There are two major islands in the Seine. Isle Saint-Louis, where we are staying,
and Ile de la Cite.
Isle de la Cite is the location of Notre Dame and also Saint-Chapelle.
Right near Sainte-Chapelle is the Marche au Fleurs.
I knew I wanted to visit the Marche au Fleurs but hadn’t yet plotted out where to go.
We took the Metro to the Cite stop in order to go to Sainte-Chapelle
and purchase concert tickets.
When we came out of the Metro, what was I in front of?…You guessed it….
the Marche au Fleurs!
See the street lamp to the right? The building right behind is one of the markets!
So before we walked across the street to Sainte-Chapelle, I went in.
The structure appears to have been an old train depot perhaps.
You can see the glass on the roof and the structure is all iron.
It covers the length of a block and inside are a series of vendors.
The center and to the left is all open for plants.
To the right, is a series of small closed shops.
I wasn’t allowed to take pictures inside the shops
but there were no concerns taking pictures of the plants and flowers.
Here is the end I entered….I’ll walk you through…
Trained trees and plants were quite popular, I imagine because many people in Paris have only balconies or small terraces.
I saw fuschia (bleeding heart) trained into a topiary as well as on a small trellis.
There were piles of hydrangeas…..one of my very favorite flowers….
Several of these had also been trained into topiary shape.
It’s hard to imagine they can sell this many flowers!
Paris is a city of course and even though there are trees in many of the areas we were in,
the sweet smell of all the damp earth and flowers was so nice to encounter!
It was so hard to not just buy something but I had no reason to and couldn’t bring it home!
I went into several of the shops and once again encountered the sense of how small our world had become and how difficult it is to find something unique.
The shops were very prettily decorated but filled with the same items we see here
in Home Goods!
Chinese imports of items with French words on them
and the very same soaps and candles found here.
I found it difficult to pick up souvenirs for those at home
because there were few unique things and those that were,
were quite expensive…sigh….more T-shirts and chocolate!
The roses were gorgeous and most had a lovely scent.
I am not a fan of hybrid teas because they rarely smell as good as the old damask roses.
As I reached the end of the building, I was very satisfied.
Then, I looked across the street and realized there were even more buildings!
I thought the other buildings were likely more of the same
so I didn’t go any further.
Besides, someone was waiting for me….
A patient guy…..
I was told that I was in there for almost an hour……
I find that hard to believe….
Surely he is exaggerating…..
More pics tomorrow…….
I'm Lorraine. I have a love for home & design and I enjoy sharing that passion with others. I'm so glad you're here to join me.
email: missflibbertigibbet@gmail.com
Oh how beautiful! I just got goosebumps looking at these floral pictures!
What a wonderful trip for you.
Your fella is awesome, he is smiling at you, even waiting an hour.
He’s a keeper.
That’s it i’m moving! How wonderful to live among such beauty everywhere. Flea Markets, Flower Markets, history, architecture! It seems like such a wonderful mix of old and new! Oh and the food must be to die for! If i’m wrong don’t burst my bubble, just let me dream!
So interesting to read the comments~how disappointed I would be to see Home Goods stuff in the markets if I went all the way there..
Hmmm……. I rarely meet men who exaggerate.
~Bliss~