A day spent shopping at a traditional French flea market in Eymet, France!
Today we woke up bright and early to attend a flea market that happens only once per year in Eymet, France. We started our morning with fresh croissants delivered from the local boulangerie, hard boiled eggs, and homemade jam. Afterwards, we piled into our two vans and headed to the market.
I was excited to see what the market would be like – as many of you know, I work for Chateau Sonoma, and helped promote the Chateau Sonoma French Flea Market which also only takes place once per year. Sarah, the owner, has described the markets to me in detail, and I was thrilled to experience a French flea in real life!
Heather told us that many Parisian buyers come to this market, and that we would find many wonderful items…she also warned us that we would see a lot of junk. We began our long day of buying items from the vendors and slowly got more comfortable haggling, dealing, and speaking in French.
I was very surprised by how much junk there was. Old barbie dolls, used makeup, etc.. etc.. However, hiding within the junk were beautiful pieces of artwork, silver, copper, and everything in between. I was most surprised by the low prices. I purchased an entire set of French silverware for 30 euros! The glasses and mason jars were only .50 euros, and I wish I could have bought much more. At the end of the day I realized I had spent less than 200 euro on all of the things I had purchased!
I brought a (very large) extra suitcase to bring home all of my items in, so I really didn’t hold back much. I scooped up table linens, glasses, mason jars, baskets, an entire set of French silver, 6 copper pots, and much more. We made trips back and forth to the cars to store everything so that we could cart more home! My new friend Marisa and I stayed together and talked each other into and out of buying many things. Her greatest treasure was a 45 euro Celiné scarf!
The day was beginning to die down, and we decided to sit for a glass of water and rosé before meeting the group to head back to the chateau. Inside the café, locals were drinking beer and wine and Sweet Home Alabama was playing on the radio, which made me smile. The town of Eymet was spectacular, it was everything you’d imagine a quaint French town would be: cobblestone streets, cafés on every corner, even the town square was adorned with yellow flowers. We enjoyed walking through the streets and taking photos of every detail.
Our car ride home turned into quite a scenic drive due to a few wrong turns; however, none of us seemed to mind because we found ourselves in rural France amongst incredible stone chateaus. At one point we pulled over to admire a herd of Charolais cattle (if anyone remembers Charlie – these ladies are his ancestors).
This evening, we will be showing and telling about all of the things we purchased at the flea, and later this week, we will be using a lot of the pieces to style and photograph – which will be heaps of fun! I think all of us are exhausted after the long (fun) day shopping, and we have all headed to our rooms for a nap before show-and-tell.
Tomorrow we will begin the lecture series, and I am so excited to learn learn learn – until then, bisous!
What a dream of a day! Love living vicariously. :) It’s been over a year since I’ve been in France and it’s beginning to feel like it’s time to head back. Now to convince my husband… So cute that they were playing Sweet Home Alabama. Kind of like playing La Vie En Rose at an American rodeo. ;) Enjoy your time and hope you’ll share your finds with us!
Julie – when you head back to France, can I come in your suitcase??? ;) I think yearly trips are definitely necessary…for the soul and all. Thanks for stopping by to say hello!
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