Hey everyone – Sorry for the radio silence. It has been a crazy- wonderful ten days of birthday fun and I chose to consciously be present for it rather than rushing to get photos and posts up. Rest assured though, the posts and pics will make their way up eventually! :)
The friend reunion was even more delightful than we’d imagined. The reconnection was instantaneous, as if no time had passed at all (in reality it’s been about 3.5 months since they’ve seen each other), and they got along splendidly the entire time. I already highlighted many of our adventures over on Facebook, so today, instead of expanding on those, I’m going to highlight one particular experience we shared that was very memorable.
Sveta (Anastasia’s Mom), just so happens to love flea markets and asked if one existed in Almaty. I had no idea offhand, but after some inquiries, I discovered that we did, indeed, have a weekend flea market and—BONUS!—an English-speaking-local who took groups on tours of the market to help them find the exact treasures they were looking for. And you know I love trying new stuff, ESPECIALLY TOURS, so I was on board from the get-go. The girls were a little harder to convince, but we got there and all went into it excited.
The tour began at 8:30 Saturday morning. First stop was a Parisien bakery where we got to know our guide over coffee and made a list of the items we were seeking. (Fun fact: flea markets apparently originated in Paris, hence the addition of the coffee stop.) After savoring our coffee and croissants, it was time to make our way to the flea market on the edge of town. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but had no doubt it would be fascinating.
And fascinating it was. While not exclusively pre-owned goods (the flea market stalls were mixed in with stands selling new items), there were plenty of vendors to choose from. And this was no weekend pop-up market either, as the majority of stores were in permanent structures like the one shown below.
Each of us had different items we were looking for that day. High on the girls’ lists were collectables—stamps, coins, pins and rocks—so it made sense that our first stop had a little bit of all those things. They both got really into it and lasted a good two and a half hours before they started showing signs of fatigue. Their deliberations were intense too—so hard to choose between the various treasures!
There was an abundance of Soviet-era items such as pins, stamps, dishes and books. Nia already had a few Soviet pins that Nick’s Dad had given her last summer, so she added more of those, plus a handful of stamps and a war book of sorts (she’s taking it to school this week to have her Russian teacher help her translate it).
Also, not pictured, are some random post cards from the early to mid-1900’s and written in Russian. Those are also getting taken to school for decoding. And here are a few more pins that are too cool not to share…
I didn’t end up with much, just some old sheet music for collaging and a set of Japanese porcelain plates that I’m going to use when serving tea to guests. Aren’t they pretty?
Our guide was incredible. It was obvious she had relationships with all the sellers (apparently not only does she lead tours, but she scouts for particular items for her clients). She was so styling in her vintage wear too—not sure I could ever pull that off. And the best part was this mini vintage radio that she wore like a purse that played jazz music for us while we shopped. It was the perfect touch!
I’ve done very little flea-marketing or antiquing, but I AM a pro at thrifting and garage-saling, which has much the same feel. The treasure-hunt piece of it is so fun, for adults and children alike. I’m really glad we tried it out and wouldn’t be surprised if we end up back there again down the road.
