Thursday, June 3, 2010

French Friday-Paris Flea Market

Welcome once again to French Friday!!!
During my stay in Paris I visited the top three flea markets. The first one I have already shown you in a previous post. That one was marvelous, but pricey. The one I am showing you today was the last one I went to and it turned out to be my favorite. We traveled on the subway to Porte de Vanves, line 13 to the Puces de Vanves (Puces, meaning "fleas"). This market is not near as huge as the the one at Cligancourt (which has 2,500 stalls), and the prices were better to begin with and negotiating a lower price was more easily accomplished. It ended up not taking that long to get used to bargaining with someone who speaks French! I found the vendors friendly for the most part.


There were about 300 stalls (I am guessing here). I was so excited when I arrived to see so many items I hoped to find. There were post cards galore, sewing notions, lace, material, buttons, millinery.....
ribbons, buttons, gloves, shoes...
paper ephemera, books, boxes....
napkins, tablecloths

All kinds of china, glass, photos, dolls...
textiles
perfume bottles
Boxes of vintage fabric samples....
This was the best stall of all, all kinds of millinery, fabric, ribbons, buttons, boxes....I was so excited to see it all, until I saw that one card of buttons with the word "Paris" on it was 30 Euro!!! I didn't think I could bargain it down enough for me, but they were the most gorgeous button cards!
The back display case was full of labels for bottles and perfume. They were quite pricey as well. But I did manage to bring home a few.
What a lovely vintage dress form!
more and more goodies
One thing we noticed in Paris was that many people smoke. Especially the young people.

Little boxes to poke around in...

And, of course, across the street was a pastry shop! One can't help but slow down and drool over the magnificent creations in the windows!

So, I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my favorite flea market. When I go back to Paris I will make a beeline for this one again. I am home now, and absolutely thrilled that we were able to visit such a fascinating city. We miss the smell of buttery bread baking....all the flower stalls, and the cobble stone streets.

This week I begin my giveaway! I am putting together a little package of French ephemera, along with some vintage post cards, a little lace, and some bits and bobs. I will post a photo soon, but go ahead and leave a comment and you will be entered in. The giveaway will take place next Friday. So you have all week to comment.

Hugs,
Terri

68 comments:

  1. Hi Terri, What a wonderful post, I have so enjoyed viewing Paris through your eyes, what a wonderful trip and I am so glad that you were able to go and have such a wonderful time. I would love to go to that beautiful flea market, looks like you had a wonderful time. Thank you for sharing with us. It has been wonderful. So glad you had a safe trip home. Thank you for the opportunity to win your giveaway. Someone is going to be such a lucky person. Have a wonderful weekend. Hugs, Terri

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  2. Hi Terri,

    What wonderful photos..and what a lovely visit you had...I've always wondered what kind of prices they had on the millinery, textiles and ephemera and if they will bargain on prices.

    Thanks for the view through your eyes..

    Please enter me for your giveaway!

    Hugs,
    Stephanie ♥

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  3. i love paris in the springtime....
    i love paris in the fall......
    well i would if i ever got there, its on my bucket list...... and for now i can enjoy your lovely photo's! please put me in your giveaway!!! cheers christine

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  4. That looks like such fun and I can just imagine the wonderful smell of fresh baked pastry! Thanks for sharing the pictures...I can at least dream of going there someday :)

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  5. Your photos of Paris really make me want to travel. How fun to visit a flea market with such treasures.

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  6. that look amazing - I'm really jealous about your trip!

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  7. Oh, I am thinking flea markets alone would be a good reason to tour France. I enjoyed my glimpse of your good time shopping one. Can't wait for the next. Will you be showing pictures of your finds and purchases from them?

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  8. Oh la la, Madame! That was very exciting. I hope you did find something to take home and enjoy for a long time. I can imagine you could not see the trees from the wood in the end.
    Have a wonderful day and a wonderful memory,
    Jacoba

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  9. It looks like a treasure trove!...A quick trip on EuroStar methinks!

