28.9.09

How to get rid of old stuff


When I left my flat Saturday late morning, there were deviations and some smoke in the surrounding streets... Finally, there was nothing to worry about. The deviation was due to a large “vide grenier” sale and the smoke came from some sausage grilling. (I have a problem to translate the word “vide grenier”, which actually means emptying the attics, but different sources indicate “yard sale, car boot sale, bric-a-brac sale...”.) Anyhow, it was organised to allow the people in the neighbourhood to get rid of old stuff. The bus stop was closed.
It was an important one and was planned for the whole weekend. The ones selling Saturday would be replaced by others Sunday and the area covered by stands was large.
You could find almost anything ... and at very reasonable prices. I returned home with nothing except some photos.

Every hour there was a concert and some other musical entertainment.
As there are a number of bars and restaurants around, it was fairly easy to get restored. The weather was summer like.

49 comments:

EMNM said...

The french Rastro!!

Have a nice week Peter ;)

Catherine said...

looks like the French have got some very chic, vintage stuff in their attics...great shots of all the action and merchandise for sale...

krystyna said...

You reteurned home with great photos, Peter!
In USA there is garage sales on top. It is not the same but very similar and some people do it with passion and it looks wonderful.

Owen said...

"Jumble sale" is another term... looks like you had plenty of fun, always interesting, even if one brings home nothing but photos. And always important to stay well restored !

Virginia said...

Peter,
Well yet another thing I missed by leaving Paris. Grrrr.
You didn't buy a thing? Oh my!!! I think I saw some items I might have wanted. The music etc. makes this much more fun than an American garage sale.... pretty boring! Vive la France!! :)
V

Karen said...

Oh, I love these and find it difficult not to buy things but I'm at the stage in life where I should be selling at one of these and not buying.
We have them here but not as Parisien, of course, and then there's eBay, the world's vide grenier. In the south they said it meant to open the garage. or empty the garage.
See you soon.

from cali said...

I admire you for not yielding to temptation and buying something. What a beautiful day for rummaging, selling and photo taking.

Thérèse said...

"Neighborhood garage sale"
I would have picked the two dummies, mine is lonely in our backyard...

Olivier said...

tu fais dans l'oser ;o) tu mets des nus, c'est pour faire monter l'audience de ton blog ;o))

alice said...

Mince, tu as laissé passer le guépard en porcelaine grandeur nature et le débardeur avec lézard? Incompréhensible! ;-))

SusuPetal said...

Loppmarknaden är roliga! Jag köper nästan aldrig någonting, men det är trevligt att gå omkring, ta foton och titta på folk.

Nisha said...

Another name for it is 'Garage sale'.
Though in Europe, it is very popular and a good way to buy some stuff for peanuts, in India we don't have this concept. We mostly give old or unusable items/clothes to our maids, drivers or other helpers.

I have many times contemplated to start this concept here as well. Some things you can not give to your maids, they don't have an eye for that value like we have 2 old cameras and stuff like that.

Adam said...

Nice to see that they organised some extra events around this one and that the sun was shining. It's like eBay but with music!

Anonymous said...

Looks like what we call a "flea market."

hpy said...

Des jeunes mamans trouvent souvent des livres et des jouets pour leurs enfants dans ces vide greniers. A un prix défiant toute concurrence, comme on dit, et en bon état aussi. Mais moi je ne trouve jamais rien, peut-être parce que j'ai déjà tout ce qu'il faut.

Cergie said...

J'ai une traduction automatique très énervante qui trahit l'auteur, par exemple pour "home" il traduit "maison" tu n'habites pas une maison il me semble ?
Sympathique bric à brac, les photos ramenées me font penser au fumet d'un festin, au moins tu n'as pas encombré ton appart.
Notre fille fait les vide-greniers en ce moment pour acheter tout le nécessaire pour son nourrissson qui grandit et voit l'hiver venir...

lyliane six said...

Superbes tes photos de nuits, "il suffit de passer le pont"...
Il y a 15 jours c'était la même chose ici, mais avec moins de monde, j'ai encore vendu quelques meubles et babioles, le temps était aussi de la fête.

Nathalie said...

Aaaaah j'adore les vide-greniers en général mais alors "vide-grenier des batignolles", rien que le nom me fait saliver !

J'ai souvent trouvé dans les vide-greniers des déguisements, des livres et des jouets pour mes enfants quand ils étaient petits.

J'y ai aussi trouvé des objets utiles quand je suis rentrée d'Australie : verres, ustensiles de cuisine, vase, sèche-cheveux, etc
Des fringues aussi, mais pour ça il faut faire les vide-greniers des beaux quartiers !

D'accord avec toi qu'on ne s'habille plus guère de nos jours, et ce n'est pas à moi que ça manque. Les chapeaux comme au mariage de samedi dernier, non merci ! (il y en avait de grandioses !)

L'avantage c'est que toi tu as l'air élégant même sans cravate !

Mona said...

This look like a Huge garage sale! The stuff that they have put on looks really cool. Its all a treasure!

The bars and the music adds to the festivity! This is really cool ! I would love to browse one like that!

Mona said...

wow! all those books for sale! especially asterix!!!!!!!

