Last "free day" in Paris

Mrs. and Mrs. Satterwhite are taking the majority of students today to the catacombs and Pere LaChaise cemetary. I am taking about 9 people with me to the Aligre Marche' which is a wonderful outdoor flea market and fruit/vegetable/ cheese/ meat and bread market and then we will go to the Picasso Museum. Ms. Flynn is taking a small group of her French student and the Arrendondo cousins with her to go shopping today. I will have to let Mrs. Satterwhite and Ms. Flynn blog about their experience.

Guylaine got very excited when I told her I chose the Aligre Marche' for my group because this is in the Marais area where she lives. She says she shops here almost daily and is great friends with all of the vendors. She wants to join us later because she is so excited that we are going to her neck of the woods. She says that we will really be amongst the people there and likely not to see any other tourists. She was right. We found our way there easily and to say that my eyes couldn't move fast enough to see everything I wanted to, is an understatement. The market is set inside a small square so it was another good opportunity to let my small group of students walk freely and even the adults managed to split apart and wander aimlessly. It's small here though so we bumped into each other frequently. I managed to make a morroccan boyfriend down one aisle "Your eyes are bonita" who was trying to get me to buy his table full of wares. But counterbalanced my new boyfriend with an arch enemy in another area. I got called a not so nice name by a younger merchant because I wouldn't pay 3euros, said no to 2 euros and offered 1 euro for two black and white photo's in a shoe box, likely from an estate sale. He told me no but his boss at the end of the aisle called me an "American Princess" and told me I could have it for one euro. Something tells me this wasn't a compliment. I kept waiting for my boyfriend to come to my rescue but it didn't happen. Jeesh. I just smiled, swapped euro for photo's and walked away smuggly. Nothing like a great bargain. I bought an old military coin that had a beautiful scene with a lion on it and it said "protection, pride and courage" on it, for my husband who is in law enforcement. The kids bought various things such as a coat for 22 euros, silk fabric to make a prom dress with (how smart and unique), etc. My mom bought my sister a really pretty limoge tea pot for 10euros (would easily sell for 70euros in the store). We all walked the fruit stalls and went into the enclosed market to see the food hanging and in cabinets. Some of us sampled some of the amazing foods on display to see how the real parisians live and eat. This was a real highlight. The market closes at 1pm so we decided to eat as soon as we walked off from here which meant we would also be eating in a non-tourist area for lunch. We chose a sweet Boulangerie (bread bakery) that had enough tables and chairs outside for the adults. It faced a sweet little park with benches and lots of kids playing so we knew the kids that were with us could take their quiche or sandwhich and sit in the park near us to enjoy their lunch and see the kids playing, mom's talking, French teenagers hanging out, etc. The sun is shining today and it's a little chillier but this was probably the sweetest lunch spot we have found. The bread was still warm from the oven and the quiche, pear tarte and sparkling water I bought and sandwhich, tarte and soda the kids were getting were only 6euros each for the whole deal. It was the bargain and charm of the day and great way to top off the market experience.
We walked our way through the streets of Marais, passed through the Louis the 13th royal square (prettiest in all of Paris) and made our way to the Picasso museum. I have always loved Picasso because I know I am supposed to but seeing such a mass of his work in one place (thanks to the back taxes he owed Paris, this is the single largest collection of his work in the world) has made me love him in ways I never imagined. He was indeed a genius due to so many reasons but what I will take away from this experience is that this man could make art from any kind of medium such as, sculpture, painting, drawing, pastels, oils, gouche, bronze, wood, woodcut prints, found objects, etc. and they were all done so masterfully. It was really moving and I am so glad we decided to fit this in. We walked from here back to the Opera Garnier area of town where it's a little more bustling, to find our restaurant for the farewell dinner.