Le Grand Prix Rétro, Le Puy Notre Dame

The last Sunday of July Le Puy Notre Dame hosts the ever increasingly popular 'Grand Prix Rétro'.

This year saw an estimated 15,000 visitors come to watch the fabulous vintage racing cars, motorcycles and sidecars being put through their paces.



Turned into a race track for the day, the pretty village of Le Puy Notre Dame, lined with straw bale barriers welcomed racers from across Europe, UK and even as far as South Africa!

Augustin will have to wait until he is a little bit taller before he can thoroughly enjoy watching his much loved racing cars. Poor thing, viewing from a pushchair wasn't ideal.

Bastille Day in Pouançay : le 14 juillet

Le 14 juillet, Bastille Day is celebrated all over France and our village of Pouançay was no exception.

The French national holiday commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789.












Held at the Mairie the fun got underway with games which was followed by the customary aperitif and buffet campagnard.

Gérald participated in palet with Monsieur le Mayor, a traditional French game similar to boules but requires greater dexterity to play well, whilst Augustin tried his hand too.

Oh! I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside

Oh! I do like to be beside the seaside.
I do like to be beside the sea!
I do like to stroll upon the Prom, Prom, Prom!
Where the brass bands play : "Tiddly-om-pom-pom!"
So just let me be beside the seaside
I'll be beside myself with glee!












It was a picture seeing Augustins face light up as he saw the sea, sand and beach for the first time.

Constance, too young to know what all the fuss was about, got busy in her rather fabulous UVC protected tent.

And as busy little boys ran around, dug for hidden treasure and built sand castles in the fresh sea air, it wasn't long before Mummy was searching for the trusty olde bag of crisps.

Who Stays at 'La Bellevue'...?

You may wonder just who does 'La Bellevue' appeal to.

The cyclists? The ramblers? The honeymooners? Les gourmands?

All of them but the most apparent are 'the wine connaisseurs'. And Gwen & Victor were no exception. In fact, dare I say, certified wine connaisseurs & gourmands!

Our stay at 'Annie's House' was delightful, in such a beautiful setting and a very comfortable gite. Gérald, Sarah-Jane & the kids couldn't have been better hosts without being intrusive.

Géralds great knowledge of good wine, which he has shared with us was an added bonus to the fabulous holiday of good weather, great food at the local markets and a very relaxing time.

Thank you so much and we would have no hesitation to recommending you to any of our friends and hopefully we will be back.

If you need an olympic size swimming pool and can't stand bird song - this is not the place for you! If you want good food, excellent wine and wonderful hosts, give it a whirl!!

Gwen & Victor, Belfast

Fête de l'Ecole

Last Sunday Augustins future school hosted its annual 'Fête de l'Ecole'.

Invited to join in the school festivities Constance, Augustin and I sat alongside other parents to watch their childrens gymnastic displays and dance routines.

Following the spectacle in the shade of the large trees everyone tucked into chips, homemade cakes, fizzy drinks, played games and won prizes - it was a lovely afternoon.

In between running around with his new friends Augustin let everyone know he did not appreciate the music throughout the displays!

Mummy thought it was hilarious.