Monday 4 May 2009

Alimentation générale on a Sunday

After a gorgeous, sunny, warm Saturday spent in London, it was a grey, cold Sunday in Versailles. I didn't go out except to the little convenience store. Open almost 24/7, the "alimentation générale" is a household name in many French cities. In very small spaces, they store just about anything you could possibly need and are the only grocery shops open on Sunday afternoons, with the exception of bakeries.
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Après un samedi délicieusement ensoleillé et chaud passé à Londres, le retour à Versailles a été gris et froid. Je ne suis pas sortie, sauf pour faire un petit tour dans une alimentation générale.

24 comments:

VP said...

That's a shame: the sun still goes north! I like these shops, they are a bit cramped but extremely useful.

That is the chicken said...

Looks like a fascinating place to browse around...I like the flooring!

Cezar and Léia said...

Hello Dear Ciel!
I need to confess I don't like buying groceries.
Great picture!
Léia

Antjas said...

You must have gotten the munchies on this dreary day as you are in the snack food and beverage aisle. I see we all eat and drink the same things. Lays, Pringles and Heineken!

Marie-Noyale said...

Le rayon de bieres a l'air de deborder!!!
Ah la petite epicerie du quartier...
j'aime beaucoup le nom que lui donne les Canadiens Francophones: "Le Dépanneur"!!!
C'est bien cela!

Clueless in Boston said...

Boy, they really pack a lot in a small space, don't they.

Bob Crowe said...

This is a witty picture. Everything your life needs in the space of a few cubic meters.

Lowell said...

This wonderful photo reminds me of the great time we had shopping in this small shops while in Paris a couple of years ago!

Olivier said...

j'aime bien ce type de photo, j'aurais bien vu le patron de cette supérette en photo devant.

Don and Krise said...

It looks like there is barely enough room to walk down the aisles. It does look like they have just about anything you could need though.

Catherine said...

Il n'y a pas de pénurie pour ton ravitaillement !

Où, ailleurs, trouverait-on un carrelage de ce type ? Tout un poême !

Laurent said...

Tout est dit dans cette photo. Belle composition pour un dimanche gris.

Cergie said...

Quoi ? Tu es allée à Londres ? Veinarde !
Tu sais vendredi du moins il a fait beau ici...
On trouve ce type de magasin d'alimentation en Allemagne en tout cas, il y a des quartiers où des boutiques sont tenues par des français d'origine turques.
(Ma fille habitait dans un quartier de ce type à Düsseldorf, je me demande d'ailleurs quelle est la nationalité du tenancier si disponible de la tienne)

Anonymous said...

Wow, you were in London for the day - isn't the Eurostar brilliant? I bet it took less time for you to get there than it would for me!

I'm always scared in shops like this that I will brush the shelves with my big bag and send the whole lot crashing down!

Stefan Jansson said...

A tiny shop with everything, sounds like the perfect place for me who really hates shopping!

Dave said...

Small and colourful.

EG CameraGirl said...

I like the idea that most grocery stores aren't open on Sundays. They're all open here and that makes me feel sorry for all the people who have to work in them on a love Sunday afternoon. ;-)

Juergen Kuehn said...

One of the best medicine on a cold and rainy day is shopping.
As it seems you can find everything in this Alimentation générale - Tante Emma Laden ;)

Difficult job to take a photo in such a narrowness, but you solved it effectively.

crocrodyl said...

Yes, there is almost everything in such small place:)

Emma Bond said...

We love french shops! And French food of course, although as we are so close to France we can get pretty much anything here, including Bonne Maman Jam which is my favourite!

Bergson said...

Une alimentation petite mais musclée

Rob said...

I notice the chip snacks are close to the beer and wine. A good strategy. ;)

Frankie / Nick said...

Interesting how shopping varies from place to place, city to city. Here everything is wide open 7 days per week. More people do their shopping on the weekends than through the week.

Linda said...

Crammed with multi-coloured goodies - your photo makes it seem like a little jewel box.