Favorite Spots in Paris - Part Six, Paris Porte De Vanves Flea Market

 

Donald and I have forever been fans of a really good flea market.  You might be surprised at some of the treasures in our home that came from a dusty shelf in a small flea market.  

So, of course, we're going to seek out flea markets in Paris!

And there are some good ones.  

Of course there are - it's PARIS!

The literal translation of "flea market" in French would be  marché de puces, but most often referred to as a brocante.

There are numerous small pop-up brocantes scattered around Paris; some scheduled, some not.  And it's always fun to happen upon one.  

And there are those larger ones that you can count on being in place according to their own individual and differing schedules.

This is a good guide and summary:  https://www.fleamarketinsiders.com/paris-flea-markets/

 The largest and most famous is Paris Saint Ouen Flea Market (Puces De Saint-Ouen) At Porte De Clignancourt.  

We considered going here, but felt like it might be way bigger than what we wanted to tackle.  Maybe on a future trip 'cause it does sound pretty wonderful.

We chose Paris Porte De Vanves Flea Market (Puces De Porte De Vanves) At Porte De Vanves

And it was just right!

The first booth I stopped at and spent a good bit of time looking was this one -

I am a sucker for scarves.

There were some gorgeous designer scarves, but no bargains.  At least, i don't think there were.  When I passed this booth a few hours later, there wasn't much left, so maybe there were bargains that my untrained eye missed.  Or there were folks who weren't afraid to bargain.   Or they were willing and able to pay more than me.

But, yes, we did find some treasures. 

Most notably this wonderful lap desk which traveled with us from Paris to Meat Camp and now lives in our living room.

Here's a piece I wrote about our day at Puces de Vanves, with lots of fun pictures: 

 http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2019/05/paris-flea-market-puces-de-vanves.html

j'espère que vous reviendrez

My latest little project

 I fell in love with Susan Branch's books back in the 80's.

Sweet cookbooks illustrated with hand-lettered quotes and delightful watercolors.  

Small books celebrating the seasons, holidays, girlfriends, and home.

I still have several, and recall giving several as gifts.

Design by Susan Branch

I only recently discovered that she is still writing and designing and has a large cottage industry of charming Susan Branch Wares.  And a newsletter.  You can check out her webpage right here - https://susanbranch.com/  Be prepared to stay awhile.  You can even do some shopping!

Her latest book is a book of quotes.

Design by Susan Branch

It didn't take me any longer than two seconds to order it, and half that long to dive into it when it arrived.

And there's a second one coming soon!  Yay!

Design by Susan Branch

In the meantime, while enjoying Ms. Branch's work I decided it was past time to compile my own book of quotes.

I'm betting some of you who are reading this have been, like me, in the habit of writing down your own favorite quotes over the years.

And not just quotes, but passages from books, song lyrics, poetry; words that have touched you.

You've probably been more organized about it than I have.  

I have started several notebook lists only to misplace the notebooks.  Written things on an envelope, or scrap of paper never to be seen again.

Well, now it's time to do it right.

Office supply junkies like me always have extra notebooks and journals lying around.

I grabbed this one.

I don't have the artistic talents of Ms. Branch so my illustrations will come from piles and piles of stickers and photographs and scrapbooking paraphernalia I use in my collages.

And so it begins -

Seems Mr. John Bartlett wasn't the only guy who enjoyed compiling a few favorite quotes!   What started as a hobby for him back in 1855 and evolved into an enduring work of reference has since become a fun thing for some of the rest of us who also love words.

His initial Collection of Familiar Quotations has grown considerably.  There are now 19 editions, each larger than the the last.  And the perfect sourcebook for my own compilation while "I seek quiet joys."  - - John Clare, Poet, 1793-1864

"There is something about words. In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts. Inside you they work their magic."

 - - - Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale 

❤

Favorite Spots in Paris - Part 5

 

A secret garden.

And who doesn't love a secret garden?

Truly.

It's not easy to find!

