Category Archives: Galavanting

Two Christmas’s

25 Wednesday Dec 2019

Posted by in Friends, Galavanting, laughter & giggles, My family and other furry creatures, People, Simple things, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The seasons

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It’s been a whirlwind few days after our son Tom surprised us on Saturday. We have tried to cram so much into three days, because he had already committed to going to my sisters house for Christmas day, and it was only right that he fulfilled that commitment.

We decided to have two Christmas’s one with them and one on the day.

On the Saturday we went out to visit someone who has been nothing but kind to us. She is alone and for me Christmas is about understanding and giving something other than gifts: time. We had already arranged to visit her, and Tom and Chris (the boys) volunteered to come with us. Trundling into the back of RD’s van (totally illegal!) and moaning about their arses hurting them.

When we arrived these two young men were so polite and kind, even sorting out some technical stuff for her on her computer. I was so proud of them both: another gift.

We then took a detour to the medieval city of Domfront, with its beautiful lights, and had a few drinks in a quintessential French tabac. The weather was awful, but it couldn’t damp our spirits.

It’s strange how we can all revert back to being ‘mum and dad’ with our kids. Tom has a good job, lives in Newcastle, contacts me when he wants and needs to, and I pretty much leave him to his own devices. He is an adult I am not an ‘over motherer’. I had him to live his life. But on Saturday they went out late and drove to a town near us to see if any bars were open. We didn’t go, we would have ‘cramped their style’, and also we were knackered! But they said they were coming back for chicken burgers and we waited up for them, knowing the bars in France do not stay open late. But when they hadn’t come back by 1am we started to worry, wtf! I looked at RD and we both started to laugh, because he felt the same. Our son looks after himself in Newcastle all the time, and we never worry, yet as soon as he comes over to us we become worried parents. I gave in and rang him. A very pissed Tom rang me back from a house in Lassay, they had been invited by some French girls they had met in a bar (nothing changes!) Tom thought it was hilarious that his mum was ringing him. I cooked the chicken burgers and left them out for them. When we got up the next morning they had obviously cooked chips, because they were everywhere. Nothing changes!

We visited Mayenne on the Sunday, where Christmas activities were taking place, and had mulled wine and hot chocolate.

When we got home we had an alternative Christmas dinner, of roast lamb and all the trimmings.

Followed by an evening in front of the fire and TV. Bless Chris he had driven for over ten hours to get Tom to us, so that was him!

On Monday we went shopping, I cannot begin to tell you the amount of wine and cheese they bought! We played Monopoly, and ate spaghetti Bolognaise very very late.

It was a joy to see RD with them. I realised just how much he misses the banter of being around men. They always used to love tormenting RD, but they never won, he always got them in the end, and nothing changes. I love this video, it sums these few days up.

https://www.facebook.com/moira.swindell/videos/2869801423030602/

It was all going too fast, and Tuesday came too quickly. Very early in the morning, in the dark before dawn, we hugged them goodbye. Am I crying now? Of course I am.

So it’s Christmas day, and we are still in bed, even the Welshies are worn out from the whirlwind of fun.

We will have our traditional turkey dinner, and have a very quiet day. But we will have the greatest gift of all: memories.

Have a mellow Christmas folks.

Rosie

Galavanting: off to a new department – Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei

18 Sunday Aug 2019

Posted by in Galavanting, Simple things, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure

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This is Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei, a stunning town nestled in foothills cut out by the river Sarthe that runs through it. It’s history dates back to the 8th century, and as with most French villages involves a monk, and a monastery, but it also involves vikings (who burned down the monastery) and the good old English who the French managed to hold off for a good while during the hundred year war.

It is, quite simply, stunning, and only an hours drive from our house. The village has a history steeped in art, from the original pictures from the first artists who visited, showing how poor the village was, to current pictures now showing it’s affluence. I was destined to come here as there is a famous auberge: Auberge Moisy (which we all know is my real name).

