I’ll be straight from the start. This is not a tear jerking love story which will have you reaching out for the tissues and leave you feeling all mushy inside. I haven’t caused a scandal and committed adultery and we haven’t suddenly felt the need to renew our wedding vows. Continue reading “Falling in Love”
Summertime is the season for pretty dresses, bright colours and a general feeling of joie de vivre. Into the hallway cupboard we stow our wooly scarves, hats and gloves, and as the days warm we take off layer after layer of warm clothing, exposing bare skin and covering ourselves with the merest wisp of fabric, a transformation that always coincides with the rising sap of the new season. But houses and walls tend to do quite the opposite, the old naked structures donning their prettiest outfits as they metamorphose into summer creations of their own design. Continue reading “Dressing up for Summer”
From time to time I view houses for sale on behalf of friends who are looking to buy in the area. It’s purely for fun, nothing more than being able to offer a helping hand and the ability to impart a little local knowledge. It’s easy to rave about beautiful manoirs set amidst rolling parkland but rarely do I come across somewhere that I simply can’t stop thinking about. Something that really strikes a chord. Continue reading “Will We Be Neighbours?”
When we first moved to France, I think we all secretly harboured a desire for a sort of ‘Swallows and Amazons’ existence, for a life that would be one long dreamy ride through quiet backwaters and along sun-dappled valleys until one returned at night to the warmth of a fire in an ancient fireplace set square in the crumbling wall of an old farmhouse. Continue reading “The Good Life”
Life is all about choices. Imagine you’re in France on holiday. You’re strolling around a local town and it’s just past midday; everyone is feeling a little peckish, and the restaurants all around you are filling up with diners – where do you go? The choice is endless……but then in your mind you recall a few wise words, whispered by a french friend many years ago, “Always go where the locals eat.” Continue reading “Decisions Decisions”
Remember a few weeks ago I chatted about introducing you to some expats who have set up their own businesses here and have made France their home? Well today I am really excited to get this started and to introduce you to Leanne, who is Canadian. She has lived in France for many years with her French husband, Sylvain, and together they make artisanal soaps. These are soaps that are handmade with only pure natural ingredients, soaps that look so good and smell so divine one almost wants to eat them!
This entire interview is so enriching and filled with such good advice it will have you mentally packing your bags, if you don’t already live here! Continue reading “A Canadian in France”
I might be slightly unusual, but I miss the noise of the children. I miss the mess, I miss the chaos and the endless trail of wet footprints throughout the house. But now it’s the weekend and the weather is as good as any day in July or August; everyone’s at home and I’m back to picking up soggy swimming towels and hanging them out to dry; the mat outside the front door is once again littered with flip-flops waiting for someone to trip over them – everything is right in my world again! Continue reading “Going Forward but Looking Back”
Breakfast is perhaps my favourite meal of the day. During the holidays it’s invariably rather late and it’s one of those meals that just sort of happens, somewhat miraculously it all comes together without any planning. The youngest children will usually have been awake for hours, and they will have had an early morning snack, a yoghurt from the fridge or a banana; they know the routine and wait until everyone else stirs before they attempt anything else. Continue reading “Breakfast with Friends”
One evening last week we decided to go out for dinner. Hustling all the children into the car in a reasonably timely fashion we headed fifteen minutes down the road to the enchanting village of Mornac Sur Seudre. Listed as one of the prettiest villages in France it is something of a magnet to tourists. We weaved our way in between hundreds of likeminded people, content to stroll and soak up the atmosphere as we wandered through the narrow streets. We passed several restaurants already full and headed straight to the river and the little harbour of sorts at the very end of the village where the buildings meet the marsh. Continue reading “Summer Evenings, Ancient Traditions and Moules!”
Our French Oasis 