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  10. I'm really enjoying seeing Paris through your eyes, it really makes me want to go there. Thank you so much for sharing it with us

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  11. I haven't been to Paris for nearly 40 years. Goodness knows why, because I only live a hop and a skip over the English Channel to get there. Your photos brought back wonderful memories, though. And perhaps that's what they should stay...memories. I will never be that young and so in love again...sigh! I'd love to win some of your souvenirs though. Thank you for the opportuntunity

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  12. Oh, Terri, your experience was just marvelous! I'm sighing as I read! It's always been a dream of mine - one I know I'll never fulfill. One of my very first oil paintings was of a street in Paris that was influenced by an old photo....

    Thank you for giving me some visuals of a place in my dreams!

    Blessings,
    Diane

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  13. Your pictures are great! We appreciate you taking us with you on your adventure! How fun for you and I would want it ALL! Have a great trip.

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  14. The flea market looks just wonderful.

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  15. It is so much fun to see all of the pictures you took while at the flea market! I wouldn't even know where to begin when choosing what to buy from all of those beautiful offerings! So glad you were able to go and I know you have wonderful memories to pull out and savor whenever you like! Thanks for the great photos!

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  16. Well I ahve gone thru and enlarged every bit of every picture and I am drooling!! I ahve been to Paris once and I was not at all inot the Flea Market Scene at all- I was in my twenties! i would so love to go back with my new found passions and a bit of money!! thank you so very much for sharing your trip with us!!!

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  17. Loved looking at your photos of the flea market. How could you possible choose what to spend your money on!!!
    And thanks for having a giveaway!!

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  18. Hello Terri- These were wonderful photo's. I had to enlarge every single one just to see all of the details! What fun it must have been to go on this treasure hunt. I can see why this was your favorite. I admit, I would have come home penniless. Take care.

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  19. Hi Terri. I am so jealous! Someday, in my dreams, I'll be there, too!

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  20. hi, Terry !
    I see you also enjoyed some of the best parisian flea markets...lol....i've already been to the Cligancourt one but not the Vanves one..It has made me feel like going to pop around and see these stalls too...lol...
    a nice post again !!!! you have given a good account of what you saw and being French, i can assure people you are a good journalist and writer about Paris !!!
    Will post my wedding table this weekend.
    Have a good day. It's already the middle of the afternoon here in Paris !...lol....
    dom the Frenchie
    www.doms-tables.over-blog.com
    (anyone who reads this comment can come and enjoy a bit of France here on my blog !...lol...)

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  21. Oh oh my.....I would love to be with you at that flea market. I ADORE all things old and French, and I hoard antique laces, buttons, and millinery!!! Soooo please sign me up for your give away, I would absolutely be thrilled to win a flavor of your trip that I could touch! Keep having fun!!!

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  22. WOW! This would be my "Heaven" - all that gorgeous lace, paper, and flowers. You have me craving Paris, as we went to no flea markets when I visited. What treasures you must have brought home.

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  23. Turning green with envy, and yet very excited for you. Thanks for sharing your fun experience you had!

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  24. Teri what a WONDERFUL place!! Looks like heaven to me. I whould have spent all of my money there. Thanks for sharing your trip with us....looks like so much fun! One day I will get there. I would love to win your giveaway.
    Robin

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  25. Wonderful photos that make me want to go back to paris. Unfortunately I did not go to any fleas market, did the museums, cemetaries and bookstalls next to notre dame. definitely need to go back and note the sites you went!

    thanks for the give away opportunity

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  26. I love that markets where you find anything.Love

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  27. I am so happy your a generous person lol sharing French goodies *She swoons* I do hope I am a lucky bunny this week ha ha. I would of loved a good root around that market it looked so full of treasures, finished off of course with cake and more cake

    love Dawn xx

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  28. Wecome home, Terri, and thank you so much for sharing Paris with us!!! So many beautiful things to see! Sigh. :)

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  29. What 'eye candy' you have here. Oh, dear...how could you focus? Each photo was more lovely and enticing (except for the smokers!). Those laces pouring out of that case made my heart beat really fast! And those perfume bottles...I had forgotten how elaborate those can be.
    Terri, PLEASE do enter me into your drawing. I'd be thrilled and giddy to win.
    Hugs,
    Jan
    PS....did the pups miss you alot when you were gone?

