Marche aux puces

With the help of family visitors from New York, we finally made it to the famous Paris flea market at the Porte de Clignancourt. It seemed like a crazy idea, a flea market on the first warm, sunny Saturday. Imagine the crowds!

Well, as it turned out, there were not many people at the flea market at all, which was nice, because it was thick with vendors. After seeing booth after booth of contemporary clothing, Converse high tops, CD's and other trinkets, we finally arrived at the antique, art and more eclectic portion of the flea market which had a much calmer feel. And it had much more interesting offerings. Everything from Art Nouveau to 1950's diner style furnishings could be found. We found a vintage poster store, where I spent too much time considering a big Bretagne poster to commemorate my son's trip to Brittany. But the prices were rather high considering the state of the dollar, so we passed on the poster. However, we did find a vendor selling "outsider art" which was really colorful and appealing, some of which came home with us. I also bought a 1956 edition of Le Ballon Rouge in book form.

This proprietor is showing us his champagne corking gizmo. Because champagne has the gassy bubbles, it is more tricky to cork, so this machine launches the cork into the bottle with a lot of pressure.

For lunch, we had French onion soup, omelettes and salad at the restaurant Paul Bert. It was nice to relax and soak up some sun at our outside table. The food was tasty and the bathroom clean.

Now that we have survived a Saturday at the flea market, I have to say I would go back, especially now knowing where the more interesting stalls are, and knowing that a good meal can be had. Thanks New York family for showing it to us!