Category Archives: Closerie Falaiseau

A Mock-Up of the Little House

February 16, 2015 Rosemary Kneipp 14 Comments

You may remember our poultry yard dilemma that got in the way of our project to renovate our “little house” to make a gîte (self-catering holiday rental accommodation). We thought we might have to drop the idea altogether. The next idea was to convert our second barn instead. Then the neighbours sold their house to a lovely couple who has no intention of pursuing the barnyard theme.

The enclosure, with the lean-to on the right which is up against our barn and the house that is going to be pulled down to form a garden for the gîte

Jean Michel has been pondering the question for some time and has now decided that we should go back to the original idea of refurbishing the little house. He explains it to me but I am one of those people who finds it difficult to change something that I like and I can’t imagine in my mind what he wants to do. I love the side view of the little house which Jean Michel simply cannot undertand.

The corner view of the little house seen from our garden

He starts getting annoyed with me and I can see we’re heading for an argument so I say I’ll make a scale model. Whatever you want, he replies. I just need all the dimensions. I have the dimensions. I’ve drawn the floor plans of little house to scale, he says. Well, can I have them? It’s after dinner and he thinks it’s a bit late to be embarking on model-making but he gets them anyway.

The façade of the little house at the moment, which is rather ugly, you will agree!

I go and find some coloured cardboard, sticky tape, scissors, pen and a ruler. He looks on amazed as I proceed to rule lines and cut out pieces of cardboard. Well, I can see this isn’t your first scale model, he says. It is actually the first one that I’ve made myself but I loved making models when I was a child. Dad once bought Buckingham Palace for me and my sister and we spent hours putting it together on Magnetic Island.

The façade of the little house on our mock-up, a replica of our own façade

I make the little house, except for the new roof at the back, as this is the part I can’t understand. Jean Michel, who is now itching to get his hands on the cardboard and scissors too, takes over. I am amazed when I see the result. Never in a thousand years could I have imagined it without a physical model to help me.

The brick and stone façade of our house at the kitchen end

So where does the barn fit in, I ask. We need to make the barn as well. So I go and find some more buff-coloured cardboard. We decide on a blue roof to represent the slate because we used pink for the tiles. We fit the two together and I am at last able to imagine the result. We start discussing the floor plan of the inside of the little house and come up with several interesting ideas. But by then it’s nearly midnight so we go to bed.

The barn on the left and the back of the little house on the right, with its new roof

Next day, I have another look at the existing roof and see that Jean Michel’s idea isn’t so bad after all. We’ll lose a boxwood bush and a small althea but the new roof is actually quite attractive.

The back of the little house whose roof will disappear

One of the things we can add is an outside toilet which I’m very happy about. There is nothing worse than working in the garden and having to stop and change your muddy shoes to go to the other end of the house to the toilet, wash your hands or even get a glass of water.

The division between the kitchen and dining area in the big house that I would like to reproduce in the little house

Making the scale model has inspired me. I’m now thinking about how to organise the inside so that it will be as attractive and practical for holiday makers as possible. All this won’t be happening for a few years yet, but we need to ask for planning permission and incorporate the future plans into any other work we do on the house in the meantime (such as installing a heat pump, renovating the barn to take the current content of the little house and providing a garage for our second car which has mainly been parked across the street for the last three years !)

Wish us luck and if you have any criteria you think are essential for rental accommodation, please share!

Art, Closerie Falaiseau, Life in France, Renovation

Back Home in Blois to a Broken Weather Vane

February 12, 2015 Rosemary Kneipp 16 Comments

We pick up our car at the long-term parking lot near Orly Airport at 10.30 pm after our flight back from Malaga and drive the two hours back to Blois with no mishaps. Closerie Falaiseau is safe and sound with no break-ins (you never know in this day and age what might happen) so we unload the car and turn on the electric blankets. The temperature in the bedroom is 15°C. Jean Michel brings up the portable oil heater.

