Recently, I found it extremely soothing exploring the city of Paris. Not as a tourist, but as a stranger who lives in it.
When we were temporarily staying in the hotel in rue Didot during our first month in Paris, we loved to take a stroll along the antique market in Porte de Vanves on Sundays. It's not that I love the antiques, but to certain extent la brocante marche had changed the way I think of antiques or second-hand goods. En France, those goods seem to receive a high degree of appreciation from their people, even when they look rusty to me. In this market, you can find many sorts of goods, e.g. paintings, furnitures, households, ancient books and CD's and so forth.
In the past, I hardly gave my attention to antiques. I was nearly skeptical about them. Perhaps it's because there are not many places like this in Jakarta. Well, we've got Jalan Surabaya or Pasar Rumput or Pasar Senen for books. But they are somehow different.
It seems the place has never been quiet. There are always collectors who love to buy and keep them. Some of them are professional. I think les vendeurs in Porte de Vanves are mostly in this category. You can tell from the way they present their goods. They have their own vans and stand. I suspect they move around selling their antiques in town. In Paris, Porte de Vanves is obviously not the only place you could enjoy the antiques. There are some other places. But don't be surprised. As they are professional, at times the prices are ridiculously expensive. Of course, this is their lives. For most, this is their only source of income.
If you are looking for something less expensive and if you are patient enough, you will find there are garage sales (vide-grenier) in the neighbourhood (le quartier) which are organized by le mairie 3 or 4 times a year. Everyone in the area can participate. Last October, there were 2 of them in our area. We visited the last one. It turned out to be pretty good. Our neighbours seemed to have plenty to offer with cheap euros, of course, because their intention was purely to empty (vider) their attics (grenier). This is where the name vide-grenier came from.
Next time, we are thinking of participating. We still have some stuffs kept in our dark and small cellar to get rid of. I thought It would be an interesting experience, particularly with our limited knowledge of French! Ahahaha... Well, we don't need that much of skill. All we need is "C'est un euro, Madame... Deux euros cinquante... Dix euros, Monsieur...." Simple! Oh yeah, we will definitely do it next time around. It simply reminds us our garage sale in our house shortly before we left Karratha. It was "nothing to lose" kinda thing, but we profited two grants from the junks we had wanted to get rid of! Pas mal, huh? (not bad).
Another le vide-grenier we visited in a September weekend was one in a small town on our way from Chateau Cheverny to Amboise. I forgot the name of it. We found it by accident. We drove along when I saw the signboard. Papa Klaas and Mama Eny were visiting us back then. As usual, as a globe miniature collecture, Papa Klaas managed to find a beautiful one, cheap.
Another thing I find quite interesting is Sunday markets. You can only find them on Sundays. But in certain quartiers, they open on other days of the week too. Last weekend I found an interesting one at the end of rue de Commerce, about 20 minute walk from our place, under the metro railway (apparently the metro in this area is overground). Here, you can find mostly fresh food, like fruits, veggies, cheese, jambons, seafood and of course wine. You may say "What's so special about it? It's only a market!" You are right and wrong at same time. I think the atmosphere that makes it different. I enjoy watching the crowds and the stuffs they are selling, at the same time learning new words in French. As interesting as it may seem, the different kinds of fromage (cheese) or jambons or wine on the display always draw my attention. Now I don't know anything about them, but it's a learning process. Someday, I hope I will know something about them.
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