Vanves

Last weekend I took advantage of the rare fact that I had temporarily readjusted my schedule to "normal time" and was up by 8am to go to the absolute opposite end of Paris, the south edge called Porte de Vanves, and its bustling flea market. I'd heard it was the best, with the funkiest and greatest old stuff, but it's open only on weekends and only from 7am-1pm, which is, well, not usually doable for my schedule. But I'm so glad I made it there, because it was awesome. I spent hours there.

Absolutely crawling with history. Can you imagine all of the stories tucked into every nook and cranny of these treasures?

It was a haven for someone like me, who loves a good old-fashioned treasure dig and not just any old crap, it has to be beautiful old crap. This place had it in spades - vintage clothes, old concert posters, turn-of-the-century postcards, jewelry, books, dishes, "Vogue" magazines from the '20s, etc. etc. etc. I'm glad I only brought 20€.

I loved these gorgeous teacups, created so long ago that it was when all men had mustaches, and therefore needed a special extra "lip" on the cup to protect their mustaches from getting wet. In the back there, the white cup had a caption beneath the illustration that said "Ann Hathaway's Cottage." I am kicking myself for not getting it. I totally should have gotten it. Logistics be damned.

These books were insanely beautiful and came as a 90€ set (a steal, considering I just found them online for 180€). Otherwise I would have bought one to make into a hollow book. They had gold-lined pages with locks on them, "for the children" said the vendor, which I could only assume meant there were saucy illustrations inside not meant for young eyes. But I'll never know, because I accidentally locked one of them and the vendor had trouble unlocking it. I slowly backed away.

I could have decorated an entire house with treasures found at this market, but I restrained myself, buying only what I couldn't live without (a different book to hollow out = 3€, a couple of 1940s ladies' wear and sewing magazines for some art projects = 1€ apiece). And this pin, purchased for 1€:

It says "CRAZY Success". I figure it's good luck to wear on my lapel.