An afternoon at the Paris flea market

[bixaorellana]

It's lucky that he is taller than the rest of us!

[lola]

Ha! Good luck getting us to stand in twos.

[Deleted]

Bixa, Is that girl with the long dark hair, in front of the teacher you as kid ?

[mockchoc]

Kerouac, we have just booked a few nights in Paris but we need to book one night for the end of our trip as well and I'm thinking Accor might be fine for what we need plus we get a discount as we are members with the hotel group. I would also love to get to see these markets.

My question is about how safe it is to stay around that area.

[Deleted]

Oh, it is completely safe, unless you love to walk around deserted alleys at 3 a.m. It's just a short walk to the metro from the Etap/F1 -- and you'll be with the hundreds of other people staying in those hotels.

[lagatta]

I've stayed there. It is fine.

[mockchoc]

Thanks for the info!

[BigIain]

Kerouac, I love the flea market pics so many thanks again for this thread. My reason for stopping by this afternoon was the opportunity to see some of Paris vicariously.

I enjoy the atmosphere of expectation in flea markets and have bought loads of cheap clothes and other items at various such markets down the years. I have somewhere loads of pics of the Dappermart (sp?) which was held weekly in the same suburb of Amsterdam as our flat was. I dont imagine I would find them as they are on a disk from the days before my laptop came along. There was also a decent one in Beziers too.

[lagatta]

BigIain, where I stay now when in Amsterdam is near Dappermart (the market) in Dapperstraat (the street, natch) in Dapperbuurt (the district), though I'm actually in neighbouring Indischebuurt, just east of the railway bridge. Dappermart is cheaper than the famous Albertcuypmart. The area has gentrified a bit in recent years, simply because of real estate pressure and also because of the building of the Timorplein 22 centre, renovation of an old technical school, where a third StayOkay hostel and other cultural and community associations are located.

It is an extremely cosmopolitan area, with people from scores of nationalities.

[BigIain]

We were in Zacharius Janestraat, Watergraafsmere (probably all spelled wrongly!!)... around 3 tram stops out from the area of Dappermart. That market was fantastic for everything!!! I shall return there some day! I sometimes wish that I was still there for the market and also for Vomart and its fantasic hot dogs!

[Deleted]

In any case, I took the bus with no fewer than six Baby Milo T-shirts this evening.

Do try and find your old photos, Iain!

[lagatta]

It is a very nice market - did you have any of the freshly fried bits of fish, shrimp, squid rings etc? I bought tulips there for 1€50 - they were nice and fresh but a little bit crooked, like the flowers we'd grow in our own gardens. The rejects from the international floral trade, that wants everything uniform.

Think the street would be Zacharias Jansestraat, Watergraafsmeer. Dutch words are tricky for either English or German speakers as they are very familiar, but just a bit off.

I've never been to Vomart and confess that the name is a bit off-putting!

K2, I'll tell you when le bébé Milo hits les cousins du Canada...

[BigIain]

Lagatta, it was a great suburb to live in and very close to a great park for wanderings. I have recently been lamenting the poor choice of clothing in the UK compared to Amsterdam. Apart from the market I still have loads of stuff from Vroom & Dreesmann. you just dont find much range for taller people here whereas the Dutch stores and markets stock loads of stuff.
There was a great stall that sold fresh fish and also a vendor of kebabs, both of which were a must for us. As for flowers, I bought some wooden tulips for 7 euros for six items and they still have pride of place in my parents house. Good times back in those days.

[lagatta]

The Netherlands are tallpeople heaven! I believe they are actually the tallest national population in the world - men are OVER six feet tall, women something like five ten (I read this on a site using English measurements, but for metrics this was about 1m80 for the men). And unlike many places, even older people are tall. Probably all the dairy products, plus healthy moderate exercise in the form of daily cycling to make that stimulate upwards, not sidewards growth. I've actually bought trousers for a (female) friend here who is six feet tall. Of course those things are far too long for me. They also have nice stylish shoes for people with long feet.

I'll have to pick up a set of those wooden tulips. On the spot they look too touristy - so many of them - but they are such a charming reminder in other countries.

The supermarket is Vomar: www.vomar.nl/index-1310vVPv6.html The little girl is holding "Dieren Vriendjes" - little animal friends. Note that Dieren is like the German "Tieren" (animals, beasts) whilst "Vriendjes" (with the V being more an English F sound) is closer to English - Friendies, if you could say. "Cookie", the USian sweet biscuit and the computer thing, is a Dutch diminutive of cake.

I can read and understand quite a bit of Dutch but I'm afraid to speak it other than a few set politeness phrases as it is too easy to lapse into English, German or both, and make onesself a laughing-stock.

I have friends who live in Watergraafsmeer; it is really an area where "normal" people live. Where I stay is not particularly touristy, but it is one of those working-class immigrant areas that are at risk of becoming quaint and gentrified. Watergraafsmeer, though it has some superb between-the-wars Amsterdam School architecture - think the Frank family lived there before they went into hiding - is not remotely quaint, though very pleasant.