You can see the round window on the right just opposite the street light!

I sleep like a log, most unusual for me, but there are no cars going over the cobblestone outside our house on the Double Hill and no light streaming into the enormous round unshuttered bedroom window from the street light as there was in Granada. Everything is perfectly still and quiet.

Bright sunshine in our bedroom - after we open the shutters! — Bright sunshine in our bedroom – after we open the shutters!

The first thing Jean Michel notices when he opens the window in the morning to bright sunshine is that our weather vane is broken. We have a beautiful, unique weather vane on one of our barns, made by our previous owner who was a locksmith. It has a key to represent his trade and a feather to symbolise that of his wife, who was a secretary.

Both are perfect symbols for us as well. We can also see the weather vane from the upstairs living room so can check which way the wind’s blowing when we’re having breakfast. In France, north winds are chilly and south winds are warm.

Jean Michel removing the broken weather vane

But one side of the weather vane is now looking as though it might fall off altogether. Jean Michel waits until late afternoon when the wind dies down and it’s a bit warmer so he can climb up his big ladder and bring the weather vane down for repairs.

I don’t like heights but he has even done a special course in climbing up on roofs so I’m not too worried. He unscrews the weather vane from its little pole and climbs carefully down the ladder.

The repairs prove to be a bit more difficult than expected because the weather vane is zinc and he is using galvanised iron to fix it so the solder isn’t behaving very well. However, he eventually finds the solution and it is soon repaired.

You can see the broken bit at the bottom of the feather stem

However, it is nearly dark by the time he climbs up the ladder again and I’m just a little worried this time. But all goes well and it’s soon in place again.

Putting the repaired weather vane back on its pole

I have to say that I am extremely lucky to have such a talented husband. He really does seem to be able to fix anything!

He certainly deserves a gin and tonic in front of the fireplace after his hard work.

Gin & tonic to make up for the one that Transavia airlines doesn't serve in-flight! — Gin & tonic to make up for the one that Transavia airlines doesn’t serve in-flight!

And just in case you’re wondering how I am health-wise, this awful flu is still not completely finished even after nearly three weeks. I’m still very tired and have a cough but am able to translate and rake the moss off the lawn when I need a break. However, I’ve fared better than my neighbour who still isn’t out and about. I hope that next week we’ll both be back to Nordic walking together.

Closerie Falaiseau, Cooking, Food, French customs, Les Grouets

Mulled Wine and Chestnuts with the Locals

December 15, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 13 Comments

It’s one of those dull and dreary rainy days in December with little motivation to venture much further than the fireside but our local association, Les Amis des Grouets, is having its annual mulled wine and chestnut evening just down the road at 6 pm and we missed it last year.

This year's Christmas cake — This year’s Christmas cake

The Christmas cake is in the oven but this year only Jean Michel was able to stir and make a wish in person. Black Cat and I chatted on skype while I was making the cake (she was ironing in New York!) and she made a virtual wish.

So, umbrellas open, we call in to collect Françoise and Paul on the way. As we get close to the church, we can hear accordion music and see fairy lights.

We pay our annual dues and buy a ticket each. Fortunately, there are a couple of tents (no doubt the same ones that were used for the bread baking day in May when it was also raining …) but surprisingly, the rain lets up completely.

We are given a white paper bag to collect our chestnuts and raffle tickets to get a plastic cup of mulled wine. We’re allowed refills, we’re told.

Quite a few people eventually arrive but very few children which is a pity. However, the ones that are there have a lovely time roasting marshmallows over an open fire.

The chestnut burner is manned by Norbert, who was the baker on bread baking day, and the postman who doesn’t actually live in Les Grouets but likes the neighbourhood so much that he comes back after work.

Roasting marshmallows over the open fire

We are starting to recognise a few people. Françoise introduces a neighbour who is a retired mason and once did some work on our house, but he can’t remember the details.

