Omg, am I becoming one of those people who doesn’t update her blog for an entire year? I never finished posting last year’s France photos. I like having all my photos here—it's an easy way for me to reference the past. So, I’m finally wrapping up the France trip now.
My summer plans fell through. I was supposed to visit Hannah in California, but she backed out. That feeling of another wasted summer is intense. I prefer to do all my travel in the summer—one window each year to visit the places I’ve been dreaming about. And yet, I seem to let myself down every time.
I’ve been so focused on Airbnb this year that I didn’t even plan a European birthday trip. I’ve got an investor event in September and a trip to Spain in October, so there were just too many things getting in the way of my best-laid plans.
I wrote an Instagram post last year about the brocantes in Limousin with Norma—I'll share it below. The good news is, Norma has a winter house in Spain, and I’ll get to see her in October!
This time, I found a small gold-framed painting of a woman in a quaint village, and I adore it. It now sits proudly on my entry table, a sweet reminder of that day.
One thing I noticed this year, though, was the lack of true French antiques. There was so much more junk than before. Norma explained that during COVID, the markets had to close, forcing many of the old French vendors to move their business to eBay. There, they learned the real value of their antiques. “It’s getting harder and harder to find a great deal,” Norma told me. Still, I was thrilled to get my painting for just one euro. The seller originally asked for three, but Norma haggled them down. Honestly, I would’ve happily paid 20!
Norma has been collecting for years and dreams of opening a little shop one day to sell all her treasures.
The thrill of the hunt at the brocante is always a highlight of my trips to France, and I can’t wait for the next time.