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STUDY ABROAD

The World's Largest Flea Market is in France!

posted by Kristina Ortiz, Dean of Admissions

Market_France.jpgWhat do music records, picture frames, Louis XV chairs, beads, and vintage Chanel all have in common? They can all be found at the Le Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, which is considered the largest flea market in the world.

Today we made our way there. You take the metro to the last stop on the 4 line and exit to a bustling, crowded scene with vendors trying to sell you faux handbags, sunglasses and iPhones.

Uh-oh, I'm not so sure about this??!! We make our way through the crowds and into the vinyl tents along the street that have vendors selling faux Adidas, Nikes and other American brands. Is this it?

I look to my left and see something interesting. "Let's go check that out," I say. Oh, the treasure trove that we found...vintage designer clothes and shoes, retro magazines, wind up clocks, jewelry, furniture, linens, paintings, sculptures, artwork, and the list goes on and on!

The vendors are eating lunch, drinking wine, smoking cigarettes, playing guitars, talking, laughing, and enjoying their Sunday afternoon whether or not they have customers at their respective stalls. It all feels so Parisienne!

We got a little lost and ended up in another part of the flea market which was indoors. There was an art exhibition there called "A Table," as well as food, beads and trim, music records, and art shops.

This flea market marvels anything I've been to in the U.S. and I have to say, I was ill prepared for the astounding amount of goods for sale and should have made a plan. I still have two weeks here and plan to go back and be a little more organized. They prefer no photography, but we were able to snap a quick photo.

Topics: study abroad, Paris

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