After a somewhat exciting finish to yesterday, and not being in the mood this morning to go sightseeing, I decided to go to two of the farmers' markets in two of the nearby neighborhoods and check them out.
The first, Marche Popincourt, was only a few Metro stops away so started there, only to discover that it wasn't happening today -- maybe too early in the season, maybe they just stopped doing it -- who knows?
Hadn't been in that neighborhood and as long as I was already there, decided to spend some time walking through the streets, window shopping and people watching. Stopped for a croissant and coffee at a boulangerie -- so far I've found four different ways to pay for the coffee -- they will all take the payment for your croissant, but paying for coffee, for some reason, varies depending upon the shop. You can pay the cashier and they make and hand you the coffee right there; you can drop your coins into a machine right next to the cash register, get a paper ticket and someone will bring you your coffee; you can pay the cashier, get a token and put the token in the coffee machine, push a button, choose the type of coffee you want and the machine dispenses it; or you can put your coins directly into a payment slot on the coffee maker, push a button for the type of coffee you want and the machine makes it while you stand there -- don't understand why they make it so complicated and the coffee usually isn't worth it ....
Observation: In the States, so many stores try to be all things to all customers -- a 7-11 will sell you gas or coffee or a loaf of bread or cigarettes, a clothing store will sell you women's clothes, men's clothes, children's clothes and so on. Here in France, the focus seems to be more on specializing in something -- for example, the other day I walked past a store that only sold telescopes (didn't know there was that big a demand), another that only sold wooden stools and beds (why you couldn't buy a couch or table there -- who knows and with my language skills, I'm not the person to be asking them), another one sold only women's scarfs and gloves (no coats, hats or other accessories). Neither way is right or wrong, it's just they're so different.
Also came across another old church (one that's not in the tour books) -- Eglise Saint Ambroise -- that was just gorgeous -- seems they are everywhere here -- and mostly in decent condition, even after all the wars France has been through in the last six hundred years.
Decided I should move on to the other farmers market -- Belleville neighborhood (I did have some things I needed to buy for dinner tonight). Walked out of the Metro station and there it was and was and was -- it stretched between three Metro stations, a distance of a mile or more.
If you could think of a food item, there were probably two or three stalls offering it -- olives (25-30 different kinds), spices (in display tins that you scooped some out of into a paper bag -- or prepackaged), dried fruits (same deal), nuts, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, etc..., coffee, tea, eggs, candy, (and other food stuff that I have no idea as to what it was but people were buying it). Then, if you got tired of buying food, you could also get socks, sheets, shoes, hats, all kinds of kitchenware, scarfs, pants, jackets, shampoo/soap, cases for your cellphone, electrical stuff, rugs, cloth from silk to brocades (beautiful stuff), and a dozen different kinds of ethnic fast foods (I bought some kind of deep-fried dough that seemed to be popular with the crowd -- it was pretty good), books, jewelry -- pretty much the only things I didn't see for sale were live animals and tires!
Oh, and the crowds, unbelievable -- it took all of forty-five minutes to walk one-way through the market (that's without intentionally stopping) and by the time I left, I was totally beat-up -- felt like I had just played rugby for an hour -- it's pushing and shoving and elbows and shopping carts and large people moving slowly and people stepping backwards onto your feet -- think they call it a melee(?) -- just a mass of humanity bumping and bouncing and continuous movement -- not a place to be if you don't like people touching pretty much all parts of your body -- but everybody just went with it -- amazing! And all different ages and ethnicities -- Bellevile has been known as a working class area that is apparently in the process of being gentrified -- extremely diverse ethnically which brings along a whole world of different foods, clothing, restaurants, etc.... and trendy boutiques, cafes, bars. I need to explore more there -- have a feeling there is so much to experience!
Back at the apartment now and again, just as I'm Skyping with C. saying today has been a pretty normal day after yesterday -- when a black plume of smoke billows up in to the air less than a block away turning the entire sky a dark grey -- no clue what it's about but I'm sure it's something -- not really sure I want to find out either. Turned out to be a gas line explosion at a apartemnt building a few blocks away -- looks like it's history from the tv footage.
A rainy evening in Paris....
