I'm back.....

Two large Vide-Greniers and a Brocante to wander through at the weekend in Paris.

Little cupboards I could have bought.....

Interesting kitchen stuff.....

And banana boxes full of old linen, monogrammed sheets, napkins, pillowcases....

This old mannequin caught my eye propped up behind a junky stall.....a little battered but quite quirky with its strange limb arrangement.

Only to discover after a conversation with the stall holder that it was not for sale at all..... it had been discarded with the rubbish and was free to a good home..... AAAGH!

No way could I have got it home on Easyjet ( hand luggage only) and pleading with my daughter to take it home to her apartment fell on extremely deaf ears.

"You've got to be joking! I'm not carrying that thing back on the Metro"

 Enough said....

So there it had to stay.

A quick whizz round a food market with their lovely fruit and veg displays  (to take my mind off the mannequin)

Even the seafood was fresh....

Flowers purchased for daughter's apartment, ( still thinking that the mannequin would have been far more dramatic... )

Then on for a spot of culture at the Grand Palais for the Monumenta exhibition.....

Anish Kapoor's huge structure filled the vast Nave....

The scale of the thing was enormous....

And stepping inside the structure was a strange, yet contemplative experience....

Quite surreal and eerily silent....no one talked as they gazed up and took photographs in the dark.


Back outside and lots of walking ensued, over the bridge towards Invalides.....

Padlocks on the statues.....

And padlocks on this bridge, are a symbol of a couples attachment to each other...having been "joined together as one" ....apparently.

I presume if it doesn't work out you have to go back with the key and unlock it?

Long way from Taiwan though....

A bit of street art on the way to the Marais ......clever.

To visit a shop that I have heard lots about, yet never visited....MERCI

We were not at all disappointed and the refreshments were superb....

Pistachio cake washed down with citronnade....lime, lemon and ginger with fresh mint.

Delicious...

 Finally in case you were wondering why I was in Paris, it was to attend a farewell party for long standing friends at the British Embassy,

Pimms and Champagne on the Terrace...followed by evening supper in a gorgeous apartment on Boulevard Hausemann.....

Meeting up with old friends I haven't seen for over 30 years....wonderful.

 Thank you Mark and  Jill  for inviting us all to be part of your special day....not even the heavy cloudburst at one stage could spoil the occasion.

Best wishes for your new adventure....

Julie x