Good morning blog world! We have just
returned from another jaunt across the channel in search of French
treasures. We got home with a very full
Camionnette as we were
over there for a full week.
On our travels we visited some familiar
haunts and had time to explore new places too. We met some lovely
sellers, many with a story to tell about the items they were selling.
One lady told me that her maman had worn the ice skates I had in my
hand whilst Ice Skating on the Champs-Elysees in the 1940's. As far
as I was aware the Champs-Elysees is a road, maybe a lake or pond
alongside the road was frozen. My French wasn't up to extracting the
fine detail so early in the morning!
We have a lot to learn in the way of
manners from the French. even at the most ordinary of Vide Greniers
(Car Boot Sale) one is expected to greet the stall holder and ask the
price in the most customary way.
Very little English is spoken in most
of the places we visit so a smile goes a long way and breaks down the
barriers.
Once the transaction is complete it is
usual to wish the stall holder a good day, and they will reciprocate.
I am ashamed to say that I sometimes
overhear a few English voices, usually talking loudly in some
misguided way to make themselves understood. To hear them haggling
aggressively over a Euro doesn't make me proud. ( I very rarely
haggle in France, if the price isn't right I leave it). Pricing tends
to be straightforward, for example 5 euros, 10 euros, 15 etc. If you
haggle it involves awkward numbers such as 4, 9 or 14. The stall
holders rarely have any sort of float or available change so the
whole transaction turns into a nightmare with everyone turning out
pockets to find an elusive euro!
Something about my appearance and
perhaps the style of clothing, means that I am usually mistaken for
being French. My patchwork coat causes a lot of interest and comment,
last weekend one lady stopped her conversation and chased after me
wanting to know where I purchased such an unusual garment! It is now
known as the “coat of many comments”.
What better start to a week of hunting
than a walk along the beach and a nose around a crumbling château?
This one had the added bonus of holding an Antiques fair over the
weekend. I have rarely seen such a mouthwatering collection of
stalls... beautiful carved religious figures with crumbling paint,
ancient stone cherubs, faded tapestries, iridescent enamel boxes and
old painted domed trunks. All way beyond my price range, but
wonderful to see.
This stall was set out in front of the
fireplace, above was this amazing painted ceiling.
A lot of the château has only just
been restored and has been left in a wonderful “pared-down” and
crumbling distressed state. Below is the staircase and the door way
from the courtyard.
I love the contrast of the cool
interior to the scorching sunlit garden seen through an ancient
shuttered window.
Throughout the building there were
intriguing features and objects of interest. The combination of part
museum and part Antiques Fair made it a fascinating place.
As usual I have managed to find a very
eclectic mix of French goodies....
..from an early 20th century
black satin Opera coat with pale pink rose coloured silk lining and a beautiful old lace blouse with
crystal buttons that belonged to “ma tante” (another story from
an enthusiastic stall holder), a red 1940's jacket with moth damage,
but perfect for customising or reworking to create something fresh
and new.
…....to a colourful collection of
toys, games and printing blocks dating from the 1950s.
The collection of toys was intriguing
as amongst it was a little notebook written in French and English. It was most interesting as the explanations were written in
English. You would expect them to be be written in French unless the author was English? Another unsolved mystery!
These items will be coming with us to
the long list of fairs over the next few months. I have a full list
on the side bar of the blog, and if you click on the image it will
take you to the website or blog for more details.
...PS I also bought some gorgeous French workwear..as seen here......
