Monday, October 13, 2014

A Windy Palavas and the Foire de Montpellier

Palavas beach 12 Oct 2014
This was the beach at Palavas yesterday on a day when the wind blew in strong gusts, whipping up the sea which deposited branches and bits of reed in untidy piles. It was an incredibly warm 25°C with what must have been almost 100% humidity, so walking along the front made me feel sticky and sweaty.

Today, it was calm, and a number of John Deere tractors were out tidying everything up. The contrast was remarkable.

We had popped down to the beach in search of a sandwich for lunch. My DB and I had spent the morning at the Foire de Montpellier, a commercial bonanza of Italian leather sofas, ceramic pans, and double glazing. Everywhere you stepped, you got accosted by a desperate sales person. The place was closed yesterday because of the weather, so they'd lost a whole day of potential sales on one of the busiest days - a disaster.

We were drawn in to one spiel at what looked like a vacuum cleaner stand. A short and sparky lady showed us this wonderful cleaner which wasn't just a hoover, but a combined steam cleaner. It hoovered up, steamed cleaned tiles, shampooed carpets and dried the lot in seconds. Lovely. We asked about the price. She said we could pay as little as 40 EUR per month. "A vie?" asked my DB? (For life?). She laughed gaily and said it was so nice to meet people with a sense of humour.

After a suspiciously long time, she finally got round to giving us the price. Don't faint (we were sitting down by this time, just in case...). It cost a snip at 2500 EUR, with a 'special' event price of 2100 EUR.

Of course, she said we could pay it off interest-free in as many months as we liked, up to 48. Can you imagine still paying for your hoover four years later? We told her it was far too expensive, so she suggested we pay less per month. It was difficult explaining that it wasn't the monthly payments that posed a problem, but the total amount which was far too expensive for such a gadget, nifty though it was.

Then she said we could take the display model for... 1700 EUR, or if we were a business, we could get a VAT-free new model for the same price. She was doing her best, but even 1700 EUR was about 1000 EUR more than we thought the hoover should cost. Getting a little desperate, she then gave us the sob story about being closed the day before, and so she couldn't make four potential sales like she did the previous year on that day.

By this time, we were getting a little weary and not a little hungry. I had had my eye on the Italian hall with the intention of nibbling my way through lunch, so we made our excuses and left. Ouf!

After a tour of the Italian hall sampling the cheese and charcuterie which was all delicious but very expensive (pork 30 EUR/kg), I was still hungry so we went to the food court which was also expensive. That was when we decided to leave and go elsewhere, and ended up in Palavas with a tasty baguette sarnie by the canal sitting in the sun (25°C).

The weather is not a little amazing this autumn!

20 comments:

  1. Blimey that must have been a Hoover and a half!
    A sarnie on the windy beach sounds a great way to spend the day.

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    1. You'll never guess what. My DB looked it up on the internet after we got back and you can find the same ones for between 400 and 600 EUR plus a warning that they go for over 2000 EUR in these foires!

      Cheeky sods.

      It wasn't windy today for our sarnie. Had we tried to eat a sarnie yesterday, it would have had a lot more crunch! The cars parked on the front since yesterday were filthy with a thick layer of salty sandy dust. :)

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  2. Wow! THat beach looks very French lootenanty woman.
    A vie? I love that expression, Ill be saying that one for life now.
    I tried the Dysons and was not impressed, can't recall what brand we have now but our cleaner brings her own ratty one anyway so the pretty one is not used unless I rouse myself and allow it out the cupboard.

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    1. I liked this one because it would have meant my cleaner could hoover and wash the floor in half the time, but not at that price! I don't get my hoover out very often either. My cleaner uses it, as does my eldest. :) My contact with the hoover is usually to unblock it. :)

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  3. PS My husband is a virgo, he would love one of those steam cleaners

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  4. I fancy one of those steam cleaners for the place in Spain...but i somehow think that i won't be buying one at a fair...

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  5. It has been an incredible autumn, long may it last. What a rip off those prices though!!! have a good week Diane

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    1. Thanks Diane. It makes you wonder about buying anything at a foire. The best way is to know what you want and check out the prices before you buy there I suppose. Otherwise, you could be lumbered with a 500% mark-up!

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  6. Must've been a BMW series hoover, right? I'm not about to fork out €2,000 for a machine that sucks up dirty. A inexpensive hoover from a second hand store would suffice. What a nut!

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    1. Well it steam cleans as well. It does a great job, but is far too expensive for what it is. It isn't even good-looking! If it had been designed by Alessi I might understand the price!

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  7. I bought my steam cleaner from Aldi for 60 euros and it's still going strong. Probably because I don't use it very often, but there you go, that's MM for you :)

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    1. I bought a mini one from Norma. Used it once. :)

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  8. What sort if vacuum was it? I never thought that it could be so expensive! I can't be possible, can it?

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    1. It was a Cabrelli Kombiplus. I'd never heard of this brand. It was made with old technology and looked very ordinary. You can only buy them at foires it seems.

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  9. ah those happy days in the South of France checking out....ummm vacuum cleaners...

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    1. We know how to enjoy ourselves, David. :)

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  10. A combined hoover/steam cleaner does sound like a nifty idea, but not at those prices! I'll carry on with my trusty old Dyson and an old-fashioned mop and bucket for the tiles, thank you. :)

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