Travels with Forty Roses: Braderie de Lille

The history of the Braderie de Lille dates from the Middle Ages. The first written record is from 1127 in accounts by the chronicler Galbert de Bruges. At that time, it was called the Foire de Lille or Franche Foire and it was held in the currently named Place du Général-de-Gaulle formerly the Place du Marché. The name Braderie, or street market, appears for the first time in an ordinance of the Magistrate of Lille in August of 1446. The event held at the end of August allowed foreign merchants to sell their goods in Lille without paying taxes. This included roasting meats and food as well as goods. (Braderie comes from the Flemish word braaden, to roast.) The Braderie, held every year since, has evolved and changed over time but still contains the essential mix of established shop owners and the public selling goods in a happy mash-up of a giant jumble sale.

The Braderie in Numbers!

2.5 million visitors

80 kilometers of stalls for 8000 street traders

34 hours of continuous buying and selling

500 tons of mussels and 30 tons of frites consumed…and due to this fact Lille is attempting to enter the Guinness World Book of Records this weekend for consuming the most mussels in 48 hours.

I doubt there will be a problem!

We took the bus from Wambrechies into the city, about a 15-minute trip, and arrived early around 9AM. Already the streets were bustling with vendors setting up their goods and buyers lined up for bargains. And food! Beignets in every size are a favourite and every bakery had a street stall selling hot coffee and pastries. We walked from 9AM until 5PM when we flopped into bus seats for the trip home. We stopped once for coffee and once for lunch but were in perpetual motion the remainder of the day. Music groups were scattered everywhere in the old city and the Vauban area which had been blocked off entirely from vehicular traffic for safety and security. Despite heavy crowds and slow going in some streets all was a holiday mood with families out in full force. Carts and little wagons and every kind of conveyance that could be pulled or pushed was loaded with purchases. And what an array and choice there was. Some of the photos will show you a few of the oddest items that caught my eye. But we were busy looking too. . . for that one treasure that was someone else’s junk! My mission was finding paper weights but although I saw several none met my criteria for collection. They are highly sought after here and the French are noted for their superb collections. This Braderie draws people from all over and has become one of the most popular annual events in Europe.

But my favourite picture is John getting his Braderie haircut by Justine. Anita in Northbrook is wonderful but John now has a knew favourite, along with the price. He tells me it’s the best haircut ever?

We are happy to be back onboard and almost ready to depart. We shall be sad to leave our compatriots here at the Port de Plaisance. Everyone has been so friendly and helpful. Mr. Bernard Chiron who is a balloonist, or more correctly flies in a Montgolfière. . . has been such a help in watching over the boat while we were home in Canada and in helping us with a myriad of little things. We watch him each evening take up his passengers and fly with the breeze for a couple of hours or in the morning if conditions are right. We have a small airport to the east and acrobatic pilots, balloonists and parachutists are the predominate users. The acrobatic pilots are amazing to watch so we have our own free airshow each evening. DJ and Claudette are moored across from us. DJ, we see but Claudette occasionally as she does not travel by boat. Phillipe, Valerie and little Lucien,who is three, were here for dinner on Thursday. I was rather nervous cooking for a French family but it seems all was good as seconds were requested and bowls swiped clean with Olivier’s delicious bread. Oh, how we shall miss it! We plan to meet Phillipe’s daughter in Paris and will always keep Capitainiere Sylvie’s number on our phone in case we come back this way. It is a delightful little village and marina and we have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Now off to move slowly toward Auxerre.