Bonjour!

I was lost........in France.

St Malo 

We did get lost a few times (particularly in Caen) but we only fell out once (my fault - I had an argument with a map, a car door and a bungee rope thing that you tie things to the car with).

We've just returned from a week touring Normandy.  Sarah did all the driving - it's safer that way.

First stop - St Malo

Overnight ferry from Portsmouth.  We played house in our little cabin with shower, tea and coffee making facilities and porthole.

In the morning, bleary eyed, we drove to the nearest car park and headed for the first cafe we saw, which I suspect most English tourists do - breakfast was €38!  But it was delicious and got us in the holiday mood.  My continental breakfast included water melon, yoghurt, freshly squeezed orange juice, croissant and baguette.  I ate all of it.

Cafe de L'Oest

I have wanted to visit St Malo for a long time, having had a brief glimpse of it 14 years ago, driving through. It was as nice as I thought it would be.

These tree trunks help to break the waves during a storm

Happy person

I was so excited to be in the sunshine, on holiday and in France!

There's our Ferry going back to England, shame.  

We investigated the church 

Mont St Michele -

Lots of tourists.  Nice to see it but too many people.

Ducey -

A small, pretty, peaceful place.  

Chateau des Montgommery

Sarah revealed she had brought some English beer in the boot of the car!  What's she like?

Bagnoles de Lorne -

Our hotel had rustic French windows (deep sigh) and our room had a balcony where we devoured sumptuous cake and I attempted to draw a lamp post 

Bagnoles de l'Orne is a spa town in the Belle Epoque style.  You can imagine the French bourgeoisie taking in the healing powers of the baths and parading around the lake at the centre of the town.

All the buildings had very pointy roofs - there's another one of those lamp posts

We explored the town in the evening without a heavy coat on

Château Hotel de Ville

Sarah had a nap on a bench (poor dear) whilst I ran around, excitedly taking pictures of this château 

Lisieux -

Basilica

This imposing structure was built in 1929 in dedication to Saint Therese of Lisieux.  It is one of the largest of the twentieth century.

Deauville -

A beach comber's paradise

I collect shells from every beach I visit and can often be seen, head down with bum in the air, amongst the flotsam and jetsam.  I have shells from the Shetland Islands and Norway down to Spain and South Africa.  I forget where half of them are from as they live jumbled up in a red spotty wooden bowl.  I now have some from France too.  

I adore the cafe culture - if I lived in France I would be huge!

Cabourg - 

Very grand sea front with casino.

Our hotel was opposite the Hippodrome.  A small Norman version of Paris’ Vincennes, this racecourse  attracts France’s best trotting horses for its famous night races.

The Hippodrome

We found this park on our 20 minute walk from the hotel to the seafront

We huddled on a bench, nibbled on hot, crispy frites and watched the sun go down

Pegasus Bridge -

The bridge you drive over is a replica but we could see the original in the museum nearby

The Pegasus Bridge and Café Gondree

 (the first building in Normandy to be liberated)

D-Day landing beaches -

Sword Beach

Juno Beach

Courseulles-sur-Mer 

Aramanches -

Looking down at the 3 mile long Mulberry harbour still in the sea

These massive sections were made in Britain, brought across the English Channel and used to unload cargo as part of the D-Day invasion 

An American Jeep

Bayeaux -

The Bayeaux Tapestry was a lot longer than I imagined - 70m! 

Bayeux Cathedral 

We found a little cafe (I had Croque Monsieur) opposite the Cathedral and chatted in our very bad French to the owners, who spoke no English at all but sat down next to us!  We people watched together, shook our heads and tutted at the bad French drivers.  I then had to translate for a Swedish couple who arrived, didn't speak a word of French and wanted something to eat!  Quite proud of that......

A quiet side street

Hotel Chateau de Bellefontaine

The beautiful garden

Longues sur Mer - 

This German battery, part of Hitler's 'Atlantic Wall', still has it's original four guns and is a listed historical site.

Omaha beach -

Omaha beach was the largest and most intensely fought after beach on D-Day on June 6th 1944

The allied soldiers landing on the beach were partly protected by this shingle bank

St Mere Eglise -

This tiny town is famous for an American paratrooper (Private John Steele) who during the Allied invasion, landed on the roof of this church and got shot in the foot.  He played dead until finally a German Soldier helped him down.   He lived until 1969 and came back to visit the town on several occasions. 

A model of the soldier forever dangling from the church roof

Barfleur - 

It could be Cornwall?!

St Nicholas Church

Barfleur harbour

It was one of our best holidays.  

- long, empty roads

- warm weather

- friendly people

- the lightest, most beautiful cakes and pastries

- crusty baguettes with fluffy insides

We are already saving for the next tour around Brittany.....

Festival Fever 2

They call me mellow yellow.....

Big Dog and I found another new walk the other day.  6 miles long and 3 hours but beautiful and so good to be outside after being cooped up in a tiny office all week.

The weather started off quite grey

We took a favourite route up a track behind the bungalow and past this field (above) that usually has a herd of cows in.  They once chased me down the hill so I was quite relieved to see that they weren't there!

We then climbed an extremely steep hill (very tricky when it's muddy) to the Ox Drove which is quite often full of water.

