The third Sunday of each month my favorite local antique market, La Brocante d’Ahetze, takes place. Ahetze is a small Basque town, about a fifteen minute drive from Biarritz, that you get to by driving down some cute country roads lined with farm houses and fields of round hay bales (I love that they’re round in France). This market is one of my favorites because it’s one of the biggest markets happening monthly, with many vendors lining the streets of this small town and filling the courtyard next to the church, bells chiming every hour. The whole experience is very magical and seems like a scene out of an old movie, especially compared to the Long Beach Flea Market I was used to back home.
It seems like it’s raining every time this market is happening, but that doesn’t stop me and luckily doesn’t stop the vendors. They know the drill, this is afterall Basque Country, where it rains almost every day (but really needs to stop – it’s mid June and still feels like winter here!). I usually explore the weekend markets with my good friend Erin, we’re so good and finding deals together, but sometimes I am able to drag Brent along with me. I’m always trying to convince him it’s great practice speaking French and you can always find such good design inspiration.
At this market you can find anything and everything – from old furniture and homegoods to vintage clothes, vintage linens and glassware to old streets signs and trinkets. Old bicycles, patio sets, sea shells, vintage postcards, old books, brass figurines, baskets and toys. They have it all! I always keep an open mind when I go, not necessarily searching for anything specific, but taking it all in and letting objects speak to me. I love to find items with words written in French on them, like kitchen storage containers that say ‘Sucre’ or ‘Sel & Poivre’, vintage linens embroidered with initails, postcards and books about Biarritz and the Basque Country, jars for my collection of beachcombing treasures that always need organizing, little brass animals, vintage keys, old baskets, basically anything that feels unique, French, and will feel at home in Chateau Grettenberger. Brent’s always telling me I am buying too many things we don’t need for our small apartment, but I know someday when we move back home to California and live in a larger house again, I will be really happy I invested in so many French treasures that will always remind me of this special time. That, or I will be able to re-sell them at a flea market in LA for much more money. “It’s an investment” I tell him. Haha.
At the market this morning I scored some vintage linens embroidered with initials, a little plaque that says ‘Framboise’ (rasberry) and this amazing vintagejar with glass lid that says ‘Le Meilleur’ (The Best) on the main jar and lid. It was a good day for French typography finds! All for less than 15 euro. When we move back home I know one of the things I will miss the most will be exploring these weekend brocantes.
If you ever come to France and are interested in flea and antique markets, there’s a great website, vide-greniers.org, that I use to search for all the markets happening in France. You can search by region, department, or type of market and can also sign up for special alerts when markets are taking place near you. They have a facebook page that you can follow, as well. This site has led me to discover so many amazing treasures! Happy treasure hunting!