And all of Paris showed up. Through a connection at work (the agriculture part of my "trade and agriculture" job), Michael and I received two free tickets to attend this year's Salon Internationale d'Agriculture. To be honest, we didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into, other than repeatedly hearing, "Oh, you have to go - it's such a Parisian thing to do!!" So naturally, as newcomers to Paris with free tickets to attend and an open Saturday afternoon, we headed to the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Center yesterday to check it out. From the moment we got off the metro, we were a bit shocked at the sheer number of people headed into the event. Once we got inside, we were completely overwhelmed with the crowds of people pushing their way through aisles of vendors and various animal exhibits. Neither of us like crowds, and this was perhaps the busiest exhibit either of us have ever been to. There were a total of seven or eight massive pavilion floors, representing the country's agricultural industry from farm to table. Visitors could get up close and personal with horses, pigs, cows, crops, wine, cheese, tractors, and of course stalls tended by ranchers, growers and producers. The ginormous prize-winning cows appeared to be the main attraction. And one could see why - here were a bunch of city-folk encountering animals that they typically only see on a dinner menu; us included. It certainly shed new light for me on what a "Blonde Aquitaine" steak actually meant (the lovely Ms. cow above). It did seem a bit insensitive, though, to have the cows situated right next to an artisan butcher. Educational for humans, yes, but perhaps a bit too soon for poor Bessy. In addition to all the farm animals on display, the other main attraction seemed to be the huge pavilion dedicated to food and drink from the various regions in France. Which would have been fantastic had there been maybe a quarter of the humans present. I took photos of the stalls, but it was just too packed to stop and taste anything, or to struggle through basic French while discussing the delicacies of regional cuisine. We stayed for a grand total of one hour, which was about 55 minutes longer than either of us really wanted to stay.
But, we did it! And thereby experienced something that apparently Parisians enjoy doing. Though how anyone could enjoy anything with so many damn people everywhere, neither of us could possibly begin to say.
2 Comments
Neha
3/2/2014 07:42:38 am
So basically, you went to the Paris County Fair, without fried Oreos, pig races and barely working rides! Sorry about the crowds, but you know how excited peoples get bout the fair!
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Kelsey
3/2/2014 10:20:35 am
That's true! It was totally the Paris County Fair, without the games and prizes :)
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