French Flea Market Shopping Tour Day 4

 Today we took a well deserved break from shopping in Provence and headed to Cooking School! We knew it would be in a French Chateau, but as we drove up the drive, we said "It couldn't possibly be Here!" But yes it was! We were greeted by Mark, owner of the chateau and French Chef. He led us into a huge dining room filled with antique pots and crockery .....

 And a 12 person dining / classroom table...

Mark, an enchanting teacher and host, proceeded to show us how to make a fabulous Provencal chicken dish, a special rice and an apple dessert. He also gave us ancient recipes for Provencal salt and herb mixes.

 We were excellent students............

While the meal was baking sweet Mark took us on a tour of the chateau , the out buildings, grounds, and the "Park"...

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 I don't really know what to say...This home has been his family for generations, We simply were not prepared for what we were about to see..... The solarium....

 One part of the 21 bedroom chateau.....

 The old "servant's" quarters  (Please let me be your servant!!)

 The back yard and "pool" area

 Oh My Goodness!....are we dreaming???

 This was a round, domed room called a "cool down" room. It used to have water flowing from all of the spouts into a pool in the middle. It is ancient and rare, and is on the French historical register...

 Beauty was everywhere. There was a building for pidgins, a building for livestock, a building for the plants to winter. We were volunteering to live in the goat house!

 We almost reluctantly returned to eat our wonderful meal....

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 And to sadly say goodbye to our new found friend, Mark.

 Though, at that point we could have all gone home because we had basically visited Heaven, our lovely guide Jill had a few more surprises for us. First was a quick visit to a beautiful village of Cucuron.

 Then a home visit to the amazing abode of journalist (and friend of Jill's) Bibi. On entering Bibi's drive, you see a sign that says "Jardin Remarquable"

 And truly it was. Though dimmed by the waning of fall , the sculpted gardens were amazing..

 And on the property was found an ancient Roman bath from 100 AD!

 Our next visit was to the beautiful village of Lourmarin. Loved this little car that greeted us...

 And another Interiors tour, to a good friend, Bernadette, who owns a B&B called Villa Saint-Louis. Jill calls it "Where Shabby Chic was born" and it has be featured in hundreds of design magazines. We are IN OUR ELEMENT!

A few of us finish off the night at fun restaurant....

 As we walk back to the hotel after an absolutely blissful day, the fountains of Aix-en-Provence light the way to our dreams..........

 

A few treasures that will be available at our Oct 30th sale. All have French inscriptions...

Aix en Provence Flea Market Trip Day 2

First of all...Michele and group are FOUND! They pulled into the hotel, totally exausted, about 1am from their harrowing journey from Paris (see previous post).

The next morning we were up early for a VERY busy day, made in Antiquer/Junker/Artist/Provencal HEAVEN! We started with our cute matching market bags for the Aix En Provence market.
Here is Karen working the soaps and fragrance man..
Kathy has the vintage market under control....
Unbelievably beautiful fruits and vegatables.......
And spices..............
After the market our guide Jill took us to her top secret consignment store. Locals live in Aix for years without knowing about this bargain basement. Take a look at each of these babies, all around 30e.

We got lots of treasures at the Market and the secret store, that will wait for another post. The internet hear is HORRIBLE and it is taking like 3 hours to do a post...gotta sleep sometime!

Then it was onto our lux bus , finally the whole group together and off to THREE more destinations!
First Jill's friend Agnes's shop....

Then to the 'bunkers' with the chickens and the goats (photo to come later)
we LOVE this place and the French men love it when we come and give us GREAT DEALS!
Our last TREAT of the day was to be welcomed into the Provencal home of fabulous Cezanne artist Jill Steenhuis

I MUST do a whole post about beautiful Jill S. but you must follow the link to her web site as she is about to have shows in Dallas, Houston, & Austin. I can't put in words what a kind, welcoming, talented and kind hearted person Jill is. The visit to her home and her heart was like something out of a dream. We were so privlidged to spend the afternoon with her, thanks to dear Jill M at LeTrip

A few treasures that we will be bringing back for our Oct. 30th sale...