The Market

Near our flat there is an open-air market twice a week. It is more like a flea market, as it has not only food, but clothes, shoes, linens, and whatever else someone wants to sell. I walked through it one day and was amazed at the sights, smells, and hawking of their wares. Fish were either sold as whole fish, or filleted for you right there. Cheese was sliced to order from huge blocks. You could buy a whole chicken complete with head and claws on it, or just pieces (I had never seen a whole skinned chicken like that before and it made me a temporary vegetarian!). I walked the two to three blocks and was amazed that they could make any money at all, since there had to be dozens of vendors selling the same thing. Competition must be good, and I did notice that prices seemed to be less than at the Monoprix store across the street. I only ended up buying some mushrooms for my beef burgoinon, which, by the way, they were also selling by the bowl-full.

I am not going to go on and on about prices here, but have made a few observations. To buy a flat in the city of Paris, you can generally say that it runs about $1000.00 per square foot. They measure in meters, and it roughly comes out to 100 square meters equals 1000 square feet. An average flat here could be about 700 square feet, which probably would go for $700,000. I am sure it varies from area to area, but generally the signs on real estate offices show this to be true. I sometimes wonder how a teacher could ever buy something here......they must just rent!

The prices in restaurants are pretty high too......an average lunch would be at least 10 euros (15 dollars). I read that it is common for businesses to give their employees 5 euros a day for lunch. No wonder the cafes are crowded in the afternoon! When walking along the street, I see lots of people eating their baguettes filled with meats and cheeses while taking their mid-day walk. I guess the walking counteracts all the carbs?

Yesterday I went for an hour walk to find Bon Marche, the famous original department store in Paris, over 100 years old. I did find it and compare it to a Dayton's/Macy's downtown Minneapolis. It was in a beautiful old building with glass domed ceiling. It was all laid out by designers.....every one you can think of. I looked at prices and decided a teacher could not really afford anything in this store, unless one just buys a few outfits a year. I saw simple t-shirts well over 100 euros. I guess I will do my shopping in the states! There are some small boutiques where prices are more reasonable, but don't look for many sales. They say that sales only happen twice a year here...in January and July. I guess I missed it!