Sunday in Paris with the Sisters

Sunday was Cathy's choice. As she LOVES to shop, she chose a big 'flea market' at the end of one of the subway lines.

 But first we meandered down towards the Seine for our breakfast. We stopped every few minutes to exclaim over door knobs, balcony balustrades, shop windows, and the view of the Seine. 

We made our way to a sweet little restaurant on Ile de la Cite. We ordered the petit dejeuner, which included coffee, juice, a quarter baguette smeared with butter, another quarter baguette smeared with jam, AND a piping hot croissant. For each person.

 We then wandered through the back streets of the Latin quarter to the metro. 

We figured out the ticket machine for the metro, and ventured north. When we emerged from the subway, we weren't 100% sure how to find the flea market. While Cathy & Dar went off to find a toilet (in MacDonald's), I got directions from a crepe salesman. 

We walked in the correct direction, into an outdoor market. I was a bit disappointed because it seemed to be a lot like a North American flea market, inexpensive purses and apparel. I said to Darlene, "I hope this isn't it." A passing couple overheard me, and assured us in English that, no, this wasn't the real flea market, we had to keep on going. We kept walking, past even more vendors of running shoes, and men offering us phones and watches. 

And then we found the real market, a warren of tiny streets lined with funky stores with everything from mannequins to winding staircases to massive fireplace mantels to brooches to nameplates from headstones. 

the ultimate cat toy

After a lot of wandering and exclaiming, we were ready for a snack. We found one restaurant, but it didn't seem to have anything suitable for a vegetarian (even the salads had some kind of meat in them). We ended up buying crepes and coke from a sidewalk vendor. We sat in plastic chairs, ate our crepes, and watched the people of Paris wander by. 

Back in our neighbourhood, after a cup of tea and another look at the map, we set off again. 

First we stopped in St.Eustach Church, built 400-500 years ago (it took 100 years to complete.) Unbelievably beautiful. And lucky us, there happened to be an organist playing for a crowd. 

An altarpiece by Keith Haring

After leaving the church, we found our way to Rue St.Denis. I said to my sisters, "When I lived here 10 years ago, this was a street where a lot of prostitutes did their business. It could have changed since then." There were some interesting stores (Cathy bought her first purse of the trip), but there were some other little shops that were definitely catering to a different clientele. We wandered over to the Pompidou centre, bought our dinner at an Indian restaurant, and brought it back to our little home away from home.