Paris Day 7 - Flea Markets (Clingancourt or St Ouen)

It's my last full day in Paris! I can't tell you how much I want to win the lottery and buy an apartment here. Of course, then I'd have to buy an apartment at the beach, and London, and..... 

Today was one I'd really been excited about - the flea markets! Paris is home to the 2nd largest flea market in the world. So large that's it's divided into 11 neighborhoods / markets. Each neighborhood has its own theme and attitude.  For example, Serpette sells the expensive furniture and goods (there's a shipping company on site), Dauphine is middle of the road, and Vernaison is probably what we're most used to in terms of a flea market. There's one main street, with each neighborhood off that street. Once you get into each neighborhood there's aisles and aisles of shops. Each neighborhood is probably the size of 2-3 Targets put together, if that gives you any indication of size. I had the most fun getting lost in each neighborhood, wandering through the aisles and picking up stuff. 

Some of the more interesting things for sale: 

• old airplane seats (saw these in several stores) 
• house doors with intricate carvings - probably from rehabbed houses
• glass bottle stoppers for decanters 
• piles and piles of vintage fabric and trim (check out one of the pics below for an example) 
• as much flatware, glassware and silver (forget the silver-plate, everything here was heavy and real) as you could stand 

So....I had a lot of fun here. My credit card will yell at me, but I was able to verify it was real and I've done lots of reading on it - they increase in value. You'll know what I mean when you see the pic below. :) Also found a vintage Hermes scarf and a Longchamp bag. 

Tonight I'm working to finish packing - my ride picks me up at 9:30 tomorrow morning. My post tomorrow will be a list of the places I've gone (with links so you can do your own research) as well as some travel tips thrown in there. Hope you've enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed writing! 

An alley in Vernaison, the most traditional neighborhood. I could've easily spent all day just puttering through all the booths here. 

Dauphine - some of the neighborhood had open booths, some had glass walls and doors. I'm guessing the rent was a little higher for these. 

Artwork in Dauphine

An example of one of the fabric booths. Fabric at least twice my height, with trim hanging from the top. I joked with the shop owner - "We don't have this in America!" She laughed and replied "But that's why you come to Paris!" 

Shop dog! There were so many, and so much cuteness! 

Yeah, I did a thing. Verified from 1987-1989, in mint condition. I have officially earned my bougie title, but I love it. :)