It was a tavern that was owned by the Sisters Moisy. Frequented by the visiting artists who used to paint on the wall, it is now a museum.

The town’s beauty just speaks for itself.

Due to my new diet (and a lot less alcohol) I was able to walk up and down the hills and dales for two hours before my knees started to complain, although I did pay for it yesterday.

We visited both the roman church and the medieval chapel that sits in the middle of a huge pasture right next to the river.

It was a fitting end to our week of galavanting (although we are contemplating a vide grenier today) and all in all we spent six euro in the whole week! We have had a fantastic time, taking packed lunches, simple food, and fruit; highlighting that you don’t need money to have fun.

Perhaps I should rename these posts: simple things.

Rosie

Galavanting – Just chillin

15 Thursday Aug 2019

Posted by in Galavanting, The continuing adventure

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Yesterday was our 20th wedding anniversary, and we just took a relaxing day, did a small amount of shopping for our wedding anniversary dinner (minted lamb chops mmmm) which we ate in front of the TV, on our laps, whilst watching Outlander (Danny aka Rich) said that it is my ‘soft porn’! That was all we needed.

In fact this week has been lovely, just spending time together. We have been busy (for which we are grateful) over the year and it is the first time since we have lived here that we have felt as if we are actually on holiday.

Today is a bank holiday in France and we decided to take the puppies for a walk to a park really near to us in the town of Gorron. I tend to use Gorron as a functional town: we bank there, the butchers is there, but it doesn’t and never has inspired me. But a few weeks ago D/R noticed a park just outside of the town, and suggested we visit.

As D/R may have a job in Gorron we decided to pop over to take a look at it, and went on to the park with the Welshies after. I was surprised. The park is pretty with numerous different walks, little streams, and a zip wire in the trees; not for us, but hubby did try the child’s version and ended up on his arse! Possibly because he is over six feet tall and it was made for little people of under four feet! How I laughed, but saved him the indignity of taking a photo as he sat on the dirt.

There is a pitch and putt mini golf with nine holes and after walking one of the two kilometre walks we sat on a comfortable little bench made from pallets and watched a family play golf (trying not to giggle).

I am loving this week, but our change in eating habits has already begun, with cereal and fruit every day for us now.

More to come folks we are going somewhere very pretty tomorrow, look out for the post coming soon.

Life is simple, life is good.

Rosie (also known as Moisy)

Galavanting: I’ve found where I want to live

13 Tuesday Aug 2019

Posted by in Galavanting, Simple things, The continuing adventure, The good life

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It’s as if the summer in France was so intense it literally burnt itself out! This time last year we were enjoying temperatures in the late twenties, but it has been clear since the beginning of August that autumn is creeping in early. In fact as I sit here writing this I have my dressing gown on and my flip flops have been discarded for my autumn slippers (trust me my winter slippers are way bigger, with two pairs of socks underneath!)

After my sudden illness last weekend I am now ninety five per cent recovered, all but a bit delicate. I have lost four kilo, we are both eating healthier than we have in a long time (fruit has never been our thing. Salad’s yes, fruit was often just left to rot in the bowl) and we now have an occupied fruit bowl.

I would like to thank you all for your well wishes, and concern, but I was true to my word: we now have top up insurance and tomorrow I am sending off the docs for my carte vitel which is the seventy-five per cent provision from the government. As the lovely The grey divorcee said I really do feel as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. We will have to find the money every month but I do believe that life shows you the way, and I do believe life was telling (in fact yelling) at us to get it; so now I believe that life will ensure we have the provision to pay for it. Like I said it’s no longer an ‘option’, and it is about belief.

So back to my post. It is our twentieth wedding anniversary tomorrow, those who read my other blog you will know it has not been a smooth road, but then is anything in life? In fact if we all had a ‘smooth road’ all the time when would we know that we are experiencing something special? But I digress: after Danny (aka Rich) put in his holiday request form we are having this week off. We have a small budget but we only need to have each other and the Welshies to have a good time. So today we set off for the afternoon, to visit some recommended villages and towns near to us.

