Friday, February 11, 2011

~Traveling to French Flea Markets with my French Ebay Friend Aline~

Imagine how excited I was to open an email from my friend Aline (my French Ebay friend) and it was all about her trip to the French Flea Markets.  Aline, always has the most beautiful items on her Ebay site bluecherry.  I met Aline 15 years ago while on my hunt for beautiful French Enamelware.  I found her enamelware to be the most beautiful of all the dealers on ebay.  I developed a wonderful relationship with her and her family over the years.  She has helped me purchase things from France where the dealer didn't speak English.  We have NEVER met in person, yet I think of her as a sister!  She always sends me pictures of wonderful French items that she knows I can't resist... here is her report to me...Thank you Aline for allowing me to share your story with my blog readers!

 
Last week-end, we drove to Provence for a full-3 days buying trip. We first stopped in Béziers where an antiques market takes place monthly.
There, we were welcome by a lot of cute musician cherubs and gorgeous garden furniture :
                                              
On our way to South, we stopped at Carpentras flea market where local people are allowed to display their goodies every Saturday.
you often can find there unexpected items such as factory furniture, 1950 kids shoes, gorgeous green glaze roof tiles
or... dried mushrooms with an incredible smell !!!


L'Isle sur la Sorgue always offers its charm and refreshing rivers.
Since the years 60's, this lovely little town has become  the third European platform for antique trade, behind Saint-Ouen and London.
Every year, at Easter (April 22nd to 25th) and mid August (13th to 15th), its International Fair gathers exhibitors coming from everywhere in France.
They offer a wide profusion of pieces from the expensive traditional Provençal furniture to the more kitsch items at 5 Euros...
Shops are full of floral enamelware coffee pots, wrought iron beds, riots of Provençal boutis quilts,
we even saw an antique 18th century carrosse !!!
Monday Fair in Avignon began at 8.00 AM with lots of avid dealers crowded against the fences,
the
temperature was only 24°F !!!
When the gates opened, every one went running to its favorite stand or simply treasure hunting for pleasure...
Now, we are thrilled to attend the next fair in April...
Aline knows what I love and knows how much I want to go to the French Flea Markets....can you tell.  Can you believe all this beautiful eye candy?
My favorites are the French quilts and of course the French enamelware!
If you are an Ebayer, than Aline's site is a must see!!!  She only sells the best of what France has to offer...and believe me the best quality!
Check out Aline's site bluecherry here
Thank you Aline for taking us on this incredible tour of French Flea Markets!  
xogirl!! 

Linking to Cindy's Romantic Home Show and Tell Friday here 

Linking to Kathleen's White Wednesday!  click here

Linking to Common Ground ! click here

11 comments:

  1. I'm off to check! There's nothing like buying in France for certain. Thanks for sharing, Kathee.
    xoxo~Tracie

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  2. Tracie~you are going to love her stuff! keep checking back...she will be posting lots more stuff over the coming weeks! xogirl! Thanks again, kathee

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  3. Thanks for sharing Kathee! So sweet of you. I'm off to find something I can't live without. xoRoberta

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  4. Oh goodness, I'll have to check out her site. I've never bought anything off Ebay before, I'm intimidated by the whole bidding thing! Happy White Wednesday:)

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  5. Victoria, don't be intimidated...I've been buying and selling on ebay for over 15 years. Once you start you will love it!
    The best thing about Aline's site...if you want something or you collect something special...she will work with you. Aline helped me put together my incredible enamelware collection...piece by piece! I could not have done it with out her! She also knows that I collect quilts and she found some beautiful French quilts to add to my collection! So go sign up and enjoy! xokathee

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  6. How wonderful Kathee! Thank you so much for sharing! See you soon, Big Hug!

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  7. Oh how wonderful to have your French Blogland Friend share so many wonderful items from her Home Country! The Flea Market in general always makes me think of France first and foremost... it is the very 1st place in my life where we visited Fleamarkets when I was a child and my Parents were stationed there (when they had American Military Bases in France). My Parents loved France and said the Joy of Living is so clearly evident there that it always held special favorite memories for them. I should like to go back one day and once again go to the French Fleas!

    Dawn... The Bohemian

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  8. Thank you Dawn, I agree! I hope someday I can not only visit but actually live there for the rest of my life!
    xokathee

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  9. Hi Kathee - I'm now a follower if you didn't already notice - 'bout time!!!! Love your blog See you soon.

    xoxoMaria

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