Can anyone say retail therapy? Today, I went to the World’s Largest Swap Meet, or so I’m told. It’s just outside main Paris and is really easy to get to. Although I did not want to wake up at 7:30 this morning, I had a feeling it would be worth it. I went with two of my friends Julia and Lily; the perfect not-too-many people to still get things accomplished and be able stick together group. First things first. I did not bring a pair of tennis shoes, to France I mean, like at all. Now I didn’t anticipate this being a problem, I never wear tennis shoes except while at the gym, but I also did not anticipate the minimum of 800 stairs I do a day. Oh did I forget to mention that?! Yep, that’s right! On a very average nothing-to-see-here day, I counted. 803 stairs I counted. I only went to school, to my program office (to pick up a gigantic 15lb box of winter clothes, thanks Mom), and then back home I swear. Ladies, please hop on the next flight and you can live on bread, cheese, chocolate, and wine too…all you have to do is try to move around Paris each day. Holy cow! …Back to the shoes, basically my feet have been dying a little more every day. I knew I needed to buy real shoes, but naturally I’m not very good at settling. I can’t just buy regular-old converse like everyone else. No, I need the all black leather converse; hey once I have my mind set on something there’s no going back! I do a little research and back home they’re about $75; here, in a Parisian boutique, they’re 75€ ($110 yikes!). So… needless to say I’ve been holding off on that purchase until now. I found exactly the same converse I wanted for 50€ which is actually $73.35. Deal, Mmmkay! Then I proceeded to get really off track and bought two 10€ dresses and really pretty white blouse for work, a black leather jacket (20€!), some little black socks (in regular stores they’re about $6 a pair, ugh), and a pair of vintage Paco Rabanne sunglasses for a steal! Oh, and a pack of combs we split between the three of us. The craziest part: in central Paris, to buy a normal nothing-special-about-it comb will cost you about $9. What?!
Imagine the downtown L.A. Fashion District and multiply it by 100 = the swap meet. I don’t think we even saw a quarter of it…but we did manage to find the best lunch ever! Now, since I have this comparison going, when going to the fashion district, you don’t use the bathroom, you don’t eat anything from the vendors, and you shower immediately upon returning home. Now believe me, I did shower right away and did have to pay to use a bathroom, but the food was sooooo good (and so far, safe too)! My sister and I have a Quizno’s tradition in L.A. because a franchise is somehow regulated, right? Anyways, we found this little sandwich place, chowed down on massive chicken sandwiches, burgers, and fries! Dee-lish. Funny story: they will charge you an additional 75 cents, each, to sit at one of the tables. Students as we are, we decided to just eat on the go. Well, that was until the man tried to put my huge sandwich in a to-go container…read: Not happening. So he let us sit for free: Bonus!
PS this sandwich totally lasted for 3 meals!
I've never had a sandwich last 3 meals........
ReplyDelete