Nothing quite like Europe in the summer, and after completing a year in Thailand, it felt so good to be heading home. It was a peaceful summer; catching up with family, lots of time and hugs for Suzi, boating, biking, long walks in the countryside, and we managed to squeeze in the Olympics, too.
Miss it and you guys so much š„²
Flying home for Christmasā¦ after my first few months in Thailand I was super excited to be flying home for the holidays, back to Samatan, excited to see everyone and Suzi and spend time enjoying the colder weather and countryside, and of course, the Christmas spirit that Europe does so well. As soon as I landed, the contrast from the tropics was there; the bare trees, the pale blue sky and fallow fields, and Christmas decorations strung up in all the villages.
It was a lovely three weeks, going back to all our old haunts; our favourite villages for strolls and driving through the beautiful countryside. Fun to go Christmas shopping in Toulouse, and dark, starry walks into the village with all the decorations glistening. There were beautiful ruby and crimson sunrises on Suziās walks, and Christmas carols being sung at the Christmas markets.
And me and dad also ventured into the mountains to the cute town of Saint Larys in the Pyrenees, where you can ski. But we just strolled around in the snow and went ice skating, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the mountain streams and churches and black horses grazing the slopes.
It was all over too soon. Already counting the days to our next reunionā¦
The Loireā¦ the first place we ever visited in France, ten years ago. With Prune, as a young one with endless energy to explore with us. And now, almost exactly ten years later, we were back, only an hour or so from where we first stayed. Suziās turn to experience this part of France.
We were staying in a Gite in a hamlet just outside the little village of Giroux. An old farmhouse, we instantly loved the location, with a meadow and fields of wheat and sunflowers just behind, where Suzi could be off lead and we spotted deer in the mornings.
This area was as we remembered itā¦ wide open, empty stretches of tarmac under a washed out blue sky. Wheat fields, hay balesā¦ you could see a car approaching you far in the distance. The villages too, were the frontier type we had seen back then, where hardy but friendly folk live and work the farms, and seemingly not much has changed in a very long time.
We ambled through these villages, admiring cute houses and flowers, chancing on a classic car convention, clambering over hay bales in the middle of empty fields. Those carefree summer memories, that almost seemed to belong to another simpler time. It was easy to forget the year, leave along the day.
And also, hard to leave. Something unappealing about rejoining the year 2023, reality. All three of us leaving a little piece of us there, amongst the empty skies and fields.
Thanks to Maya for the beautiful photos xx
Having spent a year in the South of France, thereās certain things Iāve noticedā¦
Thereās a lot of mosquitoes. And bugs and worms longer than a meter, and snakes, and frogs that insist on coming into the house. But thereās also beautiful families of deer that graze in the field across from the house, and even wild boar that sprint across the countryside.
Hardly anyone speaks English. I guess this is a France thing in general, so I was forced to pull out the dusty high school French, and learned to gesture almost as much as everyone here to get my point across (thereās google translate, for emergencies). However, everyone is patient with my painfully slow speaking, and most people here are friendly, anyway.
Almost every town is cute and will make you want to buy a house there. No joke, each town is cuter than the next, with views that make you want to give up everything and spend the rest of your life right there.
You need to carry a stick at all times. There are feral dogs in almost every town. Iām warning you.
Youāll get burnt/ leave several shades darker. It really is sunny and warm most of the year. There are some cold days and nights though, and when it rains, it pours, but mostly, itās Summer time.
Youāll get to know people fast. Everyone knows me now, probably as the strange foreign person, but still. And even the cats are our friends (Spud and Celery, Iām talking to you).
Youāll need a car to explore. Thereās not much connectivity here, but the surrounding towns and villages and countryside are full of beauty and just need to be explored. From the Mountain views in winter to the fields of sunflowers in summer, and the cute villages of cottages and crumbling churches.
You wonāt want to leave. Hotel California has nothing on this place.
Thanks to Maya and Mum for the beautiful photos
Another update from the South of France, this time Spring! This time of year is much wetter, so everything is green and full of life. There have been some very warm days, some wet days, some windy daysā¦ a real, mixed bag! But itās always a decent temperature at least to get out and explore.
Weāve also done some day trips- to Carcassone and Lourdes, both of which were very interesting, as well as discovering new cute towns tucked away here with cherry blossom trees and fields of cows.
I thought Iād share some photos of life here over the winterā¦ we are extremely lucky that thereās barely been much cold weather, and in fact a lot of lovely dry weather and sunshine all winter. The sunsets and sunrises, the cute towns that had all the Christmas decorations up, the snow covered mountains in the distanceā¦ a lovely time of year here.
