TRAVEL JOURNAL - THE VINTAGE ADVENTURE: PROVENCE

The second leg of our European trip was Provence. We stayed in a beautiful home near Avignon that Smoot found on airbnb. We knew this area would be where we did most of our antique buying. So, it was great to know that we could jump in the pool after a long day of traveling and shopping. The owners of the home were phenomenal and went out of their way to help make our stay spectacular!  

The best part of the several hour journeys each day to shop Brocantes and shops were the views and towns we visited in between. Some were planned and others were complete surprises. 

Our oldest child took French in school for the past five years. That decision proved to be a huge help during our trip. After passing sunflower field after sunflower field, we decided to stop for a photo opp. She was dressed perfectly for this shot.

Isle de Surge was one of our favorite towns. Full of charm, shops, restaurants, and an amazing weekend Brocante. We highly recommend visiting this town if you get this way. 

Schwepp's Lemon and Scwhepp's Agrum became our "go to" drinks. Well, obsession I guess would be a better word. It tastes completely different than the Schwepp's we have in the States. Were trying to figure out a way to have it shipped here or better yet, a way to go back!  

Our kids were real troopers on shopping days. They each have their own collections they've been working on which helps a lot. They've learned through the past few years how to negotiate, what the value of an item truly is, and how to choose what to buy based on their budget. Just one of the many blessings this business we stumbled into has brought to our entire family.  

The brocantes were AWESOME! Such amazing goods to look at, not to mention the settings. The only negative was the heat wave they were experiencing. We left Texas in triple digits and many days were exactly that in Provence. None the less, we found lots of great finds to bring back for both our expansion and to sell - so look for new items to be hitting our online shop and our space in Round Top Vintage Market soon. 

Social media has connected us with so many talented and amazing people. Simone from Fleaing France is one of those people. We had the privilege of spending the afternoon with her and got to tour her lovely home and vintage collections. I was in heaven! Her taste is exquisite and the goods we're bringing back from her are some of our favorites from the trip!  

We put about 900 miles on the Sprinter van we rented and spent several hours driving to and from each day. We drove through small villages to get to the larger towns like Gordes, Montpellier, Marseille, Nimes, and Avignon. Nothing is close in Provence. However, roads like this one below are everywhere and I long for them now that we're home.   

Our trip was part work, part family vacation. One of the family highlights was our trip to the beach. We spent the afternoon relaxing and taking in the beauty.      

It was finally time to pack our purchases and suitcases to head to Paris. We were thrilled of course, but sad to leave!  We arrived at the train station and shook our heads that even there, European architecture rocks! 

We hope you'll check back next week to read about our time in Paris.