One more vide grenier, two more brocantes...

Last Sunday morning found us ambling around a vide grenier in Mirepoix.

   The big question here was...could you buy each item individually or did you have to walk away with the whole thing?

The careful editing and arranging--enamelware in this case--means that this stallholder knows his or her stuff--and prices are correspondingly higher than if you unearthed any of these from a carton underneath the table (my favourite place to search). I didn't even bother to ask the price of this matched set of vintage tins in prime condition.

  We own a duplicate of the one on the right. From the hairstyles, I'm guessing these date back to the 1940s or 50s.

On the secondhand social ladder, the vide grenier is at the bottom, with the depot-vente one step up, and the brocante above that. Then you enter the costly realm of the antiquaire. This brocante in Mirepoix specializes in old books and magazines. If you're a Brigitte Bardot fan, check out all those  copies of Paris Match.

The owner was still enjoying his Sunday lunch when we walked by. "I'm eating. Open 3 p.m."

But there's another brocante right opposite.

I just love this combination of sun-faded pinks and blues, and that intricate tiled floor inside.

     Beyond the shop is a secret courtyard crammed with more treasures. Next weekend, there's another vide grenier in a nearby village.
     And so summer Sundays go by...