Before I go any further in my blow by blow descriptions of my week, I thought I would share a few driving observations that I’ve made during all of my travels in France but never put to paper, or whatever we are calling these pages.

First of all, I think that there may be an unofficial competition amongst towns and villages as to who can create the most beautiful, charming, quirky or intriguing roundabouts.  I am not referring to the roads themselves, although THAT could be a chapter in a book.  I’m referring to the greenspace in the round in the middle of the bout.  I have seen remnants of Roman aqueducts, sculptures of every type of animal, luscious gardens, carefully sculpted trees and simply every type of adornment  you can imagine.  It’s a voyage of discovery between these roundabouts.  Such a lovely and unexpected benefit of driving in France.

Now on to GPS and driving in France.  I must confess that I am not a nervous person, or terribly inclined to getting flustered.  But driving in villages in France makes me break out into a nervous sweat.  Truly, by the time I’ve reached my destination, no matter the weather, I’ve stripped off sweater, scarves, hats, gloves and anything else I can decently shed to deal with the overheated stress my body undergoes.  Why, might you ask?  I will tell you why.  Because I always end  up driving ENORMOUS cars, like The White Beast, and the streets here are not friendly to White Beasts.  At all.  They are tiny, narrow, curve and one way streets are VERY hard to discern in some places.  As are dead ends.  I have had to reverse up tiny lanes with a prayer on my lips the entire time or inch around a curve while irritated French drivers send me a symphony of honks.  Now why on earth would I go down a one-way street or dead end or a road purely used by agricultural vehicles?  Because Apple maps tells me to!!!! It must be on some setting that indicates that I am an audacious local intent on getting from point A to point B in the most direct manner possible, damn the consequences, the people fleeing in every direction and bicyclists and mopeds scattering in my wake.  Dear reader, I am many things, but audacious local I am not.

But while I drive in France, at times with my blanched white knuckles matching the color of my car, I have noticed the absolutely staggering number of streets named the following:  Anything Charles de Gaulle or Victor Hugo- Boulevard, Chemin, Avenue etc., you name it, they’ve got one in just about every town I visited.  But even more ubiquitous than either of these gentlemen are the streets commemorating the Resistance in World War 2.  I’ve driven on countless avenues de la Resistance in my time in France and here at least, World War 2 doesn’t feel as long ago as it does in our country, obviously because it was fought here. 

Last and definitely not least, vestiges of the religious lives of these villages are everywhere to be seen.  Statues of saints, crosses, and ecclesiastical buildings are at every turn.  Churches are everywhere, as are convents, religious schools, etc.  Saints days used to be a huge part of the village calendar as village churches took great pride in opportunities to display relics of long ago saints.  Church bells still chime here with great regularity although their meaning in today’s secular age is not discernible to me.  Still I love to hear them chime and I think in our daily lives it’s a good thing to be able to look up and be reminded of our Creator and our Savior.  

Having checked into my hotel at Fountaine de Vaucluse last night and enjoyed an incredible dinner overlooking the rushing Sorgue river at my feet, today is meant to be my date with the flea market at Villeneuve Avignon.  Only, I’ve learned that the market is canceled!  I am sorely disappointed as one of my favorite finds is the hand-made decoupaged frames featuring vintage and antique papers that a lovely lady sells there.  So, finding myself at loose ends, I decide to explore an antique store in Avignon.  And this is the unlovely part of what I do - I find myself in a warehouse full of moldering, mildewing furniture and other bric a brac where everything bears the whiff of cigarette smoke.  Needless to say this was a frog I kissed today and I decide to venture back towards Menerbe where I remember there being a lovely winery where I might do a tasting.  My devilish GPS takes me round and round and up and down and finally I throw my hands in the air.  At that moment, two things catch my eye.  One is the sign for a wonderfully inviting winery - Maison de Marie - and the other is a pink sign advertising a brocante (antiques fair) in the beguiling village of Bonnieux.  I pull over to the winery and treat myself to a rosé tasting - although I avail myself of saying anything other than it's…rosé.  I try to have lunch at the restaurant on the terrace that is French charm personified, except that the wait staff inform me that I am too late to be served lunch.  It is 2:15 and good luck trying to get a restaurant to serve you anything at that hour.  It’s like a national rule!  But the restaurant looks incredible and I will be back on my next trip, having made a reservation well in advance!

I try my luck at the brocante in Bonnieux and I am thrilled to find a set of beautifully colored natural engravings sold by a very personable Frenchman.  Feeling a bit weak from hunger I am thrilled to see a food truck and I indulge myself in my first crepe of my trip.  Bonnieux is a hill town and as I sip my water and savor my crepe, the views that unfold in front of me are breathtaking.  Should you find yourself in Provence, Menerbe and Bonnieux are two must-see towns, if for no other reason than the incredible landscape in which they are situated and the beauty of the villages themselves, perched up on the cliffs.

