge every 3 years or so. And something like the copper pots...do I REALLY need something that I won't cook in, just to sit there and look pretty? YES! Ok, well maybe not, but it would be really really cool, but the space and weight in my suitcase wouldn't be worth it...ok fine! I guess not. (This went through my head about 50x today, at least.) But I did not leave empty-handed. I settled on one book that was hidden under a pile of others. It's in fairly good shape considering it's from 1842, and it's illustrated. Even cooler, it was only 8 Euros!!! ($9.02 in US) I think a new hardcover copy of the Odyssey is worth more than that on Amazon!
So all in all I'd say it was a successful venture. It was very fun and I definitely recommend checking it out for anyone who feels like wandering through the off-beat areas of Paris. Just be careful for pick pockets. It's the kind of place that they would love. I don't carry anything in my pockets. My purse is zipped and stays under my arm and my phone (which I needed for directions and photos) was up my sleeve, in my hand. I haven't had problems so far but Paris (as well as most other big tourist cities) is notorious for pick pockets. I finished off my trip with a little lunch in a cafe across from the antique shops and had a DELICIOUS bananas flambé for dessert. Au revoir.
Cool! I never got to see the Flea Market while I was there. Looks like fun.
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