Highs and Lows in La Rochelle

A couple of weeks back it was a beautiful sunny day so we decided to visit La Rochelle for a look around an antique market near the port.

It was a small professional market but I still managed to find a handful of interesting 'trucs' for my online Etsy Shop including this sweet little oil lamp and silk covered chocolate box.

Please click this link to view

Please click this link to view

Feeling chilled out and happy I decided on the way back to the van to surprise my husband, Spike, by suggesting a go on the big wheel.  Admittedly my previous experiences involving heights have not been altogether successful but I thought I should face my fears and enjoy the ride.

Having dropped off our buys we headed back towards the wheel and I was still resolved to give it a go - how bad could it be?

I'm told the view up there was amazing but by the time we hit 9 o'clock on the wheel my eyes were firmly shut and I was clinging to the pole in the middle of our car as if my life depended on it.  It wasn't until Spike told me we were near the ground again that I dared take another peek.  

On passing the man on the controls I called out to him to ask how many more times and to my horror I had to endure another two full turns.  It seems that reason and logic wasn't enough to conquer my fears but at least Spike took some amazing photos which in the circumstances (me screaming at him not to rock the car, frozen with fear and panicking generally) I'd say he did pretty well.  

He was also kind enough not to take any photos of me as I waited for my ordeal to end...although about 20 years ago on a very similar big wheel in Lille with someone (you know who you are... Mother!!!) I cannot say the same (luckily we didn't have digital cameras then so I have hidden the evidence). 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pics over the beautiful town of La Rochelle...

As I shakily wobbled back to the van Spike suggested that I scrap 'going up in an air balloon' from my bucket list and the thought of finding myself curled up in a ball at the bottom of the basket in front of complete strangers is perhaps an experience I could live without.  My new mantra for life at the moment is 'know your limits'. 

Marsac - The BIG One!

This Sunday we woke up at 5.30am in order to get to one of the largest brocante fairs in France as soon as it opened.

The Bric à Brac in Marsac is a two day event but we went on the second day in the hope of being able to haggle down the prices a bit (although we also ran the risk of missing out on some real treasures).  At 8am we stood in a queue waiting to pay our 3€ entry fee before being let in after a quick security check (understandable in light of recent events).

I do not exaggerate when I say that this fair is MASSIVE and covers about four large fields but this did not dampen our enthusiasm as it was such a joy to see so many traders in one place with such interesting stock.  

I found loads of trucs and spent a small fortune and had our future antique shop been open I honestly could have bought ten times more.

By about 2pm we were seriously flagging.  Tiredness had set in and the stifling heat that had been with us all day was beginning to get to us so we literally staggered around the final field (almost hoping we didn't see any more things to buy!) and made for home. 

Here are just some of the buys from Marsac that are in my office waiting for a good clean:-

This antique fair is not for the faint-hearted but in my opinion was well worth the effort - I can't wait to get my new acquisitions listed on my Etsy shop!

A Sojourn in Saujon

Last Sunday we were faced with the choice of innumerable brocantes to visit but because it promised to be a beautiful day we thought we'd head in the direction of the coast.  There was quite a large flea market advertised in the pretty town of Saujon and being on the way to a beach that had been recommended to us recently we decided to try there. 

We had never visited this particular market before but were thrilled to find it running along the banks of the Seudre, a pretty tree lined estuary river.

We arrived there bright and early and found the stall holders to be incredibly friendly as they basked in the warm glow of the soft morning sun.  We not only had a lovely time meandering around we also found quite a few interesting trucs that will soon feature in my online shop. 

Having finished shopping at around 10.30am we then headed off to a beach called Nauzan (the Plage de Nauzan is situated a few kilometres north of Royan).  We have found a few beaches we like in the area (including Royan) but had yet to find one that combined the natural setting of pine groves and nature with a few amenities like cafés and restaurants.

We were hoping to find somewhere charming and were not at all disappointed.  The golden sandy beach was nestled between two peninsulas that were dotted with a mixture of stone and marine pines.

I would be lying if I said the water was warm but it certainly woke us up after a morning shopping in the ever rising heat of the sun.  The picture below features my future holiday home (when I win the Euromillions).

We had such a lovely time we can't wait to visit again especially as the sea will be warmer in a month or so's time and the beach will be a little less crowed (although it wasn't at all bad considering it is the summer holidays). 

All in all a pretty perfect day... if only every shopping trip ended with an afternoon baking in the sun on a sandy beach (sigh!)

The Vintage French Garden

Since making the move from the French countryside to the small historic town of Cognac I have gained a renewed enthusiasm for gardening.

We created a large formal potager in our first home in France but the task of keeping it under control was all consuming and very hard work especially in the heat of the summer months.

In spite of all the sweat and toil though there really is nothing like the flavour of freshly picked home grown produce.

Although our life is now more urban we are very lucky to have a courtyard garden on two levels and I absolutely love it.  There's nothing I enjoy more after a day's work than wandering leisurely around our garden to see what flower has appeared or how our grape vine is doing.  All that it demands of me is a bit of weeding, watering and some deadheading of the roses and the Paris daisies. 