This will help - "Find the white marble statue by Alfred de Musset, situated near the intersection between avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt and Cours la Reine, and seek out the broken flight of steps to its right. They’ll lead you down into this haven of tranquillity – a real Elysium."

Mostly, just trying to find this little garden was an adventure we thoroughly enjoyed.

A perfect little secluded space for a picnic for two.

I first read about it in a short story by M.j. Rose in A PARIS ALL YOUR OWN edited by Eleanor Brown, which I  highly recommend.

Jardin de la Nouvelle France 

More here -

http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2019/06/a-secret-garden.html

j'espère que vous reviendrez

Pleasures

The first glance from the window in the morning
the old book found
faces excited
snow, the changing of the seasons 
the newspaper
the dog
dialectic
take a shower, swim
ancient music
comfortable shoes
understand
modern music
write, planting
traveling
sing
being kind.

     -  -   - Bertolt Brecht

My life is good

Favorite Spots in Paris - Part Four

  Île Saint-Louis and The Café St. Regis

Well, I'm going to squeeze three different things into my Part Four of favorite spots in Paris.

❤  ❤  ❤

You can't visit Paris and not spend time in cafés, bistros, and brasseries.

You can't read a book, or see a movie about Paris, without spending time in cafés, bistros, and brasseries.

And there's a very good reason for all that.

Several excellent reasons.   The food, the ambience, the history, the architecture, etc.

However.

Not all cafés, bistros, and brasseries have great food, or great coffee, or even serve cocktails.  Not all of them are beautiful.  

But.

Speaking only for myself, there is a bit of magic in each and every one.

And yes, there ARE differences between a bistro and a café.

 And Annie André is here to explain those differences -

https://www.annieandre.com/cafe-vs-bistro-vs-brasserie-french-restaurants/

I have had only one bad experience in any of these.  It was in Montmartre.   I have also had lovely experiences in Montmartre, so that was certainly not meant as a blanket criticism.

One of my very most favorite bistros is The Café St. Regis.  The fact that it is located in my most very favorite area in Paris only adds to its charm. 

❤   Île Saint-Louis ❤

My first visit to Café St. Regis was during my first trip to Paris in 2017 with Lesa Holstine, Vickie Smith, and Lisa Butler.

To say I fell in love with Paris almost immediately upon landing at Charles de Gaulle airport is no exaggeration.  You'd be a happy woman too if a handsome gentleman asked very politely if he could carry your suitcase down a steep flight of stairs.

It just kept getting better and better from there.  

Of all of Paris, I fell completely and totally head over heels in love with  Île Saint-Louis. 

I stopped in a gallery, Carré d’artistes, on Île Saint-Louis and bought a piece by a mixed media collage artist I had discovered on-line, Karine Romanelli.

This particular piece completely encapsulates Paris and I love it.

Within days of returning home I knew I was far from finished with Paris.

It didn't take long before I had convinced Donald to go to Paris with me, and plans were in the works within the week.

Including finding a very small studio apartment to rent on the Île Saint-Louis.

We arrived back in Paris almost a year to the day after my first trip.

The apartment was tiny and adorable and shared a courtyard with a boulangerie where we woke up in the mornings to the fragrance of baking croissants.

Café St. Regis was a couple blocks away.

We would stop there in the mornings for our coffee before wandering the city.  (It just so happens they have excellent Eggs Benedict).

And we would usually stop there again in the evenings.

So.

There you have it (them).

Three favorite things from Paris.

Île Saint-Louis

Café St. Regis

And another favorite piece capturing those two favorite things painted by a favorite artist, Karine Romanelli

This hangs in our bedroom. 

 I can look at it and almost feel like Donald and I are right back there on the Île Saint-Louis, sitting at a small table in front of the Café St. Regis enjoying a Café Crème, or an evening cocktail, while we gaze at Notre Dame and do a little people watching while a young musician entertains us playing some sultry slow jazz on his saxaphone.