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Wow Peter this is fantastic, shame I wasn't still over there!! I love the glasses in one of the photos..sort of place you could browse for ages, and then get a wonderful meal after !! :-)

I cannot believe you have not been up Montparnasse tower, oh yes this is a must for you..!!

amatamari© said...

I know very well these markets of used but ...
I have never seen the naked dummies!
:-)

GMG said...

Next time I'll get to P*aris, I'll carry a van... ;))
Great shots!!

Wania said...

Peter, I would love to see it all!
I really love antiques!

Beautiful photos,
Kisses

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Wow! Looks like an annual clearance sale!

claude said...

Immense ce vide grenier ! Rien à voir avec celui de mon bled auquel je suis allée en aout avec mon amie Jeanine. As tu trouvé ton bonheur?
Mon gros dico me dit pour vide-grenier
en anglais : car boot sale
en américain : yard sale.

Ash said...

Interesting stuff! Very colourful! I probably might have bought some
paintings :-)

Cezar and Léia said...

What a cool idea!Did you buy anything?I think I could enjoy a lot this day there!
Léia :)

sonia a. mascaro said...

Peter, you did a great photo reportage! So many things to see and to buy... I would like to be there...

PeterParis said...

Matritensis:
Something similar, but only for our little area of Paris! :-)

Catherine:
Maybe I selected a bit whan taking the photos? :-)

Krystyna:
Garage sales is perhaps the translation I was looking for... although we hardly have any garages for this type of stuff, rather cellars or attics. :-)

PeterParis said...

Owen:
So another translation! Thanks! I hope everybody has anyhow understood what I was talking about! :-)

Virginia:
You mad a lot; you can't make it all unless you live here! Be happy! :-)

Karen:
I was surprised myself that I didn't buy anything. I normally would!
Yes, see you soon! :-)

PeterParis said...

From Cali:
As said, above, I suprised myself! :-)

Thérèse:
The majority seems to go for garage sales! :-)

Olivier:
Il faudrait des nus un peu plus vivants! :-)

PeterParis said...

Alice:
Tu aurais du me donner une liste! :-)

SusuPetal:
Jag har tendens att köpa nàgon dumhet, men inte denna gàngen! :-)

Nisha:
I appreciate that there may be a difference! :-)

PeterParis said...

Adam:
Nicer than ebay probably, but perhaps a more limited number of prospective buyers? :-)

Abraham:
Not really a flea market. As I understand flea market, it allows professionals to sell; not here - only the inhabitants of the small area where we live. :-)

hpy:
Tu as de la chance de tout avoir! :-)

PeterParis said...

Cergie:
Tu as vu le google traducteur que j'ai mis en haut à droite. Traduit relativement bien! :-)

Lyliane:
Il y un an on était chez toi ... et j'ai acheté des bricoles! :-)

Nathalie:
On est d'accord sur la mode ... et toi aussi tu es très élégante sans chapeu! :-)

PeterParis said...

Mona:
So next year youwill be around, if not before? :-)

Mona bis:
You would have to read them in its original language. OK? :-)

Anne:
You will soon be back!
I made at last the Tour the other day (thanks to your post)!

PeterParis said...

amatamari:
So, something new then! :-)

GMG:
By van or any means of transport, you are most welcome! :-)

Wania:
So, you know the directions to take! Paris has was I beleive is the world's biggest flea market with a lot of antiques around! Kisses for you as well! :-)

PeterParis said...

Léia:
Surprisingly I bought nothing! :-)

Sonia:
... and I would have liked to see you there! :-)

parisbreakfast said...

Simply BRILLANT - something to make everyone happy here!

rauf said...

Nobody is going to sell anything in heaven, no flea market, so i don't want to go to heaven. This is heaven for me and people like me Peter.
you find things you never had in your mind and you say Ha! No, here in India you don't say Ha ! when you find something interesting. You try to hide your excitement. The seller reads your face and jacks up the price.
so you have to do a bit of acting there and act as if you are not much interested.

There is no right or exact translations of some words, some expressions. i understand “vide grenier” means more than the word can say.

Ruth said...

Can I find a trench coat there?

Allons-y!

PeterParis said...

Rauf:
I think the "play" between the buyer and the seller is the same everywhere, perhaps more or less! :-)

Ruth:
I'm sure there were a few! :-)

Marie-Noyale said...

Moi je prends Pauvre Blaise de la contesse de Segur dans cette jolie reliure rouge!!!

richard said...

I like the irony behind "I returned home with some photos.." Some of the Batignolles-ers are emptying their attics, and the others are filling them up. I wonder who had the woman in the top photo in their attic?

Wesllão F. S. Nogueira said...

Uau!! Quanta coisa!!

PeterParis said...

Marie-Noyale:
La bibliothèque rose d'avant! :-)

Richard:
Good question! :-)

Wesslao:
What a lot of things, indeed!
Thanks for visiting my blog! :-)

Catherine said...

Il semble que l'on n'ait jamais assez de bric à brac chez soi !

PeterParis said...

Catherine:
J'ai raté l'occasion! :-)

Anonymous said...

Seh ich auch so