With a nod to our former rural life a couple of weeks back we bought an old large copper pot from a flea market and turned it into a mini herb and vegetable garden that is now handily situated on the balcony just outside our kitchen door.

We try to use reclaimed or re-purposed materials as much as possible to keep costs down and to give the space some individuality, for example metal reinforcing bars over a pre-existing framework make an effective trellis to grow a clematis over.

This pretty pot rack is still for sale in my Etsy Shop

This frame from an antique light fitting was in the barn of our old house and we have attached a hanging basket to the bottom of it which I am happy to say is filling out every day and gracing the gazebo at the end of our top terrace.

I especially love our wrought iron screens that work well as a backdrop against the tall wall of the neighbouring house as well as the central one being a climbing frame for our lovely scented rose.

Another brocante find was a large earthenware pot with handles shown in the photo below. It's original purpose was to salt ham but it is now a charming planter for our little bay tree.  

And finally it's just feasible that I may have mentioned in a previous post the fountain we bought second hand from a garden in Poitiers (I'm so proud of it I do try to casually slip it into conversations wherever humanly possible!) The sound of it's gentle burble of water often draws me outside or to the window to gaze out at it when I really should be working. 

I have come to realise that the biggest garden doesn't necessarily bring the greatest pleasure and for me our town courtyard is really developing into a little paradise.   

Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Contrary to popular belief it frequently rains here in France and has been doing so on and off for a couple of weeks now, but a week and a half ago we were lucky to have a brief respite and went out in search of bargains.

Our first stop was very local to us in a hamlet called Genté and the day began well with the sun breaking through the mist rising over the vineyards.

The fair at Genté was in most part a vide-grenier (which translates as 'empty attic sale'). These sales generally have more private people from the surrounding area selling than professionals so the gems can be few and far between.

As with most vide greniers we had mixed luck but managed to find a few quirky trucs that I haven't yet managed to process but can't wait to share when I have.

We then went on to a brocante in the very pretty village of Tesson and found some more treasures as well as some super plants for our courtyard garden and some delicious asparagus from a local farm.

After a couple of hours wandering the pretty streets of Tesson the weather began to really hot up and the humidity was building so we decided to quit while we were ahead and visit the beautiful medieval town of Pons just up the road for lunch.

We booked a table on the terrace of a charming traditional restaurant and went for a wander around the nearby Donjon (which gives the restaurant it's name) and it's stunning topiary gardens.

You never know what rare flora and fauna you might find in gardens of this type... could that be the hitherto thought extinct 'Lesser Spotted Spikius' I spy???

A breathtaking view over the surrounding countryside

Since that lovely day I've struggled to find a good day to shop for bargains or take photographs of my stock as the light hasn't been so good so I'm so glad we made the most of it when we could and look forward hopefully to sunnier days ahead.  

Féte du Travail in Rochefort

It's been a while since my last post (about six months to be completely honest!) but now that the warmer weather has returned so have I!  

I've had a very busy winter working on the renovations of our town house in Cognac with my husband Spike and building the stock levels back up for my Etsy Shop after a very busy Christmas period.

The glorious weather has made us concentrate on the courtyard of our house and to my absolute joy we have installed a second hand fountain that I found online a few months back.  There's still so much to do but having planted up the flower beds it's a good start (although our puss 'Raoul' seems determined to squash my endeavours).

Still very much work in progress but Jakie doesn't seem to mind

This May Day weekend (Fête du Travail) we had a choice of so many flea markets in our region it was difficult to decide which to visit but eventually plumped for a brocante held in the pretty town of Rochefort.

I was delighted to come across some yarn bombing while we were there and long may this trend continue!

The bandstand near the flea market is simply charming

The sun was out and the flea market was full of interesting trucs that I snapped up and are soon to make an appearance in my shop.

An eclectic mix of trucs and so many bits and bobs to sift through

Here's just a small selection of my many buys from Rochefort that are waiting to be processed.

It's a tough job but someone's got to do it!

Panic Buying!

Now that November has arrived the brocante season is slowly drawing to a close and I know from experience that it will be pretty tricky finding stock for my online shop over the winter period so I'm making it my mission to get out to flea markets as much as possible to find what I can before it's too late.  

The last couple of weekends I've been very lucky and managed to acquire some really interesting trucs in particular the Sunday before last when we visited a large brocante in the coastal town of Meschers-sur-Gironde.  

The brocante in the pretty town of Meschers

We arrived early to get the best bargains and the weather was beautiful so the traders where in a good mood which always helps when haggling.  We had already made our way around the market by lunchtime (having run back to the van to unload our buys a couple of times) so we decided as it was such a lovely day to take a drive along the coast to St George de Didonne for a leisurely lunch overlooking the sea.

Being a Sunday this little restaurant was the only one open and although
it doesn't look much we were very pleasantly surprised

The plat du jour was fish which was lucky because I am a pescatarian

A little windblown but very content

Some of my buys from Meschers before being cleaned and researched

This coming weekend we are planning to go to a brocante an hour north of us in a village called Loulay.  This flea market holds particularly fond memories for me because it was there two years ago that I first tentatively shopped for stock for my new Etsy Shop little knowing that it would develop into such an important and enjoyable part of our lives in France.