I explain to his wife how to make foie gras au sel as we spent a fun day last week with Françoise and Paul and Susan and Simon from Days on the Claise teaching them how to devein foie gras ready for Christmas. For a detailed description of our workshop, I suggest you go over to Susan’s blog.

Françoise, Susan, Simon and Paul tasting the vouvray used for the foie gras

In return, the mason’s wife promises to send me her kugelhof recipe. I’m not a great kugelhof fan but it seems this is a variant so I shall try it out for Christmas. Which reminds me that I should also make Liliane’s gingerbread cake as well.

I’m linking this post to Lou Messugo’s Christmas edition of the All About France monthly link-up. For other entries, click here.

Blois, Closerie Falaiseau, Renovation

Our New Office

December 3, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 7 Comments

It’s not really an office. That’s the word Jean Michel uses in French; it means a place next to the kitchen or dining room in which the table service is prepared. Well, it’s sort of that. I would call it an upstairs kitchen but Jean Michel has names for all the rooms so I’m happy to call it an office. The bureau is downstairs.

Closerie Falaiseau, our late 16th century house, has a funny layout. Despite its 200 square metres, it only has two bedrooms. The upstairs living room is where our Renaissance fireplace is and it is probably the most pleasant room in the house. It has large proportions, lots of light (and it will have even more when the solid door becomes a glass door), a view out the mullion windows and, of course, the fireplace.

When we first saw the office, it was a sort of museum for musical instruments. There was also a daybed. Jean Michel thought of turning it into a small kitchen early on, when we turned the bottom floor of the house into a gîte, but I couldn’t see the point.

However, after we renovated the fireplace and started using it to cook côte de bœuf, it seemed it might be a good idea. One thing I was certain about though was that we’d block off the really low opening between the living room and the kitchen where I nearly killed myself the first year. We used a wrought-iron and glass console which doubles as a serving hatch.

Looking from the office into the living room with the console protecting our heads

Then we used that neat Ikea on-line software to work out where to put all the kitchen appliances and cupboards. We finally fitted in a normal-sized fridge with a freezer, a dishwasher, a sink, a two-ring induction plate and a microwave with enough room on the table top for our espresso machine.

We found some second-hand oak kitchen cupboards on Le Bon Coin to suit the style of our living room furniture because you can see them through the hatch. We picked them up miles away but it was difficult to find exactly what we wanted. I also spend quite a while removing decades of accumulated grease.

The induction plate also came from Le Bon Coin (never used) and we bought the sink from Leroy Merlin because the size meant it wasn’t standard and we didn’t want it to be chipped or anything.

To bring water into the office required drilling through 70 cm walls

Jean Michel then started working on the plumbing, wiring and lighting. The plumbing was complicated, as usual, by the fact that the walls are 70 cm thick and the lighting by the visible beams.

Extinguisher at the read just in case the insulation caught fire during soldering

He spent quite a bit of time in the roof space doing the wiring for the little spotlights we finally decided upon. At one stage, I had to hold a torch and be ready with a fire extinguisher while he soldered the pipes in the attic on the other side of the kitchen.

All this was done last winter while we still had the gîte and had the major advantage of providing us with a dishwasher. We used a small fridge we picked up at Troc de l’île while waiting for a larger one after we moved. But the final touches were still missing.

Normal fridge in place with sink induction plate and of course the espresso machine

Yesterday, Jean Michel finished it completely. He combined two corner shelves to provide somewhere to put the jug and toaster and made a wine bottle stand to put in the recess which now also houses the bread board & bread, the water jug and teapot.

Niche with wine racks made by Jean Michel with our Australian lithograph above

We have a chest of drawers for cutlery, utensils, tablecloths and teatowels and use the cupboard above the induction plate and sink for important things such as nibbles, tea and breakfast food. The glass-fronted bookcase in the living room takes the plates, cups and glasses.

Looking from the living room into the office

So now we have the perfect place to prepare breakfast, apéritifs and coffee. We also have everything we need to have a barbecue in the fireplace.

