You like dogs: where can you go?

I usually pick up a copy of the free daily newspaper that is stocked in bins in the metro stations when I am on my way to French class.  I read through a few articles during my commute and like being able to ask my teacher about any unfamiliar words when I get to class.  When I was reading the paper the other week, I saw an article about some chicken being named the most beautiful chicken in France at the Salon de l'Agriculture (International Agriculture Show).  J loves chickens, so I looked up the dates of the show online and found that it was not too late to visit the Salon so he could see the chickens in person.  I am substantially less fond of chickens than J, but when I was looking through the website for visitor information I noticed that the page listing where to find various animals at the show read, "You like dogs: where can you go?"  I thought to myself, "I do like dogs, where can I go?"  And with that, we were off to the Salon de l'Agriculture.

The salon took place in a convention center at the edge of Paris.  We had previously been to the same convention center for a salon of independent wine producers, but the agriculture show was much larger.  Every building was filled with pens full of animals, displays on advances in agricultural technology, or food stalls selling specialities from regions of France or the world.  We picked up a map and targeted the halls where the dogs, donkeys, goats, sheep, and birds were located.  

I was amused by the "stars" of the show: one animal from each breed that was profiled on the website and had its picture on all of the posters and guides.  We were lucky enough to see the featured dog in a mini dog show going on inside and walking by us outside as her owners took her picture posed in front of a giant poster with her face on it.

We were both surprised by the size of the crowds.  Some of the buildings and exterior walkways between the buildings were so congested that you could barely walk around. We also saw six different pan flute bands playing along with recorded music at different parts of the convention center grounds.  It was quite the spectacle.

The Salon de l'Agriculture was a little different than our usual weekend activity, but we had a good time.  Between getting to see some cute animals, eating delicious flatbread sandwiches from a Moroccan food stand, and J resisting the urge to buy one of the many chickens and ducks for sale, I think the day was a success.