“Being busy” last week, meant we were on holiday in France. As it might not be so difficult to find out where I live, I didn’t think it wise to advertise we weren’t home.
What you are about to see in this post, are my holiday snapshots. Kinda like the slide shows at home in the sixties.
Below: Remember?
So if you are getting bored, just skip the post and come back next week. LOL
We had a terrific time in the south of France, in the area Provence, where we stayed in a dreamy bed & breakfast. As it was a 1,240 kilometres’ drive plus a little detour to drop the dog off at a pleasant place, we did the trip in two days and stayed in a hotel for a night.
Below: First stop was Troyes. A beautiful little town but unfortunately it was raining and it was late, so only one photo. So much to see, such great architecture and culture in Troyes.
Trust me to photograph houses with empty, abandoned shop windows.
Below: My face at dinner in Troyes. A bit tired.
The next day we arrived at our B&B in Cucuron 4 hours later than anticipated because of an accident on the route du soleil. Well B&B…it is more an estate with 4 rooms to rents. A ‘mas Provençal’. Very personal, very warm, very charming, very beautiful. It is called Les Jardins de Sitaara.
Below: When we woke up the following morning we had breakfast with this view. With fresh fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice, an assortment of buns, an assortment of charcuterie (meat), cheeses, jams and honey. Tea and the only decent cappuccino in France.
Honestly, it was paradise. After two mornings, we asked them to hold the meat and the cheese as we were eating it all. Not good for our figure. The owners (Françoise and Paul) are the best and sincerest hosts.
Below: They have a sweet dog called Java.
Below: And a cat called Bali.
Below: View of the old water basin at the left of the terrace. You only hear the sound of birds.
I will throw in some food now and then, because the food in the south of France is so good. Below: Lunch the first day at restaurant MatCha. I wanted something light with lots of vegetables. Yummy. I ordered another one.
Below: Wearing my Max Mara dress with white jeans and flat shoes. Link to the original post where I wore it as dress and to the post where I wore it with white jeans and high heels. Didn’t pack high heels for this holiday.
Below: Delicious ice cream at the big pond, Place de l’Étang. We followed the tips our neighbours had given us, who had been here 3 weeks earlier. They talked about their holiday so enthusiastically, that we promptly booked as well.
Below: Place de l’Étang, with the branches of the plane trees touching each other at the top.
Below: Another terrace in Cucuron we hung out at, La Dame Jeanne. We ate there twice and can really recommend it.
Below: And when you order a coffee, they bring it to you in such a lovely cup. I always order a ‘noisette‘ in France, which is an espresso with a bit of milk. If you order cappuccino, you’ll get really bad coffee. Only at our B&B we had cappuccino. They knew how to make it.
Below: View from the highest point of the village Cucuron.
Below: Cucuron by night.
Below: Between breakfast, lunch and dinner, we sunbathed by the swimming pool of our B&B.
We walked the streets of villages and towns.
Below: My darling husband in the streets of Cucuron.
And we shopped a little in Aix-en-Provence.
Below: Ron sent the photo below to our family with the text “Aix-en-Provence, shop within 200 metres from the parking garage.”
Below: Followed by this photo with the text “200 metres further, now 400 metres from the parking garage.”
But honestly those were the only shops I went in. Apart from one across the street at our favourite terrace.
Below: Restaurants in Aix-en-Provence use the fountains to keep their wine cool, without wasting any water. Clever.
Below: We have seen numerous elaborate churches in every city we visit. This one is in Aix-en-Provence.
Below: Shops or restaurants tend to look like this. Irresistible.
Below: Lunches looked much like this meal we had at Bar des Sports in Ansouis, beautiful and delicious. The French eat a full course meal at lunchtime and at dinner time. At least, that was the idea that I got.
