Saturday in Paris

I had always wanted to go to a flea market in Paris.  Jim and I did that at the beginning of January 2009.  On that trip we spent 10 nights in a wonderful apartment in the Latin Quarter.  The sun didn't rise until 9:00 a.m. that time of year, and Jamie didn't want to get up early to go with us.  Smart girl!  For the entire two weeks we were in Europe we had freezing temperatures.  The warmest day was a high of 33 degrees.  That was the day it snowed.  Anyway, we went to the Vanves flea market and froze.  I really thought I had frostbite on my toes.  I was wearing Ugg boots and warm socks!  For this trip I wanted a do-over, so we went back to the Vanves flea market.  It is just the right size, not as huge as the St. Ouen flea market on the North side of town.  We enjoyed the nice morning, browsing through all the interesting things.  We bought an old key that I'm hoping will fit in the French armoire that my mother bought at an auction about 45 years ago.  If I had to get rid of every piece of furniture I owned, keeping only one thing, the armoire would be it.

After spending the morning at the flea market, we took the metro to the St. Michel area.  We wandered over to Notre Dame and sat on a bench along the side of it to eat our lunch.  We got into a conversation with two women who had just flown in from Philadelphia earlier in the morning.  They couldn't get into their apartment yet and they were suffering from lack of sleep.  Been there, done that! After we finished our sandwiches we walked to the Isle St. Louis for some delicious Bertihillon ice cream.  On the right bank of the river there are a couple of blocks that have pet stores.  French people love their dogs and literally take them everywhere with them.  I think that's great, except for the people who don't clean up after them.  Merde!!  We went into the stores and I loved seeing all the cute puppies.  They cost a fortune here.  No wonder why they get so pampered!  We then walked down Rue Rivoli, the main street that goes through the Right Bank of the river.  It is lined with stores and restaurants, and it was jam packed on a Saturday afternoon.  We went into the C&A department store to use their bathroom.  This is a large store with 3 or 4 floors.  We were told they didn't have one. What?!?  Starbucks to the rescue.  We worked our way back to the apartment.

Phillipe and his girlfriend, Anita, had us over to their apartment for dinner.  He gave us directions on the metro, and said he would meet us at the metro station.  When we got to the station we saw there were exits out to several different streets.  Luckily we guessed the right one.  From there we took the tram two stops away to their place.  Anita had made lasagne and tiramisu for dinner.  The food was delicious, and it was nice to spend time with Phillipe and get to know Anita.  The evening passed too quickly, and we got home late.  It was a really nice day in Paris!!