This NYT’s article talks about tourist farming in the States. Two years ago I was trying to find a way to stay in France  longer than my three month visa would allow. This seemed like a good route.  I could make a little money, be outdoors, work with my hands, speak French, and do some local travel.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/08/25/dining/20090826-farmstay-slideshow_index.html

It’s bricante season in France. I guess you could say its when France cleans out its closets. Townspeople get together and have a huge sale. I can’t say if its all over France but at least in the northern part, there were bricantes going on each weekend. (There’s a regional guide book for this.)

This weekend I went out to see what I would discover. I found the one above there. The owner initially said 50 euros, then came down to 30 euros. I couldn’t do it. Perhaps if I had returned at the end of the day I would have got a cheaper price. Instead, I decided to take a picture. It was impressive.  This was no painting. This ouvre d’art was crosstitched. Click on it to get the finer details. Wow!

Visiting my good friend Regine in Granville, France (along the coast of basse normardie)

Lovely and peaceful  on the south west coast of France, walking the dunes, biking along the coast and in the Pyrenees forests, taking the first years swim in the sea, eating oysters for the first time, and eating the best oysters in all of France ( says the locals), drinking wine with every dinner, perhaps every meal, eating the most amazing homemade food by Melanie’s mom, eating pasteries with lots of buttery goodness, listening to the words of French from everybody around me, soaking into my core, the beautiful sun, listening to the silent fall of the wave, resting my head on Melanie’s shoulder on the long train ride, falling asleep tired and effortlessly floating away…and that was the first hour