Suzi seems to have settled in well to her new temporary home, clever girl escaped the worst of the winter and is enjoying milder temperatures in the South of France!
Nice too to have visits from everyone, and we continue to explore this pretty area. Itās beautiful this time of year, in the autumn, with the beautiful colors in the leaves and golden sunrises and sunsets, not to mention the Remembrance Day services and proud French flags flying in the little villages, plus the first glimpses of the snow on the mountains.
Sorry for my absence here, I will try to write more often again! Xx
Golden evening sunshine falling across the hills and forests, horses grazingā¦ back in the French countryside at one of the nicest times of year. This time, we were staying close to the border with Luxembourg and Belgium, in the area known as Grand Est, in the cute village of Doncourt-lĆØs-Longuyon.
Our Gite was an old farmhouse, over a hundred years old, according to the owner, and had even hidden soldiers during the Second World War. It was large, spacious, and had that peaceful and thoughtful feel of a building that had already seen it all. We settled in, pleased to find a riding livery yard right next door, so we could hear the whinny of horses and the clip clop of hooves on and off all day!
The village itself was surrounded by beautiful walks in the hills, where the aforementioned horses grazed, semi wild, and cows and their tiny newborns too. If you puffed to the top of the hills you got a lovely view of the whole village in the valley, and even the neighbouring villages. We enjoyed lots of walks there, most of all first thing in the morning or evening, when the golden light was the most beautiful.
We enjoyed exploring the area with Suzi. Most of the villages were tiny, well-kept and pretty, with flowers growing, blue shuttered buildings and cows and horses grazing right there. Some of our favourites were Udny, Xivry, Pillon, Beauvillers and Arrancy, all good for a wander amongst the cute and colourful old buildings.
We also discovered a giant chateau in Cons La Grandville, and a beautiful nature reserve which you could walk through and end at an etang, at Amel sur Etang. The drives in between were stunning, forests meeting the fields, villages in the valleys, and the first hints of colour in the leaves.
This part of France is so close to the border with Belgium and Luxembourg you could dip in and out of all of them! We did a drive through Luxembourg, so much more manicured than France, but similar with the forests and small towns. All in all it was a lovely trip, and so nice to explore this underrated area of one of our favourite countries with Suzi.
Practical information
Getting here- itās about a three and a half hour drive from where we were in the Netherlands, and even closer from Brussels or Luxembourg. A car is a must to get around and explore.
Where to stay- we used Gites de France again to book our place. They have lots of choices and are reasonably priced.
What to do- you can follow our suggestions, or just enjoy discovering cute little places as you drive around.
When to visit- any time of year! Itās a practical house with a mud room and games room, so would also be nice in the winter!
Thanks to Maya for the lovely photos and to Suzi for being a good girl again xx
Itās been ages since we had a summer holiday to France, so it was time to head back for sure. We arrived in Normandy early on a bright Sunday morning, and straight away remembered why we love France so much. The countryside seemed to pop with colour and life.
We had rented a house in the hamlet of St Simeon. It was an adorable thatched cottage, with traditional Norman wood panelling, and a giant garden all around. After unpacking, we were straight out into the garden to unwind and enjoy the morning sunshine. Suzi seemed right at home too. That first morning, we decided to get our bearings and do a small drive around the area. We used the smallest roads, winding through tiny hamlets in between farmland and miles of countryside- golden wheat, cows and horses grazing, forested hills.
The rest of the day we spent in the beautiful garden, the birdsong all around was amazing, and we enjoyed just relaxing in the sun (this was how we would come to spend all afternoons)! Suzi loved the garden too and would spend happy hours sleeping on the soft grass, or hunting the robot lawnmower (whom we called Jeff). And we would enjoy walks and jogs around the area- it was just all so picturesque and unspoilt.
The second day, we headed out after breakfast. Again, we chose the smallest roads, often only wide enough for one car. We stopped at St Georges du Vievre, a really cute village with traditional architecture and flowers. Then we stopped at Noards, a true farming hamlet, since cows seemed to outnumber people there. We took Suzi for a walk there, and every cow in the place came jogging over to see her! It was incredible, she literally was some kind of attraction to them. Some of the cows even gave us licks!
