Un euro, un euro, un euro.

Today I started the day by meeting some friends at a market they had talked about in Belleville. When I arrived I could see the market stretched all the way along the main street of the 20th arrondissement for miles and was bustling with shoppers. We joined the throngs and I realised why it was so busy, everything was 1 euro!!! For Paris, that price is insane. It began with clothes piled high on stands and millions of hands avidly rifling through for the bargains. A couple of us found some gems and for 1 euro, you can't really go wrong in buying a rain jacket or shorts.

Next we moved on to the food, my personal favourite. The markets in Paris are unlikely anything I've ever experienced and is definitely something to do while in France. The vendors were constantly yelling out 'un euro, un euro, un euro' and people were pushing and pulling their way to the cheapest stalls.

I ended up getting a little crazy. I bought a huge bunch of bananas for .40c which I have since divided up and given to my flatmates. Bought in the heat of the moment I don't think it was realistic to be able to eat them all before they spoil. I also got three giant punnets of strawberries for 1.50euro. Insane!

Everything was so so cheap, there was every type of fruit and vegetable imaginable, as well as fish, cheese, milk and even beauty products and lollies and chocolate (I couldn't even look at the stalls for fear of buying something. And given the amount of sweet stuff I brought back from Germany it's definitely not needed.)

Such an awesome market that I've vowed to make my regular Tuesday and Friday haunt. It's only a short bike ride down the canal and a quick wee stroll through the ghetto, which I think adds to the experience.

But bang on 2pm the stalls are cleared up and by 2.10pm you wouldn't even know there had been a market (bar the swarms of people all looking sick from too much fruit and vege consumption.) We managed to stay so long that they began to pack up as we were leaving and thus getting rid of all their product. This resulted in even more food! While trying to buy tomatoes, 1kg for 1 euro, instead the man emptied his whole crate into our bag, resulting in about 4kg's of tomatoes for 1 euro! If only I had a friendly, local homeless man to offload some of the surplus to. I'd either make his week or give him the runs.

On the plus side, I'm never doing my fruit and vege shopping at a supermarket again!