Back in France

We're back, after a hectic three days run to UK. It was so good to see our friend who is in a beautiful hospital, surrounded by attractive gardens, and well cared for by charming nurses.

Returning on the Ferry we decided to go down a floor or two for lunch.

Made our way to the lift, and as we entered we were nearly knocked off our feet by two boisterous little boys, who had run at full speed down the corridor.

About to press the button for the floor we wanted I heard a demanding squeak.

'Seven.'

'I beg your pardon?'

'SEVEN. We want seven.'

'Excuse me?' (spoken in best ex teacher mode)

A smaller squeak, slightly apologetic now from the other boy.

'Please'

Sigh.

Winner of the giveaway....

The winner of the giveaway,

hastily drawn from a basket full of names this morning...

is

TRACING RAINBOWS

Well done! I will send your e mail address to the company

and hope you will hear from them soon.

Thank you all for entering, sorry there

can only be one winner.

Giveaway news

We are taking a very quick trip to UK on Tuesday, to see an old friend

who has been very ill, and who may not have too much time left.

Rush rush to get house ready for sitters.

I will have to draw the Giveaway posted July 22nd,on Tuesday 27th morning, UK time, so if you

havent entered it yet, please know that it will be drawn earlier than promised.

Summer vegetables

Thankfully, Peter Rabbit doesn't live in our garden.

In fact, we don't have any rabbit problems here, just the usual slugs and snails,

caterpillars and pigeons.
This week I have frozen;
Beetroot...it freezes well in slices.
Ratatouille, made from our peppers, tomatoes and courgettes.
Lettuce soup, made with some bolted lettuce and a few older Mangetout peas, an experiment that worked well.
Made jam with the last of the blackcurrants.
Eaten the first French beans and Runner beans.
Continued to eat the most delicious new potatoes.
Soon there will be Blackberries by the hundred from our bushes.
How good it is to have such a bounty in our garden.
How good it is to have a husband who, despite poor health, can still grow all these wonderful foods.

Giveaway for UK, USA and Canada

I have been approached by CSN Stores to host a giveaway!

I wasnt familiar with the name, but have had agood look at their website (below) which stocks mostly things for the home, from Ceiling Lights to beds!. It is online shopping only and has many of the well known names. Go and have a look at CSN Stores .

One lucky reader will receive a gift voucher to use on CSN online stores. You will receive a voucher worth Sixty Pounds (£), Dollars ($) or Euros (€) depending on your location.

The giveaway is ONLY open to the UK, USA , and Canada .

Since I was contacted I've been browsing through their online stores. I wouldn't mind spending a voucher on this set of Prestige saucepans....very useful.

Or maybe the Le Creuset ironware roasting pan. I love Le Creuset and find that it lasts much longer than cheaper versions.

CSN stores sell small things like kitchen accessories to large things like furniture, so there is definitely something for everyone!

How to enter:

To enter, simply leave me a comment on this post. I will contact the winner when I draw the name.
The giveaway will end next Tuesday 27th July .

Paris Plage

Once again, the beach comes to Paris. From July 20th to August 20th, two miles of Paris become the 'seaside'. Tons of sand are shipped in to the city. This all began in 2002 as the brainchild of Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, and although there were murmurs of 'wasteful' etc, most people in the city love it. So do the visitors!
Three main locations are turned into themed beaches, with areas especially for children in one, quiet restaurants in another.
It isn't just sand that appears. This is the proper seaside, with palm trees, grass, kayaks, blow up boats, deckchairs and ice creams..... to name but a few. To their credit each area is made as accessible as possible to disabled people, with ramps and rails.


I'd quite like to sit under a parasol by the Seine! But maybe not with the hundreds of tourists who will be there this month. They'll love to see the city in a different light.

Bugs...............

My computer was attacked last week by a very nasty bug.

Naturally it was on July 14th and that is of course a National holiday.

So, it seemed, was the next day.

And the next day.

The French do this regularly. It's known as 'faire le pont'

or doing the bridge thing over as many days as you fancy.

Today we are reunited, my computer and I.

La Fete Nationale

(Photo from http://www.benoa.net/)

The National Guard on parade in Paris on one of the most important days.

La Fete Nationale. today , the 14th July, is a day which is celebrated all over France.

It commemorates the 1st Anniversary of the storming of the Bastille prison by the peasants,in 1790, which was regarded as a symbol of the uprising of a modern nation. (I've written before about the history, so won't repeat)

Twenty jets from the Alpha Jet Patrol were on hand this morning, to make the colours of the French flag over the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Parades, marches, balls, celebrations have been going on all day.

The President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, welcomed chiefs of thirteen African nations, invited to honour the 50th anniversary of their independance.

And in local villages and towns there have been fireworks last night, and other celebrations, mainly concerning a lot of wine, during the day.

We've stayed at home!

Jays

I think we have seen many wild birds, including our Woodpecker family, in the garden.

However, when four big Jays flew in we were surprised, as they don't usually come for

the peanuts.

I moved too fast to take the photo, which is why it's blurred.

I've also never seen a Jay raise his crest, but apparently they do when they are excited.

Was it the thought of peanuts?

Edit......I think the American Bluejay has rather different colours from our

European Jay, which are lighter, but still have the lovely blue flash on the wings.

L'Abbaye de Timadeuc

This is the entry gate to a lovely Breton Abbey.