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  30. That looks like flea market heaven! I just go crazy (and broke) when I see all those pretty items. That looked like so much fun. Thank you for sharing. Connie

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  31. Ohhh Terri This looks like "heaven on a stick"!!!! Just fabulous and can tell you would have had heaps of fun there! Will confess I'm just a wee bit envious.. lol!!!
    I have been away so have to catch up on all your gorgeous posts...
    Love Lou xx

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  32. Oh my gosh, Terri, how fabulous! Heaven. You must have been beside yourself with all the wonderful treasures on display. Thanks for your generous giveaway, my friend.

    xo
    Claudia

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  33. Sounds and looks like you had a fantastic time, I'd love to go to Paris, thankyou for giving us the opportunity to win some of your treasures x

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  34. Hi Terri -

    I am so happy you had such a wonderful time. My sister has been to Paris about 5 times and I hope to one day get there myself. So it was so lovely to see your photos, I almost felt as if I was strolling along with you on your adventure. It is just too bad that they have yet to create smells for the internet, because those pastries looked as if they smelled as good as they looked!

    Thank you for sharing with us.

    Elaine Allen

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  35. Hi Terri, what a fun and beautiful post. Had fun touring the market with you, so many beautiful things. I bet you had the best time ever. Thanks for sharing with us.

    hugs,
    debby

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  36. Hi Terri, what beautiful pictures and I am thrilled to be able to read about your adventures in Paris!! And to make it even more special, guess what came in the mail today? A postcard from you...from Paris! Thank you so much for thinking of me, I love it!

    Hugs!
    Kim

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  37. OMG, it would not be safe to let me loose in a place like that, I'd end up mortgaging the house! Fabulous photographs, they made me drool.

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  38. Hi Terri,
    I have really enjoyed reading about your trip to Paris and seeing the photos.
    Makes me want to go back there and visit the flea markets, for some reason I never went to any while in Paris.
    Thanks so much for sharing.
    Jaana

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  39. What a visual feast! I loved the linens and lace. We have a Paris Flea Market here, but sadly it is in Denver, once a month. I'm sure that will be as close as I get to the real thing. Lucky you. ♥♫

    P.S. I'd love to be entered in your giveaway. Thanks for being so generous.

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  40. Terri, I just found your Blog about a week ago. I'm so pleased to have found you. I have enjoyed viewing Paris through your visit. Beautiful things in the flea markets! And now you want to share! How thoughtful! Someone will be so lucky to win. Keep up the good work! I continue to browse your work!!

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  41. Thank you so much for sharing all your wonderful pictures and your experiences about Paris. It must be a wonderfull city and even if Paris is nuch nearer for me (I´m in northern Germany) than for you...I´ve never been their till yet.
    But I think someday I will visit Paris too :-)
    Hugs
    Margret

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  42. I enjoyed hearing about your experiences in Paris and yes, it's great but very expensive. If we go back again, we will be taking a trip to the last one you posted about - those buttons, that lace - drool!

    Hope you are keeping well Terri.

    Barbara

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  43. Hi Terri, Such a lovely post seeing the flea market and all the wares~ I love all the notions and ephemera.....Thanks for taking us to Paris and taking the time to share!
    Thanks for the opportunity to win something~ But you know I come by to visit you. xo Theresa

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  44. Hi Terri! What fun! I would have had to clear out my trunk for the all the goodies I would have bought...Very nice photos!

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  45. Hi Terri--I just found your wonderful blog through Fairy's Gate--I was watching your tutorial videos--how sweet and wonderful of you to share those with everyone! I can't wait to try the crepe-paper flowers! You are so lucky to have been able to go to Paris!!!! Thanks for sharing your photos! I am adding you to my "Favorites" on my sidebar! Smiles, Jann

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  46. Oh Terri, what fun that must have been. I would have had to hire another plane just to bring everything I wanted to buy back home. LOL Fabulous!!!!

    Please enter me in your giveaway, oh I hope I win it!!!!!!

    Thanks for sharing.
    Ginger

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  47. Hi Terri,
    What a wonderful trip and your lovely pictorial was such a treat. I could spend days in those flea markets!
    Thanks for sharing and thanks for the opportunity to win some of that wonderfulness.
    Hugs,
    JoAnne

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  48. Hi Terri,
    Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip to Paris.
    The fleamarked looks great
    I have to waith one month before
    we went to France again and I'm
    going to follow every sign that says
    Brocante, puches or vide grenier...:)
    Viva la France!
    Have wonderful weekend,
    Suzanne

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  49. Lucky lucky you. This sounds like such a wonderful trip. I bet you had fun unpacking all your goodies!

