On the Fields of Bali

 No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.– Lin Yutang

 

Where have we been:

Just back from a trip to the far East where we took in Dubai, Singapore and Bali- loved all of it. Few things that struck me whilst we were away:

Didn't feel that far away from home, probably as I was with Tim so I was constantly reminding him to wear a hat, just as I have to here.
The intensity of the sun was so much stronger than anything I have ever experienced, I managed to burn whilst in the shade, I have never done that before.

Dubai is insane, we haven't been there for a few years but we were blown away by how much it has changed. The Palm is built out into the sea and the last time we were there it was just a few buildings, it's now a whole town- jaw dropping!

Singapore- so many people said that you only need a few days in Singapore but there's so much to see (sorry, starting to sound like a tour guide). We loved China Town and by the end of the holiday Tim was having noodles for breakfast. 

The scenery in Bali is stunning- one of our hotels was in a place called Sidemen and it was located on the slopes of a rice field. Whilst sitting looking out onto the fields the song "fields of gold" came into my head (it was sung originally by Eva Cassidy and later covered by Sting). I told Tim this and he laughed and said “ that's interesting as the lyrics in the song are actually referring to 'the fields of Barley not Bali"- splitting hairs if you ask me!.

Here's a link if you fancy listening to it and you can see how easily you could make the same mistake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UVjjcOUJLEL

What's going on at home

Back in France and the weather has taken a turn for the better- so we are busy strimming anything that does not move and there are vide greniers all over the place. Vide greniers are a great place to find stuff from plants, furniture to military wear. Here's a useful link to brocabrac.fr which gives you a daily list of vide greniers in your local area. : 
 https://brocabrac.fr/61/.

Last Sunday was the massive Vide Grenier in Bagnoles- a 2 day event called  La Foire des Andaines that stretches for over 2.km and has over 2200 exhibitors. It's a bit too much for me, I get overwhelmed by it all and have to go and sit down with a beer.

I left Hubby to go off on his own- big mistake as he came back with a chair. He argued that it was only 10 euros and he bought it from our mechanic, I think he is trying to keep him sweet. It's gone up to the Pool room.

We are getting into holiday season here and its great to hear that our friends who have gites and B&B's are getting busy. Everywhere will be open (including the open-air pool at Bagnoles) and we can play spot the English number plate as we are driving around. 

In the Summer, the stone walls take on a creamy colour and with all the rhododendrons and roses there is a mass of colour everywhere. Whereas, in the winter the stones look grey and sad so visitors do not see it at its best- that's my excuse anyway to deter people so that I can stay under the duvet for 3 months.

I am enjoying sitting in the garden first thing in the morning and listening to the birds and I heard a cuckoo this morning! -just wish the birds didn't insist on pooping on the garden chairs!.

Off for a bowl of noodles with my morning cuppa!