Paris main visit page 2

Introduction

Musee Bourdelle
Start a walk

Cemetery Montparnasse and walk

Catacombs and walk

Still walking

Vanves flea market

Parc Montsouris

Paris-14th arr - Vanves flea market

Via the rue Jean Zay enter the rue Vercingetorix. On no.59, a curious church  Notre-Dame-du-Travail (1898-1902). The metallic structures were probably used because of the lack of money that was also responsible for the numerous kinds of material used. It’s here that the church bell Sebastopol was brought by Napoleon III in 1854.  Interior decoration is very poor.
The rue Vercingetorix lost almost all his houses but is bordered by recent buildings and was the core of renovation in this area. It gained a nice square lined with artist ateliers. For bread connoisseurs, stop at no.105, a beautiful old fashioned bakery to buy their specialty: "fougasse aux anchois et olives" (Mediterranean type of bread with anchovy and olives). A delicacy.
You can visit the flea market “Puces de Vanves” ", avenue Georges-Lafenestre and avenue Marc-Sangnier. French call it “brocante “ (junk objects). Open from Saturday and Sunday, from dawn until 7 pm. It's an unauthorized flee market, but plenty of people come here. A funny impression I had was the number of men enjoying cans of strong lager , but then  I realized that some of the clochards seemed to have emptied their pockets onto the sidewalk - in an attempt to play at being junkseller? Less touristy as the other markets, the puces de Vanves reveal sometimes nice antiquities, Indian and Asiatic furniture and a few booths with luxury brands like Chanel. But once more, don’t come her to make a bargain, prices are carefully studied. A myriad of small vendors, selling the bric a brac from the capital. Complaints from locals have led to strong police presence, checking the illegal stallholders. Don't be dissuaded, they often offer the best bargains. But no problem for the "savage" and "unauthorized" junk dealers. They disappear as soon they smell the slightest alert and reappear as soon as the police car vanishes. I saw that in all Italian cities before :-). Less colorful, but just as bric-a-brac, just as kitsch. 
And the diverse crowd here also buzzes from stall to stall, primped and painted Parisians rub shoulders with the men I mistakenly took for clochards. Locals have laid out goodies right on the sidewalk as if they couldn't be bothered to set up a portable table or overhead tarp. The constant murmur of 'jolie, ça,' 'mignon!' and 'trés, trés belles' hang in the air, along with nonplussed bargaining. Continue down the avenue Marc-Sangnier to avenue Georges Lafenestre. A couple are cooing over vintage fans; a stallholder is trading the metal bits found on top of champagne corks with another; several tables - the most popular - display 'Tout à 20 FF' signs. Down at the intersection of the two avenues, a 'Grand Déballage: 200 Brocanteurs' banner waves over a crépes-frites van and a jolly little group of families out for a promenade. A man plays a portable piano, belting out chansons with people up and down the streets warbling or whistling along with the familiar tunes. 

Bibliography  

--Vie et histoire des arrondissements de Paris, ed.Hervas (1985-1988--Nouvelle Histoire de Paris,  ed.Hachette--Le Pieton de Paris, by L.P.Fargue, ed.Gallimard 1997--Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris, by A.Fierro, ed.Laffont, 1996--Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris, by J.Hillairet, ed.Minuit --Guide du Routard 1998-1999 (Ed.Hachette)--Paris, 2000 d'histoire, by J.Favier, ed.Fayard 1997--Naissance de Paris, by M.Fleury, ed.Imprimerie Nationale 1997