Visiting Les Puces de Saint-Ouen (the Paris Flea Market)

When it came to prioritizing the sights to see of Paris I received wonderful tips from friends. I think it was Bruce Bailey who mentioned the flea market. Officially called Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, but known to everyone as Les Puces (The Fleas), it covers seven hectares and is the largest antique market in the world. My friend Julie and I set out on a very rainy Sunday afternoon (the same day she flew in) to see what it was all about...

Thankfully there was a large indoor area we were able to wander around in, when the rain was really coming down.

And I had to make peace with the facts we weren't going to see it all, and I would see many things I loved, but had no way to get home. Like this table...

I fell hard for these metal flowers and leaves.

The owner of the stall refused to sell them individually and they (plus the container, a package deal) were just a little too expensive to buy and risk not getting them home. Of course I love them still...

A fish spear I believe? Dangerous and pricey,

The covers look empty, the cart wanted to come home with me.

That fountain/birdbath, heavy, very heavy...

My perfect little blogging corner egg!

For those of you who need more space...

Danger of Death! (that's a different blog)

The floor on the second level was covered with wooden blocks. They shifted with every step.

As a kid did you ever play with that square plastic puzzle where you slid the blocks to get the numbers in order? Walking here felt like you were walking on a giant one of those puzzles.

Hmm... the Opuntia seems a little undersized for the planter, but it's a start.

Check out this odd fruit fused with leaf thing...

Ha! The fake grass from IKEA made me smile.

Eventually it was time to head back outdoors and discover more of what the market had to offer.

All I could think of when I looked at this building was "earthquake"...

Well and wish something more interesting (and evergreen) had been planted in the planters.

Now that's lush!

Did you notice the metal pillars that seem to create a market space from a parking lot? We went over to check out the goods and then spotted "doorways" in the hedging.

Naturally we headed back through the openings in the hedge, exploring and praying we weren't trespassing in private gardens...

We never did figure out exactly what this space was, other than beautiful.

Thankfully nobody let the dogs loose on us.

The lights! Absolutely loved the lights.

We could have explored for hours and hours longer but the merchants were closing up shop and we were wet and cold. It was time to head back to our home base...

So did I buy anything? Yep, these four matchboxes. The largest one still had matches in it, but because I planned to carry on my bag (a plan foiled by Air France who made me check the same bag I've carried on every flight I've ever been on!!!) I emptied them out and left them in the hotel trash.

Weather Diary, Feb 28: Hi 46, Low 41 Precip .36"

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