- Continue Shopping
- Your cart is empty
France or Germany?
Today we began our discovery of Alsace, a region on the German border whose ownership has gone back and forth between France and Germany for centuries. Charming villages everywhere boast brightly painted buildings, frescoed exterior walls, and gingerbread tiled roofs.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Colmar feels like we just stepped into a painting, a palette of colors where flowers spill out of baskets and window boxes at...
Spaetzle, Schnitzel, and Struedel
Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace and the place where the EU convenes, is a pristine city bustling with restaurants and shops.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
The cathedral here houses a fascinating and enormous glockenspiel whose many figures tell their own story of time’s passing. The crowd gathers at noon everyday to view the display of this amazing nineteenth century clock.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Traveling with teens has its spontaneous...
View full article →
Let the Shopping Begin!
Each trip to France has its own special flavor. Shopping with Camille has been a special time. She loves the hunt for good art and has an opinion about every choice. We love our choices. I would hang any one of these paintings in my own home.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
A break for crepes after a morning’s hard work.
.JPG)
.JPG)
The Hunt Continues...
Today’s finds include pretty windows, pretty chairs, and a fabulous mirror.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
And visits with old friends along the way.
.JPG)
.JPG)
A coffee and Orangina break at the end of the afternoon.
.JPG)
Let’s get to work!
The next week will be solid work now with some socializing mixed in with French friends. Today’s finds included two fabulous paintings.
.JPG)
.JPG)
A short break for some wonderful French coffee and the kids’ favorite drink Orangina, a carbonated orange drink that comes in a bottle whose classic shape is a part of every French childhood.
.JPG)
Day Two Unloading the Container
Well, the boxes have all been unpacked....
.JPG)
Accessories and Furnishings everywhere...
.JPG)
Time to arrange the showrooms...
.JPG)
An unbelievable morning!
After working until 2:00 a.m. on the computer last night, we woke up this morning to a knock on the door from Brigitte, the owner of the farm where we are staying. The bomb squad had arrived along with their bomb sniffing dog. Our room was searched and sniffed while we stood by, still in our pajamas (mine toile of course). “Just a lot of old things”, I told them. “We are antique dealers.” The...La Fête des Rois
.JPG)
After letting the visit of the French President finally sink in, we resumed work and started the hunt again. We went deeper into Normandy on Thursday and came across a gold mine of 19th century oil paintings. Here is some of the incredible artwork we found. .JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
That night, we were invited to a dinner with some our favorite “antiquaire” friends to celebrate the “Fête des Rois.” This Catholic holiday...The Reward System
We’ve moved to a subregion of Normandy called Calvados, where a strong apple brandy by the same name is made. This weekend was packed with appointments – about twelve different stops in two days. One of our appointments didn’t even start until 10 p.m. and lasted two hours, but there is something about the obsessive nature of this business that makes it seem normal even when the rest of the world... View full article →Living in the 15th Century
.JPG)
One of the most wonderful things about our trips to France is the people we meet. We have just spent three excellent days in a bed and breakfast in le Calvados. The night we arrived we were tired, cold, and cranky, but Francoise and Herve were waiting for us with a fire blazing in a stone fireplace big enough to stand in. We felt like we had come home. As Francoise led us to our rooms up a winding...© 2026 French Metro Antiques. Powered by Shopify
