Flea Market Bliss - Strasbourg France

On Saturday I traveled to Strasbourg France for a day of flea market bargains. But for some reason, I COULD NOT FIND IT. All I saw were tables of books and one stand with vintage posters. SUCK. Where were all of the tables of junk? 


This H&M shirt is an optical illusion.
They're really not that big....

I was easily distracted by pastries, which were accompanied by a delicious cup of black coffee. How is it that the French desserts can be so utterly delicious? My chocolate mousse cake was beyond fantastic, and each bite was followed by 'Omg....this is sooo good. Holy crap - wow' (and so on....). 



Moving on (2 hours later)...... as I was walking around in my sugar pastry bliss, I finally found the flea market alongside a back road. Yay!!! But also 'Suck'! It was close to closing, so I only had 30 minutes to shop. I instantly shifted into 'Professional Thrifter' mode and started scanning the tables.

For some reason my eyes rested on a pile of moss-green fabric wadded up on the ground. What was this? I picked it up and was surprised to see it was an 80' round tablecloth made with thick luxe velvet and finished with gold tone braiding around the edges. Wow - this is awesome, but it has to be expensive. This tablecloth looks like it was taken out of a castle 800 years ago - but yet it is in perfect condition.

"How much?", I ask (waiting for him to say 100e ++). But instead he's says (very confidently), "20e"!! What? No effing way. 20e? That's it?. SOLD. 


(secret update: I inspected this when I got to my room and it is MINT CONDITION hand-made vintage. I also found a small hand written sales tag in the fringe that said 230e!!!! Poor guy, he probably got yelled at by someone who wanted their money...)


(sorry - photos do not do this justice)

I also purchased these wrought iron (heavy duty) coat racks. The price was originally 30e for one, but I was able to get him down to 20e for both. I'm not saying I begged, but there was some pleading and 'puppy eyes' going on. It worked - and major score!! These probably weigh 10lbs a piece.

I found these gold velvet wall hooks with side-braiding. I thought they would be perfect as unique tie-backs for my long dining room curtains. 12e for both. Again, more pleading. The woman wanted 20e and was initially very adamant.  I had to wear her down with a genuine smile and solid eye contact.

Vintage Tea Tin 3e - just had to have it. Guess what else I found on this shopping trip?? 2 BEER STEINS! Photos of the Giveaway Steins will be posted next!

As the dark clouds rolled in, my travel bestie Ms. Sandy and I headed for the car just in time to dodge the big fat raindrops. Such a perfect Saturday!

In reflection - the shopping theme for Saturday ended up being 'Castle-esque', which surprisingly made me miss my own home in Washington. I never realized how my earlier trips to Europe (this is my 6th visit) have had such an influence on my personal style and home decor. I've been creating my own German/French style castle without even realizing it!

As you look at your own surroundings, what do you think has inspired your own personal taste?

xoxo,

Michelle