Sunday, 24 July 2011

Popping down to the shops

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:


The champagne section, of course they have a fridge too if you need a cold one urgently

If only supermarket vegies looked like that at home

A tiny portion of the massive U shaped delicatessen counter- meats, cheeses, terrines

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.


The smoked fish section

A veritable wall of chocolate

Even the tissue boxes are fancier in France

The oyster bar

The poultry is a stunning display


Amazing tarts







A huge spice section, like a market in Marrakesh
A minute portion of the available cheeses







Yoghurt in glass jars


The major patisseries all have stands at Galleries Lafayette. It's a great place to see them all in one place.








I think this is Sadaharu Aoki









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.







Paris in July 


Saturday Snapshot, is a wonderful weekly meme from at home with books.





This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a fabulous weekly meme at Beth Fish Reads.
at

26 comments:

  1. Hannah23 July 2011 at 22:03

    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 :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Paulita 23 July 2011 at 22:29

    Thanks for the trip to the market in France. Now I'll just dread my visit to the Ohio grocery store even more.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Laurel-Rain Snow23 July 2011 at 22:31

    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

    ReplyDelete
  4. TheBookGirl23 July 2011 at 22:33

    Oh my...I so enjoyed that photographic tour of the supermarket aisles...although i don't really think "supermarket" is the right word!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beth F23 July 2011 at 22:48

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  6. caite23 July 2011 at 23:06

    hey, my local supermarket looks just like that!

    IN MY DREAMS...lol

    ReplyDelete
  7. cate24 July 2011 at 00:03

    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 :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Irene24 July 2011 at 00:05

    Wonderful tour of Paris.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous24 July 2011 at 00:19

    Those tissue boxes are gorgeous, as are the spices!

    ReplyDelete
  10. bermudaonion24 July 2011 at 00:45

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Carol24 July 2011 at 00:47

    I would love shopping there, mu market doesn't even come close! LOL, love those tissue boxes.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lisa@ButteryBooks24 July 2011 at 00:49

    Everything looks delish!

    ReplyDelete
  13. (Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea24 July 2011 at 01:01

    So much of everything! My sniffer is working overtime.LOL

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sherrie24 July 2011 at 02:05

    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

    ReplyDelete
  15. Alyce24 July 2011 at 02:20

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Beth(bookaholicmom)24 July 2011 at 02:21

    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!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous24 July 2011 at 02:44

    Stuck on the tissue paper, how quaint. I would have to bring loads and loads back to the states.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Kate24 July 2011 at 02:55

    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!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Alex24 July 2011 at 03:15

    This is enough to make anyone want to desperately live in Paris just to go grocery shopping. Thanks for this tasty treat.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Kath Lockett24 July 2011 at 21:40

    I KNEW that I shouldn't be reading this blog on an empty stomach!

    ReplyDelete
  21. gautami tripathy24 July 2011 at 22:56

    Me drooling....!!


    Wonderful photos!

    Here is my Saturday Snapshot post!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Leslie (Under My Apple Tree)25 July 2011 at 02:27

    I haven't eaten yet this morning and all those lovely photos are making me very hungry.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Nan25 July 2011 at 03:27

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Marie25 July 2011 at 06:19

    Very cool to be shopping in Paris. Nice photos to remember that experience.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Genie -- Paris and Beyond26 July 2011 at 00:32

    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

    ReplyDelete
  26. Louise26 July 2011 at 10:49

    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.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting.