Bits and pieces

Well, time does fly and you blink your eyes and you are back in Portland! We arrived home tired and content...it was a great holiday for us!
So now bear with me...I took many photos of the last day or two in Provence and of course many of them have to do with....markets! Okay, you can stop right here if you have had enough market views but if not here goes!

On Sunday there is usually a big market in Isle sur Sorgue which I pictured in last spring's posts so we piled Maya into the car and drove over to spend the morning wandering around and riding on the spaceship merry go round.

We had to greet her friend Gerard the swan who swam right up to her in greeting along with his coterie of mallards

The market was quite nice, much less crowded than in the summer and in fact many of the little bistros we like to stop in were closed until spring.

Luckily the patissier/boulanger was not and we got some croissants and pain aux raisins to nibble while we walked.

January is the time for galette des rois or king's cake for epiphany so it was not unusual to see displays in many of the bakery windows like this.

Some of the newer crowns have Star Wars characters on them???? And the little bean figurine inside the cake could be Yoga or R2D2 or someone like that!!?? Hmmm.

I liked some of the other window displays in town too...very elegant zebra butterfly chair.

What about this great display of tights outside the shop door

In this next series of photos can you tell what is the focus of the shop?

All those decorative little colorful pieces are actually candied fruit, melons, pumpkins etc. They all look like blown glass but are actually edible...pretty sweet though.

Sitting in the park by the merry go round were two clowns just having a chat...don't know if you can see them but so unexpected!

We picked up some mimosa which was out in the flower stand. The vendor said that all the blooms were about a month early this year.

Monday was our last day in town so we went to pick up Maya at school and waited patiently with all the other parents and grandparents at the gate.

We then went to Jouvaud for hot chocolate and a wonderful croissant.

They also had huge meringues on the counter.

It is such a wonderful patissier and we came home with dessert for dinner.

The Wonder Woman costume I had been working on for a week was finally complete and it was time to pack our suitcases.

Tuesday we headed to the TGV station in Avignon for the trip to Paris.

I love the TGV station there...looks more like a sort of space station I think and very sculptural. It also feels very calm.

This fellow was the shoe shine man and had blue hair...reminded me of those painted wood ducks!

 We had great seats on the train and had parting views of the Pope's Palace and the Rhone river as we pulled out of the station.

By the time we got to Lyon it was raining but Paris weather was clear so that was nice. We walked through the airport and saw some Christmas lights still glowing.

and this really beautiful display in the Air France terminal.

Two businessmen were waiting in line for a coffee and I just really like this guy's black suede shoes with red laces! Très chic!

I could not believe we would be in Portland the next day! We had a great time and will do it all over again in June. Hooray!

Friday in Carpentras

When its Friday in Carpentras that means market day. I could not believe that I have missed the market since we have been here! Too much to do until now like sewing for example...

but today was the day and since the weather was nice I took a walk over to take photos and maybe find some treasures.

The winter market is not as huge as the summer market but the bonus is that there are some different things to see and less people to have to struggle through.
At the entrance of town the booths were all set up.

Down by the platanes these fellows were selling dry beans, chickpeas and....rusty horseshoes (they were "authentic country" and cost 5 euros).

This stand is the total joy of the seamstress and that is me...I never go past here without buying some notions or ribbon or something.

Feast your eyes on all these treasures. Ribbons of all sorts...

Cords of many colors some elastic others not...

This is one side of the zipper cart

Ricrac and elastics and buttons galore...three bins full actually!!!

I bought some pins, basting thread and large snaps...just could not say no!

Some of the other stands that always draw my eye is this one with all the knives and other kitchen utensils...

don't you adore the colors of the knife handles?? I usually get a new color each trip...you can see them in my knife drawer in Portland!
This couple sells  all these things made of olive wood from local olive trees.

Then if you need some socks there is a huge variety here.

The vendor was worried about her many, heavy wool socks since the weather has been so mild there has been little demand for them this year.

Now, if you happen to have a variety of cheeses in your fridge here are some containers for each different kind. Those are mini Creuset pots next to the cheese boxes.

Or maybe you have a chair or two needing to be reupholstered.

Come along into the into the upper part of town to see what vendors were there. Passed by La Charité which faces the market.

I like the colors here (check out the lavender colored balconies)...

and here.

I noticed too that mimosa bouquets were already for sale at this flower stand.

Heading back to the house a sign to remind you of the baguette you might forget.

A bookstore with the best colors...its called Gulliver!

Christmas lights were coming down much to the chagrin of some school children heading home for lunch.

It was a nice enough day to push on to Avignon once again...we won't have time to go back again this trip so we had to take it in one more time.

They were selling roasted chestnuts on the Rue de la République

and this men's store was having a sale like all the shops around.

Loved these lovely Arlesiennes dancing at Olivades...these are santons and the photo was taken just before the holidays.

JC did some shopping in the very pretty, scented Fragonard shop. Those are pillowcases on the wall behind him. Very pretty designs!

Now, I have to ask you a question...what do you think a Norwegian pizza might be?? Karen K. any ideas??

We celebrated Epiphany with a galette des rois from  JOUVAUD. It was delicious and Maya got the bean (which was a little statuette of Joseph) so she was the queen! Vive la Reine!!

Notice the vintage Norman Rockwell plate? A treasure from Goodwill! I think its a favorite of Anton's.

We stopped over at L.Leclerc for a few items and this huge jar of Nutella was on the shelf...the movie is a big hit here so I'm sure its selling well. Who wouldn't want a big jar of Nutella around the house?

 

The other day in Bedoin I found this manner of parking rather unique! The older gentlemen went into the store behind the car to get some groceries...maybe he was in a hurry?

Parking method aside...don't you love the color and just the car itself??

Soon it will be time to leave Provence again for a few months. I can't believe that time has gone by so quickly. A bientôt!