Saturday, September 24, 2011

ALSACE

I spent a nice day with all my colleagues yesterday in Alsace. Every year there is a special day in my office called "Journée Bureau" something like "Office Day", it's a day where nobody work at office, it's a day to just have fun together visiting some places or doing some sports together. We leave early in the morning and come back late at night all paid by our bosses!!!!

This year we choose to visit the wine road in Alsace!!! A lot of our trips dealed with beer or wine, I don't know why.....????

So it's grapes harvest time in all wine region in France, Alsace is well know for it's white wine.


I lived in Alsace during about 10 years so I really know well this area.

Our first stop (about 230km from home) was Riquewihr, one of the most beautiful french village. It's like visiting the village where the 7 dwarfs live with Snow White! Everything is so cute, tiny, full of colors, with flowers everywhere...



There was a nice and huge Christmas shop which remember that Alsace is well known as Xmas capital with amazing Xmas markets everywhere. 


Afterwards, we visited Ribeauvillé another small typical Alsatian village. Alsace is a really special region in France, Alsatians were german before 1789 and became french than. In 1870, they became again german to be french again after the WWI. In 1940, Alsace was again a german region and finally french after the WWII... It was so hard for them!





And a good meal among vineyard: Munster (a very strong cheese) and Choucroute.


We also visited a wine cellar with tasting.
We also went to Kaysersberg. Most of the houses are built before 1600.



All along the wine road you can see numerous medieval castles, most of them are just ruins now.


We finished our day trip in Strasbourg a very special city for me it's where I studied more than 10 years ago.


Do you know Alsace or have you ever been there?

Monday, September 19, 2011

RETRO WRESTLING and PIN-UP

Yes WRESTLING, you read this tittle correctly. I never tought I would attent to some wrestling fights, but it was so much fun!!!
We planned to go to Nancy with some friends for this event about 2 weeks ago because it was also a burlesque performance.

Here is what I wore for this "special evening".



We leaved with 4 vintage cars including our '59 Cadillac for a 200km trip, happy to cruise together with our Gormandizers friends!


The show took place in an old beer factory.


The beauties and the beasts!!!!
All fighters were so laughable and quite ridiculous, the fights were so fake but it was part of this show!!! We had a lot of fun to support our favorite wrestelers shouting together all along the fight some ridiculous slogans and crazy words like "Raaaouhhh!!!".



We also met some new friends like the famous french pin-up Miss Liz Cherie and her husband.

Between 2 rounds, there was a burlesque show made by Lily DesLys, it was really elegant and quite 30's inspired. Nowadays there are too much burlesque dancers who confound burlesque vintage show and streap tease, it was nice to see this beautiful and tasteful show where nothing was vulgar!


It was a unexpectedly really nice evening between friends, vintage cars, pin-up and wrestlers... a strange good mix!!!

Have you ever been to a wrestling show? Did you have fun?

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

DISNEYLAND Paris

We spent an amazing week-end at Disneyland Paris with friends, cars and rock'n roll!!!
I was invited with my husband and my vintage car by Route 66 Arizona association to a Rock'n Roll Festinal in Disney Village.

We made a stop to Reims, the capital of Champagne, to share a good evening with our friends.


I received this beautiful suit as a gift
belonged to my grand mother's friend Christophe!
We spent a night there and it was better than a luxury bed and breakfast!!! I love their ART DECO home furnished with so much taste.




 My Chevy also had a special "room" with its sisters... a '53 Buick and a '58 Lincoln!


And we continued the road to Disneyland...

320km later we arrived to New-York Disney Hotel
My car and other vintage cars were parked in the Disney Village for 3 days. There were some rock'n roll concerts too.



Easy to become a kid again in Disneyland...

Going to concerts I met a big Star...
There was an award ceremony to reward the most beautiful cars of this week-end on Saturday. The award was a statue of Minnie. So cute!!! I really wanted to have one. My wish was fulfilled... twice!!! I won the award of the best 50's car and furthest traveller!


On the same day we crossed Paris by Subway to visit the new home of our friend. A beautiful 50's appartement!!! I'm so happy for them.



Good weather to visit Hanted House...
The attraction I love the most is the "Small World", you can only smile when you leave this attraction!!!


The sleeping beauty castle is really wonderful!



All the "tapisseries" and stained glasses come
 from the best french historical factories

We also visited the Walt Disney Studios.