Oh, and I nearly forgot. I framed and hung up the lithography that our very first home exchange guests from Australia brought us as a gift.

Who wants to join us?

Closerie Falaiseau, Country living, Renovation

News on the Home Front

November 24, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 20 Comments

It’s now four weeks since we moved to Blois. All the boxes are unpacked (except those in storage such as Christmas decorations and things that we’re not sure where to put or may never use again). I finally found the exercise book with the contents of the first lot of cartons by which time it was a little late.

Our half-timbered walls - not easy for paintings — Our half-timbered walls – not easy for paintings

The only thing we haven’t put up are our pictures but I now want to proceed one room at a time for the final decorative touches. Our half-timbered walls are not as easy to accommodate as our painted walls were in Paris! They are also much thicker which means you can’t just hammer in a picture hook and move it a couple of days later.

We have three major projects this winter. The first, which is the simplest, is to replace two timber doors with glass doors to let in some much-needed light (especially on a rainy day like today), one in the upstairs living room where the Renaissance fireplace is, and the other in our office downstairs. It’s wonderful having a 400-year old house but back in those days, the fewer the doors and windows the better because of the heating (and taxes).

The downstairs living room fireplace in which we want to put a wood-burning stove

The second is to put a wood-burning stove in one of the downstairs fireplaces. At present, we have gas-fired central heating with radiators downstairs and floor heating upstairs giving us a steady 19°C. That is fine if you’re physically active but if you spend a lot of time working at a computer as I do, your fingers start to get a little chilly! Last week, we went to Tours to buy some Damart thermal underwear and mittens but a stove in the next room is a more inviting proposition.

The peeling paper in the guest bedroom with its very high ceiling

The third, which is my project, is to strip the paper off the guest bedroom which has one of those attic ceilings and paint it instead. Apart from not being particularly attractive, the current paper is starting to come unstuck at most of the joins. The only problem is the height of the room in the middle and the possible state of the walls behind the paper …

The Renaissance fireplace we renovated in the living room

So much for the practical side of things. On the emotional front, it’s proving far more stressful that I thought. Chronic fatigue, of course, probably doesn’t help. Although we have already made good friends here – and are continuing to make new ones – it’s not the same as being surrounded by the friends I have known and felt comfortable with for years. Jean Michel and I also have to find a new modus vivendi which is proving difficult for both of us in different ways. I don’t know if it would be easier or not if I was retired too but I still have another 4 ½ years to go.

However, two things happened on Friday that have bucked me up no end. The first is that thanks to another “city daily” blogger, Stuart, from Amboise Daily Photo (Amboise is a half an hour down the river from Blois), the local paper, La Nouvelle République, interviewed us for Loire Daily Photo and the article was published on the second page under the title (in French of course) of “Rosemary’s Blogs Capture the Region”.

Closerie Falaiseau, with the two full doors from the outside

The second news was a phone call asking me to confirm my address to receive an invitation to be sworn in as a “traductrice assermentée”. In France, the translation for administrative purposes of many legal documents such as birth and marriage certificates as well as court rulings, judgments, etc. must be carried out and stamped by a “legal expert”. I first applied in the greater Paris area nine years ago and was refused, despite the fact that I had all the required skills and experience. However, I decided to apply to the local courts in January this year in view of our move and this time, I was successful.

It’s certainly a good start to feeling part of the local community.

Architecture, Closerie Falaiseau, Cycling, Flowers & gardens, Loire Valley, Loire Valley châteaux, Renovation

Blois Chambord Cycling Itinerary 11 & 11bis

August 5, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 7 Comments

Most of our time in Blois seems to be spent frantically gardening, restoring fireplaces and making laundries, but this time, I’ve checked the weather report and Thursday looks as though it will be bright and sunny. We have breakfast in the garden then, after much searching, unearth our Blois & Chambord bike maps. We decide on itinerary n° 11 & 11 B (total of 50 K) because Jean Michel says we haven’t completed the loop before.

