le 5 juillet: Marche aux Puces

Sunday I wanted to get up early and go to Notre Dame for mass but I was so tired from Versailles that I slept in. Mass was at 8:30 and I woke up at 8:00 and there was no way I could make it and I didn't want to go late so I went back to sleep for a while.

We planned to go to les Marches aux Puces (the flea markets) at Pt. de Clignancourt. It is the biggest flea market in Europe or something like that. We planned on meeting a bunch of our friends there. Brittany's friend who was studying at Oxford last semester came to visit her so she was going to pick her up at the metro station when she got off the eurostar and take her to her hotel. She thought she wouldn't be able to come to the markets with us but her friend's train got delayed so she was able to come for a little while.

Brittany and I went earlier than everyone else so that she could go for a while. We got out of the metro and walked towards the signs directing us to the marche. There was like one small area filled with tents and I'm like no way this is it. It is tiny lol but we looked around and Brittany bought a leather bag like a big one for her computer and school books and I bought a smaller one to use as a purse here especially because I didn't bring one - stupid forgetfulness.

The other girls met up with us then and about that time Brittany had to leave to get her friend. I didn't bring my camera to the Market because everyone was warning us about pickpockets so I only wanted to take the extreme essentials and nothing extra. It turns out it wasn't too crowded and as long as you were just aware of your belongings everything was fine so we decided to come back to take pictures on the following Monday.

I saw some tents accross this street under a bridge so I suggested we go there to see if it was part of the market and it was. It got really big once we went over there. There were a bunch of vendors selling shoes like converse, puma, etc and leather jackets and like cheap women's clothing that you'd see in like Gen X or idk some of the stuff in Forever 21 (not that I don't like Forever 21, a lot of their things I love but sometimes they have cheap like club wear that is made of plastic lol). But once we pushed back into the market, a whole new world appeared. There were wonderful antique shops everywhere filled with old prints and furniture. Some had modern looking 50s style lamps others had old key chains. There were dress shops with designer items ranging from the 1920s to present day. There was a delightful jewelery shop that I spent at least an hour in just pouring over the glittering shelves.

The vendors were as interesting as their shops. They were older purely french people; the women wonderfully reminiscent of the movie Chocolat, wearing dresses cinched with belts and short hair done in perfect waves. The men sat playing cards with their neighboring vendors or eating a sandwhich for lunch. The shops were storage sheds filled with treasures and when their doors opened they transformed into boutiques with little overhangs. Their spoils spilled into the tiny winding streets. I would have loved to have Grandma and Nancy with me. I know they'd get the best deals and find the most beautiful and timeless treasures.

We ate lunch at this little place before delving into the magical market. It was definitely the low light. I had a croq sandwhich. They are like ham sandwhiches with the cheese melted on top of the sandwhich instead of having the cheese inside. The sandwhich was ok but the fries were gross and it was overly priced.

I went home around 4:30 and then went out to meet Brittany and her friend Stephanie. We brought her back to our neighborhood and she sat in a nearby park while we had dinner with Madame. Brittany didn't feel comfortable asking Madame to make dinner for Brittany which is understandable so we told her we would go out with her when we were done eating.

For dinner we had a traditional french meal called cassoulet. It is from the South East of France. It was like a bean soup kind of with like lamb/chicken. I think it was lamb but I'm not entirely sure. In any case, it was good. It was funny, we kept forgetting what it was called but we both wanted to remember so we could write it in our journals. We asked Madame like 5 times and she finally wrote it on a sticky note for us lol while exclaiming in her wonderful excited voice what she thought we might write in our journals, "Pour le diner ce soir, nous avons mange le cassoulet, c'est formidable!" She is too cute.

After we ate, we picked up Stephanie from the park and took her to the latin quarter where everything stays open late. She decided to eat at a creperie where she ordered a barley crepe with goat cheese and tomatoes. Brittany got a dessert crepe with apples on it. (Well, it was more like apple sauce).

And I ordered this delicious number:

un chocolat viennois (hot chocolat with cream).

C'etait une bonne soir.