Thrift store spectacular

Tucked away on at the end of a rural country road, just a few kilometers outside fo the small city of Chataraux is a thrift store heaven: Emmaus. I know thrift stores, I mean I've spent my share of hours digging in the bins (portlanders, you gotta know what I mean), scanning the aisles of House of Vintage, frequenting the many Goodwills, and everything in between. This one almost takes the cake! 

There are several large shed-like buildings staggered about a beautiful series of flower fields and old growth trees. Each building had it's own merchandise, furniture, clothing, books, kitchen and household things and a killer vintage section.

There was a beautiful collection of vintage books, alongside a massive cooking section and loads of contemporary books. Alas, they were in French and wouldn't be a great thing to collect and carry around in our bags for months to come. I love bookstores and libraries, it's the smell of books and their attractive appearance all lined up on the shelves and in towering stacks here and there. Many people want the digital form of books these days, but I think I'll be slow to jump on that wagon, if I ever do. I just can't give up my old-fashioned ways....

The upstairs vintage/retro section was a little more expensive; so maybe two euros instead of one for an item of clothing. There was a wide array of treasures from all over the world and from the region. Including old typewriters (I'm a sucker for those, and just love the one I already have), paintings and photographs, light fixtures and trinkets and even an ancient accordion that Josh was drawn to.

When you go to a place like Emmaus (or any vintage/thrift store) it is full of more than just stuff, the things have stories of their own, even though we won't know them! 

And of course the best part is when you score some good stuff for cheap. Had this been near our home we would have gotten much more stuff, but we had to pick and choose which things were worth carrying around, and we decided on a few items, some clothes for both Josh and I, and a few little trinkets, all one euro each! Some of which you can see here:

We returned home after our morning shopping and were ready for a tasty lunch, and what better way than the French way.... so I prepared us a tasty spread with something like ten different local cheeses, a meat plate, a few kinds of fresh bread, and of course a bottle of wine. It was such a pretty spread, so I had to capture this to show you how awesome we get to eat these days, with many thanks to our new friends Ged and Karen!