Foie Gras and Fab Finds

First for the fab finds.  March aux Puces des St.-Ouen (big flea market) was a major success.  I found some great treasures and sharpened my negotiating skills a bit as well  (do you think I could get CLE credit for that?)

Wandering flea markets is some of my favorite alone time.  No rushing, no talking, just breathing it all in and enjoying.  I love marveling at all of the beauty intertwined with lots of old forgotten belongings.

My big steal of the day was from this great little vintage jewelry store.  I was dying over everything in this place.  A cute British couple runs it (bonus points, English speakers) and they have beautiful things.

I had my eye on some big blue Dior clip-ons, but only few people can pull off such big bold things.  Instead, I decided on these Nina Ricci's. I love the steel gray and gold and that they will go with almost everything.

The other fab find was some gorgeous 18th century French documents.  I was just amazed that all of these incredibly old and beautiful originals were thrown in a big plastic bin for digging. I found several in great condition, including my favorite - a marriage certificate.

I found some framing ideas from one of my favorite French blogs (My French Country Home). One day....

After the flea market, I met some friends at the Tuileries Garden for wine and cheese (and maybe some Pierre Herme macaroons, which I can't believe I'm confessing given the picture of my second dessert of the day coming up next. When in Paris?)  Anyway, I wish I had taken pictures...the lawn of the garden was covered in people sitting in little groups doing the exact same thing.  Eating and chatting with friends while enjoying the beautiful day.  It was one of the days where I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real.

The little kids with sail boats in the fountains were adorable.

AND FINALLY... a very perfect ending to a spectacular day.  Dinner with the Mr., friends and delicious foie gras.  (I know what you are thinking.  Does this girl ever stop bragging about every solitary second of her life? But I promise everyday is not like this and I just can't help but write it all down when it is... it is very dreary and rainy today and totally boring.  I am having a lot more fun re-living yesterday).

Now that that is out of the way, about the foie gras.  Have you ever had foie gras? 6 months ago I wouldn't touch the stuff.  You could get me to eat pate every now and then, but foie gras, forget it.  Just looking at the stuff, your brain instructs you not to let it near your mouth.  But once it is spread onto a piece of warm bread and you train your brain to block out what it looked like seconds earlier as a big chunk of pink looking weirdness, it is divine.  I especially love it when there are figs or apples mixed in.

There is the cutest little restaurant down the street that specializes in foie gras and that is where we had dinner with some friends.  We decided to try the goose foie gras (per recommendation of the Frenchie at the table). Very delish.

3 courses later and somehow the ability to say no to dessert had totally escaped me....

I'm still having buyers remorse, as you can tell, but you better believe I enjoyed every single little drop of that chocolate.

Le Marche aux Puces de Vanves

My new favorite Saturday morning activity.  This is by far the best flea market I have found in Paris.  I love treasure hunting but am certainly not an expert, so I find the famous Les Puces de Saint-Ouen to be incredibly overwhelming (it is the world's largest flea market with purportedly 200,000 visitors each week).  Marche de Vanves is much smaller and the vendors have better deals.  Unlike Saint-Ouen, it's mostly Frenchies at this market, so the vendors are not selling to tourists and expert buyers from all over the world.  True, at Vanves you have to look through lots of bad stuff to find the jewels, but that's the best part.  I cannot wait until Spring to take a trip to Normandy and do some real treasure hunting, but for now Vanves more than suffices. 

My big find this weekend was a fork and spoon serving set with a "C" monogram that matches our everyday silver.  Love!

Here are a few things I learned and will do differently on my next trip:
(1) get there early (vendors start closing up by 12:00);
(2) don't bargain on very low priced items, it is insulting;
(3) learn to say "how much is this?" in French;
(4) learn to count in French so I will understand the response;
(5) bring my own shopping bag;
(6) no time for two loops.... if you like it, you buy it right then or don't buy it at all; and finally,
(7) layers .... no matter what the forecast says, there is always a strong chance it will be colder than expected in Paris.