And it was.  Big Dog couldn't resist lying down in the brown, chalky water

This dead tree looked very sculptural

We then reached some woods.  Big Dog loves the woods and I was thankful for some shade to eat my chewy bar (cranberry flavour) and drink some water.

Gorgeous aroma of wild garlic

We usually go back at this point but this time I wanted to go further so we walked right through the woods to the other side, where I'd never been before.

Big Dog wanted to explore every path we found

We didn't see a soul and it was so peaceful.  I managed to find the right track on the map to descend back down to the valley again.  The views were just amazing.  We found a nature reserve, a sheep dip and more buttercups than I have ever seen in my life.

I love exploring new walks

So open and stunning, this view - I felt like doing a Julie Andrews 'The hills are alive......'

Look at these buttercups!

We dropped down through Church Bottom, all of our six legs wobbling, to the next village only to find that I was near a pub at midday, very thirsty and without money for a pint!  The last part of the walk along the valley back to the bungalow was so hot and dry.  I collapsed on the sofa when we got home and Big Dog didn't move for hours.

The Salisbury Festival has been fantastic these past two weeks and I can't believe it is over again for another year.  We've seen foreign films, listened to strange music and even been part of a performance!

Highlights:

Eliza Carthy and Jim Moray at the Salisbury Playhouse.  

www.salisburyfestival.co.uk

Eliza Carthy is a bonkers bird!  She was so energetic, stomping and dancing around the stage in her boots, wildly playing her fiddle.  She wore a mad black and white stripey dress with a net skirt underneath and looked like a larger than life girl pirate!  I loved her!  I was completely wired after the concert and realised that I've still got a wild, festival going, folk loving girl lurking beneath the grey, middle aged woman.  It took me back to my veggie, tie dye, patchwork trouser wearing days, ah....

'The Castellers of Vilafranca' in the Cathedral Close

A castell is a human tower built at festivals across Catalunya. The Castellers of Vilfranca have become famous for building their towers in front of international landmarks including Paris’s Eiffel Tower and on the roof of a Manhattan skyscraper. A castell is complete once all the castellers have climbed into place and the last member has climbed to the top and raised one hand with four fingers in the air to symbolise the Catalan flag. 

The children that climbed to the top were so small!

Sarah stewarded at this event so in between performances we had tea and cake.  One of the houses in the Close had opened it's garden for a fund raising tea party.  I do love to be nosy.

I don't think our garden is big enough for a sculpture of this size.

The garden was beautiful.  We were serenaded with live music whilst we had our cream tea - v civilised.

Sarah with Judith (fellow steward and colleague).  Don't think much of your uniform though girls.

'The Rite of Spring' at the City Hall

Sometimes I am so uncool.  There's me with handbag on shoulder in the foyer of the City Hall wondering why the people waiting to go in were looking very arty, relaxed, cool - and without handbags.  Once on the dance floor, we were asked to put on headphones and follow instructions accompanied by the sound of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.  We heard several voices during the performance, depending on which of three channels we could hear.  People then started running, leaping and chopping with invisible axes and I realised with an awful sinking feeling that we were the performance!  Sarah omitted to tell me this as she knew I wouldn't want to go - and she'd have been right!  I'll get her back.......  But - what an experience!

Despite my initial horror and wanting to slip out quietly, feigning a sudden illness, I actually LOVED IT!

www.salisburyfestival.co.uk

I ditched the handbag eventually.

Best event of all -

'How like an angel' at Salisbury Cathedral

We entered the Cathedral at 9.30pm to a dark, unlit space and were given torches to explore the building.  This was exciting enough without the performance!  Circa’s six acrobats joined singers, I Fagiolini to give us the most stunning and unique experience in the eerie semi-darkness of the Cathedral.  Some of the feats seemed to defy gravity or human skill as they leapt, fell and tumbled to the atmospheric music from the 11th to 20th centuries.  One of the acrobats even fell dramatically from a ledge (on to crash mats) to the gasps of the audience!   

I'm sure my mouth was open as I left the Cathedral.  I agree with my colleague Sioban when she said that she will never look at a pair of curtains in the same way again!

  

www.salisburyfestival.co.uk

The weather has been glorious.  I have enjoyed the long evenings and the fact that it doesn't get dark until 10pm.

'Lizzie Gardens' in Salisbury, looking over the water meadows

And as the sun was setting

Salisbury Cathedral bathed in a warm evening glow

The Farmers have been busy behind the bungalow, cutting the grass and baling it.

Had a fabby day charity shopping last Friday with my sis and (mad) mother.  Samantha and I head banged whilst my mum tapped her knees to 'Born Slippy' full blast on the car stereo on the way in to town.  We did get some odd looks.  We know how to rock!  We had lunch in a gorgeous little cafe in Devizes.  It was soooo cute!  It would be my dream to work in or own a little tea shop like this, sigh.

'Emily's' tea rooms in Devizes

You are given your own individual mis-matched china and teapots

I would have had a piece of this cake if my sandwich hadn't been so enormous!

Good idea for old holey wellies!

I had tea and cake (again!) the next day at the village fete too.

And here's the new treasured addition to my dresser found in Oxfam in Devizes - 'Alfred Meakin' for £3 - bargain.

I have had so much tea and cake this week but no time to make my own.   Talk about a busy week!  Out every night.  I need to stop now, lie down in a darkened room and breathe slowly.

We found this toad hiding in a bag of compost in the greenhouse

Off I hop.....