Château de Chambord with more scaffolding

We drive to Saint Dyé sur Loire and park in the church grounds. It’s getting close to midday by the time we start out for Chambord. I’m a bit disappointed when we arrive to see there is more scaffolding.

After lunch at the Saint Louis (dish of the day and café gourmand) we cross the little bridge and set off along the Grand Canal because I want to take a photo of Chambord reflected in the water like my friend Anda from Travel Notes and Beyond. But clouds have appeared and the reflection is not exactly what I was looking for.

Chambord from the little bridge at the end of the Grand Canal

And what do we discover – a completely new view of Chambord from the other end of the canal. This time, the clouds are lighter and their reflection in the canal is spectacular.

We continue the cycle path towards Saint Laurent de Nouan, our final destination, and find ourselves in the little town of Thoury. I surprise Jean Michel by remembering it from a previous bike ride and he comes to the conclusion that we’ve already done the n° 11 loop (but not the n°11bis. The typical Sologne well of Fontaine Saint Michel has all been spruced up. You can see its little wrought-iron sculpture of a snake coiled around a tree branch.

Not long after, we come across the 11th church of Saint Martin de Crouy which coincidentally I published just a few days ago on Blois Daily Photo. Once again I astonish Jean Michel by telling him what’s inside the church! I also take a better photo of the sculpture of Saint Martin on the façade. By now, the storm clouds are looking more threatening.

By the time we reach Saint Laurent, we’ve ridden about 25 kilometers straight and I’m well and truly ready for a cold drink. The main street has a couple of interesting buildings, including Aux Trois Rois or the Three King Inn. Built in the 15th century, it welcomed such distinguished guests as Philippe le Bel, Louis IX, Charles VIII, Louis XIV, Alfred de Musset, Jean de La Fontaine, d’Artagnan and maybe even Joan of Arc. Unfortunately, it was dismantled between 1780 and 1781 and sold in several parcels. The mullion windows are copies of the original structure, I’m sad to learn.

Saint Laurent de Nouans nuclear power plant

To my disappointment, no friendly café comes into sight and instead we find ourselves on a 70 kph road taking us straight towards the Saint Laurent NUCLEAR POWER PLANT. Now why didn’t I realise that before when I looked at the map?

Saint Jacques windmill at Saint Laurent de Noans taken on a previous visit

I rant and rave about the inappropriateness of putting a nuclear power plant on a cycling itinerary and we eventually reach the beautiful Saint Jacques windmill we have already visited on a previous occasion. Still no café …

La potion muidoise which is a reference to the druid's magic potion in Astérix — La potion muidoise which is a reference to the druid’s magic potion in Astérix, also taken on a previous occasion

We finally get to Muides after a very bumpy ride along the river thankful that it hasn’t actually rained. By then, we’re so near to our destination that the thought of the only somewhat decrepit café in Muides with its local bar supporters, no longer appeals. Also, it might be closed the way it was last time …

Loire between Muides and Saint Dyé also taken on a previous ride

We cycle the last few kilometers back to Saint Dyé but the sky is muggy and not nearly as nice as the last time. I surprise myself by going straight up the hill next to the church almost effortlessly. I don’t know where that energy suddenly came from. In the future though, we’re going to remember only to do itinerary 11 and ignore 11 bis. A nuclear power plant indeed!

Closerie Falaiseau, Country living, Flowers & gardens, Lifestyle, Loire Valley

Last Three Months in Paris

July 28, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 10 Comments

We are well and truly back from our cycling holiday in Germany. It’s amazing how far away it already seems. Our next holiday, a six-day home exchange in Lisbon, is scheduled for September.

Closerie Falaiseau in Blois last time we were there at the end of our holiday

Now we have to get ready for our move to Blois at the end of October, which means we only have three months left. It’s a bit daunting even though I’m ready to leave Paris (though I might occasionally miss the view from our balcony). Closerie Falaiseau will be our own home, as opposed to our apartment in the Palais Royal which is part of Jean Michel’s job.

