(A shiny brocante storefront in Carcassone)
Bear with me for the next several weeks, as this week’s post and next week’s, a guest post from John, will be stories of thrifting, aka writing about the familiar. I’m getting ready to go back to the US for a planned work-related trip and some family time including my son’s graduation from his master’s. Once I return, I’ll really be able to dive in to all the different elements and experiences of life here.
As I mentioned, we did go into Carcassone last Friday, visited a couple of brocantes, the Monoprix in the center of town (where they tend to be; I really appreciate them for that; breathing life into old buildings), had a really lovely lunch right on the square and then set about checking out the Carcassone Emmaus.
Readers, I don’t know how else to say this, but based on our experience last summer at the wondrous Castres and Beziers Emmaus stores—clean, organized, charming, full of light—the organizers of the Carcassone Emmaus did not get the memo. It. Was. Awful. Barely organized. Dirty. Just. . .gross. And the inventory—same.We got out of there as fast as we could. Such a disappointment. We will not be back. As I was listing all the reasons why on the way home (which, fortunately, is a really beautiful drive through Limoux wine country) John said, “Now, don’t be mean.”
Actually, in this one case, I disagree. I am not a mean person in general but if you can’t be picky about a thrift store, what can you be picky about? Maybe it wasn’t their fault; they didn’t have the best space to work with. But piles of junk that look like they just came off a trash heap? No. Just no. I felt like I needed a shower afterwards.
In fact, once we got home, I checked online to see if that really was the only Emmaus in a one hour radius. Turns out there’s one even closer, about 37 minutes away in Lavalenet. I talked John into driving there the next morning. The drive itself was a little nerve wracking—you enounter some serious hairpin turns and rapid elevation not long after you leave Quillan— but the view, when I dared open my eyes, was stunning. Snow capped peaks of the Pyrenees in the distance. Green mountains, the Cathar ruins of Puivert and endless golden fields. Once it flattened out, you truly felt you were in God’s country. Just gorgeous.
And the Lavalenet Emmaus? Much, much nicer, even though Carcassone had really lowered the bar. Clean, spacious, organized. Not as good as Castres or Beziers, which seem to have spoiled me in terms of their abundance of vintage items, but definitely worthy of the Emmaus label. I bought some cotton lace for a visible mending project and an interesting vintage French grammar book with bright, saturated graphics.
(Part of the Sunday Vide Grenier at the base of the foothills of Quillan. I had been looking forward to this one all week.)
The next day was a Vide Grenier a two minute walk from our home where we found all sorts of neat stuff-lovely paintings, a sturdy old rake and a shovel we will put to good use in the garden (according to the seller, the shovel helped build the roads in the region) and a cream-colored confiture pot that is perfect for holding our kitchen utensils at just 2 euros! After that the Esperaza market, pictured below, always a delight (ok, it was only the second time we’ve been there but I have the feeling it always is).
Fortunately, following the activity of the weekend, Mondays are usually quiet and in this case, full of work prep and packing.
The bridge over the river to the Esperaza Sunday market. If you look in the distance, you can see the white tents over the booths.
Esperaza and Quillan were once legendary for the number of hat factories in the area.
I want to see you two pose like the American Gothic couple with your rake and shovel but with French chapeaux! Green Acres meets Vallees Verdoysntes! Way to go!
I’m so glad your second thrift location was better than the first! Honestly it sounds like you’re living the dream of a lifetime!!!!! how wonderful of you to share your experiences with those of us left behind 😘 you likely have little desire to receive updates on our current fascist regime so l’ll just say: the horrors persist yet so do I! enjoy France enough for both of us, wont you? Running and attending writing groups is currently the highlight of my life, that and Fighting The Good Fight! ❤️ 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 💙