Our Paris Adventure: Day Six (18 February)

Bob wanted to sleep in today, so I ventured out to two morning destinations on my own. The first stop of the day was the second-largest flea market in Paris, at Port de Montreuil on the eastern edge of the city. Although I picked up a few things at the market, it didn’t have the same quaint feel as the Port de Vanves flea market, and was more of a cheap clothing, electronics, and housewares market with a small proportion of secondhand goods dotting the stalls. While I also thought about venturing north to the Porte de Clignancourt, the site of the largest flea market in Paris (and, supposedly, all of Europe), I instead decided to return to my favourite farmers’ market, held on Sunday mornings near the Bastille. The walk from the metro station was lined with cherry blossoms that reminded me of Vancouver

and the market was in full swing by the time I arrived around 11:30 A.M.,




with an enticing variety of goods for sale.











Two sights worth special mention at the market were this photo shoot, complete with old-school camera that involved the photographer pulling a black cloth over the camera and his face before taking each shot,
and this most remarkable pair of baby goats.

The market was so lovely that I did one walk up and down the stalls, just taking photos, being getting down to the nitty-gritty of buying ingredients for today’s lunch, just in time to meet Bob for another picnic.
We headed to a remarkable greenspace near the market to enjoy our fruit, yogourt, bread, meat, and cheese. The Promenade Plantée starts near the Bastille, running for almost five kilometres along an elevated, abandoned railway line, allowing for wonderful views of the nearby buildings as well as a sense of seclusion in the sections that are more enclosed with greenery. Birds sing all along the path and on this very warm February afternoon, we had to eat our cheese rather quickly before it melted in the sun!


The street beneath the Plantée is filled with artsy shops of all sorts, lending the neighbourhood a nice sense of creativity. My favourite window display belonged to a fancy bathroom showroom—such a display would only exist in Paris, where it is important to know that showering doesn’t mean that you have to leave your wine and macaroons behind!
When the rest of the city is quiet on Sundays, with many shops and restaurants closed, the Marais is the place to go, with most businesses open and ample people-watching on the narrow, winding streets.



The lovely Place des Vosges was filled with people enjoying the sun
and the atmosphere, and some building murals caught our eye, including another Space-Invader piece of a favourite video-game character from my youth:



Along the way, we went into two free museums in the Marais, both of which we wanted to see today because they would be closed tomorrow (our last day in Paris). We’d visited the first, the Musée Carnavalet, on our last visit and wanted to have another look at this wonderful museum of Paris. The inside of the museum has a lot to offer,




and the courtyard garden is an especially pretty and tranquil place for a short break.


Our next stop was the Musée Jacquemart-André, an upper-class nineteenth-century mansion that reflects the tastes of its day, with beautiful rooms

and the most incredible timbered ceiling I’ve ever seen.
Back wandering the streets of the Marais, we noticed something strange:
red lanterns and red litter in the streets? Oh, right: it’s lunar new year! We arrived at the Pompidou just in time to catch the parade and its ear-splitting firecrackers:

We spent a few hours at the Pompidou this time, once again taking in the views (this time before, during, and after sunset) of the Eiffel Tower (which is especially wondrous in the evenings, for ten minutes every hour, when it sparkles furiously)



and of Sacré Coeur, whose detail really comes out at night.

Of course, we spent most of our time tonight in the Pompidou (and once again our passes came in handy for bypassing the long lines to get in) taking in the art. The contemporary wing is currently being rehung, but the modern wing alone was enough to fill our visit. This Jackson Pollack fascinated us because of its difference from his most well-known pieces,
and I had a few more chances to be mesmerized by my beloved Pierre Bonnard.

The museum space was well laid-out, making for a rabbit-warren of rooms
and glimpses at outside artwork like this Alexander Calder sculpture and the Paris skyline beyond:
Other pieces that caught my eye included ones by Paul Klee,
Marc Chagall,

Marcel Duchamp (along with its shadow),

Man Ray,
Alexander Calder,
Pablo Picasso,

and Juan Gris.

In the bookshop, I spent a long time flipping through Anne Herbauts’s children’s books.
Incredible works of art, I cursed my limited French as I followed the adventures of her charming characters. I wanted to buy them all, but (regretfully?) resisted. Exiting the Pompidou right around its 9:00 P.M. closing, we decided to get another round of takeout from L’As du Falafel for dinner. We also grabbed some pastries from a lovely place nearby and walked to the Seine to eat them on a bench along the river.
Tomorrow would be our last day in Paris and I was already getting that “oh no! not yet!” feeling, but shrugged it off as we enjoyed another walk back to hotel on the lovely streets of this great city.