As we have guests in our gîte up until 6th October, we’ll be going down for a couple of weeks after that to get everything ready for the movers.

The current downstairs bedroom will become our combined study which means redispatching the furniture, putting some of it in the little house while waiting for re-use either in the future gîte or an investment I’m hoping to make in Tours.

The upstairs living room with its secondhand sofa

The furniture in the other rooms will also have to be moved around to take the content of our apartment in Paris. Some, such as the upstairs sofa and chairs we bought at Troc de l’Ile, will be resold.

I’ve been planning what will go where and I think I have everything sorted out. Despite the fact that it is a big house, the rooms are very large and we don’t have much storage space so I don’t want to take anything we’re not sure we’ll use again.

The view from our balcony which I might miss ... — The view from our balcony which I might miss …

It’s a pity that I will still be working as a freelance translator for the next 5 years – I could have got rid of the entire content of my office! But I’m having a change of furniture and am resolved to only take what I really need.

Many people have asked me if I’ll miss Paris. I don’t think so. What I will miss is seeing my friends who live here and those from further away who will come to Paris but not to Blois. But we’re not that far away (less than 1 ½ hours by train) so we can schedule regular visits.

The overgrown vegetable patch when we got back from Germany

What I’m looking forward to is the garden and the nearby forest, less traffic and more friendly people in shops and restaurants.

I’d say that the only real drawback of Closerie Falaiseau is that it’s on the edge of town and there are no shops within walking or even cycling distance. I’ll have to plan more carefully. Since I make my own bread, it doesn’t matter that we don’t have a bakery close by. Even living in the middle of Paris, we practically never go and buy fresh croissants …

Catching up with Australian friends in Paris - Carolyn from Holidays to Europe in the Palais Royal Gardens — Catching up with Australian friends in Paris – Carolyn from Holidays to Europe in the Palais Royal Gardens

As I’ve always worked from home, I’m used to spending the day by myself, but it will be different for Jean Michel who will need to plan activities that involve other people.

We’ve already make several friends in and around Blois, especially through the Loire Connexion, so I’m not worried about our social life as a couple.

A drink with fellow bloggers and friends in Paris

We both love the house and garden and would presently much rather be there than in Paris, so I think that’s a good start, don’t you?

Closerie Falaiseau, Cycling, Flowers & gardens, Loire Valley, Restaurants

An Anniversary Dinner in Romorantin and a Bike Ride to Mer

June 9, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 9 Comments

We’ve been to Romorantin in Sologne before and loved the fresh produce market. At the bread baking day in Les Grouets, Le Lion d’or was recommended to us as being one of the best restaurants in the region so we’ve decided to try it out for our 16th wedding anniversary.

We’re coming directly from Paris so we’ve timed it to arrive at about 12.30 pm. We leave slightly later than planned and encounter traffic jams. Traffic is obviously being rerouted for the 70th anniversary of D-Day. I’m a bit on edge because I hate being late but as we approach the turn-off to Chartres, things get back to normal.

The brick façade of the restaurant — The brick façade of the Lion d’Or restaurant

It’s 12.45 when we park outside the hotel restaurant which is perfect. I straighten out my linen skirt which maybe isn’t the best choice for a 2 1/2 hour car ride and we walk in. The garden is visible from the doorway and it looks incredibly inviting. The service is friendly and discreet and remains so throughout.

The set menu is 68 euro for 3 set courses (no choice) and doesn’t tempt us. We decide to order from the regular menu and choose local specialities – asparagus, which Sologne is famous for, a chanterelle mushroom vol au vent, rabbit and pigeon.

To accompany them, after our initial glass of champagne, we choose two local whites (a glass each, of course, not a bottle): a cour cheverny with the famous romorantin grape imported by François I and a touraine sauvignon, both of which are excellent. There is only one local red sold by the glass, a respectable saumur champigny, so we take the only other choice, a tarn, to accompany the pigeon.

