The Loire Valley

'Chateau' is the word belonging to the Loire Valley.
Once the playground of kings, princes and nobles, it is amongst these stunning castles decadence is captured and our romantic vision of France is further fueled.

From the 15C to the 18C great family fortunes and national wealth were expended on the lavish châteaux , turning the Loire Valley into an extensive neighbourhood of extragant, exquisite and fairy-tale like castles, many of which are set along the Loire river.

In 2000 Unesco recognised the importance of these magnificent châteaux , their Renaissance architecture and earlier and named the entire region a World Heritage Site.

The Good Life.....Spring at long last !

What a fabulous past week ! Not only did we enjoy sunny days and temperatures of 20 degrees but at long last gardens and hedgerows started to be burst into bloom and the cheerful seduction of summers arrival was upon us.
La famille Beaumont spent a day with the wonderful Monique et Jean at their delightful home set along the river.

Augustin was egar to walk partout , whilst Gérald and Jean preformed some heavy tree surgery, and I made bread with Monique and later picked the wild salad of spring.

For those of you who remember the 1970's tv series 'The Good Life', this is the life of Monique et Jean, it truly is enviable and we always leave having learnt something new.

The cottage, 'Annie's House'

'Annie's House' was named in memory of my beloved Grandma, Annie-Elizabeth Phipps (1914-2007). Born in Blakney in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire my Grandma's life was reflective of many who lived during WWI and with the hardships which followed.

Grandma was an extremely accomplished woman who could turn her hand to most things and I remember as a little girl I used to marvel at her homemade crumpets, fairy cakes and toffee apples. All the fresh goodies, particularly the raspberries and gooseberries, which came from the garden.... but best of all, at this tender age, was being allowed to use the mangle to squeeze all the water out of the boiled sheets.

I often wonder what happened to that olde mangle...?

The stunning village of Candes St. Martin

With the warmer weather enticing us outside Augustin and I went to the stunning riverside village of Candes St. Martin for a lovely walk.

Named as one of France's "Most Beautiful Villages" and set along the edge of the Loire river, this charming village typifies all one pictures and romanticises about la France.

Too Early for the Spring Clean ?

After a week of glorious sunshine and the feeling of - winter has at last past and spring has arrived !

No time was wasted as 2009's renovations to 'La Bellevue' got underway.

The priority was replacing our front door and after a few weeks of preparation by the local artisans the door was ready to be fitted. A transformation which was completed within the day !