Below: Then I had the strangest encounter with a beautiful woman and her three young daughters. The youngest one had a fuzzy toy that played songs. At one stage I got up from my chair, twisted my fringe, pulled it up and started singing the beginning of a well-known French song, imitating her toy. The mother got up, ran to me, hugged me and said she really liked me a lot. Long story short, we got to know each other and she treated us to drinks and invited us to dinner. I was flabbergasted. We couldn’t go to dinner but she gave me her phone number and now we are in contact. Never have I experienced something like this before. (I couldn’t get hold of her to ask permission to use this photo so I made her face unrecognisable.)
Below: Close-up which I think was a little too close but hey, it is what it is.
Below: One day we visited L’Isle sûr la Sorgue, which we used to love because of the (nearly) antique stuff they sell, called brocante. It is the cutest little town and totally spoiled by tourists. You cannot park your car for miles and it is really difficult to get a table for lunch if you haven’t reserved. And sooo many people. The ABBA lyric “It used to be so nice, it used to be so good” sprung to mind. We won’t go back there.
(Link to the post with this kaftan dress.)
In the afternoon we decided to leave L’Isle sûr la Sorgue and drive to Avignon, another town we appreciated very much in the past. The first photo of this post was taken there. Again, it was a disappointment. I don’t know whether it was the time of day (in the afternoon the light is always too harsh) or whether we were in the wrong part, but it didn’t do it for us. Probably not Avignon’s fault.
Below: We visited a beautiful little town called Ansouis.
Below: Wearing my palazzo trousers as they were cool. (Link to original post with two different tops.)
Below: Of course there was a church in the village with this surprised looking statue.
Below: I am not religious but I do think there is more than meets the eye. I like the theory that everything is energy and if enough people think positive messages, the universe will help. As I write it down, it sounds silly to me, but just in case it is true, I am lighting two candles in this church for two friends who are ill. I have been doing that at home for two months now. Let’s hope it helps.
Below: The statue of the dog in the church suffered a lot of damage.
Below: We had dinner on the back terrace of L’Insolite in Lourmarin. And they had piña colada! The one cocktail I love and hardly any restaurant or bar has it on the menu. Gosh, did I enjoy that.
Below: I had duck breast for dinner which was delicious.
We both gained weight. But hey, it’s the holidays.
Below: Ron always wants to keep busy so he invents ‘projects’. This holiday he photographed weary old dogs haha. Here is one cooling down in a fountain.
And it was time to go home again. Sadly but we cannot stay there forever.
On our way back we stayed a night in Reims. Again, a beautiful city.
Below: Lovely old houses in Reims.
Below: Statues all over the place. Funnily enough with gates around them. They spoiled the statues enormously. Was that a precaution, to prevent kids from climbing on the statues?
Below: Reims has a gigantic cathedral. The photo only shows a little part of it.
Below: I lit two more candles with a picture of the smiling angel of Reims.
We searched the town for terraces and restaurants but couldn’t find any (but one which wasn’t very nice). Restaurants were all closed until Tuesday and it was a Sunday. So we ate a crappy sandwich at a low-down crappy snack bar. At least it satisfied our hunger.
Below: Then we walked 20 metres, turned the corner and there was this gigantic boulevard with terraces and restaurants. It is twice as big as on the photo.
We do this all the time. In every unknown city we go in the wrong direction. Always. So stupid.
Anyway, no use crying over spilled milk. We headed home the next day, picked up the dog and I started washing and ironing (yuck).
I hope you liked my extensive holiday report. If not, please return next week.
Back to the section you missed last week.
What happened in my life this week
I did errands, had my bicycle checked, brought clothes to the dry cleaning, did about 8 washes, ironed and went to the pedicure. Nothing to report upon really.
Well, a few random things then.
Below: One of my outfits this week. (Link to original post.)
Below: Marcella came round for a coffee and a chat.
Below: Another outfit this week. The sequins are printed on the top, but they are real on the trainers. (Link to original post.)
We did see some sunshine in the Netherlands this week, but it also rained and the temperatures were half the ones in France. Burr.
Greetje
