Blogs from Poitou-Charentes, France, Europe - page 10

Today we followed the River Loire until lunchtime, a delightful drive through a succession of little villages, with occasional chateaux, sometimes sharing the road with cyclists transporting fresh baguettes - perhaps for lunch. Around Saumur several villages were built against and into the limestone hillsides edging the river and often included caves. With grapes growing close by, the caves are used for storing wine and we also saw references to mushroom growing in the caves. One delightful feature of French towns and villages at this time of the year is the abundance of flowers in window boxes, hanging baskets, urns, in street garden beds and on roundabouts. Colours are mixed with French flair and the result is stunning. Roundabouts are often used to showcase aspects of the area or town in a very decorative and imaginative ... read more

Hello all - I have been back in Amberac, with Sandy and Roger, for 2 weeks now, since the end of my house sitting. The weather here has been fantastic - reaching 40 degrees in the sun yesterday. In fact, it was so hot that i had my first swim in Rogers pool, as the temp of the water was 24 degrees. You will probably have sussed that out by the lead photo!! It was lovely and refreshing, after a hard morning toiling in the fields! Roger filled it for the first time on May 1st, after tiling it whilst I was in Toulouse. So I have been working for my keep again. Plenty of gardening last week, with mowing the orchard, weeding, hedge trimming, and general garden upkeep, which seems a never ending job. The ... read more

Whilst in our minds Simon and I set out on a cultural and culinary trip around Europe - it has soon become a trip of children’s playgrounds and swimming pools punctuated by the predictable question “How many Miles is it Daddy” and the Sat Nav has been reconfigured to provide the answer... The ferry trip from Portsmouth to St Malo was thankfully uneventful – Claire wasn’t even sick (except at the huge price of dinner on board). Off we got and straight on with driving on the wrong side of the road at a combined length of 34 feet – scary… Our first stop was Ile de Re in the Vendee (thanks Faye for the tip) a lovely island where we stayed near the beautiful harbour at La Flotte, on a fabulous campsite with a swimming ... read more

We all have dreams, and some of those dreams have the chance to become experiences in our real life. Some moments don't have price, they are simply there to be enjoyed, to the best we can, because they are so unique. What we lived for two days around the Cognac region is one of those rare experience Mari and I have enjoyed in our short life. But first, I have to thank Yves to have made this dream come true, and Alexandre and Patrick to have take care of us so well in Bourg-Charente. Thank you is a simple word, but it come from deep inside us. To those who asked us how did we end up living these two days, my answer is simple. I have a passion for a great product, and in two ... read more

Well, I have to say that I am now staying in the best place so far. The house is absolutely gorgeous. The guys who own it are very nice. And they only have a small dog, which is quite cute, and 1 cat. The house is literally on the banks of the river Charente, which runs through some of the most beautiful villages in France. I am being fed very well, and worked very hard. I think for the first time in a very long time I am burning more carbs than I am eating!! But I have had some fun as well. I arrived here last Tuesday evening, and started work on wednesday morning. the first job was to clear out a couple of rooms in an outbuilding where the roof had fallen in, littering ... read more