We have been spending a wonderful week in Brittany, Northern France. The weather has been great and our traditional stone cottage in the tiny hamlet of Ardilloux perfect. We have enjoyed exploring the area, occasional meals out and cooking meals at home. The hamlet is inhabited by non-English speaking French but are very friendly even supplying me with the fresh herbs I have needed for cooking.

We have visited many unique villages in the area. Saint-Malo on the Atlantic coast, originally built as a walled citadel guarding the mouth of  the Rance river, was for centuries home to feared pirates. They’ve all gone to Davy Jones’ Locker, though, and now it’s Brittany’s most-visited town.  Another of our favourite finds was Combourg, a village found between Rennes and St Malo ,  in north-east Brittany, in the Ille et Vilaine department. It is a  pleasant town dominated by the important Chateau de Combourg.

We have so much fun, including mistakes, like having no idea what we are eating at times (but never disappointed), how to pay for parking in certain areas and wondering if we will ever get our car back,  and accidentally forgetting and driving on the wrong side of the road. We even turned up at a restaurant today 1 hour early as we had no idea daylight savings existed here, let alone finished on Saturday !!! The restaurant was wonderful, giving us a wine and plenty of smiles, until the chef was ready to feed us. We are going back there for our last lunch in Brittany on Friday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited an incredible place in Brittany France……Mont Saint Michel. My photos really do not do the place justice. If you google Mont St Michel you will see some amazing photos. Mont St Michel is a monastery built on a rock tidal island around 1 kilometre off the northern coast of France. The island itself is less than 1 km in diameter. Nowadays there is a causeway which connects the island to the mainland.

This place is characterized by the highest tides in Europe (up to 14 meters high), steep rocks, and quicksand. Its surrounding waters can move 18 km away from the island and 20 km deep into the coast. For centuries all these features made Mont Saint-Michel an impenetrable fortress.

First inhabitants of this 92-meter tall mountain, ancient Celts, didn’t have any illusions about it and called it Mont Tombe (Mountain Tomb). Back then Mont Saint-Michel wasn’t an island: it was surrounded by the forest that was later washed away by ocean waters.

While the mainland was ravaged by wars, and captured by the Vikings, the Normans, the Bretons, the British, and other nations – the island-fortress remained untouched. Mont Saint-Michel is a Benedictine abbey. It occupies an area of about 55,000 square meters and it is regarded as a unique example of a fortified medieval French monastery. The top of the Cathedral’s spire is 170 meters above the sea level!

Mont Saint-Michel is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found a huge château in the small village of Saint Loup in France to stay in by ourselves (no other guests). The Keep was built around 1200 AD and the Chateau around 1600. It may be haunted although I have not mentioned it to Mal……. Have just found out it is haunted many times over, as this is the château that “The Black Prince incarcerated Good King John” !!!!”  The Black Prince imprisoned in the famous Keep the French King John the Good after the battle of Poitiers in 1356. The entrance of the square tower was then protected by a portcullis. Today the Keep and adjacent  buildings have been converted into seven bedrooms, sitting room, dinning-room and kitchen for guests.

Château de Saint-Loup is a gem of French architecture and a major landmark of the history of Poitou. All the rooms are restored with taste in due respect to this Grade one listed Monument, old tiled floors, lime coated walls, stain glasses, huge fireplaces in the Keep (see my photos), and classic ambiance in the 17 th c. Château apartments. Our huge room has a four-poster bed, tapestries and unique handmade and sculpted furniture. The separate extra huge lounge and library is stunning with a giant stone fireplace giving us a cosy place to spend the evening.

In the world so diverse of Hotels, Château de Saint-Loup stands out as a French aristocratic family home filled with history and authenticity, also a perfect place for an enchanted stay. It is certainly a great find on this holiday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While saying I am certainly not a fan of the method of feeding the geese for the Foie Gras, and Mal does not enjoy it, I will be honest and say I do enjoy good Foie Gras.  Maybe that’s an influence from Yvette our wonderful French cleaner, come member of the family, whose house-keeping help we enjoyed for about  15 years, and who is also a very good cook !!!

I am amused by the many “geese” in this region.  Foie Gras shops after Foie Gras shops. Nearly more than the wine shops !!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have been staying in the beautiful region of the Dordogne in southern France for the past couple of days. It is an area made up of some of the most unique villages I have ever seen. We stayed in Sarlat-La-Caneda, and whether we explored the bastide town of Domme, the beautiful river side villages of Baynac and La Roque Gageac, the magical cliff side town of Rocamadour,  Mal’s favourite little village on the hill, Belves, or the numerous chateaux of the “one hundred years war”, we were close.

After a morning of exploring the villages including many more stairs, today we decided at about 2pm to give the traditional French way of eating a go. Very small breakfast, huge lunch (3 courses) and small dinner (none for us). We found a small restaurant on the hill in Rocque Gageac and ordered their set menu (in French….very adventurous for Mal !!!!), and really enjoyed it. They start with a generous salad first, (we had Les Nems de Canard, sauce Sangria ….ate the lot), then Mal had the chicken dish we hope (Les Brochettes de blanc de volaille au miel et moutarde a la ancienne) and I enjoyed Le Confit de Canard ( Yummy….but could not eat it all…. I wonder why), and then we finished with La Tarte au Pommes. Will do more walking later today, but actually feel ok. I think the salad to start is a great idea.