The weather was cloudy but warm when we arrived in St Denis de Gastines, where there was supposedly some gardens to walk around; but true to form for France it is August, everything is shut because everyone goes on holiday en masse, and there was not a sign for a garden anywhere. I love this country but sometimes there lack of entrepreneurial pzazz drives me insane!

What we did find though was this beautiful chateau

Oh wow! We said, let’s go and look at that, but sadly when we walked around to look through it’s gate it has just been left to rot. It was so pretty, with it’s walled garden and cloisters at the back, but it has been left and I understand that to maintain it would be so costly you would need lottery money to fund it.

Only the rabbits were in situ, frantically running for cover because they could probably smell Wiglet (aka the serial killer).

We left St Denis for a larger town nearby where something would be open for coffee, and during the journey we found this…

This is Chailland, a tiny medieval city of character, only forty minutes from where we live now. It nestles in the valley, with a large statue of Mary overlooking the town from a sheer rock-face cut into the hill.

It has some a few pretty bars and restaurants (all closed for the en masse holiday that the French take in August) but oh my that didn’t matter, it was quintessentially French, tranquil, and so so pretty.

The rivers Ernee and Varmourin run through it having carved there way through the rocks centuries ago. We both fell in love with it.

We had grabbed an impromptu ‘lunch’: crisps and nectarines, and we sat at a little table/bench that had been purposefully built opposite the rock face, river and old mill. What a place to eat your lunch with the man you have just spent the last twenty-one years with. I took these photos as we sat on the bench.

We both just sat there and thought this is what we need, perhaps life was showing the way! As the clouds rolled in and the rain started to fall we took shelter in the centuries old washer women’s area, right by the river. We just watched the river gain momentum as the rain fell, watched the raindrops plop into the water, and looked at each other and said ‘I am really enjoying myself’.

We Don’t have much in material sense, but we have each other, and tonight we have two sleeping Welshies, one in her own French antique cot!(She’s been dying to get in that because she’s seen the cats in it!)

We are galavanting a lot this week, with crisps and coke, and water, and fruit and Welshies, we are happy with what we have because we fought so hard to keep it.

Rosie

Galavanting: I learned a lesson from a beautiful place

06 Tuesday Aug 2019

Posted by in Friends, Galavanting, People, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The seasons

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Life never seems to stop showing me the way! In June Danny (R) saw an ad for a large scaffold tower, on one of the local Facebook pages; after liaising with the owner we agreed to buy it and went off to collect it one bright Sunday lunchtime.

As we drove in past golden fields of wheat, dotted here and there with a smattering of red from the poppies, I commented on how pretty it was. The house was just outside the medieval town of Lassay Les Chateaux, surrounded by rolling hills and countryside.

On arrival we were met by the mad little Jack Russell, Milly, happy to meet people new, and the lovely Sue and Kevin. They invited us to have some coffee and as I sat on their covered patio I was blown away by my beautiful surroundings. It was just rolling hills, and a huge fishing lake that Kev had dug out himself.

Sitting there I realised that if I had been there on holiday I would be so happy in those surroundings: with the swimming pool, and your own gite; and even though we don’t fish I would have been in my element and just a little bit envious of my hosts.

But I also realised something else: if I had been holidaying there I would have been so envious of their lifestyle: with the rolling hills and beautiful surroundings, but I would not have seen the reality behind the beautiful grounds and house, which is a lot of bloody hard work! And that is how we have changed: we now live here, and living in the countryside is hard work. As I sat on their patio, blown away by the surroundings, I found myself thinking ‘oh my God! All that work, everyday!’

I said as much to our hosts when they told us that they have twenty six acres, so much that Kev cannot mow it all! In fact they lost two oaks last year that are laying where they fell because there us no time to chop them up!

