＃004 Trip to buy antiques in southern France

During my stay, I visited many places and met many people. There are so many things I want to tell you, but I would like to introduce some of the places and events that left a particularly strong impression on me.

The main building of the owner of Maison Dot is a stone building. Really nice. I want to live in a country without earthquakes and build a house like this!

Terrace outside the room. It's a small space, but it's an indispensable place for French people who spend a lot of time outside! During my stay this time, I went to various fairs and brocantes from before sunrise until sunset, so I didn't have much time to interact with the owner's family. The couple usually have a meal on this terrace with the owner family at least once during their stay. You can relax until late at night with wine and dishes that use plenty of locally grown vegetables and olive oil. I envy you. We would love to have you join us on your next visit!

A warehouse rented for storage of purchased antiques. They are unloaded from trucks every day, packed and stored here, and then pulled up on the final day by container trucks. The blue sky looks like midsummer, but it is actually the beginning of winter.

Purchased antiques are carefully packed and shipped one by one like this.

The highlight of this time is a rococo style sofa set with silk lining! It was put up for sale from a nobleman's house in Avignon, and it was in excellent condition. The moment I saw the sofa, the sight of the "music hall" of the Petit Trianon in the Palace of Versailles spread out before my eyes. This is the room where Marie Antoinette held concerts and soirées. A man in shoes with pointed ribbons and a beautifully dressed woman with a lace handkerchief are talking happily in front of you (laughs). Being able to feel that kind of romance is one of the charms of antiques. In addition to the sofa, all the items I bought were the ones I fell in love with the moment I met them. To tell you the truth, I don't put any of them in the store, they are all the things I want to keep at hand!

There is a plan to renovate the store soon and cover the floor with antique marble, so I also visited an antique building materials store. A specialty store that sells various salvage building materials such as terracotta, roof tiles, pillar materials, and floor materials taken from buildings to be demolished.

In Japan, it would be unheard of to peel off a used tile or stone, take care of it, and use it again! I was moved. It reminded me of the time when I was told that I would never be able to remove the marble that was laid on the floor at my previous store, and I gave up after tears. The French people's passion for old things is amazing.

A large amount of antique building materials such as roof tiles and pillar materials from the south of France are piled up on the vast site.

A special brocante along the highway. hospital? plant? In the vast building that was, there were more than tens of thousands of items lined up. I found a bargain here too!

In this way, we find and bring them by ourselves, so we can get rare things that cannot be imitated by others.

And sweets waiting for us wherever we go (laughs). A standard lineup as agreed in every village. The villages in the south of France were full of charm that was a little different from the sophistication of Paris.