Le Marche d'Aligre (April 29)

You read a lot when you're a tourist, trying to find the things that will make your trip memorable and different and will capture the essence of the country.  In most cases you don't know how reliable the advice is - is it up to date, was the person here for 5 minutes and had only a glancing acquaintance with the place?  My experience so far - only 10 days in - is that Paris is not an early to rise city.  But, I heeded the advice of what I took as a trusted source, and headed out early to the food market.  This is a holiday, not a research project, so I didn't cross check with a heap of other sources ...which is my long winded way of saying that when I was encouraged to get to the market very early because it gets crowded, and I did!  But I needn't have - more later.
Paris early on a Sunday morning - at least my little corner of it - is quite a different place from what it becomes later on and what it's like during the work week  On my street there was a punch up between some young well-lubricated men, while a young woman in going out clothes smoked a cigarette and looked on from a safe distance - occasionally asking them to stop.  I guess one of them was her boyfriend.  The metro still had the huddled forms of sleeping men, and the streets were empty and quiet.
I got out of the metro and by walking around a bit saw a sign to the market.

 There was that feeling of things starting up - lights on in some cafes,

 love the bevelled glass -

and preparations being made for later.

These chickens are going to turn a glossy dark brown, and those potatoes at the bottom - they are going to taste divine I imagine!
So - I was one hour after "opening" time, but it was obvious that stalls were still being set up.

I was hoping there would be crowds and I could surreptitiously take photos - a bit more confronting when the stall holder is staring at you!  You probably can't tell, but this street is long.  Who is going to buy all this gorgeous produce?  Apparently film and TV people live in the area, so it's gone from a working class to a more trendy neighbourhood.  There were heirloom tomatoes

 

and other organic food.  Look at this beautiful wall of flowers.

The outdoor stalls are right next to the covered part of the market where you can find a mind-boggling selection of cheeses, and pick the perfect piece of poultry - wing feathers and head intact.

Forget plastic shopping baskets

I bought some raspberries and blueberries and got stuck in straight away - yum!!