Paris, episode 10. In which we flea-flea and can-can.

One of my favorite books is Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club.  (No offense to purists, of which I purportedly profess to be one, but this is a rare occasion in which the film is even better.)  When I was teaching high school students reading and writing as an English teacher, I especially enjoyed the opportunity to share favorite books with students.  On one of our fleamarketing visits to New York, Mari and I found a nice Mahjong set in a Chinatown shop and I was later able to share the game with my classes while we read the book so they could get a little hands-on experience with a treasured bit of Jing-Mei's colorful family background.  I had never seen a set of Mahjong tiles other than the computerized tiles I often enjoy unstacking in colorfully addictive solitaire games.  It wasn't until we started fleamarketing that Mari and I discovered authentic (American) Mahjong sets, popular entertainment in the 1950s and 1960s, and resurrected decades later in craftily clever jewelry forms like the ring pictured here.

As you know (and I love) Mari is a fan of vintage jewelry, especially hand-crafted and clever reimaginations of found objects. Recycling at its couture best!

On Puces Saturday, Mari found this and another treasure (below) in a tiny glass-enclosed boutique in the antiques market featuring vintage designer clothing and jewelry.  A friendly and fashion savvy English-speaking proprietor greeted us warmly and encouraged Mari to browse and admire treasures recollected and carefully curated from collections and decades past that now adorned the French fashionista's sparkling miniature museum.

The Wicker Lounge was only a tad smaller at 84 square feet.

As you would expect in Paris, lots of Chanel, including jewelry made from vintage buttons as we had previously discovered in Chicago.
I had not yet procured my porcelain M&M sorter, so Mari made the first (and second) catch that morning.  From a small display on a small glass shelf in a small mirrored cabinet, the piercing ribbed eyes of a now favorite feline snatched Mari's collector's gaze.

The Lea Stein celluloid pin didn't have a chance with Mari out on fleamarket safari.

I'm glad my wife loves bold jewelry because I enjoy admiring it (and writing about it) nearly as much as she enjoys wearing it.

You can easily and happily enjoy an entire Saturday or Sunday meandering through the (curated or cluttered) past as you wend your way through colorful collections and connect with colorful characters who vend their way there.  Some times and some days there is a place for new fleamarketed goods and souvenirs, but a trip to Les Puces de Saint Ouen doesn't seem like that time.  There is too much of the past to explore here and tourists or foreigners especially will lend Les Puces a unique perspective as they rescue half-buried objets d'art long neglected by French browsers.  Leave the new fleamarketed goods to the locals and you might catch a glimpse of your own past (or of a favorite book or pet) in a forgotten forget-me-not that's been waiting all these lonely years to find your faraway home.

Before heading back to our own home (and feline) the following day (it's still just a weekend, remember?), I had one more surprise to bestow as I commemorated our special anniversary.  With the help of TripAdvisor's Viator website, I had been able to secure tickets (including transportation) to the Saturday evening dinner show at Le Moulin Rouge.

Visit the site to view a wide variety of excursions all over the world.

viator.com

Here we are closing down the famed colorful cabaret on our last Paris evening.  Be prepared for a touristically-appealing spectacular and a bit of a tight table squeeze not unlike the glittery costumes which barely adorn the French dancers in the energetic revue.

The can-can

did not-not disappoint.

We had a truly unforgettable time during our very limited time in one of our very favorite cities, celebrating a very special anniversary, but there are more surprises to plan (more lists to make!), more cities to sight, and more fleamarkets yet to flea.  More flea favorites next time.