And we finally came back home after a big storm...
 We were already at the same event last year and hope we will be there again next year!
Do you love Disneyland like me?
Are you like a kid when you go there?

Sunday, September 4, 2011

An amazing "FLOHMARKT"!

Living a few miles from several countries is really great! For example I can live in my motherland but work in an other country (I'm working in Luxembourg...). But one of the best advantage is FLEA MARKETS!!!!

In the same day, I can shop in 4 countries!!! My favorite flea markets take place in Belgium and in Germany. It's a lot of fun to be able to do that because you can find so many different items depending on the country of manufacture. In the 40's-50's, each country had its own design for furniture, for dishes, for household appliances... No worldwide design like today!!!! I really love german modern design in everything, it's so atomic!

We have just come back from an amazing and huge flea market in Germany the trunck full of goodies!!!! What a pity that I can not speak better german... but english is really helpfull. We live at just a few miles from the border but french can hardly speak german and the same for german people!

First purchase

After few hours
We could not afford some really nice objects like these ones:

My biggest regret... Made by Cortendorf in
the 50's but its seller asked me 200 euros...
unfortunatly too much for me!

My husband biggest regret...Really amazing
plants table from the 50's! Price was high
and condition far from perfect.

 
Buying or not some more 50's magazines????
I love vintage toys, dolls and teddy bears, but I don't buy them a lot because I don't know how to display them in my home. So I really enjoy to make a stop by vintage toys stalls: so fun and colorful!
  

So here is some pictures of our treasures hunt! Just display as found, some cleaning will be usefull for some objects.




And here is the list of what we bought:

- 1 woman glasses from the 40's
- 1 woman glasses from the 50's
- 1 fur purse-muff from the 40's
- 1 snake purse from the 50's
- 1 50's hat
- 1 40's hat
- 2 brooches from the 50's
- 1 red set (necklace and earrings) from the 50's
- 4 really fun egg cups from the 50's
- 5 atomic glasses from the 50's
- 1 50's electrical coffee grinder
- 1 speaker from the 50's
- 1 bottles holder from the 50's
- 1 Christmas tree light from the 30's
- 3 small 50's dishes
- 1 larger pot from the 50's
- 2 kitchen furniture from the 50's
- 2 small 50's "tripod" table
- 2 50's wall lamps
- many spool of thread may be from the 70's
- 1 50's pot for mustard
- 1 50's hawaiian pot
- 2 50's sugar bowl
- 1 set of lucite fruits knifes
- 3 50's clothes hanger
- 4 40's hair clips
- 1 tray from the 50's

Nothing we plan to sale, just all for us to add to our huge collection of vintage items!!!! You must think "They are crazy!!!". Yes, it can be... but so happy to be!

And what about you? Do you love Flea Markets? Are they fun in your area? Do you buy a lot like us?

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Summer Holidays

Last day of August... Last day to think again about our summer holidays! Autumn will be soon here, kids will go back to school and it's time for me to count the days from now till Christmas... Xmas is really my favorite time of the year!!!

So let's think again about those sunny days...
I took a break of 3 weeks in August.
_______________

DORDOGNE
_______________


 
We went to Dordogne, a really touristic area in South West of France. The place where you can visit pretty medieval villages and amazing castles. My familly in law lives there so it was quite economical holidays!
It's really not the place where you must start a diet. You can eat so much delicious specialties like "Duck's Confit" and "Foie Gras" or goat's cheese!

We visited the MONBAZILLAC castle with some friends and tasted there my favorite white sweet wine.


We also listenned some good music at Mike Sanchez's concert near Lot river! I love this great artist and his powerful boogie woogie.

A nice cruise in our friend's car, a 1955 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria, was really fun too!

I really love the old yellow stones of the medieval city of Sarlat!

_______________
BRUXELLES
_______________


And to finish these sunny vacations we spent a week-end in Bruxelles (Belgium) for a rockabilly event.

A good flea market and some vintage clothing shops to begin... (I was hunting NOS 50's earrings on this picture!)

Mussels at the most famous Brasserie in Bruxelles "Chez Léon"...

Some vintage cars...

And the concert of Si Cranstoun which was really good. A great voice!

I finally could heard his DYNAMO song live, a real pleasure!!!!

And you, where did you go for vacations?
Did you spend nice Summer Holidays?