Postcards from Provence and beyond

Today, was the reason we had pedalled over 300km from Provence to Pezenas; the May Grande Deballage in the town.

We love Pezenas, and twice a year brocante and antiques’ traders come to the townto ste up theis atnds, filling the town with bustle, and lots of wonderful things to tempt us.

In the past, we have been to the ones held in October, but this is our first trip to the Spring event, and it’s something we’ve been looking forward to.

This is also the second time we have cycled across for the event, which has its pros and cons. We have a great time getting here; pedalling across is always a much nicer experience than simply hopping in a car and driving over..

but the downside is that we really can’t get carried away, and can only buy little things that can be carried in the panniers, attached to the bikes.

It’s a bit of a double-edged sword, as all too often there are larger things that catch our eye, which we have to walk away from. But as we are running out of room, after 10 years of buying bits for the house, that probably isn’t a bad thing.

In the past, I have been known to have dragged Andy out in the half-light of dawn to scour through the stalls, using our phone torches to see things properly, (the event sets up from 4am). But I felt rather benevolent today, and we had breakfast and coffee, before leaving the apartment, so it was already bustling with people, by the time we arrived just before 9am.

It is a huge event, with about 200 traders setting up their stalls, selling everything from furniture and homewares to vintage fashion and jewellery. The stalls pack the roads and carparks that skirt the heart of the old town, with the brocante shops pulling their wares onto the street as well.

As we couldn’t really buy much, we spent a very gentle morning ambling around the stalls, looking for little trasures that perhaps may be able to be slipped into a pannier for the onward cycle, tomorrow. You can watch a little video From.today here

Of course, I was distracted by totally inappropriate items, including the almost 2m tall penguin, which was rather mad and rather wonderful, in equal measures.

There is something here for everyone. From lovely old linens:

And unusual bits that would look great in the house…

Or on the terrace..

I have a real soft spot for the old enamel signs too, with their aging rust spots and chipped corners, and there is always a great selection here…

And wonderful old tins too, a sign of a gentle bygone age that has been replaced with single-use plastics and paper. There was a button-tin too, which reminds me of afternoons at my grandma’s as a child, when we would root through hers, which was filled with all colours, shapes and sizes. When I mentioned this to Andy, he raised an eyebrow, as if this was totally mad…

There was even a Magic Roundabout tin, and that very nearly had to come home with me.

I know it sounds a bit strange, but we do have a couple of gnomes on the terrace, at home. Not garish plastic ones, but old chipped ones with faded paint and characterful faces. There were a few here, but all of them would have been too big for the panniers, However, we did have to ask about a full set of Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, just in case theye were a price at which we felt we could have them packed and sent back to Provence.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your thoughts on Gnomes), it would have been too expensive, but we’ll keep an eye out for some in the future, just in case.

As with all brocantes, there was a lot there that would have been nice, but equally quite a lot that I find rather disturbing. From boxes full of disjointed dolls..

To clowns and really rather terrifying paintings.

We spent a good few hours truffling through the stalls, and in the end bought a single small silver condiment spoon, but at least it will fit on the bike.

It’s always a great day, and we love coming across to this beautiful little town. we’ve had such fun again.

We’ll be back on the bikes tomorrow, and on again to Capestang, where we’ll be staying on a Canal Boat for a couple of nights, exploring the area and along the Canal du Midi..

But it has been a lovely couple of days here, and I’m sure it won’t be long until we’re back.