Day Seven - Final Day French Adventure

The final day took us to Cassis by the sea.

But first I just had to enjoy sitting at Corey's morning table in her kitchen one last time. Such a treat to sit there and sip my tea each morning.

The town fountain near her home.

And off we went for another day of adventure and shopping.

We stopped at this warehouse, flea market to do a little browsing.

I ended up with a small ceramic creamer and two pictures.

And then we arrived in Cassis. We stopped in at Cote Cassis, one of Corey's friend's shop.

Yes, in here I bought some Mariage Freres tea called Eros, a shopping bag, and a small gift for a friend.

In the background is their wall of tea.

And then we walked to the sea for lunch along the waterfront.

We sat under the red awning; so my pictures have a red cast.

The pate with apricot jam and the freshest bun I have ever had was amazing.

Passion fruit sorbet was a perfect final treat.

Some at the table had this lemon dessert, which they said was amazing. Isn't it pretty?

Just sitting by the sea was a delight to my heart for sure.

The drive each day through the countryside was pure joy. Many vineyards along the way.

I will just wrap it up by saying, I was well cared for all of the seven days. For me it was a dream come true that I never really thought I would do. I definitely recommend jumping when the opportunity comes along and grabbing hold of those dreams. Go for it.

After all of the travel I have done the past couple months you would think I would stay home. But a planned small adventure had been on the agenda for quite awhile to visit my sister-in-law next week; so I will return here in a week. Several have asked me to share pictures of some of my shopping, which I will do when I return.

Sending love,

Marilyn

Day Six - French Adventure

Breakfast each morning was sitting at this table.

The jars held granola and toasty nuts for our yogurt.

So very special to sit at her table.

Then a few more sights in her home.

Could I have carried an angel like this home on the airplane? Smiling!!

 

And off we went to Marseille.

A flea market near the sea in Marseille.

By now I was shopped out. There were some temptations, but I just looked.

My picture doesn't do the striped dress justice, but I was tempted to buy it for a friend that sells vintage clothing. It was quite beautiful.

This might sound silly, but I had been dreaming for months of once more having a nibble or two in a French patisserie and here it was. Oh the delights to the eyes!!! And then to the tummy!

Our group sharing this time together. What a special group of women.

And lunch was a French baguette, which was a dream come true with butter, thin slices of ham (jambon) and cheese. Why, oh why can't we get a baguette such as this in the US? Then a cream layered dessert just to top off the visit to the patisserie. I chose the most typical treats that represented France to me. They will always sit in my memory as delights to my heart.

Well after lunch comes dinner. This was a lasagna noodle with pesto, peas, and a creamy cheese. Now I am not a huge pea fan, but the way Corey cooked them and served them with the creamy cheese just made them delicious. Thanks, Corey, for the most gorgeous, amazing meals.

Tomorrow is the final day of my French adventure. In a future post I will share pictures of a few of my purchases.

Sending love,

Marilyn

Day Five - French Adventure

Another peak into Corey's beautiful home.

 And then we were off to Villeneuve.

Now this market was truly an antique fair. So many beautiful things with each vendor.

I did buy a couple things here. I bought a ramie/linen bed sheet with my initials embroidered. It came from a linen collection found in a chateau. I also found a wonderful original pencil drawing of a Provincial woman and two children. I will share a few pictures in a later post.

And layers of color. This vendor dyed vintage linens in the most gorgeous colors.

And what a gorgeous village surrounding the brocante.

After I was shopped out, I sat with a couple fellow tour members and we had a lovely chat with a couple from the Netherlands in a nearby cafe. They come every year for this sale. I always love the connections with people when I travel and this was special.

And then it was time to walk to the restaurant for lunch. But first a stop at this gorgeous flower shop.

 

And then it was lunch time.

Corey took this picture, but I wanted to included it here.

The women behind me in the background was Sharon Santoni, the editor and creator of The French Country Living magazine. She had a tour group at the brocante and then lunch here too. It was fun to meet her and tell her how much I enjoy her magazine.

The woman next to me was Mary, part of our little group.

What lovely ladies I was able to travel with, an amazing treat.

A walk through the village.

An artist painting the above building.

One more stop along the way to check out more treasures.

Here I found a salad fork/spoon to replace my plastic one.

And then another lovely meal.

I wanted to bring home some feves. At the morning brocante Corey bought a box of them for us to dig through. We had so much fun digging and picking out a few treasures to bring home.

Feve is French for fava bean.  The term is also used to describe the small trinket hidden in the king's (epiphany) cake. 

And Day Five is in the bag. Off to bed and another day tomorrow.

Sending love,

Marilyn