French apartment renovations, Day 278: Queen of the flea markets

11,812 steps

I found a treasure: a gorgeous wool rug at a consignment store (more flea market than antique store). It is 2.5 x 3 m and the nicest rug we have ever owned in terms of density and knots per inch. There's a small stain on one edge, but otherwise it's in great shape. And only 80 Euros!

This rug was HEAVY. It took 3 of us to carry it home about 1 kilometer.

I admit, I just went ahead and bought the rug without having Eric come see it. I knew that if I waited, it might be gone. Fortunately he really liked it.

While I was thrift shopping, Zari headed to Frejus with her soccer team and Eric was taking Inga to her soccer match. Eric came home as I was finishing a thorough vaccuming of the rug. Ivy helped, too, as you can see in one of the videos.

After lunch, Dio had a soccer practice. It was only announced a few hours beforehand, and Dio was very upset because he was wanting to do something with his friends. But he went, very grumpily.

Zari was gone all day. So the rest of us headed off to another huge furniture consignment store (think XXL flea market) on the outskirts of Nice. Lots of amazing stuff but nothing quite right for Le Catamaran. They have a rapid turnover so we'll probably stop by regularly.

I did find an amazing carved chest/trunk (coffre fort) made in 1758 that I loved. Loved. It was something like 125 Euros and it would be amazing as a TV console in the front apartment. We're going for a medieval/gothic feel in that one, I think, versus an Art Deco feel in Le Catamaran. We didn't buy it but I am tempted to go back for it...

Oh, so I'd love your input on choosing a couch for Le Catamaran. Here are some finds that are currently available on leboncoin, which is like craigslist. (I found an amazing leather Chesterfield sofa sleeper, but alas it is no longer available).

I'd strongly prefer to have a couch that also turns into a bed to allow us to have more guests in this apartment. Bonus points for something that is actually comfortable to sleep on. On the other hand, aesthetic appeal is important, too.

So out of these current choices, which ones do you like? The gray Chesterfield and the ivory leather couch are just couches, not sofa beds. The medieval looking bed/bench is just for fun and could be for the front apartment. I call it the "boob banquette" because the arms have carvings of bare-breasted women.

Wow, this is turning into a long post! So after the super-flea-market trip, Eric went spearfishing and I went to some antique stores in the port. On my way I ran into an anti-vaccine anti-covid-regulation protest and kept hoping people wouldn't think I was participating. I am in favor of getting rid of the pandemic, not extending it.

Inga and Zari both had great soccer games. Inga scored 6 goals and Zari scored 2 (out of 4 goals total on her team). Zari's coach told Eric that he's very pleased with Zari's performance and integration into the team.

In the late afternoon, Ivy and Inga helped me take off the masking tape. I had to work with a long-bladed knife and tweezers as the edges tended to stick and not come off with the rest of the tape. It's all down, now. Next up: sand and seal the beams.



Eric came home with a Sériole (Amberjack), which we ate for dinner along with paella. Dessert was peach ice cream floats. I prepped a tiramisu for tomorrow's dessert.