Tag Archives: weekend

Impromptu Livingroom in the South of France

So your wife has left you and your friend to look after the baby, but it’s a festival day in the South of France and you don’t want to be stuck inside the apartment. What do you do?

You pick up the sofa, a table, and some odds and ends and set up an impromptu livingroom at the edge of all the upcoming action. With the baby safely tucked into a pram, you can sit in the shade and watch the festival unfold.

Quick Pics From A Melbourne Vintage Saturday

Quick pics today since I am listing, listing, listing on Ebay this weekend. Wheeeee!!! Things are already starting to sell. (whew!)

We took a little time for a quick wander through the once-a-month Vintage Clothing Market at the St. Kilda RSL Club (Retired Servicemen’s League for you non-Aussie readers). It was well attended, but it was also a blast from the past to see items of clothing that were clones of things I wore back in the 70s!

This hat seller below was doing quite a good business since we still have weeks of winter ahead.

Hat seller at the Vintage Clothing Market in St. Kilda, Melbourne

Shoppers at the St. Kilda Vintage Clothing Market in Melbourne

More soon…

4 Things To Do On A Sunday in Melbourne, Australia

We’ve been back in Melbourne, Australia for a week now, so it was definitely time for one of our favourite pursuits — a day out and about in the city for a few hours of food and culture. Seriously, Melbourne is such a vibrant city that even if it is a gray-sky and gloomy day, if you are bored — you just need to get up and get OUT of the house!

Glistening even on a gloomy autumn day, a partial skyline view of Melbourne, Australia across the Yarra River from Southgate.

Here are 4 things to do on a Sunday in Melbourne.

1. Arrive at your destination without the hassle of finding an overpriced parking place if you travel by train for an easy way around the city. The comprehensive train network makes Melbourne such a joy to travel throughout!

Turnstiles inside the Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, Australia

2. Eat a reasonably priced lunch in an eclectic food court inside a beautiful building at Southgate. There are also some wonderful luxury stores and full service restaurants in this multi-level building complex.

One of the multi-level entries to the Southgate shopping & dining complex alongside the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia

Diners at the food court on the lower level of the Southgate shopping and dining complex in Melbourne, Australia

3. Go to the Sunday Market at the Melbourne Arts Centre to see quality handcrafted art, craft, and food items. The row of glass-overhang-covered artists has an enthusiastic audience each weekend.

Sunday Market flag indicating the weekend event outside the Melbourne Arts Centre in Australia

Artists and craft vendors lined up alongside the Melbourne Arts Centre each Sunday

4. Spend an inspiring afternoon at a world class museum — the NGV on St. Kilda Road. There were hundreds of people milling around inside this large art museum, but there was a very happy and relaxed vibe. Autumn leaves were swirling around outside of the beautiful bluestone facade and the people strolling by were dressed appropriately for the cooler temperatures.

Autumn leaves falling outside the NGV art museum in Melbourne, Australia

The current winter blockbuster show at the NGB is Monet’s Garden, a travelling exhibit from France. But since we have seen so many of these works at various venues worldwide, we chose to visit several of the permanent exhibit galleries as well as one special exhibit — Dior and Yamamoto: The New Look

Dior sketches from the 1940s post-World War II “New Look” collection

Dior black wasp-waisted dress and black hat from the 1940s post-World War II “New Look” collection

The other enjoyable exhibit, in part as an observer of the effect of it on the audience as they either walked by or interacted with it, was Clinamen by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot, a sound and motion exhibit with round white ceramic bowls floating in a round pool of deep blue water. The gentle clink as bowl contacted bowl tinkled pleasantly in the atrium space.

Floating ceramic bowls in a pool of water at the NGV art museum in Melbourne, Australia create a ringing sound as each one gently bumps into an adjoining bowl

Floating ceramic bowls in a pool of water at the NGV art museum in Melbourne, Australia create a ringing sound as each bowl gently bumps into an adjoining bowl.

9 Days to Christmas In A French Town

Taking a break from all of the photos and articles on Spain for a glimpse of a French town when there are 9 days left before Christmas.

The local town council has attached Christmas trees to the lamp posts on both sides of the bridge over the river.

Cyclists on the bridge in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

View from the bridge in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France at Christmas time

This charming little dog was waiting for his/her owner to finish shopping in the toy store.

