The Street Market

If you've read this far, you've heard mention of the Street Market.  Ron discovered there was a Sunday Street Market on Rue de la Convention that starts just across Rue de Vaugirard and continues South for about 3 blocks.  The market is on both sides of Rue de la Convention, so there are a lot of stalls.  We went to the market last Sunday, and I was surprised to discover that the market is also on Tuesdays.

I had gone to the market on Tuesday and discovered the Tuesday market is more of a mini-market.  Not nearly as many vendors are there on Tuesday and it seems to close up earlier - closer to noon rather than 1:00 or 2:00 pm.

I was working on Thursday morning when I heard the now-familiar sound of the awning poles clanking.  It took a few minutes to register, but I finally got up and looked and sure enough - there's a Thursday market as well.  I had been to the Sunday market and the Tuesday market, so it seemed necessary to also go to the Thursday market.  How could I possibly contrast and compare if I don't have all the data?

I went early because I was afraid the Thursday market would close as early as the Tuesday market.  There were a lot more shoppers on Thursday than Tuesday, but not nearly as many as on Sunday.  The vendors were almost the same as on Sunday and it seems as though some of the vendors are in the same spot regardless of the day of week and others move around.

Rue de la Convention does not close down for the market; all the parking spaces along the market route are taken up by the vendors' vehicles and the stalls are on the sidewalk facing the buildings.  The sidewalk is fairly wide, but when the market is there, it is not.

The vendor's truck is in the street; tables are set up under the awnings and face the shops

Most of the shops are open during the street market and from what I can tell, the shops benefit from the market.  Even though there are cheese vendors at the market, the Fromagerie still gets shoppers.

The Fromagerie

There are a lot of food vendors at the street market and it appears as though this is where most people buy their fresh fish.  The Poissonnerie was very crowded and difficult to get photos!

The Poissonnerie has lots of fish and lots of ice which makes lots of puddles

You can get a variety of fruits and vegetables from the market vendors:

There were a lot of lettuce varieties

Prices are posted on slates hanging in the stalls

Interesting looking radishes

And lots of other vegetables - most of which is fairly local or European

Or, you can go to the fruit/vegetable shops:

In the shops you can buy pre-mixed salad lettuces in bulk

Lots of lovely citrus this time of year!

Need something special for Thursday dinner?  No problem!

We have beef, veal, rabbit, duck, chicken, sausage...you name it, we've got it!

Don't feel like cooking?  We've got you covered.  How about roasted chicken and potatoes?

It makes me wonder if Costco got the idea from French Boucheries, or if French Boucheries got the idea from Costco?

Once you've shopped for food, you can move on to clothing and household items:

Scarves are a necessity for winter - lots of choices in fabric and colors!

Lots of blue jeans and casual clothes for everyone - babies too!

Pillows, comforters, duvets and blankets

Or buy the yarn and make your own

The bargain table!  Everything is 1 Euro!

Rugs and other items from the East and yes, there are no bananas here

After all this shopping you must be tired - have a seat and a cafe

Flowers really sell well here.  We have about 10 flower shops within a 3 block radius and there are still flower vendors at the street market.  Even with the high density population, that's a lot of flowers sold! There are flowers for vases:

And flowers for planting:

It's getting late now and you're almost finished shopping.  You've bought dinner, fruits and veggies, cheese, some new blue jeans, flowers for the vases and the window box.  Now how about something for sexy time!

Some fiery red lipstick to go with your new sexy outfit?

What's it going to be tonight?  Some tender loving care or rounding up the bad guys?

There's something for everyone at the street market and if it isn't there on Tuesday, chances are it will be there on Thursday or Sunday.