A big part of the fun of traveling with your kids is that they bring their interests to the voyage and take you to places you might have otherwise overlooked. My daughter collects stamps and one of the first places she wanted to check out was the stamp market right off the Champs Élysées on rue Gabriel (metro :: Franklin Roosevelt or Champs Élysées-Clemenceau).
What a wonderful little market! There were, of course, stamps that were very expensive and out of reach, but the relaxed atmosphere and displays allowed much browsing. And there were bins of "junk" stamps that could be had 10 or 20 for a euro. A perfect souvenir.
There were also many old postcards and letters with faded inky script that would be fun to pick up and use to create stories of forgotten lives with.
From the market we spend some time in a nearby park and then headed up the Champs Élysées, window shopping and macaron eating here. We ended up at the Arc de Triomphe and gave it a climb which was strengthening and worth the 284 steps for the view (which was nothing compared to the 710 steps we hoofed it up on the Eiffel Tower). A perfect little little weekend itinerary!
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Markets of Paris is a wonderful book that I used many times last month. A complete listing of food markets as well as marches aux puces and other interesting markets make this an essential book to bring if you like to wander through stalls.
gah! this is straight out of “charade”!!! :D
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