Carpentras is a favorite flea market of mine and it’s been a few years since I’ve been able to work it into my buying schedule.  The dealers here are so friendly, it’s an easy market to navigate and you never know when you will find a diamond in the rough.  The only logistical issue is that my shipper has already left the South of France and so anything that I acquire is going to have to fit in my suitcase.  I’m thrilled to find several pretty paintings, and the best surprise of all, the frames that I missed seeing yesterday at the canceled market.  My suitcase is now crammed to the gills with art and frames and I am one very happy buyer.

I would be remiss in saying that the tariffs aren’t a constant source of conversation here.  And that they aren’t a significant concern of mine.  In the absence of any certainty about whether there will be another about face on tariffs, I have been far more conservative in my buying and even more discerning about what I purchase.  In a way, it’s a wonderful thing because every single thing that has made it onto my purchase list is one that I think is truly fab. 

As I drove into Chartres yesterday, I was absolutely awestruck about how the cathedral rises in the distance from the road.  It can be seen from miles away as it’s situated on a hill in addition to its great height.  The town itself is full of charm and is totally different in feeling from the villages and rusticity of southern France.  It definitely has a medieval character to it as well as influences from the architecture of nearby Paris.

Pages upon pages have been written about the Chartres cathedral and there is very little that I can add to that information except to say that the windows are every bit as stunning in person as one imagines them to be.   And I love the idea of walking of the labyrinth walk inset in the floor of the cathedral as a religious meditation but unfortunately today the walk is covered with folding chairs.  But what truly caught my eye and captured my heart was the carved stone screen around the choir, which depicts the life of Mary.  Since the cathedral is also called Notre Dame, it only makes sense that Mary is a compelling figure in the sanctuary. 

This is my first time visiting the market at Chartres and it was absolutely lovely to walk outside of the hall where it is held to find myself in the middle of French pastureland.  It definitely felt a bit Round Top-esque, with a French accent, of course.  My hotel, Le Grand Monarque, is wonderfully pretty and historic. I only wish I had more time to linger here, but Le Mans will be calling my name…

The market at Le Mans is located right next to part of the historic race track and today I can hear cars whizzing by at dizzying speeds as I peruse the grounds and buildings that form this fair.  I am in luck today and find oh so many beautiful things to ship back to Texas as well as a fantastic coffee vendor.  I grab a very quick and way too generous lunch of charcuterie at the market before I head out for my road trip to Belgium.

The drive is a beautiful one as the scenery from the Loire valley gives way to the beautiful countryside of Belgium and then finally the now somewhat familiar streets of Antwerp, where I will base myself for the rest of the trip.

I am staying a stone’s throw away from the historic cathedral in Antwerp, which is so very much worth a visit.  The paintings by Reubens are truly masterpieces and the church itself has been restored beautifully. It is illuminated at night in a magical way and it’s a wonderful sight to end my day.

Today I am venturing north to the Netherlands to meet with dealers that I’ve always wanted to visit.  And goodness but they did not disappoint.  Each stop was full of inspiration and eye candy, as well as the incredible warmth and hospitality of the antique dealers I met. 

On the not so fun side of things, it was drawn to my attention by the Antwerp police that even holding your cell phone while driving is a crime. Yes, as I was trying to navigate the mean streets of Antwerp with my phone GPS imperfectly mirroring on my car screen, I was stopped and fined on the spot.  So, if you do find yourself driving in Belgium and somewhat lost or confused, under no circumstances should you pick up your phone.  You will get to pay roughly $200 for the privilege. Yikes!

Today was a day to revisit old friends and fellow dealers.  I found some gorgeous Swedish clocks and cabinets and clock cabinets, as well as the opportunity to catch up with old friends.  Business is done over the kitchen tables of my friends today as their homes double as their shops.  Over countless cups of coffee and some very fine Belgian chocolates, we catch up with each other. 

Tonight’s meal was intended to be a revisit of a memorable meal from last spring but I have started to come down with a very nasty cold and decide to eat at my hotel instead.  It’s my last night in Belgium and I must say that I am quite anxious to get home…

I was thrilled to grab coffee and some sinful pastries this morning at a showroom of a favorite source for handblown glass.  Getting to see it all together and in person was such fun.  The collections are truly terrific and I’m working on a way of bringing them to KMD The Edit.  You’ll be the first to know if I do!

Later I tour the warehouse of a favorite vendor as I make my way back to France for my return flight home.  It’s been a year since I’ve seen him and his family and especially his winsome dog!  I wish I could bring all of it back with me to the States, but I have to make some difficult choices.  Again, business is done with hot tea - thanks to my cold - and Belgian cookies.  And it’s true that a spoonful of sugar does make the medicine go down!

I have jammed my suitcases full of painting and goodies for my family and I’m ready to head back to Texas!  In a true miracle, my suitcases aren’t overweight and I’m off to sunny Dallas…

It’s been a wonderful trip, full of highlights, and a couple of lowlights, but such is life.  I am thrilled to have shared the experience with you and can’t wait to share all of my finds in all of the ways with you later!