I started early, knowing that the stands pack it up and close up shop by about 1 pm. My original plan was to take a walk-through once and then go back to buy things, but I was meeting someone at noon and couldn’t take all the time I wanted in the end. So, I strolled through, stopping at the tables with folded printed fabric, painted porcelain plates and ceramic coffee pots. I saw some beautiful antiques at reasonably high prices as well as some totally unaffordable junk. Everyone was pretty friendly, though, and I generally felt comfortable eyeing over their tables and examining their goods. A woman pushing a small cart scurried through the crowds offering cups of hot thé à la menthe and vendors conversed with one another about their recent holidays. I was surprised to see so many anglophone vendors, and I even overheard one guy’s phone conversation about how he wasted so much time last week talking to a guy for 2 hours about the massive wooden cart he was selling before the guy walked away saying he was uninterested. It was clear he was sorely bitter about this.

At the start of the day, I had made a mental list of what I wanted to find, but I also told myself to keep an open mind about finding treasures that were not on my list. I got pretty lucky, and about 20 minutes into my flea market adventure, I stumbled upon a lovely old alarm clock – one nearly identical to the vintage clock that I have in my “Favorites” on Etsy. I wound the clock to check if it worked, and when I heard some tic-tocking, I asked for the price. The lady said she bought it for 25€, but was selling it for 15. There was no way I was paying that much, so I told her I’d give her 10€ if that was alright and after a slight customary hesitation, she agreed and I walked off with this lovely timepiece.

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