day 3: paris flea markets & le tour eiffel

up and up and up,
how small our world appears through
the eyes of a bird

bead stand at the paris flea market

flan de abrigot - an apricot custard pastry

the eiffel tower, as seen from the banks of the river seine

view of paris sunset from the top of the eiffel tower

river seine at night

climbing down from the eiffel tower, peeking through its frame

The boys would clearly be miserable during our day of scouting the Paris flea markets, so we took the metro into the city and parted ways. My papa and brothers headed toward a science museum, while my mama and I ventured into Les Puces de St-Ouen, the largest and most famous of the Paris flea markets.

We first walked through a market lined with booths of shoes and jeans. Every stall contained stacks and stacks of boxes of Converses; not at all what we were looking for. We walked past it all, and finally reached the market of Vernaison, one of the antique markets.

Everything was quite expensive, especially with the euro exchange rates considered, so we browsed rather than bought. It was fun to look at everything, and we found an amazing bead store with boxes upon boxes of beads. Fill up a cup for 16€; even though the cups were rather small, I was lured into the colorful world of baubles and “perles” and came out with a brimming cup of my own.

With tired feet and eyes done with browsing, we left the market after a couple hours in search of food. We got a baguette sandwich to share, along with Orangina (my favorite!) and the most delicious apricot custard pastry in the whole world. It was so, so good.

We walked and walked, stopping for various shops and pictures, then met up with the boys near the Eiffel Tower. After dinner, as the sun began to descend, we made our ascent. We watched the city grow dark, then light up again, and I balanced my camera in many precarious positions, using every stable surface as a makeshift tripod.

The view was amazing, and I got some great pictures. The twinkling of the Eiffel every hour on the hour after dark is incredibly beautiful. We got back to our hotel after midnight and went to bed.

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1 Response

  1. urban craft says:

    ha! We are currently in paris also. It’s funny how people think that the eiffel is grey coloured, when really it’s kinda poo brownish. Apparently it needs to be repainted often. Great photo.s

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