Built in 1841 on the site of the manor of the Lords of Timadeuc, it now houses a Cistercian order of monks.

We went there for the first time a couple of weeks ago,

really to visit their shop, which I had heard about. They stock very beautiful cards and gifts, and I wanted something special for a Vicar whose anniversary it was. Rarely would an ordinary shop stock any card of a religious nature. France is a secular country. Walking down the pathway from the gate, we met a charming lady, who told us that the shop was closed during the hour of Mass, but would be open later.

She invited us into the Chapel for Mass, which was beautiful.

The monks, of the Cistercian order, sing softly, peacefully, not only chants, but some hymns which we knew. There were about thirty people who had come in for the Mass. The services are open to the public. The presence of God is all around as you sit and drink in the sounds.

The Abbey welcomes visitors for retreats, or just for a day. To spend time sharing in their silence, their reverence for God, would be a blessing. There is a special 'hotel' building for guests.


After the Mass we found that the shop was still closed and was due to remain that way for the day, it being a special Saints Day. However, one of the brothers kindly opened it up for a minute or two, so that I could choose a card. Proudly he told me that he could speak 'a leetle english', and with a beaming smile showed us the products of the Monastery.


Cows are kept and the milk is made into two types of cheese. If you ever come across the Timanoix cheese you will know it has been made here.
In their orchards are apple trees. The apples are made into jelly and with only natural flavours added are then turned into the most delicious crystallised fruits, sold in all our local supermarkets at Christmas.


I plan to go back there one day, simply to be.

Lavender time

My lavender is a little late to come into flower this year.

I need to pick what I can before it opens too far,

but I don't like to take it away from the bees, who are constantly in and out of the plants.

When we were in Jersey some years ago, I visited the Jersey lavender farm, and bought a newly developed lavender. Its flowers are pink, rather than purple and it has a scent slightly reminiscent of mint. You can just see them on the back of my basket. (click to enlarge)

The rest is the 'ordinary' blue/purple, and I have so many plants. Lots of cutting to get on with.

I dry the stems upside down in linen bags and use the flowers for Craft sewings, for lavender bag presents. Taking the flowers from the stems is a job that needs doing out of doors, as the heaviness of the scent can be almost too much

I dont think you can ever get tired of Lavender. I add a few blossoms to ordinary bath salts and the bath becomes a spa!

Hot, hot, hotter..

This is how it feels today.

The temperatures stay in the 90 - 100s.

We get essential things done in the early morning, or the evening.

Sometimes, can you believe, it's too hot to go in

the garden for a swim.

Water is on a meter here, so we have to be very careful.

But tomatoes need water every day,

as do some of the other vegetables.

My geraniums just get a sip,

and they survive.

I wonder how we would cope in a really hot country like Africa.

Not very well, I think.

How I wish we could bottle this warmth

and save it for the winter!

Guerande

We stopped briefly in Guerande on our way home from the Vendee region.

Guerande is a mediaeval walled town, with four gates and

ten towers. The ramparts are still there , but not open to the public.

This photo shows the most important gate,

the Porte Saint Michel, which houses a Museum of the town's history. Guerande is well known for its production of salt in the many hundreds of salt pans that

surround the township. Here's a little wheelbarrow outside a shop, full of bags of salt.

It is all pedestrian and we enjoyed pottering through the tiny alleys
and looking at the different shops.

Just a glimpse down a tiny walkway.
I loved the look of the pale blue beams, and the little archway.

This shop amused me.

Its name translates as

'Papa pins and Mama sews'!

It was full of pretty handmade goods.

I wish we had had longer to stay, but home beckoned.

This is a press photo taken in February 2010, showing the

aftermath of the Xynthia tempest. The West coast of France,

the Vendee, was very badly hit.

Xynthia was an extremely violent windstorm that arrived on 26th February.

At least 50 people were killed , some were reported as missing

and many injured. Spain Germany and Portugal were hit also. The storm surge was topped up by battering waves up to 25 feet high.

The sea wall was smashed at Aiguillon sur Mer, just along

the coast from where we stayed this week.

There were floods of up to 6 feet

as you can see.

Below is a photo that I took this week,

showing the erosion of the sandy coast line.

The walkway above was very badly damaged and
was in some places fenced off.

It was a relatively still night when I took this picture.

We sat on the bench and watched the power of even the smallest waves.

I didn't feel altogether safe sitting there. The edges of the walk were shaley

and slidy. You might easily fall into deep water.

The coastal towns have worked very hard to recover

in time for the holiday season, and certainly

we could see the tourists beginning to arrive.
I wonder if they realise what a tragedy there had been earlier in the year.

Back in Brittany

Breakfast, served in the very beautiful restaurant

of our hotel.

The Dining room overlooks the ocean and it is

actually the only part that does.

The terrace was used for dining

and the weather was perfect.

What was wrong?
Well, a clever website, a hotel that has put
all its efforts into the restaurant
and has somewhat basic bedrooms.
On the website the impression is of rooms overlooking the sea.
They are at the side of the hotel, so have a minimal view.

They are clean , but tired.

However, we were only there to sleep.
The rest of the time we spent with our friends, having Barbecues,
dining out, going to night markets,
and just enjoying each others company.


I'll put up some photos tomorrow of the damage
done to this coast by Tempest Xynthia in February.