    I haven't been to Paris (apart from Disney) since I was 15 and would love to go again.

    My eldest is off to Paris for his 21st in a few weeks time... maybe I could stow away!

    Please enter me for your generous and lovely Paris giveaway.

    Have fun with your goodies!

    Karen

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  50. Thank you for the flea market tour; I would like the one that is your favorite. My dh and I lived in Paris one summer, which was very romantic.

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  51. I have loved every single post you have done from Paris and I want to be entered into your giveaway. Can we enter multiple time? Can Harley enter? Can Oliver enter? Can I make up names, huh? huh? huh? you are my bestest girlfriend! Hugs, sweetie and rest up!

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  52. Oh Terri! I would have been drooling over all of those yummies! I'm so glad you had a wonderful trip and got to do so many wonderful things. I wish you could have brought that gorgeous mannequin home, lol. I hope you will do more posts showing your trip. xoxo Rhonda...

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  53. I have just stumbled across your blog looking at a tute but now will be a daily visitor. How very wonderful. I have never been to Paris but feel like I have just been on a short visit through your post!!! Thank you so very much for taking me with and the chance to win.

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  54. Oh, I love the flea market! I have never been to one, so I just love seeing pics of them.
    Beautiful post Terri!

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  55. Dear Terri,
    thank you so very much for bringing us along on your Paris trip! I was so excited each post, i could not wait to see the next!(by the way, the pastries looked so yummy, i think i gained a few pounds just looking at them!)Glad to hear you so happy and that you had such a wonderful time! You are a gracious and thoughtful woman! Many blessings to you,
    xo,
    Jackie

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  56. Oh, this looks like so much fun!! I would love to go to one of these!!

    Katherine

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  57. What a wonderful post! I dream of going to Europe, especially France and Italy and the Flea's are definitely part of my travel dream!
    I can't wait to go see your other posts! Please add me to the giveaway! karen....

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  58. Oh my! I would so dearly love to be there!.., Thanks for sharing these delights with all of us!

    Hugs, Wanda Lee

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  59. Thanks for sharing fron your trip to Paris. It is a lovely town, i love it.
    I will visit that flee market when I go there again.
    have a nice summer :-)

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  60. It would feel like being in heaven going through a flea market in Paris. Another thing I would love to do there is to go to antique shops....Christine

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  61. What a wonderful flea market, Terri! I wish I could just jump into the pictures and take a closer look at the laces, buttons, vintage postcards and other treasures. It sounds like you had a fabulous time in Paris. Thank you for sharing all thoses pictures of your trip!
    Hugs,
    Julia

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  62. Hi, I love your blog, I just wish that I could be at that French Flea Market, it looks like my idea of heaven! x

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  63. What a lovely market - I wish I was there! I just found your lovely blog and have been enjoying reading your posts. I will definitely be back!
    I would love to be entered in your give-away as well.
    bon journais!

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  64. Hi Terri...I have just been catching up on all your wonderful blog posts about France. Looks like you had a fantastic time! I went there about 10 years ago - but you have brought back memories and made me want to go again :-)
    I bought a book about French flea markets last year...time to put it to good use I think!
    Hugs
    Linda x

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  65. Terri, I am so loving visiting Paris vicariously! What a fabulous trip and your photos and stories really brought it to life for me. Thanks for sharing!

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  66. I just happened across your lovely blog. I've never been toFrance but, now feel like I took a quick trip through your sharing your experience. How generous to offer some lucky person to benefit from your wonderful trip! Thanks for giving the oppurtunity but, mostly thanks for sharing those lovely pictures. I truly could imagine being there!

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  67. Terri, I was so happy to see your great photos of the flea market at Vanves. My daughter-in-law and I will be staying in Vanves in August, and I can't wait to see this market myself. If you have any insider hints, now that you're the accomplished shopper, I'd love to hear them. :)

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Thank you so much for stopping by!
I so enjoy each and everyone of your visits.
I read every single comment and try to get back if I can to visit you as well.
Please forgive me for not always being able to as there are so many of you lovely friends to see!
Hugs,
Terri