Marche au Puce

I've been pining for Paris lately. It's spring so this should come as no big surprise. If we'd continued our pattern, every other year (yes, twice is a pattern), then this spring I should be winging over to France. I actually had been planning on going to Paris this December, but my travel cohort decided to have another baby instead. That's a grandchild for me so I guess I can't complain.

Still, I can wander the web in search of a Paris or French fix. Just like I wandered the Marche au Puce, one of Paris' many large flea markets, on our last visit.

We didn't go the "big one" which... can't remember which one that was. On recommendation of a friend, we went to the one near Porte de Vanves, which she said was less commercialized, better bargains. Although it might not have been the largest, it still took us the entire morning to make our way through from end to end, not counting the time we spent trying to find it, one of the few times I got lost in Paris and I blame poorly given instructions.

I didn't take many photos as I asked first and some vendors didn't want to be photographed. I didn't ask if I was taking an overall street scene though. Mostly I just enjoyed the hunt, determined to find some small bits and bobs that would fit in our suitcases.



This lovely birdcage would NOT fit in my suitcase. Alas.




Buttons would fit in my suitcase. I brought a few home - wonder where I put them?







Now if I was furnishing a small Paris apartment, this is the type of stuff I'd be looking for. Love the chandelier, as well as the dusty mirror, hanging from the back of the van. I love the cart too but doubt I'd have room for it in Paris. And how would I get it home!? Wheel it onto the Metro? Maybe if I lived outside the city.




Lovely old marbles. I should have bought some. Oh well. Next time I'm there.




Another crowd scene.




Of course the books drew me in with their aged beauty. They were all in French so I wouldn't have been able to actually read them.




At one corner of the market this guy was playing a wheeled piano.




More books - I was really tempted by this lovely cover.




The merchant was disappointed I didn't want to take his photo, only a photo his books. So I took his photo. This was a common plea with French men, a fun banter I eventually came to expect. Ahhh madame, I am so sad, no one wants a picture of me. LOL.



I thought these models were cool, like giant pieces from a Battleship game.




So much to stop and sort through: old images, paintings, ceramics, knick knacks. I found a few tiny pieces including a set of tea spoons for a very good price. When I got them home I realized that they were probably not tea spoons after all, but salt spoons, as the "bowls" of the spoons are extra tiny. I still use them to stir my tea though. And if you take sugar, you just need to double up on your scoops, that's all.




I loved these colorful artsy chairs.




All good shopping trips must eventually come to an end. When the vendors started packing things up and Hubby was delirious with hunger, it was time for le dejeuner.

If I Were A.....

If I were a month I’d be October

If I were a day I’d be Wednesday

If I were a time of day I’d be twilight in the summer

If I were a planet I’d be the earth

If I were a sea animal I’d be an otter living in a kelp forest

If I were a direction I’d be north

If I were a piece of furniture I’d be a window seat on a rainy day

If I were a liquid I’d be a cup of tea

If I were a gem stone I’d be an agate

If I were a tree I’d be a white birch tree

If I were a tool I’d be a pen

If I were a flower I’d be a moonflower

If I were an element of weather I’d be wind

If I were a musical instrument I’d be a faery flute

If I were a color I'd be moss green

If I were an emotion I’d be laughter

If I were a fruit I’d be a peach

If I were a sound I’d be rain on the roof

If I were an element I'd be silver

If I were a car I’d be a Mini Cooper

If I were a food I’d be oatmeal

If I were a place I’d be a bookstore

If I were a material I'd be cotton velvet

If I were a taste I’d be dark chocolate

If I were a scent I’d be a garden just after a rain

If I were a body part I’d be a pair of weathered hands

If I were a song I’d be "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty

If I were a bird I'd be a raven

If I were a gift I'd be handmade and mailed late

If I were a city I'd be Paris

If I were a door I'd be a portal to a magical kingdom

If I were a pair of shoes I’d be a pair of mary janes

If I were a poem I would be Catechism for a Witch's Child by J. L. Stanley

what would you be?

Or perhaps, what would you be at this particular moment? For, if I filled this in next week, or tomorrow, or even in an hour, I might be something entirely different.

Borrowed from Stephanie who borrowed it from....