It is strange cycling down there as the polders are really in evidence. If you find casimira's posts about cycling on the levees in New Orleans, it is just the same arrangement, but different climate, flora and architecture.

[fumobici]

Brilliant thread again K2. I think I'll actually need some sort of... erm... job or something *shudder* there before I can even scratch the surface of Paris.

Well actually once the shipping container of knock-off Baby Milo gear I had made comes in from the PRC and I'm selling it to trendy west coast boutiques for dollars on the penny perhaps I can simply buy a flat there and grow fat on baguettes, foies gras and charcouterie.

Like Raiders owner Al Davis once famously said, "Just win, baby."

[Canadian In Paris]

Hey folks,

First of all, thanks for the pictures. I followed your directions and wandered the market today to my heart's content. (Curse Baby Milo.)

I'm going back a number of posts here, but I stumbled across your odd and mysterious item, the round wooden bin stand. When I saw it I almost jumped with surprise, and fortunately there were not one but two vendors standing nearby ready to help. Thankfully I speak French and so inquired as to the purpose of the item.

It's a bulk-food storage bin. The vendors suggested grain storage (the word they actually used was "cereales" but I don't think they meant the Count Chocula kind) but I would imagine it would also work for dried beans or pasta or anything like that.

Hope that clears things up for you! And thanks again for the guided tour.

[Deleted]

Wow, thanks for the information. Recently on another forum, someone was claiming that it was a hat box.

(So, nobody wants to buy that damned thing yet!)

[lagatta]

Canadian, you should log in. Don't be shy! And tell us more about your trip to Paris - whereabouts are you staying?

[Canadian in Paris]

I'm one of the luckiest Canadians in all of Paris. I'm staying on Rue de Levis, in the 17th. It's one of the neatest streets I've seen here. There's a market almost every day, with all kinds of cool stores and produce and meat vendors, all on my way to the Metro in the morning. Sure makes the walk more interesting.

I'm here for 3 1/2 months. I arrived in early May and was initially living in a dreadful basement studio apartment with cockroaches (!) in Bobigny, but thanks to the efforts of some friends I'm now living in an incredibly small apartment with a woman from Chile who spoils me a bit. When she catches me eating peanut butter and honey for supper she scolds me and cooks me something else.

Speaking of peanut butter and honey, try buying that in Paris! Honey is no problem, if you can muddle your way through the hundreds of different types of honey. But peanut butter? If you find it at all, it's in a tiny jar for 4 euros. I think I've probably spent 15 euros on peanut butter so far this trip. (Ironic, considering it's the cheapest protein source available back home.) But slather it along with some honey on a freshly-baked gache from the local bakery, and there's nothing better.

It's had its ups and downs, but all in all this has been a great trip. Oh, and one more thing: if you're trying to decide when to book your next trip to Paris, go online and find out when the Fete de la Musique is. It's an incredible event, well worth coming for. 300+ bands, all over the city, all free.

Well, I need to finish up my journal, write some postcards, and go to sleep, and it's already 10:40. Good night.

[Deleted]

Peanut butter is in all of the hypermarkets (generally Skippy), but only in some of the supermarkets of Paris. I have never liked it enough to pay the price.

Rue de Lévis used to be "my" market street when I lived on rue Dulong for 2 years.

[lagatta]

You can also find peanut butter at some African shops, but it is not like the mainstream brands with sugar and other (deleted), more like the ground nut butter you find in healthfood shops.

I don't like peanut butter as such; I do like it in Asian sauces and some West African dishes, both of which you will find in Paris. Would sure spoil a baguette for me.

I do know where rue de Lévis is, for a while I was living near La Fourche (on the 18th arrondissement side) so it was very close by.

What does your Chilean friend feed you?

And come on, sign in. You know you want to. (Whispers lagatta, meanwhile plying Canadian with homecooked morsels).

[bixaorellana]

I love Canadian, whom I don't even know, for that wonderful coup in identifying The Box. Thank you, thank you ~~ I can sleep at night again!

[Canadian in Paris]

Hmmm, I see I have no fellow peanut butter fiends in the crowd. I lived without peanut butter for the first month that I was here, and that was enough for me. I've been craving it all the time. I was also craving home-baked cookies for a while. Pretty sad when all the pastries in Paris won’t satisfy you.

So please, lagatta, feel free to ply me with home-cooked morsels. I could go for a big batch of waffles with maple syrup and whipped cream.

My Chilena friend has made a few things recently, most of them tasty and fattening. She made a huge batch of empanadas a while ago, and more recently some other fried torpedo-shaped things that were extremely good, and this past week she made stuffed peppers. She cooks other things too but nothing as memorable as those.

I keep meaning to go for mussels but haven’t yet. Anybody know if the Leon de Bruxelles restaurants are as good as they claim? As for the other Parisian dishes, I’ve been slowly knocking them off my list. Crepes, creme brulee, croissants, pain au chocolat, French onion soup… it’s been a culinary delight!

Maybe I should have eaten breakfast before posting. This seems to be entirely food-related. My apologies.

[Deleted]

I am a big fan of Léon de Bruxelles -- the pots of mussels are what to go for, not the platters.

