Flea Market and Montmartre

So now that we were done with our four day museum pass, we decided to move on to “things Mom did not get a chance to do last time in Paris” and go to one of the famous flea markets in Paris, which have been around since the 1870s. They are a little different than we would think of flea markets in that many of them are actually situated in small store like rooms, instead of just being out in the open on tables. This was probably one of our more adventurous trips since we would be moving way out of our neighborhood almost into the suburbs of Paris. We took the metro, which by now we were pretty familiar with, took our maps and Rick Steves and tried our best not to get lost. After we got out of the Metro station though, I was not too sure of our odds of actually making it to our destination. But after looking at a couple maps we made our way to what looked like the right direction according to our guide book and we were feeling pretty good about it, especially since there was a sign pointing us in the right direction, but after that first sign we were just wandering around in what seemed to be the market knock off area, with people selling cheap clothes, bed sheets, underwear and electronics. Not really the atmosphere we were going for. Finally after looking at the map for the millionth time we found our destination, though we weren’t actually sure which part of the market we were in, but at least we could tell we were in the right place. The markets are known for their antiques and one of the first stalls we came across was one selling old carousel animal, which unfortunately was closed so we could not take a closer look. We peeked in some of the stalls, mainly the ones with paintings as my Dad had instructed us to look for a specific painter while we were there. One stall specialized in old posters, which were fun to look at but super expensive. One thing we noticed is that the sellers did not seem super protective of their wares.

We wandered around some more and found a section that was a little more applicable to our shopping needs, in that we had found the vintage clothing, books and other smaller random antiques. There is something about old magazines, postcards and knickknacks that I just love. My mother sees this stuff more as junk, but I just love the possibilities behind it, seeing all the projects that I could do with everything that I found. Once we got to this section, I found a really cool scarf for 5 euros with a very bold 1960s pattern on it, some old post cards from Wisconsin that some one had sent back to France (I also found some from Denison University, one of the schools I thought about going to). We saw some amazing vintage clothing that was way too small for either of us but was fabulous to just browse through. Mom really liked this one necklace, but the stall was closed so we circled back multiple times till it was finally open again. Unfortunately it was too expensive for her. We also got a book for my Dad of this French comic that he read as a kid, which he actually remembers reading in his youth. As we were leaving we saw this great messenger bag for me, which was not an antique but very useful and something that I needed. Mom also found one of her first purchase; a scarf that was actually remarkably similar to one that a classmate of mine had in Spain. The flea market was a great time, but I just wish we had a better sense of where we were so that we could go to the right places.

We managed to find our way back, tracking back exactly the way we came thankfully. But by this point I was very hungry so we stopped at a restaurant and our waitress was super nice and we got a great meal with a vinaigrette salad with avocado, a steak with fried egg and a chocolate mousse, which was so rich and delicious. It really hit the spot and if we had waited any longer the walk to then next location would have be incredibly difficult and cranky.

We then decided that since we were in the area we would go to Montmartre, the place where all the artists lived and where the basilica church was. It’s on a hill and is the highest point of Paris. I mapped out a route to get us there but eventually we got a little lost. Mom kept wanting just to go to the right since we knew that we had to go up hill, but with the streets being the way they were, sometimes you could get on a really small street that would just end and that wouldn’t even be on the map and I did not want to get more lost than we were. The streets that were not on the map were our downfall. Eventually a man driving stopped and asked if they could help us, who spoke English (yay!). He began to explain where to go but then he decided just to give us a ride there. So my mom jumped in the car but I was a little confused on why she was getting in the car so the guy told me that we were hitch hiking and told me to get in. I was pretty nervous about it, but the guy drove us up in the nicest neighborhood, where people had gardens in Paris, where the rich and famous live. It seemed to be ok so I relaxed a bit and it was nice not to have to walk up that huge hill.

He dropped us off and we went to the basilica and admired the view and all the artists who were working and selling their art. There were a lot of people drawing caricatures and doing really typical drawings/paintings of the Eiffel tower, but some were quite good and more original. Then we went into the basilica and it was very beautiful and they had real candles, which was cool to see after Spain, where they had fake electric candles and those just don’t have the same feel to them. My mom and I lit a small tea light, we could have gotten a big candle but that was a ten-euro donation and that was just too much for us. We sat there for a while and enjoyed the peace of the basilica. Afterward we checked out the artists one more time and then we walked down the hill back to the metro station. We ran into some scammers with the bracelets and I managed to avoid it. W also managed to find the metro stop perfectly but we were so exhausted that we just snacked it out when we got home, interneted and went to bed.