Hope you enjoy my photos of the villages……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have just got back into a wifi area and it sounds like Australia is already experiencing devastating bushfires early in the season. We feel for the families that have lost their homes. We live in a bushfire area now and are always conscious of the dangers.

We have just finished a week canal boating down the Canal De Garonne in southern France. It is a French canal dating from the 19th century which connects Toulouse to Castets-en-Dorthe. The remainder of the route to Bordeaux uses the Garonne River. It is the continuation of the Canal du Midi which connects the Mediterranean with Toulouse.

Whilst it was relaxing most of the time, we also managed to enter 30 locks which with my lack of huge skills took some concentration. As Mal and I had the boat to ourselves we took turns in one of us staying on the boat and pulling the rod to open the lock while still trying to drive the boat and then getting the boat into the lock without hitting the bridge !!! While this was attempting to happen the other was on the bank running up to close the lock when the boat came into the lock and then grabbing the ropes before the current in the lock had other more drastic things in mind. Overall things went well and no major damage occurred to the boat, although I have stiffness in muscles I did not think I had. (I hope this makes sense to those reading this). Believe me, it was not always easy!!

During the week we visited some very old towns along the way, enjoying some meals in hidden little French restaurants. Other days we visited local boulangers (bakers) for bagettes, boucheries (butchers for meat) and with local fruit and vegies made some tasty meals on our canal boat “Nazareth”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have arrived in Agen, France and board our Canal Boat tomorrow for a week of cruising some of the canals of France. We checked out our “baby “canal boat earlier this morning and personally, I am pleased it is not too big, as I am the first mate. I have my leather gloves ready for all the work manoeuvring the boat around the locks and waterways for the fussy captain !!! We will be without internet for a week, so will hopefully have some photos of our boat trip in a weeks time.

Agen is situated halfway between Bordeaux and Toulouse, and is probably best known for its prunes. There is much more to this charming small city: gothic arches, a daily covered market, narrow medieval alleys, and a canal and river. The people of Agen are infinitely friendly, and avid rugby fans. Go Aussie !!!

Interestingly, the world-famous Agen prunes are not actually from Agen, but from nearby villages. They came to be connected with Agen because they were distributed from this city.

Until next week, hope you enjoy these photos of Agen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is 12 midnight…. should be going to sleep before we head to France tomorrow, but as we actually have Wi-Fi, which is a rarity,  I will do a post on where we are tonight…… one of our favourite spots from our 3rd trip (last trip) here, Finale Ligure on the Italian Riviera.

It is a small village (although it has grown from our last visit), on  the Italian Riviera west of Genoa and north of Portofino.

Known for its white sand beaches and its views, Finale Ligure is located directly adjacent to the Rock of Caprazoppa, a steep limestone mountain on the southwest, and much of the town extends up hill slopes. The town has a lively commercial district. The boardwalk is lined with palm trees and many restaurants. The town of Finale Ligure is nominally divided into three “boroughs”. Finale Ligure Marina (Finalmarina) is the main seaside part of the town, most frequented by tourists, while Finale Pia (Finalpia) is the traditional centre of the town, where a Benedictine abbey still stands. Finalborgo, the third borough and located further inland, consists of an old walled medieval town.

We stayed at the small 4 storied hotel named Hotel Garbone on our last visit, and we were pleasantly surprised to see it still standing and still run by “Giovanni”………. a boutique hotel opposite the Mediterranean ocean.  A different room this time, but still cute, clean and with a stunning view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We visited the incredible place of Venice, once again together. We were here about 20 years ago, for our first holiday away together. It was romantic then, and is still as romantic now.

Venice is a city in north-eastern Italy, sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges It is located in the marshy Venetian Lagoon which stretches along the shoreline, between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Venice is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. The city, in its entirety, is listed as a World Heritage Site, along with its lagoon. A must see on everyone’s “bucket list”.

It was here in Venice, on our first visit, that Mal met my Mum and Dad for the first time nearly 20 years ago. With its narrow lanes, continual bars, restaurants, no cars, interesting shops (I could fill 10 suitcases….I wish ) it is a place to be seen to be believed !

We rented an apartment for a week around the corner from San Marco Piazza with the intent of cooking a few of our own meals…no such thing, the restaurants were too inviting. We also enjoyed a day out visiting the famous Murano Island and it’s glassblowers. That proved a bit costly !!!! All in all, we have absolutely loved Venice , and fallen in love with its beauty again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent a beautiful and relaxing week in Lake Como.

Lake Como , is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 square kilometres , making it the third largest lake in Italy. At over 400 metres (1,300 feet) deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe, and the bottom of the lake is more than 200 metres (660 ft) below sea-level. We could probably be safe in our boat here !

Lake Como has been a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy people since Roman times, and a very popular tourist attraction with many artistic and cultural gems. It has many villas and palaces. Many famous people have or have had homes on the shores of Lake Como, such as Madonna, George Clooney (he was out when we visited ), Versace and Sylvester Stallone. Lake Como is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful lakes in Europe, and we can now understand why.!!!

We had a beautiful room, that after walking the 120 stairs to reach it (really hard after doing it a couple of times a day…. after all the other stairs….1000’s), was perfectly place on what seemed like the top of the lake! We could hear the church bells nearby ring on the half hour, day and night, and at siesta time, hear the jolly little Italian man singing happily away while he worked in the bar below us. We were lucky to catch up with one of my sisters Diane, and brother-in-law Dennis, for dinner one night during their trip in Italy.