[lagatta]

Yes, Léon is great for mussels - they have a huge turnover on those so they are always fresh. What are the platters?

I probably cook more like l'amiga chilena than like what you are craving. Of course I'll bring you a tin of maple syrup, but I don't make sweets and since I'm fairly lactose intolerant, avoid milk and cream (cheese usually ok, thank the Cat-Goddess). The closest I make to waffles is crêpes, and you can find those many places in Paris. Have you had crêpes? Of course I go for the savoury ones, but there are lots of lovely sweet crêpes too.

Why have you not found any cookies? You can find some very nice quality cookies in French supermarkets. Have you been only looking in pâtisseries?

I make great empanadas. Don't even have to make the dough rounds (tapas) as there are great frozen ones at the Argentine butcher's around the corner. Sometimes I make a great many tiny ones (empanaditas) for a party, but it is a bit frustrating to see them hoovered up in a few seconds after spending hours making them...

[Jazz]

Canadian in Paris,
...'I'm one of the luckiest Canadians in all of Paris. I'm staying on Rue de Levis, in the 17th'....

Batignolles is a great area and the market is wonderful! I am paralyzed with envy that you will be there for 3-1/2 months. Are you working or on just on vacation? I think that if you are working it would give you a fresh and intriguing perception, on many levels. If not, the luxury of time just to ‘be’ is so good. From what you have said thus far, your Paris life has been quite unusual. We would love to hear more, if you ever have the time.

Food note: I’m not a fan of peanut butter (especially when I’m in Paris), but the mussels at Leon’s are delicious and great value. You can eat inexpensively and beautifully in Paris with a bit of thought and research.

…’ It's had its ups and downs, but all in all this has been a great trip. Oh, and one more thing: if you're trying to decide when to book your next trip to Paris, go online and find out when the Fete de la Musique is. It's an incredible event, well worth coming for. 300+ bands, all over the city, all free….

Your ‘ups and downs’ intrigue me, much more so than many trip reports that are always ‘lovely, beautiful etc. etc. This just seems to give it more texture and a truer sense of being in another culture. The suggestion of visiting during the Fete de la Musique is great and I thoroughly enjoyed this one year. Something that I never made it to was the outdoor showing of films in parks, sounds great in the sultry weather. Not sure, but Kerouac knows about this.

Since you have the priceless luxury of time there, here are 2 excellent books. Unfortunately, I first read them both after returning home. A few of the places I experienced, but about 70% were unknown to me. These are the books that you read and realize…if I had only turned left here, I would have been there! They are available in French and English, probably found at FNAC.

Unexplored Paris, Rodolphe Trouilleux,
www.amazon.com/Unexplored-Paris-2003-Rodolphe-Trouilleux/dp/2840962659/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278535591&sr=8-2
(is available on amazon.ca in French or English)

His website, in French,
parissecretetinsolite.unblog.fr/petite-bibliographie-personnelle/

The other book, is the ‘jewel in the crown’. About 95% was unknown to me,
Secret Paris, Jacques Garance and Maud Ratton, pub. by Jonglez
www.amazon.ca/Secret-Paris-Walking-Beaten-Track/dp/2915807175/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278536127&sr=8-1

And, thank you for solving the mystery of ‘The Box’!

[Jazz]

modification to my previous post, this is the home page of Rodolphe Trouilleux' blog, very good, but it is in French.

parissecretetinsolite.unblog.fr/

[lagatta]

Hmm, Jazz has some new secret Paris stuff. Wonderful.

Canadian, you might like Rose Bakery for cookies and such: chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2003/11/rose_bakery.php but do also simply peruse the aisles of good-sized French supermarkets. We get a lot of French-import cookies here.

[Canadian in Paris]

Thanks for the Leon reviews. Now I’ll be sure to try it.

I have had crepes, and I always go for the butter and sugar. I like the simple flavor. (And at the risk of making some enemies, I have to say it: I hate Nutella.)

I’ve had no problem finding supermarket cookies, but it’s not how my mother makes them, so it’s not the same. And I actually found some cookies in some patisseries, but they were all 2.50 a piece, and I decided my cravings weren’t that strong. I eventually found a cookie mix at a Carrefour and made that, which helped immensely. (Yes, I could have baked my own at home, but please don’t get me started on my under-supplied and ever-confusing kitchen. Not to mention French food labels.)

After the complaining I did about expensive peanut butter I walked into a Shopi yesterday and found a jar for 2.30. Made my day. It’s even the healthy, no-sugar-added kind.

I won’t detail all my ups and downs (though the cockroaches were definitely a major down) but they don’t call Paris “the City of Love” for nothing. Life is peculiar at times.

Also, I keep having random panic attacks regarding my financial status. I sat down and looked at it a few days ago and reminded myself that everything will be fine, but 3 ½ months without income is a bit of a test.

Thanks for the books, I’ll add them to my never-ending book list.

[joanne28]

Canadian, one thing my DH insisted on hunting down was peanut butter the last time we went to Paris. It's a comfort food for him. He does like Nutella also but his peanut butter addiction is amazing to behold.