Paris: the Flea Market and the Musee D'Orsay

Top on my list of things to do while in Paris was to go to the flea market. I found Jordan's post very helpful, and even printed off her map to bring with us.

It was just what I thought it would be: lots of fancy antiques, and lots of old french junk, too, crammed into little booths on narrow, winding alleys.

To get there, we had to walk through lots of really aggressive hawkers. They weren't rude, exactly, but they were definitely in our face, trying to sell belts or watches or iPhones. This was the most uncomfortable I felt during our entire trip. I kept my backpack hugged to my front and didn't look anyone in the eye. And then we had to walk through lots of swap meet-style tents. Think hats, leather goods, so many sneakers, and general souvenirs. But we persevered and made it to the old stuff.

Everything seemed really expensive. I'm sure they do that because they expect customers to negotiate, but I didn't think my french was good enough to attempt negotiations, so we left empty handed. That's ok, I was there for the experience more than the goods, and it was a really fun experience!

On our way back to the metro, we stopped at the swap meet and bought our kids cheap souvenirs, though. Ha!

The Musee D'Orsay was top on my list, too. We went in the evening, on a night when it is open late. It is so pretty, and so much easier to manage than the Louvre. I grew up with a mother who loves the impressionists, so it was special to see so many paintings from that genre. I'll never get over the fact that I am inches away from the actual canvas that the artist touched. It's pretty incredible. And the view of the city from the clock room was fantastic!