RSSMarche d’Aligre
Nov 16
Sunday morning is an opportune time to shop at the many weekend produce markets in Paris and we were most interested in the Marche d’Aligne. So we set off along the Seine, back towards the Bastille area, and then, voila, the Canal St. Martin.
Before motorized vehicles the Canals were used to transport goods to the city and throughout France. Horses plodded along the quai’s pulling the barges through the canals and locks. Nowadays, it appears that many Parisians make their homes in the boats moored in the canal.
This area of Paris used to be one of light industry but has recently become more residential with many new recreational facilities such as walking and cycling paths, and playgrounds and restaurants.
For a short period this November, a huge Antique faire was housed under the white tents that you see in the background along the canal. There was a profusion of antique furniture, dishes, jewelry, linens, Persian carpets, books, posters, paintings, etc. As we strolled by, the vendors were having lunch delivered on trays from neighboring restaurants. In typical French fashion, they had tables and chairs set up with tablecloths and of course they were sipping wine from elegant stemware. Would love to have taken photos but did not want to be invasive of their privacy.
We had to tear ourselves away from the antique market to get to the Marche d’Aligre before it was closed. We arrived to streets of stalls laden with beautiful vegetables and fruits and vendors shouting out their deals and competing for shoppers. The streets were teaming with Parisians stocking up on this weekend market.
Katherine searches for a ‘sou’ wanting to buy a few pears. However, it seems like they only sell by the kilo, but since just about everything is about a euro a kilo, it didn’t seem to matter.
Although shopping on streets like rue Cler, which we visited in our last post, is very pleasant and utterly Parisian, Marche d’Aligre is where the real bargains are to be had, especially in the weekly street portion of the market. Generally, we found that food is much less expensive in Paris than in Canada. A block of cheese at the monoprix is a couple of euros, and a rather decent bottle of wine can be bought for under three euros.
Sunday is traditionally a day for the French to dress up (even more than usual) and to visit their families and enjoy a huge feast together. This would be a ideal place to pick up a bouquet of flowers to grace the table.
Now I must warn you that the next five photos are not for the delicate or the dedicated vegetarian but if you ever wondered what happened to Bambi’s dad, we think we know.
A colorful display of pheasant, quail, partridge, and pigeons are some of the game birds available in the indoor portion of the market which is available every day of the week. You may even be lucky enough to find a pig roasting on a spit.
This poor rabbit is laid out in a most compromising position with its innards displayed, in case you should fancy making a pate.
The seafood vendors had a very fresh selection of seafood on display but I think they may not have appreciated our photo taking.
Laden with fresh figs, potatoes, carrots, cheeses, and meat, we head toward our little apartment promising ourselves to return next Sunday.
On the way home we just had to go via the Viaduc des Artes which was a former railroad line. In 1994 the restored and revamped Viaduc des Artes opened with 50 stores and studios nestled in the bridge’s rose stone archways. In keeping with tradition, the ateliers are all linked to the arts and some of the city’s master craftsmen have set up shop here. You will find such shops as those providing silk flowers for top fashion houses, restorers of paintings and period glass, as well as ‘hot’ interior designers.
The next photo shows a table made of sharkskin that we found particularly interesting.
We continued our walk on the Promendade Plantee which stretches along the top of the Viaduc d’Aligre for about 3 miles or 4.5 km., a lovely rooftop stroll.
