Considering my brother exclusively spells my name with a ‘z’ and Matt often calls me Linzard (actually), I’m considering this coincidence to be more than, well, a coincidence. I’m choosing to take it as a sign that its alright for me to be pastry obsessed, at least for now. I obviously had to get one and it was delicious - a raspberry jam-like filling in between bits of crumbly dough. I’m not sure if its worthy of being my namesake pastry, but its still pretty awesome.
I also went to the humongous flea market just north of the city yesterday - Les Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen. Apparently its one of the biggest in the world and over 150 000 people go every weekend. I woke up early to avoid the crowds but there was still a ton of people.
And its in major sketch-town, which was kind of unfortunate. Surrounding the market there were a ton of guys selling fake bags and stalls of cheap clothes and piles of stuff. I definitely didn’t feel very safe and held my bag like a football the whole time. But as soon as I managed to get out of that, its an entirely different world.
There were rows and rows of different antique and vintage dealers. Its a series of different markets so each one specializes in something different but they kind of blend together. My favorite stalls sold vintage clothes (a few Chanel suits included!), random decorative objects, and antique prints. I spent most time in the print section and found some amazing vintage perfume ads (particularly from Lanvin and Schiaparelli) and pages from an antique natural history book. The illustrations were amazing!
I actually didn’t buy anything but it was a lot of fun just browsing the aisles and seeing what came next. Even though I found some interesting stuff, I have a feeling its a place where you will always find something if you go back. And I got really hungry, which definitely limits my decision-making abilities. I’ll go back when my brother comes and take a snack, so I’ll have a body guard and be more decisive!
I went to Shakespeare and Co. yesterday too because I needed to get a new book. I finished Suite Francaise, which was really good but kind of depressing. So I got a book called How Proust Can Change Your Life, and I have high hopes that it will be a little more humorous. I read some Proust in school but clearly wasn’t paying that much attention, so maybe it will be a refresher too. I also got Madame Bovary, mostly because I’ve pressured myself into reading at least one classic while I’m here.
I’m actually going to a cafe now to do some reading. I went to the market on Rue Cler this morning and walked to the Museum of Modern Art, but the line was too long so I didn’t go. It was also freezing! I purposely took a really long metro ride home just so my hands and feet could warm up. I also had to turn the heater on in my apartment for the first time!
Anyway, here are some pictures. I didn’t take very many at the flea market (although there were many photo-worthy scenes) because it was just too sketchy to fish my camera out of my purse.
At the market...
The Linzer!
In Shakespeare and Company - I took a lot of pictures here. It was really cool inside and stuffed with books!
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