Paris Day 4: Lazy-ish Sunday...Market & Shopping

Today was gorgeous! We wanted to hit a market so we got up and headed to the Bastille market, held Thursdays and Sundays at Place de la Bastille. Whoa! It was huge!! Mostly food, with some junkie stuff as well as some practical stuff...no arts/crafts. We walked through the first half and then I deposited Jill in a park (with some puzzles...sudoku addict!) to wait while I braved the crowds to get food for dinner some night before we go.

Oh, the choices! Cheese, bread, fish, olives, cheese, did I say cheese?, cheese, meats, fruits, veggies...it was so overwhelming! Not to mention, it's hard to cook in a kitchen not stocked with anything, though, we did get some staples: Butter, oil, eggs, salt/pepper, garlic, onion. Still...so, I grabbed some frenchie-veggies (fennel, zucchini, eggplant, leeks, green beans) and some fish (oh, I wanted the fresh Turbot, but alas, it only came in 1/2 fish pieces, the smallest of which weighed in at a $30 price tag and would've fed 4+ people, so I had to pass :( ). Picked up some melon, italian cured ham, olives, cheese and a baguette. It was so much fun, and thanks to earlier in the trip introducing Jill to sudoku, she was cheerfully occupied on a shady park bench. Sadly, I did manage to either lose about 50 Euros, or got pick-pocketed. Bummer...but in the realm of life, what can you do? When I realized it, I'd just been rung up for my cheese and didn't have enough to pay, and a nice American couple around my age gave me 5 Euro to pay for the rest of the bill. It's amazing the kindness you find all around you (not to be a cheeseball, no pun intended...).

After, Jill took a siesta and we separated for the first time on our trip. I went off and shopped - didn't buy anything - but re-wandered through areas I'd been; found a few new ones and just soaked up the Sunday afternoon people-watching. We met up at the fountain outside the Pompideu with the intent of going in...but it was so nice out we aborted that plan and opted to gallery peruse around Place des Vosges and grab dinner on lively Rue de Lappe. We had a lovely late-night stroll home through the Bastille walkway which landed us at Place de Republique, just two blocks from home. Again, despite trying to have a light walking day, we keep finding ourselves putting in the mileage, and our hamstrings are letting us know it!











Market shots galore!!