Backyard travels part 2

On a walk through St Jean de Sixt yesterday, I noticed the garden scene below. Something’s a bit NQR (Not Quite Right), right? That’s not a real person! That’s not a real café either. The donkey is only two-dimensional. And, in fact, that’s a fake house there in the background. Let me explain.

Fake garden scene
These are just some of the props that used to grace the St Jean de Sixt roundabout at different times of the year. The guy who used to put the mannequins on the roundabout together with the corresponding props is obviously missing his roundabout antics, and is now turning his attentions to creating scenes away from the roundabout, closer to his house.

Fake café sceneI had walked past a week earlier one evening and I saw a scene full of life — minus the actual life. The red mannequin dude in the background hadn’t moved, but there were chairs and tables populated by mannequins (including the one with the hat right in front of the camera, watching the scene from a distance while he was gardening at night). Apparently, mannequins party at night.

It might sound silly, but it’s a real treat to walk past this area in St Jean and watch the scene change over time. Security cameras and fences aren’t needed here, and that’s what I truly love. The mannequins have not been undressed, the donkey has not been turned upside down or stolen, and the fake café has no graffiti. I heart rural living.

About

I'm a technical author, journalist and writer from Australia who has been living in Europe since 2000 and exploring the world from there. My passions are writing, snow sports and travel.

3 Comments on “Backyard travels part 2

  1. Hooray for the mannequin man!!

    I for one am pleased he has not just thrown in the towel, I love seeing these updates and wish we had something like that here. Sadly Courchevel and surrounding area think they are TOO posh for anything like this.

    I think I am going to have to visit this for myself at some time in the summer.

    Keep it up!

    Regards

    Sue

  2. This is really awesome. Especially since it hasn’t been defaced or damaged. The first thought in my mind was the mannequins set up in the video store in the movie, “I Am Legend.”

    This is really cool. I would love to see it in person.