Porte de Vanves et le Village Saint-Paul

A beautiful day today, not a cloud in the sky...just a cool breeze.  The perfect day to explore le marché aux puces de la porte de Vanves et le marché brocante à Village Saint-Paul.  The porte de Vanves market is a true flea market - stalls line a small block of streets, offering everything from true vintage to kitsch to second-hand shoes.  Village Saint-Paul is a picturesque group of connecting courtyards, surrounded by apartment buildings atop a diverse range of antique shops and inviting restaurants.  The brocante market is more a true antique market, with many of the shops in the village participating.

There's a small boulangerie at porte de Vanves, just around the corner from the market, and it is our usual stop for a croissant and coffee before hitting the market - today was no exception!  We wandered the stalls, enjoying the lyrical banter of the stallholders, most of whom have a four legged friend snuggled in the back of the van or sitting under a trestle table.  I captured a quick photo of a furry friend below, but there was actually a second pooch in a wooden basket under the table!

Highlights of our wander...Brent picked up a 1965 original French pressing of the Rolling Stones - Satisfaction - on 45 and I found a gorgeous souvenir spoon (maybe silver, maybe not!) of Venezia.  But the absolute highlight of the marché had to be the man playing the electric keyboard, cigarette dangling from his lips, looking like he'd opened the back doors of his van and simply rolled out into the market square.  He had the cutest chicken basket to collect your show of appreciation!

Village Saint-Paul was cool, with beautifully laid out trestles and each stall specialised in a particular type of item or era.  Highlight for me...the very suave gentleman sitting at one of the restaurants, book in hand, water on the table...trés Français!

J'adore le weekend!