A little bit of France

We came back last weekend from Brittany where we stayed with friends K and F who have been living in Plougourvest for ten years. This was our last visit as they are returning to the UK in September. I must just show you a glimpse of their lovely home and gardens. We are in such awe of their achievements in turning this old pig farm into a gorgeous, tastefully refurbished four bedroom house, complete with barns, porkery and outbuildings.

Their property is at the end of a mile long lane outside of the village and very remote

Farm fields surrounding them for as far as you can see

growing produce such as artichokes, cauliflowers and much much more

This is the first view you have when arriving

After our nightly barbecues we would stroll down to the bottom of their garden which is a good acre or more? (not sure what an acre looks like but its BIG!)

To the fast running stream which borders their property from the adjoining farmland

Cutting their huge lawn at the rear with their two sit-on mowers was beginning to take its toll so now they have left the middle to form a woodland meadow, attracting all manner of birds and insects.

 The muddy rings in the cut lawn around the meadow are made by the moles - a nightly and frustrating occurrence - there would literally be approximately 20 or 30 new molehills each morning!

Foxgloves grow everywhere with gay abandon 

Such a delight to wander these beautiful wooded areas

Our gentle stroll down through the meadow and gardens generally took about half an hour and we couldn't believe that it was still light at ten o-clock at night.

And so a return to their more formal gardens behind the house and a welcome glass of chilled wine to complete our evening!

Hope you enjoyed our evening strolls as much as we did

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A big welcome to my new follower Sue at Beach bungalow

Thanks for popping by and see you again soon x

A taste of France...

It's taken a whole week to get back to some kind of normality after our trip to France. Our feet haven't touched the ground since we got back and the week has flown by. Anyway here's  a taster of our stay in Provence.

We stayed in Avignon a beautiful and fascinating city known to be the cultural heart of the Provence region. The Palace du Papes was the headquarters of the Catholic Church from 1309. The building's heavy fortification reflects the violent nature of 14th century religious life.

 

 

 

 

 

Visiting The Luberon area was a delight - this regional nature park which is known to be one of the most appealing areas of Provence with its limestone cliffs, river-hewn gorges, rugged peaks and rustic villages, was the inspiration for Richard Mayle's 'A Year in Provence'

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the street life in France where markets are held regularly and pavement cafes are in abundance. Two in particular were Arles and Uzes.

 

How lovely to be able to buy your fresh fruit, vegetables, cheeses and meat from the local market. We don't have anything like that locally except perhaps for Borough Market in Southwark.

 

I do love an Antique Shop - and this is something that the French do well - many village streets were lined with shops and stalls selling all manner of vintage goods.

 

We were very lucky with our weather, the sun shining most of the time, so we were able

 to indulge in quite a lot of Alfresco dining - just heaven.

I hope you've enjoyed this little taster - no pun intended - and I'll continue with more of our travels in a day or two.

Bye for now

Short break - to The Provence

A big thanks for all your lovely comments recently, they are so appreciated. It's been a busy time so I haven't been able to reply personally on my posts. It's so nice to get comments and lovely that they come from far and wide from like-minded people who are interested in what you have to say.

We're off to France on Wednesday - The Provence in the south.  We leave from Ebbsfleet in Kent on the Eurostar which will take us to Lille, where we catch the TGV train to Avignon and are due to arrive about 4pm.  I was not able to fly for several months this year so booked this alternative way of travelling which I'm really looking forward to.

So - unless I can get wifi in our hotel, will be unable to keep in touch.  I'll be back next week when I can catch up with all your posts but in the meantime have a good week.

See you soon

Patricia



Bon Jour - and a little taster of France

I really can't believe that I've been back from France for several days now and haven't got around to writing and saying hello to you all. Thank you so much for all your lovely comments and wishes before I went away.  My feet haven't touched the ground since we've been home. Anyway I thought I'd share a few photos of my holiday over the next few days.

We flew to France and made our way to the Dordogne Valley where we stayed at the picturesque market town of Sarlat for four nights, where the narrow twisting alleys are lined with 13th century buildings made from the local luminous golden stone.

Sarlat is the capital of the Perigord Noir and is a remarkably conserved Medieval city. Strolling through the small streets and alleys in the historical centre you are seemingly transported centuries back into a past full of glorious memories.

The architecture was out of this world.

The flowers were gorgeous

 

And the street lamps ornate

 

The surrounding countryside has hauntingly beautiful landscapes. Deep twisting gorges, lined by craggy cliffs with castles and turrets. It was magical and like something out of fairyland.

 

I hope you enjoyed this little taster and will update our travel blog tomorrow.

Bye for now

Patricia