Wrapping up our Buying Trip in France

We have finished our container!  We worked too hard and too fast to take photos of many of our finds, but we did take some pretty shots of the scenery around where we’ve been working.

The Arena in Nimes, a Roman amphitheater built 2000 years ago.

Roman ruins can be found throughout the city of Nimes.

The Maison Carrée or Square House in Nimes is one of the best preserved temples anywhere in the territory of the former Roman Empire

Southern France is full of olive trees and lavender...

  

...and fields of sunflowers.

The French are masters of Trompe l'Oeil, which literally means "tricks the eye," an art technique of painting on a flat surface such that the subject appear to be three dimensional.

We catch our flight back up to Paris today and then it’s back home for Renee and vacation in the Balkans for Alexander.  To celebrate our final shopping day, we spent the afternoon on a Mediterranean beach near Montpellier and had fruits de mer (fruits of the sea….or seafood platter) and rosé wine to celebrate! 

Prawns, oysters, mussels, sea snails, crab, and lobster...YUM!

Chateau Coujan

After another day of antique shopping at the Beziers market, we had the chance to meet Harrison’s second host family with whom he will live starting in January.  Florence is from a noble family and is the fifth generation to live in the family chateau.   The estate dates back to Roman times and you can still see vestiges of its Roman past.  Over the centuries, it has evolved into a unique estate that includes a bed & breakfast, still produces wine…

has a 17^th century chapel….

And is home to more than 60 peacocks and 100 white doves.  

Beziers Market

Today there was a large antique market in Beziers.   When we arrived at the gates, where buyers and sellers alike were waiting to get in, we could hear French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Polish, Dutch, German, and some languages we didn’t recognize.  Between the two of us, Alexander and I speak five languages, so we were in polyglot heaven.  At 8 a.m. sharp, the gates opened and we all rushed in.  Here are our favorite finds of the days.

A nineteenth century gilded Louis XV mirror that measures almost eight feet tall.

A pair of nienteenth century hand carved walnut Provencal armchairs.

A collection of charming petite yellow confit pots from the region.

Lunch at the market was Provencal paella with mussels, shrimp, chicken, and squid.

After a long, hot day of work, we had a relaxing dinner full of laughter with Harrison’s host family.  This time, their children, Benoite and Henri, joined us.  The setting was the private property of a local vintner where they have their own restaurant as well. 

Today there was a large antique market in Beziers.   When we arrived at the gates, where buyers and sellers alike were waiting to get in, we could hear French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Polish, Dutch, German, and some languages we didn’t recognize.  Between the two of us, Alexander and I speak five languages, so we were in polyglot heaven.  At 8 a.m. sharp, the gates opened and we all rushed in.  Here are our favorite finds of the days.

A nineteenth century gilded Louis XV mirror that measures almost eight feet tall.

A pair of nienteenth century hand carved walnut Provencal armchairs.

A collection of charming petite yellow confit pots from the region.

Lunch at the market was Provencal paella with mussels, shrimp, chicken, and squid.

After a long, hot day of work, we had a relaxing dinner full of laughter with Harrison’s host family.  This time, their children, Benoite and Henri, joined us.  The setting was the private property of a local vintner where they have their own restaurant as well.