My French Fancy

  What has been going on in Normandy? Our friends were married recently at a local Mairie. The service was lovely and the Maire was delighted as not only was it the first wedding he had performed that year but the first one ever for a British couple -don't worry Monsieur le maire there will be more coming!! We then had three days at a stunning local chateau, where we were provided with copious amounts of food and drink, a falconry demonstration and a helicopter flight (just the bride and best man- it couldn't take all of us) a good time was had by all.  It seems that I go to more funerals than weddings these days, so I was delighted to be invited to be one of my friend’s bridesmaids and to wear a very posh dress.  Scallops anyone? Last weekend we visited Port en Bessin- Huppain for the scallop (Coquille St-Jacques) festival. The scallop season runs from October to May and we took a boat trip where a retired fisherman told us all about it. They  are subjected to ...

                                                              If found please return to..... Autumn has landed here in Normandy. The mornings are darker and we have succumbed and lit the fire. The leaves are coming down in droves so I have added David Hockey's interpretation of Autumn in Normandy to my home page- hope you like it.  At the end of last month I went to Turkey, weather was very hot but it was cooling nicely by the end of the holiday. On our flight to Turkey they made an announcement that the cabin crew were ALL taking a 30 minute break and they asked us not use the call button during that time unless it was an emergency- well as far as I am concerned, me running out of red wine and nibbles is an emergency!.  Anyway, it did not go down well with the passengers (rowdy lot from Bristol) . The crew then proceeded to...

                          Who puts a middle-aged woman in acrylic when it’s 36 degrees!   I spent 7 days working as a volunteer in Paris for the Olympics. I was a driver for the fleet of cars that were taking officials and guests around Paris. I visited Versailles, The Olympic Village, Roland Garros, the Aquatic Centre, plus lots of hotels and train stations but I didn’t get to see inside of any of them as I was just dropping and picking people up. We were based at one of the Hippodromes to the West of Paris and in the middle was a rugby pitch and a football pitch which were full of cars.  Paris had a target to cut emission by 50% on the London 2012 Olympics, so all the cars were either electric hybrids or hydrogen. I was reluctant to use the aircon in case I had to recharge the car (should have payed more attention in the training). My only gripe was the complete lack of toilets for the volunteer...

D Day-Jour J  We could not get near the British cemetery at Ver-Sur Mer for the D Day celebrations, it was under tight security as the King and President Macron were going to be visiting on the 6th. We visited St Mere Eglise on June 5 and saw the American Veterans parade. It was a humbling experience to be able to shake their hands and say thank you to them, even lovelier was all the reaction from the French, especially the children. We visited the British cemetery a few days later to see the sculptures which are there until August. Let's hope that after showing the service on the TV, more people will visit, as it is an amazing place. Sleep is like the unicorn - it is rumored to exist, but I doubt I will see any - Dr. Seuss After 20 years of marriage, I have finally come to the conclusion that my husband is rubbish in the bed department- I think I should clarify that by saying that I mean the making of the bed.  His idea of making a bed is to just move the duvet around a b...

  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...

20 years of this- I mean bliss.  I said to Tim the other day: 'You know I’m not good in the mornings, so just hand me a cup of tea, back away slowly and don’t make eye contact' To which he replied:' You’re not that good in the afternoons either really. In fact, there’s about a one hour slot in the evenings if you had a glass of wine that you are reasonable'- funny !!  Anyway, we have made it to 20 years of marriage. 20 years of me being crabby in the mornings and him having a weird obsession with oil paintings (we currently have a whole wall covered in them that would put the Louvre to shame). So we are heading off soon for warmer climates and going back to where we went for our honeymoon (or la Lune de Miel as it's called here). Can't wait to feel a bit of warmth. Major train delays  Interesting event recently when I took the last train from Paris to Argentan.  The train broke down just outside of Dreux and after a 3hour wait they transferred us to a coach. Aft...

It's been over two months since my last post, where did December go? and we are halfway through January already. Top Tip for Paris visitors Don’t miss the last train home as you either have to get a train back to somewhere that’s miles away or (as we did) spend the night in a cheap hotel with the sound of the metro rumbling below your bed. Christmas was lovely with huge amounts of yummy food (the table looked like the Christmas scene at Hogwarts!) and New Year’s Eve was fab with a houseful of family and friends, lots of black and gold decorations and some very large speakers playing great tunes ('including oops upside your head’).   I looked back on last year's post about New Year resolutions and they were: 1.Work more in the garden 2. Stop procrastinating  3. Get a job  Well, I did 2 out of the 3. Trouble was that getting a job limited how much time I could work in the garden but we still managed to get a lot done last Summer. For 2024 they are: ...