Almost.

j'espère que vous reviendrez

Favorite Spots in Paris - Part 3

"We travel because we need to, because distance and difference are the secret tonic of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. But something in our mind has been changed, and that changes everything."
            - - - Jonah Lehrer

And, my series on favorite spots in Paris continues.

I decided to do this series for several reasons.

1. Many of you have asked me what my favorite places in Paris are.

2. Since we're going back this year, it's fun for me to dream and plan and make lists. This series is actually a list of the places i love and hope to revisit.

3. I love talking about Paris. 😊.

So, here we go.

Like many, I was confused by the choice of the pyramid structure designed by I. M. Pei in 1984. 

After visiting, however, I've become somewhat mesmerized by its beauty and its magic.

 Now it's a favorite spot to stop for a rest, do some people watching, take some pictures, and have a cup of Cafe Marly's delicious hot chocolate.

The Pyramid

It's especially magical at night.  

And there aren't nearly as many people around.  

j'espère que vous reviendrez

Happy National Chocolate Cake Day

And i have a hankering to do some baking.

http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2020/06/in-kitchen.html

 

I'm not saying I don't enjoy the days that I'm not eating chocolate cake. But I do particularly like those days when I am eating chocolate cake.

     - - -   Trisha Yearwood

A thought for the day

 “One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”

               ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship

I love this ❤

A little snow in Meat Camp

 "Some people spend their entire lives seeing the snow without ever seeing the magic in the existence of one snowflake.” —Emily Littlejohn 

Life is good

Revisiting favorites spots in Paris - Part 2 (edited)

Post edited to include two books that may be of interest:

The Covered Passages of Paris by Guy Lambert

Guidebook- The Arcades of Paris: History, Architecture, Walkways by Patrice de Moncan

* * *

Welcome to Part Two of my series covering places I want to return to in Paris.

People ask me what I love best about Paris, and the list is long.  

On a cold rainy day my favorite thing might include just sitting in a cafe reading, writing, drinking coffee and eating, visiting a favorite museum, or exploring the covered passages. 

Excerpt from Wikipedia - "The covered passages of Paris (French: Passages couverts de Paris) are an early form of shopping arcade built in Paris, France primarily during the first half of the 19th century. By the 1867 there were approximately 183^[1] covered passages in Paris but this decreased greatly as a result of Haussmann's renovation of Paris. Only a couple of dozen passages remain in the 21st century, all on the Right Bank.^[2] The common characteristics of the covered passages are that they are: pedestrianised; glass-ceilings; artificially illuminated at night (initially with gas lamps); privately owned; highly ornamented and decorated; lined with small shops on the ground floor; connecting two streets. Originally, to keep the passages clean, each would have an artiste de décrottage (a shit-removal artist) at the entrance to clean the shoes of visitors.

The passages were the subject of Walter Benjamin's incomplete magnum-opus Passagenwerk (Arcades Project) which was posthumously published."

I love the covered passages!

I love them for many reasons, not least of which is the architecture.  Glass ceilings.  Stained glass.  They're all unique.  Some more elegant than others.  

They're full of history, along with places to shop, places to eat.

The shopping is varied - you can find bookstores, clothes, art, antiques, even a shop carrying nothing but walking sticks, Gallerie Fayet (my personal favorite).   

Bins of antique post cards.  A shop dedicated to needlework.  One for stamps. 

You can browse them on your own, or take a tour.  If you look on-line you can find guided tours, or audio tours to download onto your phone.

This blog includes a map to their favorites - https://www.followmeaway.com/covered-passages-paris/

Here are a few blogs i enjoy and their posts about the passages which include a lot of pictures.

https://www.solosophie.com/secret-covered-passages-of-paris/

https://worldinparis.com/covered-passages-of-paris

https://dreamsinparis.com/covered-passages-of-paris/

And here's the piece I posted at Meanderings and Muses about our own little exploration.  It  wasn't nearly enough.  I can't wait to do it again.

http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2019/06/flanerie-act-of-strolling-or-art-of.html

j'espère que vous reviendrez