Health Food Stores

I just got back from Whole Foods.  "My" WF is gigantic, maybe 200,000 square feet.  It has an olive bar, a mozzarella bar (fresh), lots of regional, vegan and ethnic choices.  It has fresh soup, two different kinds of pre-cooked chicken, bins of grain, nuts, cereal.

Every time I go to this store, I end up buying less than I expected, I get a bit stalled by the sheer size and quantity of goods.  I just needed a few things.  They also have lots of vitamins, a machine that makes butter out of a variety of nuts, fresh meat and fish, lots of gluten-free selections.

I don't really like this store, but it's the only place around to get some of the things I eat.

Naturalia in Paris resembles health food stores in the US circa 1980.  The first thing you notice is the health food store smell.  What is that?  A combination of spilled health foods, I guess. 

Naturalia is so small (maybe 1500 square feet) that two people can barely pass in an aisle.  Lots of the really good stuff is on the bottom shelf so people are hunkered on their knees or crouching, looking for their products.   It has the basics, even some health food wine (maybe made with organic grapes?). 

Consistent with Whole Foods, I never buy as much as I expect.  Either they don't have it (even if they had it last week), or I can't find it and no one is available to help me. 

They have a few bulk products, like WF but no convenience, pre-cooked stuff.  You buy it, you take it home, you cook it. 

They are both more expensive than regular stores, which is to be expected.