Part of the thrill of going somewhere different for me is the joy of checking out local supermarkets. The ordinary experience of visiting the supermarket and buying basics is one that we do wherever we live. A unifying experience worldwide. But one that takes on a particular excitement in Paris.
Of course there are supermarkets and then there are supermarkets. At your basic level Parisian Monoprix:
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| The champagne section, of course they have a fridge too if you need a cold one urgently |
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| If only supermarket vegies looked like that at home |
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| A tiny portion of the massive U shaped delicatessen counter- meats, cheeses, terrines |
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| Not a cracker in sight in the whole country but they have Tim Tams! No, I didn't buy any |
It's probably a bit rough to call Galeries Lafayette Gourmet a supermarket. But you can do the shopping there for dinner, and we did on several occasions. It was magnificent.
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| The smoked fish section |
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| A veritable wall of chocolate |
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| Even the tissue boxes are fancier in France |
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| The oyster bar |
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| More of Sadaharu Aoki |
Hediard is even more upmarket, and more a providore than a supermarket.
I possibly got a tad carried away this week, but I think you can see how much I loved supermarket shopping in Paris.
26 comments:
Oh, the glorious, glorious memories! Memories of fantastic dinners plucked from different aisles and areas of Monoprix (no judging), occasional macaron sprees at Picard, and the chocolates at Lafayette (where, come to think of it, I wasn't allowed to take photos!). Thank you Louise :)
Thanks for the trip to the market in France. Now I'll just dread my visit to the Ohio grocery store even more.
I think we can say that shopping in Paris is an EVENT. You could even call it "date night"...LOL
I love shopping these days, since I'm seldom rushing like I once was.
This would be such a fun experience (shopping in Paris).
Thanks for sharing....
Here's MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT
Oh my...I so enjoyed that photographic tour of the supermarket aisles...although i don't really think "supermarket" is the right word!
Ooooooh how I miss Europe. I love shopping for food there, whether it's the wall of chocolate or the fantastic selection of cheeses and tarts and ohhhhh the olives. Sigh.
hey, my local supermarket looks just like that!
IN MY DREAMS...lol
Thank you, Louise! I, too, go to grocery stores whenever I travel. I've been to Hediard and purchased their breakfast tea and some lovely tarts. My farmers market fare is a bit more pedestrian, but I love the thrill of the chase :)
Wonderful tour of Paris.
Those tissue boxes are gorgeous, as are the spices!
I was disappointed that I didn't make it to a supermarket in the UK. I'm hoping to go to France in October and will have to make it a point to go.
I would love shopping there, mu market doesn't even come close! LOL, love those tissue boxes.
Everything looks delish!
So much of everything! My sniffer is working overtime.LOL
Hi!
I could spend days there. Thanks for the trip. Have a great day!
Sherrie
Just Books
http://sherriesbooks.blogspot.com/2011/07/review-rachael-rays-big-orange-book.html
Those are all fantastic! It makes me wish we lived in a large city with more shops. Our local grocery store just started selling TimTams (just one flavor though). I had no idea what they were until my husband brought some back from Australia a couple of years ago.
I like the yoghurt in glass jars! Shopping in Paris must be glorious! After seeing these great photos, my trip to the local grocery store today will seem really drab!
Stuck on the tissue paper, how quaint. I would have to bring loads and loads back to the states.
I have to admit our food shopping was done more for sandwiches and delis (there's a really wonderful one by the Pantheon!), and for wine with a screw top since we left our wine key in the room every. darn. day. We swore a person could making a killing selling decent wine with screw tops only in the vicinity of the Eiffel Tower. Thanks for the great memories!
This is enough to make anyone want to desperately live in Paris just to go grocery shopping. Thanks for this tasty treat.
I KNEW that I shouldn't be reading this blog on an empty stomach!
Me drooling....!!
Wonderful photos!
Here is my Saturday Snapshot post!
I haven't eaten yet this morning and all those lovely photos are making me very hungry.
What a wonderful experience, just perusing your photographs. They are so lucky to live this way. It must be amazing to be able to do to the markets and have such offerings. Thanks for the tour.
Very cool to be shopping in Paris. Nice photos to remember that experience.
I am quite impressed that you got the shots in Aoki. I thought that they might call the gendarmes when I clicked my camera... I asked politely in French after having made a significant purchase and was still told "non!" Hummmm... I may have to look elsewhere for my tarte caramel au beure salé.
Bises,
Genie
Thanks all for your comments.
Hannah- I don't believe that I was "allowed" to take photos either. I just did it. No flash. They didn't seem to notice. Well they did at one stage, a man appeared rather irate when he caught me taking a picture of the astonishing display of Chateau d'Yquem (the most amazing and expensive Sauternes). He even made me delete the last photo I'd taken- luckily I'd taken about 5 before he found me. No judging at all about Monoprix, we had dinner from there too, it was great.
Alyce- you only really need one flavour of Tim Tams- the original, the newer ones aren't as good.
Kate- you could just drink champagne! No cork screw needed. The ultimate in convenience....
Yes Kath, you should know better.
I didn't ask Genie, just snapped away. I wasn't in their shop I was in Galleries Lafayette (who don't like photos either, not sure why- people love them). I did ask in Jean Paul Hevin- after similar sizeable purchase, and they were very gracious and said oui.
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