Le Marche de Belleville

Last fall I spent a little time exploring the part of Paris known as Belleville, sandwiched between the 10th, 11th, 19th, and 20th arrondissements.  Belleville has traditionally been a working class neighborhood, and is a melting pot of immigrants.  The energy level was significantly elevated from that of the refined, and much less colorful, 8th, where I live.  I loved browsing the Belleville market, which was a totally different shopping experience from the President Wilson market.  In addition to the fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, and fish that are sold at every market, the Belleville market included fabrics, lots of peppers (not hot enough for my taste, but still..), shoes, socks, head scarves, and various household items such as combs, cleaners, underwear, and toiletries.  It was kind of like a traditional French market meets Wal-Mart or the Dollar Store.  The Belleville market was also much noisier than what I was used to, as the vendors attempted to out-shout each other for the attention (and euros) of the shoppers.  It really felt like another world- a lively, multi-cultural, energizing, and curious world.