One man’s junque

Posted on August 31, 2010 by The Daily Cure

Most weekends, after checking the “Loisirs” (pass-times) section of your local paper, you’ll find dotted around the countryside various vide-greniers. Vide-grenier literally means something akin to “empty your attic,” and that’s exactly what people do—pulling out everything from unwanted heirloom china to old champagne corks. Your job is simply to drive through the exquisite countryside to the town in question, park clumsily (like everyone else) on the side of the road, and browse in as leisurely a fashion as you wish the would-be discards of a townful of people, usually on sale for give-away prices. In lieu of reading a notice in the paper, you’re looking for signs dotted around the roadsides which typically are written like this and including a date:

Equal parts history lesson, museum tour, anthropological dig, Saturday-or-Sunday outing, bargain hunt—the vide-grenier satisfies most human needs. And if scrounging through antiques and cast-offs whets your baser appetites, most towns host a graciously affordable buvette (wines served) or a grilled lunch. On many occasions, we’ve emptied our pockets of what few euros we came with, returning home with entire sets of porcelain, antique typographers’ drawers, paneled screens. On others, we’ve spent nothing, but have come home much the richer for the experience.

Posted in FRANCE, WHAT TO DO | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The importance of blue

Posted on August 28, 2010 by The Daily Cure

As summer draws to a close, I try hard to photograph with my mind’s eye all the textures and colors that I love so much here in Burgundy. It doesn’t take long to realize that the sheer uniformity of palette, as much as it might seem to stifle individual creativity, gives this place a profound sense of grace. And it doesn’t take much longer to realize that the colors that live most comfortably and abundantly here, are the colors of the local stones themselves accented with a variety of blues and grays that speak to the ever-changing sky.


Variations on the theme abound. Stone walls plastered over with sand-colored render. Shutters in weathered blues as nuanced as cloud linings. Others leaning towards turquoise. Slate. Cornflower. Blues giving way to sage and moss. It’s a peaceful, palette, springing from ancient origins and not trying to be anything else.



Let’s face it. The weather here is a challenge. Sunny days are only all the more beautiful because they are commonly flanked by rain and manic-depressive fluctuations in temperature. But this is a place where going deeper into your mood is the best way to go. When the sun is out, blue is the color of a brightly illuminated sky. Sheer bliss. When rain is reigning, blue is the color of the human condition. And this, too, merits our profound appreciation.

Posted in AROUND US, COLOR, FRANCE | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments