4th of July Food Market in Paris

It was really weird to not be in the US during the 4th of July. Obviously, people in France don't celebrate American independence day, but that didn't change the way I felt. I missed the fireworks, the cookouts, the parades, the music... As the day progressed, it became clear: I needed to do something: something special and American.

The answer came in the form of the Paris Food Market.

The Food Market takes place once a month, with each month having some sort of theme, and the website said that this month would be the 4th of July! I hopped on the RER and made my way over.

The list of vendors at the market

On both ends of the festival were tables where people could sit and eat, and in the middle was food stall after food stall, all pressed next to each other like penguins huddling for warmth.

Only one of the places had really overtly patriotic food.

Every stall that was even remotely American was using the 4th as a marketing technique, though, with little sales on American cuisine (Texas Tacos 10% off!) and such. Everything was in French, though, except for this one sign that had an English translation on the back.

I thought it was funny, and it also reminded me of home because cheese.

Mostly, it was just the same type of stuff you'd expect from really good street food vendors, though a few of the places had real stores as well. Everything smelled absolutely amazing!

After I walked through the market and saw all of the options, I decided to get a cookie from one of the vendors. They had a plethora of options, the best of which was some triple-chocolate beauty that had the unfortunate name Divorce Me. The second best cookie was similarly named, called the Marry Me. I found myself in a dilemma. I didn't want to get to the counter and ask for a divorce, but neither did I want to propose. I made it to the front of the line without knowing what to order, before I glanced down and realized that the company had renamed the Divorce Me cookie. I ordered one Give Me More, paid, and walked away with a delicious chocolaty morsel that did indeed make me want more.

In the end, the market wasn't really quite as patriotic as my very-American self was hoping for, but it was still a fantastic experience and I had a really good time.

So if I hummed God Bless America on the way back to my dorm while munching on a fantastic triple-chocolate cookie, well, what else can an American in Paris do on the 4th of July?