Everyone has to eat, right? So everyone has to go shopping for food (unless you eat out all the time), right? Right. And everyone and each culture has their own way of accomplishing this task, understandably so. Well, until our move here, I had a very different impression of the French-style errand of shopping.
- I had heard, read, and learned that there are various types of food shops ("Fromagerie" - Cheese shop, "Charcuterie" - Butcher, "Boulangerie" - Bakery, etc...) where Parisians would go to collect all the individual elements needed to put together their fabulous meals and diets. This is true...we have all these types of shops and more just on our street.
- In addition, there are within walking distance from our place at least 5 outdoor farmer's markets that operate on various days of the week at varying times. There are probably close to 100 of these throughout the city that take place over the course of the week. Also very "French," and expected here in Paris.
- We also, however, have all these shops with interesting names in our neighborhood: Monoprix, Franprix, Simply Market, G-20, Ed...they are all supermarkets. The funny thing is, a supermarket in Paris can be anything from a small room that sells fresh breads and freshly made meals (sandwiches, salads, etc.), to a 7-11 type and size shop, to a fair-sized and very well-stocked supermarket.
- Finally, there is Auchan, the French Costco. It is unbelievable - c'est incroyable! (more to follow on this...)
We experienced all four options today. Do you see why we are confused????
Started out this morning by picking up some Croissants for breakfast and a Baguette for lunch from the Boulangerie next door. They were both tasty!! There are hundreds of these bakeries all over the city, sort of like the frozen yogurt shops that have recently multiplied like rabbits over Southern California. Except multiply each of those many times over and you'll get my drift. Each has a unique flavor, but all are relatively the same inside. They are friendly neighborhood places, with friendly people working there. Everyone has a favorite...we have yet to find ours!
Next, it was off to the outdoor market at Charonne...about a 5 minute walk from our place. We got there very late because we slept in, but we were there more to explore than to buy anything, so it didn't matter much. After visiting this fair-sized market, I feel like I know what a market should be. There were over 100 vendors, but they just seem to extend forever. And not just food either! We also saw stands that sold shoes, clothing, women's undergarments, light bulbs, and (my favorite) African masks. Yeah, we were confused, too! With the foods, we're not talking just fresh produce and meats...there are wine and cheese stands, stands offering Lebanese, Greek, Italian, or African cuisine, all types of meats. These markets are very crowded...I can only imagine what they must be like when they open in the morning! About a third of the stands were closing by the time we arrived, and there were still people everywhere. The vendors literally shouting at you as you go by, trying to entice you toward their individual products...which are, consequently, not so individual after all as there are at least 10 other vendors (except only one African mask stand) of the same type, some right across the way! People are varied, all ages, all types, all ethnicities...this surely is city life!
We were too nervous and overwhelmed to buy anything at the outdoor market, but we wanted a couple items. Instead of going to Franprix, the market that we have visited a couple times now, we decided to step into Simply Market, which is even closer to us. What a wonderland it was! I just couldn't believe this place was a grocery store!! They just have so many different kinds of food, not as much of everything, like American grocery stores, but a much larger selection of each type of item. For example, the cheese selection - GINORMOUS!!!! And yogurt, don't even get me started! I didn't know so many kinds of yogurt existed--the French LOVE this stuff. Not to mention that in the bread section, nothing has preservatives, and there are these delicious exotic-for-us, everyday-for-them options. Really just all kinds of things.
Now let me just tell you about Auchan. This place is why I feel so "deceived." Auchan is outside the Peripherique, which is a giant circular highway that surrounds Paris-proper. We had taken a bus to get there, but it let us off at the last stop where, lo and behold, no Auchan. What were we to do? We just started walking around...in the rain...across the Peripherique! We found Auchan, across the way from where we were, but there were so many roads, most without signs, and hardly any pedestrians about. We saw a sign that seemed as if it could lead us to Auchan, which it eventually did. Auchan is inside of a large mall, on top of an American-size parking garage. Basically, if you've ever seen the movie Idiocracy, when they approach the ridiculously large Costco, that's how we felt!
None of these pictures do it justice, but maybe you can sort of see...
When we walked into this superstore, we were both completely overwhelmed. I mean honestly, Lewis Carroll must've dreamed up this crazy place. AND IT'S FRENCH...that's the funny part!! Everyone was ploughing around with overflowing carts, people were everywhere. I mean, I cannot describe this store enough to help you understand...we just walked through the endless aisles in a daze and dumbfounded. I felt like a little girl again, I just couldn't even digest this place. The lower floor is grocery only, and the moving ramps (for your cart) that take you to the second floor lead to a whole new expanse: housewares, clothing, technology, luggage, and I don't even know what else. The place was almost like Costco on the bottom and Walmart on top, but bigger and better. As I said before, the difference between this place and American markers was the selection...so many of each type of product, unlike our Costcos where there are 8 million of the Kirkland brand to "choose from." And this wasn't all just generic stuff, either. The "Auchan" brand was by far the best deal, but there were rows of selections for artisan cheeses, wines, huge sections for fresh seafood, meats, baked goods, produce, etc. And remember the yogurt thing?? Ok, no joke, two GIANT rows of yogurt! Just yogurt!! A huge row for just butter and milk, and I have no idea how much cheese was in the place. So French, and yet so NOT!
This is the GROUND COFFEE aisle, not including the instant coffee aisle, and the kind in the little individual servings...I mean seriously, people! This place is CRAZY!
Ok, and here's the best part of all this. Last night, we dropped our mop-head in the toilet accidentally. It was hilarious, actually, because this happened at about 5am when we'd both been up from the jet-lag for about 3 hours already!! So the main reason why we went to Auchan was to buy a new mop-head or mop....THERE WERE NO MOPS IN THE ENTIRE STORE!!!!!!!
Apparently, Napoleon was wrong when he said "L'impossible n'est pas francais" (Impossible is not French)!
All I have left to say is that I will not ever let a French person give me a hard time for the "American" part of me that they seem as consumerist, because their culture is pretty much just as bad!!
<-- Andrew wondering how there could possibly be NO MOPS in the store of all stores...
And finally, "la piece de resistance" (and my personal --> favorite!): FROZEN BACON CHEESEBURGERS in a French market! Take that all you Parisian snobs...this is YOUR TOWN!
