Stores, big and small

Many stores in Paris are tiny and sell about one thing, which means I have a completely different and complete experience buying each thing I need. I have seen stores selling only:

-socks and gloves,
-a store solely for kitchen knives,
-boulangeries (pastry/bread shops),
-a seafood store,
-men's clothing,
-stores only selling pens,
-only posters....the list is endless I presume.

It's a little like magic. It's easy to walk from one place to the other because the stores are close to eachother.

That being said, the most terrible place I've been to yet is Châtelet les Halles, a giant underground mall where the floors are listed as negative (-1, -2, -3, -4), the flow of people is uncontrolled and not even the people who work there know how to find their way. I was lost there, swimming in circles through the crowds of people, up and down escalators and stairs, for an hour, getting hotter and hotter in my jacket, consulting clueless people and maps. So France is hardly exempt from the massive store culture I see in places in the U.S., and can be worse. I think I'll stick to the little shops when I can---it is far more adventurous and precious.