It made me realise how much we all ‘think’ we want something, because so often we only see what we want to see. I watch programmes where people view houses and are so happy when they are told there is twenty acres, or even an acre (as we have) and I just smile now and ‘say good luck maintaining it!’

It is another lesson we have learned: see the bigger picture!

We have visited Kev and Sue a number of times now, new friends, nice, warm and lovely people. We didn’t pick the scaffold up for three weeks, because every time we went we just ended up chatting to them!

As we drove out of their house last time, I looked across the fields of corn and said to Rich ‘I would come here on holiday, and I live here!’

Rosie

If you would like somewhere gorgeous to stay, then you can visit Remieu using This link. Not shameful promotion just a beautiful retreat in which to stay.

Rosie

Galavanting: Lonlay L’abbaye

05 Sunday May 2019

Posted by in Galavanting, The adventures of living life in the French countryside, The continuing adventure, The good life

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I know lots of you enjoyed my last galavanting post, so there will be more through the summer.

As normal I am in bed drinking a cup of tea (for my Non English readers I am from Essex in England so it is pronounced: cuppaty) whilst writing this blog. It is unseasonably chilly here in France so necessary to stay tucked in bed with a Welshie and cat snuggled up to me, whilst my lovely hubby makes the second cuppaty of the day.

Last Sunday Rich was asked to go and meet someone for a job, and we ended up in the pretty little village of Lonlay L’abbeye, in the Department of Orne, just over the border in Normandy.

As you may have guessed the town started as a Benedictine monastery originating back to 1020, which has had at least three fires, and was sadly decimated in WW2 when the Germans punished the villagers for welcoming American troops.

Only the church and some of the cloisters now remain of what was the abbey.

So we found ourselves in this pretty village on a blustery spring day. We walked around the gardens at the back of the church, surrounded by small apple trees, where, although now divided up, you could see what had been the land belonging to the Monastery.

There by the stream was the original cider press used by the monks all those years ago to make the cider for which Normandy is so famous. Amazing that this building had survived all the trials and tribulations that the village had endured.

With a stream running around the church gardens you had to cross small bridges to get to other parts of town: so quaint.

There was something about this place: it had a tranquility about it, it was so calm, and I loved it.

You can see from the photos all the tiny higgledy piggledy houses, some backing on to the stream: how I would love to live there with a babbling brook for company all day.

Rich & The Welshies, chilling by the brook

There were a number of small bars and restaurants and a little square with terraces, but sadly because it was Sunday all the bars were shut. So we have vowed to come back on a warm sunny evening to have a meal, and some vin, and to soak up the tranquil atmosphere whilst listening to the babbling brook.

Nothing came of the job, but life had still showed us the way: we found Lonlay L’abbeye.

Moisy

Galavanting: Vitre’

28 Sunday Apr 2019

Posted by in Change is a coming, Galavanting, Making our own way, The continuing adventure

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Vitre castle Brittany

I said a while ago that as part of our decision making we are going to get out at least once a month and see other parts of France. I am going to share these adventures with you.

Due to the bank holiday we decided to visit the stunning medieval city of Vitre’ in Brittany. We loaded the Welshies into the car and off we went on a sunny April day and found this….

Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. To add to that all of the little pavement cafe’s and bars were open, including some shops!

It is one of the things that drives me nuts about where we are that everything just shuts down. It drives our French friends and neighbours nuts too: Here on a Sunday the bars are open but only until afternoon, even in the main cities of Fourgeres and Laval. Here in Vitre they were all open and it was humming, classic French cafe culture and we loved it.

We walked around the castle, promenaded on the ramparts and sat and people watched whilst enjoying a reasonably priced coffee (only three euro fifty for two coffees!).

It got us thinking: step over from Pays de Loire to Brittany and everything changes. Is this the place for us? Maybe! Let’s see what life shows us.

Here are to more trips. There is so much in this city to see that I am sure we will be visiting again. Here is to galavanting.

Moisy