Antiques in Narbonne

Two churches side by side, different eras and architecture

 I am embarrassed to say that after all my time here, today was my first real visit to this town east of Carcassonne.  Although the official population puts Narbonne at only about 3500 more people than Carcassonne, its downtown has a much bigger city feel to it.  The Canal du Midi runs right through centreville--what we'd call the business district in American terms.  And Narbonne has taken exceptional advantage of this fact, improving the waterfront with a great wide walkway, fronted by shops and restaurants. 

Narrow, marbled street

In front of Les Halles--yes, like the composer/pianist

I had the opportunity to learn about the free shuttle bus and to ride it twice, which gave me a great feel for the overall layout of the city.  I went into the covered market, Les Halles (just about every French city of any significant size has its own "Les Halles") and observed the butchers, cheesemongers, olive merchants and bakers plying their wares.  As I had skipped breakfast, I indulged in a pain au chocolat. 

Animated conversations with the bus driver, the clerk at the Office of Tourism, the ticket seller and security guard at the Exposition Hall where the antiques were being shown revealed to me their preferences in what to do, what to see, where to eat.  I was even given a lift by a lovely older French couple who heard me talking to the shuttle bus driver about which bus to take to the exhibit.  It's a really easy walk, but there was a fierce wind with a bite to it today and they warmed my heart and my hands with their kindness.  

So elegant, so--decorated

As far as the antiques show itself--I have never seen so much gilt under one roof that wasn't either a Catholic church or  Versailles.  French furniture is graceful in its lines, I think, but oh my, do we have to decorate every square centimeter?  The other thing that I noticed was that all of these pieces of furniture had been cleaned, or refinished, were waxed and gleaming.  Maybe that doesn't affect the value; but Antiques Roadshow experts always say to leave it alone.....I found some dining room chairs very similar to the ones I just bought for 5 Euros a piece, and they had been re-upholstered.  I am more determined than ever to re-do my bargain finds. 

Table #1  and my chairs are similar

I am in the market for a dining room table and found two--one in particular that I really love.  They both would fit in my space, and both have extensions for the rare occasion I would have a big dinner party.  I also found a set of Meissen dinnerware that made my heart go thunk, but at 1600 Euros, it would make my bank account go thunk, too! And there was a carpet dealer there who had beautiful, beautiful things, but far out of my price range.  It was fun to look, though.  There was an entry fee, so yes, in truth, I did pay to look.

Has two leaves in it right now--Am really liking this one

It takes a lot to make me feel uncomfortable, but these sharks of antiques dealers were able to accomplish that.  I felt like I was intruding on sacred ground whenever I asked to take a photo, so I didn't get as many as I would have liked.  Too bad that they were so vulture-y.  Is predatory a nicer word?  

Table #2--and he will deliver

For now, I think I will stick with my two local antiquarians.  They are much nicer, and the delivery fee is certainly less than what it would be from  Perpignan or Marseilles. 

And there's definitely a return day trip to Narbonne in the works!