We choose not to have dessert as I notice that the people at the next table have an excellent selection of mignardises with their coffee.

The perfect weather, surroundings and service help us to digest the 328 euro bill. We regret that not one of the dishes we ate flattered our taste buds which is really the only criteria for good cuisine, no matter what the price. In our books, Les Hauts de Loire, at Onzain halfway between Blois and Chaumont, remains by far the best dining experience within an hour’s drive of home.

Celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary

The weather is so beautiful that as soon as we reach Closerie Falaiseau, we unpack the car, change into more comfortable clothes and drive to the bike path on the other side of Blois. By 5 pm, we’re in the saddle.

It’s lovely to be back on our bikes after the awful month of cold and rain we’ve just experienced. We keep to the bike path that is part of Eurovélo 6 (the one that took us along the Danube last summer) and runs along the Loire.

The lavoir in Cour sur Loire with its original trestles

The roses are just stunning in some of the little villages such as Cour sur Loire. We stop to take photos of the lavoir, relieved that it’s not pelting with rain the way it was last time we were here.

We pass some free-range chickens and guinea-fowls and eventually get to the outskirts of Mer. You’d think with a name like that that it would be on the coast but in fact mer comes from mera meaning marsh.

Courtyard of L'épicerie in Mer — Courtyard of L’épicerie in Mer

I see a sign advertising a bar/grocery store/local wine store called L’Epicerie and soon see it on the left before we get to the centre of the town. We put our bikes in the racks and make our way to the inviting courtyard. We treat ourselves to a very cold local sauvignon but refuse the Iberian platter. We’re not really hungry, I have to say!

We start chatting with the very friendly owner and learn she also has a brocante. Goodness, what a find! The grocery shop is full of all sorts of local foods and delicacies, including chocolate champagne glasses.

The very friendly owners of L'Epiceire — The very friendly owners of L’Epiceire

The brocante, which is more like an antique store, is beautifully kept with quite a large range of interesting finds. Unfortunately, nothing takes our eye but we’ll be back another day.

The brocante section of L'Epicerie — The brocante section of L’Epicerie

By the time we get back to the car, after 40 k and over 2 ½ hours in the saddle, I’m rather relieved that next day is going to be relâche!

Closerie Falaiseau, Flowers & gardens, Paris

Photo of the Week – Rooftops & Roses

June 9, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 1 Comment

We started the week in Paris and finished up in Blois. We’re moving into summer at last with the return of the warm weather and the lovely long twilight. The first photo was taken at about 7.15 pm and the second around 9 pm. It’s still light at 10.30 as we approach the longest day of the year on 21st June – the summer solstice.

Rooftops from the apartment rented by Australian friends during their stay in Paris

I'd love to be invited to a cocktail party in the Louvre overlooking the glass pyramids too! — I’d love to be invited to a cocktail party in the Louvre overlooking the glass pyramids too!

We thought these roses were doomed but maybe they're just late bloomers! — We thought these roses were doomed but maybe they’re just late bloomers!

Closerie Falaiseau, Flowers & gardens, Loire Valley

Photos of the Week – Roses in our Garden in Blois

June 1, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 4 Comments

Back in Blois for a week and loving the roses! The previous owners told us the roses on the front steps were Pierre Ronsard, but we now know they are not. We’re trying to track down their name.

Our mystery roses, which we were told were Pierre Ronsard, no doubt a type of polyanthus, on the front steps of Closerie Falaiseau — Our mystery roses, which we were told were Pierre Ronsard, but no doubt a type of polyanthus, on the front steps of Closerie Falaiseau

A close-up of our mystery rose which we were told was a Pierre Ronsard. — A close-up of our mystery roses

Our Saharan roses that disappointed us last year but are stunning this year

Climbing roses at the back of our house that we haven't identified either! — Climbing roses at the back of our house that we haven’t identified either!

Aussie in France