The next day, we started at the village of St Etienne sur Ailer, since we had seen it the day before and it looked very pretty. Here, there was an abandoned chateau in the middle of a wheat field, surrounded by forest. It was one of the most magical things Iāve seen, especially since we had the whole place to ourselves. We wandered in that field, under an impossibly blue sky, Suzi offlead sniffing everywhere. There were haybales dotted around, and I just had to climb one. After a few failed and hilarious attempts, I managed to scramble up (with a boost from Maya). It was a lot higher than I had expected! But youāve got to do that once!
From there, we drove on, and stopped at the town of Morsan where a Norman fort looked down on the place. You could walk all around the ramparts, and enjoy views of the whole town and surrounding countryside. Another special find. We tortured Suzi that afternoon with photos, walking deep into the fields of wheat and cornā¦ the epitome of European summertime.
Our last day. We found another circular route to do, passing through Martianville, whose name cracked us up. And then stopping at Fort Moville, which looked almost Alpine, with the timbered houses and rolling valleys backed by thick forest. There was an interesting nature walk to do there, and Suzi enjoyed that and we enjoyed the views. A short while later we stopped near the hamlet of Triqueville where a herd of semi wild cows was grazing. They had such a magical spot, in the dip of a valley. We spent a few minutes there before heading back home.
All too soon, our trip was over. We had another lovely time in France, soaking up the summer sun and the peace of the countryside. Suzi loved her stay too, she smiled everyday and had loads of energy! We are already planning our next trip backā¦
Practical information
Where to stay- We booked our place through Gites de France, a great website with lots of choice and very reasonably priced, even in the summer months. Our house, La Chaumerie was a great find, well equipped, clean and spacious with an amazing garden.
What to do- explore by car, and youāll find all kinds of beautiful places to walk and picturesque villages, like we did. If you want to visit the famous landing beaches of World War Two, these are about an hour away.
When to visit- any time of year! But for a similar experience to us, it has to be summer! We were lucky with the weather, not too hot, lots of sun, but come prepared with rain gear anyway, as this is Europe after all!
Thanks to Maya for the beautiful photos and the fun xxx and to Suzi for being adorable xxxx
I donāt know about you, but it feels like lately fatigue is real. Itās like the past two years have drained you emotionally, and thereās not much leftā¦ and then more stuff comes along, like it always has and always will, and youāre just kind of left feeling completely exhausted. And then thereās the fact that it feels like time is passing fast, and yet, and yetā¦ what have I done?
I always try to make my writing here super upbeat and positive, so this post will probably feel a bit different. But stillā¦ I donāt want to dwell on the āmehā for too long, because āit is what it isā. If we donāt try at least to enjoy the small moments, and be thankful for what we have, then thereās not a lot left. So, taking inspiration from Suzi, who is almost always upbeat, other than early mornings (because really, why do mornings come so fast), let me try to put into words the GOOD, instead of the bad and sad.
Letās start with the fact that the days are longer, thereās a lot of sunshine, itās a dry spring, the blackbirds are singing. And I can sit in the garden for hours and enjoy all that, with Suzi. Thatās something, right? And we have a big house and garden and space and miles of water and greenery all around. Thatās something too, right?
And then thereās all the adventures Iāve had. When Iām missing those things, I should stop and think of them. Iāve seen a pride of lions and herds of elephants in the Tanzanian savannah, ridden a long-tail boat to a paradise Thai island, travelled in a sleeper train in India, traveled across the African hinterland, from Mozambique to Zimbabwe. Iāve surfed the waves in Portugal, discovered hidden beaches in Corfu, swam with wild dolphins through bright blue ocean in Mauritius. Iāve seen the worldās tallest building in Dubai, and one of the worldās oldest, in Rome. Iāve stumbled across the most beautiful abandoned French castles, watched the sun rise over the ocean in The Bahamas, skied in the Alps, slid down a waterfall in the Malaysian jungle, spotted puffins and seals in Scotland.
Thatās quite a lot, right? And thereās so many more. And Iām lucky to have a sister to do most of these things with, and a crazy dog who is game for a hell of a lot too. And so many, many memories of another one, who I miss everyday. And on that noteā¦ no amount of time will ever be enough with them, or anyone you love. And if thereās one thing I know Iāve learned, itās that.
The amount of time youāve got here is limited, and you can only do what you can do. I know Iāll often feel I should have done more, and that I will often feel down when it all feels too much. When that happens, I promise Iāll come back here, and re read this. And remind myself that we all have bad days, bad months, years, decades. But in between, thereās some real good stuff, too. And a few people and a couple of sweet dogs, too. Thanks yāall xxx
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