A little dog waits patiently for its owner to finish shopping in the toy store.

The weekend market now has a wintery Sunday version that has vintage goods for sale. It was quite enjoyable to be able to walk freely through the bare-branched avenue of trees without being jostled by the large throngs of people that attend the Saturday market. We didn’t actually find anything we wanted, but it was certainly was pleasant to walk in the fresh air and have a look around.

Shoppers at a winter outdoor market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France in December 2012.

A Weekend Market Outing For The Trolley

It had been sitting there quietly, sparkling brightly, waiting for the inaugural test drive — that bright red shopping trolley that I showed you the other day. And this morning it got a chance to stretch its little wheels.

The red shopping trolley

Down the street, across the park, and over the bridge toward the Saturday market we went. And shortly after leaving the house, Mark took over because I was juggling my camera and stopping for pictures every few minutes. That’s fine — he looked quite nice as the ‘driver’ of the trolley, too!

Mark with the little red shopping trolley on the way to the weekly market in St. Girons, France

Into the alley of plane trees we walked — but wait! Where was everyone — and where was the market???

Empty market site in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France when the carnival came to town

St. Girons is currently hosting the 4 day All Rock Festival and trust me, everyone in town knows that they are here! They began playing last night at 10 PM and didn’t stop until just after 2 AM. Since we are right around the corner from the Palais des Vicomtes and the riverside park attached to the old chateau, the sounds echoed all through these stone buildings from one end of town to the other.

We didn’t realise that a small travelling carnival would tag along with the music festival. Their rides and trailers and gear were silently parked all up and down the tree-lined area that usually hosts the weekend market and none of our usual vendors were anywhere to be seen. How very odd it all looked!

Closed up rides during the daytime in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

The normally busy town was quite subdued and I wondered if everyone was home sleeping off the effects of the previous night’s partying. But then as we entered another one of the squares, I began to see people with shopping bags full of vegetables and fruit and Mark and I both realised that we could walk for a few more minutes and go to Tutti Frutti — the veg shop on the other side of the town ring-road.

As we got closer, I saw bright-coloured kiosks and I told Mark, “They’ve moved the weekly market to the other side of town because of the carnival people.” And there on that street in front of us were the throngs of shoppers that we usually see beneath the riverside plane trees. It must be unthinkable to cancel the weekend market for any reason!

The temporarily relocated weekend market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

Artisan bread at the weekend market

The knifemaker at the weekend market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

An artisan cheesemaker at the weekend market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

Candy seller at the weekend market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

We had a lovely outing on a cool and misty day, came home with fresh food and lots of photos, and I now have a bright green straw hat hanging on the rack in our bedroom next to one of Mark’s Tour de France souvenir hats. All in all, it was a very nice way to give the lovely wee trolley a spin in the fresh air.

Straw goods seller at the weekend market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

Green straw hat from the market in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

P.S. Stay tuned for pictures from the Rock Festival and the night-time carnival over the next few days!

Performers At The Palais

Walking through the Midi-Pyrenees town of St. Girons several times each week, I am constantly on the lookout for posters advertising events and performances on the weekends.

Our Saturday morning walk contained surprises as we took our normal route through the gardens of the historic Palais Des Vicomtes (Palace of the Viscounts), a mere 4 blocks from our new apartment, and passed tents full of performers in costume as we headed toward the footbridge over the river that led to the weekend market area.

Palais des Vicomtes (Palace of the Viscounts) beside the River Salat in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

The performers were just getting ready to stroll through St. Girons as they gathered in front of one of their vans and I quickly snapped this photo.

Performers preparing for the show in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

Towering over her flock of admirers, I was amazed at how easily this painted, powdered, and bewigged creature could glide atop those stilts!

Admirers gather around one of the performers in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

Across the bridge, into the old town, and through the streets they strode with a small band of musicians leading the way.

Musicians lead the way on a weekend festival in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

This lovely creature was quite obliging about posing for photos.

A costumed stilt-walking performer strikes a pose in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

And here was one of the posters that suddenly appeared on Saturday. What fun these surprise events are!

Festival of 7 & 8 July poster in St. Girons, Midi-Pyrenees, France

A Wanderful Life

The Neverending Journey