Friends, it’s working. Love the Place You Live is working! Meaning: this column is encouraging me to do some really satisfying local exploring. Which is exactly what I hoped for!
This week, I’m sharing some photos from a nearby brocante/tea salon (brocante = antique shop) called L’Indiscret. I have been meaning to check out this particular brocante since the very first week we moved here. It’s been over a year and I still hadn’t stopped in. Then, last week, when I was thinking about what I should write about for today’s post, I remembered the brocante! So Ben Blair and I dropped in on Saturday.
I was so glad we did! It’s a lovely a place — a cute antique shop up front, with a warehouse full of furniture in the back. The shopkeeper on Saturday was the daughter of the owners. She lives in Paris but comes home on the weekends to help at the brocante. The shop is currently only open on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but the owners dream about retiring from their day jobs and running the shop full-time. I love stories like that!
The shop was even better than I’d hoped. The prices were definitely reasonable — in fact, I picked up these two sweet pieces of green enamelware for 10 euros. If there’s something you’re looking for, you should definitely contact the owners — many of their items are listed online and they’ll ship! (Don’t worry, they speak both French and English. One more tip: open their site in Google Chrome and it will translate it for you.)
We were only there for a 10 or 15 minutes, and we didn’t have time to stay for food. But we snapped lots of photos and now I feel like I have another fun option to share with guests who want to pick up an authentic souvenir, or a fun place to meet friends for afternoon tea.
This Love the Place You Live series was just the push I needed to do a little exploring. Hooray! The next Love the Place You Live post will be Monday, April 23rd. I hope you’ll get the chance to do something local between now and then, because I’d love to read your writeup! I’ll try to remind everyone a few days before. : )
I have enjoyed reading your posts about brocante and the flea markets too – so many lovely things to look at and be inspired by even if you aren’t buying! There is something about living somewhere with so much history – so many layers of living wherever you look.
Is that 9am PST for the link? Here’s my linkety link in the comments before I zoom off to school drop off… It’s quite the opposite of the old world charm of les brocantes! C’est la vie…
http://www.raincoastcottage.com/weblog/2012/3/19/loving-the-place-i-live-skiing-in-vancouver.html
Hey… I might have missed something along the way, but you guys have a date for coming back stateside, or are you staying there for good?
Thank you!
I sell vintage jewelry and small goods (Etsy shop) so getting to peek at French flea markets and shops is a thrill for me. I dream of gallavanting across France, gathering little vintage treasures along the way, all the while munching on delicious breads and treats of course :)
Such a serene place! I love the green enamel and that sweet white ceramic platter and the way the light just streams in through the windows.
What an amazing little find! Love all your photos. I’m happy you are doing this new series, and hope that it forces me to explore a few places that I’ve been putting off visiting too!
I’ve got a post ready and been anxiously awaiting all day for your linky to open! :) I’m in England and it’s already after 2pm!
Having lived in both Europe and the US, I feel like I can say with some authority that there is a charm to shops in Europe that’s lacking here. Unless you live in NYC (which I used to), and then there’s some of it. But charm is ridiculously expensive in the US, whereas it’s not necessarily so outside of the country. I do miss it.
I absolutely love that shop. Your enamelware is lovely. I’m starting to collect some to use as mini pots for my succulents.
Lovely, quaint little shop. Here in Italy there are quite a few little shops like that and you can find some pretty amazing things for great prices. I actually find that the items I’m interested in are just the ones that are really cheap….I guess Italians are bored of all those old school antiques ( used IKEA furniture is usually the expensive stuff – sometimes even more than in IKEA!).
So many treasures! I love the tray and the flatware!
Thanks for hosting this fun link-up again! Can’t wait to check out some others!
I really like this series. Not only is it good for encouraging local adventures but also because it’s so fun to see where all us Design Mom readers are around the world.
Lovely shop! So fun to hunt for little treasures in a place like that – and love the back story about the owner’s daughter. Thanks for sharing it with all of us!
I love this series and visiting folk from around the world… beautiful!!!
The world needs less coffee houses and MORE TEA SALONS!!!!!
Love the shop, and the idea behind your post! I’ve been collecting images of local artisans’ work, small business, etc. on a Pinterest Board I call, Local Pindies (Local = Metro Denver, CO & Pindie = Pinterest plus Indie). My blog pindie.blogspot.com elaborates on the idea of celebrating the local…when in Rome! Thanks again–
Love “Love the Place You Live” posts. Thanks for doing it again!
Now that we’re looking at the last half of our year in Germany, I feel really anxious about hitting up as many flea markets and the German version of les brocantes, “Trödelladen,” as possible. I want to bring home as many treasures as possible!
Sooo… I’m planning a trip to Europe for my parents this fall and I’ve got Europe on the brain. This weekend I was working on the Normandy leg of their trip (too many things to see, not enough time!) and I’m wondering… Have you been to the Auberge Ravoux yet? It is the last place that Van Gogh lived and you can see the room where he died, as well as his gravesite. The Auberge is still a working restaurant and I’m told it’s very good. I’m dying to go!
Wow, these pictures are so lovely… I am a big fan of your series!
Well Gabby, You know I’m in love with ALL of that! I’m wondering what and how you will ship stuff home? Miss you! Kath
One of my greatest delights during my year in France was Saturday afternoon — I would spend it completely by my lonesome, putzing about from marché aux puces to brocante and home again for a cuppa and a bikkie. That circuit became very dear to me.
I brought this ritual along with me to my new home in the Netherlands, and most Saturdays you will find me ducking into the little second-hand and vintage shops dotting Utrecht’s Oudegracht canal (and emerging many a time with a scuffed enamel teapot like the darling one you found). I feel a post coming on. :)
What I wouldn’t give for one ( or five) of those armoires!! Lovely place.
This series is a wonderful idea. I’m in New Orleans and will be participating next month :)
i really love the idea of the “love the place you live” feature of your blog. ever since re-discovered my love for photography i’ve been running around my neighborhoods and beyond to discover what my eyes haven’t seen yet.
warm greetings!
leyla.
I am enjoying joining in “love the place you live” so much! Thank you for providing the opportunity.
Your images of the Brocante are beautiful and inspiring.
We enjoyed a weekend of spring skiing on the nearby Italian Alps:
http://fashion-for-the-rest-of-us.blogspot.fr/2012/03/second-time-was-charm.html
Oh how I love this new fixture on your blog! It’s wonderful to see France through your family’s experiences!
As a military family, we move a lot. So, most of the traveling and exploring we do is in our ‘new’ backyard. Each move brings a new adventure. Now we are living in California. Next stop is somewhere in Asia!
Cheers,
Kristina