The Flea Market

Saturday, like Sunday, was a wonderful day. I got up and ran my first double-digit distance. My time was a little slower than planned, but hey. I also went a tenth of a mile less than I'd planned because of a wrong turn. That works since last week a few wrong turns gave me an extra mile and a half...this week was supposed to be 11. Anyway, I got back from it and decompressed a little. Zach and I then went to the market.

Apparently Zach doesn't go to the market frequently enough. I love going to the market and getting my groceries for Saturday-Tuesday. There's another on Wednesday, so I get what I can when I need it. I try not to stock up on too much. So we got the stuff I needed and then went back to the cathedral. We set a time to meet up to go on an adventure to the Marché aux Puces: the flea market.


I tried to go to the flea market last week, but I got rained out. I'd worn shorts, flip flops, and not taken an umbrella. I looked around some of the stalls and then it started raining. I basically said, "Absolutely not," and left. I couldn't handle being cold and wet with slippery flippy-floppys. So this week Zach said he'd come with me.

When we left the Cathedral there were three umbrellas between us. I had brought one from my apartment but he had one himself. It looked like it was going to rain, and it was even sprinkling some when we walked over to the metro. I suggested that we go because the clouds were supposed to go away sooner than later...and THEY DID! They were gone by the time we got to the end of the metro line where the Flea Market is. They had been there long enough that they'd scared most of the crowds off, though.

Zach and I walked around the stalls that I'd walked through. We were really just there to look, but since it wasn't raining we continued beyond where I'd made it. We looked through more places that had "original only, no copy" Polo shirts and other branded things. Then Zach saw a door and said, "Do you want to go into there?" I thought, "Why not?" and said sure. We walked in having no idea what awaited us.

We'd managed to find some of the antiques sections, and it was like walking into the decorative arts/Napoleon Apartments at the Louvre. We saw really utterly stunning things. There was a roller-top desk, with claw feet and amazing painting work, that was made for me to write letters at. Price? 35,000€. It was utterly gorgeous, though. Maybe later in life, but not likely. We spent an hour and a half, I think, wandering around the antiques building we were in. I think I'm going back on Saturday.

Toward the end (when I was antiques-fatigued) we found a brochure that has a map in it of all the different kinds of markets. That will ensure my going back now that I can go and look for things like gifts for people. Unique things that may be cheap. Not necessarily antique desks, though. I plan to go back on Saturday. It was a good adventure that is definitely worth repeating!