A trip over the border to the weekly market in the French spa town of Divonne-les-Bains is a great way to begin your Sunday.
If you are lucky and find a seat outside one of the cafes or bars like L’Aparté, order a beverage and watch the cosmopolitan throng juggle their bags of cherries, vine tomatoes, garlic bulbs, apricots and cherries.
Saucisson with nuts, cèpes, peppercorns or simply nature? Perhaps a floaty summer dress takes your eye or you can treat yourself to an armful of scented Peonies or a bag of colourful bonbons. There are some interesting boutique shops which also open on market-day like Couleur Nature, full of tantalising homewares.
Pop your purchases back in the car and take a short walk across to Lac de Divonne, a 99-acres artifical lake built in 1964. Joggers, cyclists, mums with pushchairs and chattering dog-walkers take advantage of the easy path which loops this beautiful little lake.
Divonne-les-Bains is also great for a date night à deux. Come sundown, L’Aparté converts into a wonderfully kitsch cocktail-bar and you can even satisfy your expat urge for a good curry at the Karishma Lounge (booking advised).
Words, photo credit and copyright Linda Scott 2012 at Scott Stock Photography
Linda has recently launched a bespoke framing service. She creates beautiful frames made from natural wood with a number of different finishes and using high quality mountboard. Linda’s frames are competitively priced and made-to-measure, creating an original finish for displaying your artwork, photos or memorabilia.
Take a look at her beautiful work on Linda Scott Photography and Encadrement.
3 comments
Love your words about Divonne… makes me want to pack up the family and head across the border this weekend, especially with the beautiful weather en route (fingers crossed!) Another one of my favs is the woman with the gorgeous textiles that she imports from India, but which are so quintessentially French as they serve as scarves, table linens, even bed covers! Mulitfaceted sizes and shapes for multfaceted usage!
Hi Natalie. Thank you so much. I am glad you enjoyed them. Such a great trip out and no long car journey to suffer! Here is hoping for the sun! Linda