The Promise of Summer

This morning I woke up and it was beautiful, warm enough to wander round my freshly mowed garden in my robe and set the table for an alfresco breakfast, the first French strawberries have started to appear in the markets a sure sign that the salad days have arrived.

My blogging life is very sporadic at the moment, I have a few projects that I am working on, hopefully the fruits of my labours will be revealed soon.  In the meantime I have become hooked on Instagram, for the moment I am finding it to be a fast, easy, fun and totally addictive way to keep in touch, you can catch up with my Instagram feed here

I hope the weather is good wherever you are.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

XXX

Basque ing in the Sunshine

Can you spot Crusoe, frolicking in the shimmering Atlantic with his new friend

The first weekend in March and the forecast looked good, we decided to head for the Basque region our first stop was lunch in the coastal town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz one of the chicest destinations in France.  The town was choc full of beautifully dressed Parisians all taking their first vacation of the season at their secondary residences.  Just like them I was caught out, the sun was shining but I thought it might be a bit chilly so I was wrapped up in jeans, a light cashmere cardi with a thermal vest underneath, a wool trench coat and suede ankle boots, I was boiling and found myself stripping off, should have worn a T shirt instead of the thermal vest!  After all, this is the season of layering.

We sat outside in the towns main square and had aperitifs followed by a slap up lunch washed down with loads of wine, afterwards we walked it off along the beach front...

Lovely though it is, nobody wanted to sit on the shady side

The Basque region is another country, it has it's own language literally and poetically, it's people are warm and hospitable and examples of  flair and imagination can be seen everywhere from interior and exterior design to world renowned cuisine and everything in between.

The unique architecture of the Basque region, white timber framed buildings and houses, painted distinctive shades of red, green or blue.

These two pictures were taken last September before the leaves had started to turn.

Whilst some remained wrapped up.

Others decided to get a head start on the tan.

Glorious warm sunshine, al fresco dining, walks along the beach and for the brave (including Crusoe) a dip in the sea.  Yes I think we can safely say spring is here.

The French Countryside

Even when the sun is not shining the French countryside is beautiful at this time of year, whilst running an errand the other day, I took a wrong turn and got lost, after living here for nearly nine years, I still get lost and constantly discover new and beautiful things. Down here in deepest France the countryside is a labyrinth of windy country lanes and narrow tracks which often lead to small villages and hamlets.

This is my favourite time of year, the cycle has begun again and everything is coming back to life it is like witnessing the greening of the earth.  Whilst getting lost I discovered a whole new landscape, although only a few miles away from where we live this landscape is totally different, as you have seen from previous posts our landscape is breathtaking and dramatic, this landscape is a lot softer, gentle rolling hills, hedgerows and green, green fields.

If you are coming to France this year, get off the auto routes and take the D roads and if you get lost, enjoy it!

Whilst I was lost I found this very unusual and romantic, abandoned farmhouse in a tiny hamlet, I am intrigued by it, you don't often see farmhouses with turrets!  I wonder what the story is, I am going to have to find out more about it.

Back to our garden we have lots of gorgeous white blooms in flower at the moment.

Spirea

Clematis Montana

Pyracantha (Firethorn, it has masses of bright red berries in the autumn)

Wishing you all a wonderful and happy Easter.
XXX

Spring In The Pyrenees

Spring has arrived here in the Pyrenees, the photograph above was taken a few weeks ago whilst we were heading into the mountains for a spot of skiing, soon the snow will be melting and will be cascading down the mountains filling up the local rivers.  I gave the lawn it's first haircut of the season at the weekend, I am awoken every morning by birdsong, the sap is rising and everything is budding.  This is my favourite time of year, the promise of fine weather brings thoughts of long balmy days, spent outdoors and eating alfresco, I am already wandering around the garden first thing in the morning clad in my dressing gown and wellies, cup of coffee in hand looking at everything that needs to be done in the garden. 

 

Another sign of Spring is Crusoes departure from the garden around midday, he can smell a picnic from miles away and hotfoots it up to the Château up the lane to harass early tourists who have been taking advantage of the recent warm and sunny days, he is such a shameless scrounger and always puts on weight in the Summer, I think we are going to have to engrave 'DO NOT FEED ME' onto his identity disk.

A friend recently sent me this link for TIENS! an online magazine which reflects life here in South West France, this edition sums up Spring here perfectly.  My heart melted when I saw this:

 I am a bit behind with everyone's blogs but I am hoping to catch up with you all soon, wishing you all a fabulous week.