French break and wedding in Belgium part 2

Following on from my last post, after the civil ceremony we drove to The Château de Florzé about 30 to 40 minutes away. The Château has a lot of history behind it including General Eisenhower who stayed there for a few hours during WWII.



As we got closer, the sky became very dark. As we arrived, a few drops of rain appeared and the sound of thunder made us all run for shelter in the Château.

The staff were frantically bringing in all the chairs from the garden back in to the Château. There should have been a second ceremony held outside under the beautiful blossom tree but as the heavens opened, there was no question of it taking place there. We all felt sorry the bride and groom as one of the reasons they had chosen this venue was so that they could have an outdoor ceremony there!
Strangely, just as the indoor ceremony ended, the skies cleared up and the sun shone again!




Rain over, it was time for some wedding photos of the bride and groom... Poor groom, my cousin Arnaud broke his ankle just days before the wedding so honeymoon is postponed! He managed to make it through the day though.


The setting was so beautiful!


My two nieces, Miss P and I enjoying the day

My Mother had told me of a bedroom with a legend/tale behind it. "La chambre des apparitions" (The room of the apparitions) The story goes that an elderly lady was in her bedroom when a statue of the Virgin Mary appeared at her window. Children, possibly her Grandchildren would dangle a statue from window on the floor above, in the hope that she might think that it was an apparition of the Virgin Mary. As it happens, that is the very room that we were given!

We stayed at the Chateau overnight and on Easter Sunday we woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Soon after breakfast, the children went on an Easter egg hunt on the grounds. A great way to end our stay there.
















Spending time with my Goddaughter's baby boy. You might remember that at Christmas time we tried to attend his Christening but due to very poor weather conditions, we only made it as far as France. It was so lovely to meet him at last.


Well, I couldn't go there without coming back with some food and drink. A little snippet of some of the things I brought back. A lot of these bring back lovely childhood memories.




I had a brilliant time, so wonderful to spend time with family especially when you don't get to see them as often as you'd like.

I hope you all had a lovely Easter!

***Just a reminder that I shall have a stall at the Vintage Bazaar at the Cheese and Grain in Frome, Somerset on Saturday 30th April 11 (09.00 - 15.00 hours). Hope to see some of you there! Miss P and Alan will be there too to give a helping hand***

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

French break and wedding in Belgium Part 1

Last Tuesday evening we drove to Kent and went across the channel on the Eurotunnel.
First stop France then Belgium. I was very much looking forward to seeing my parents and have some of my Mother's home made cooking! We couldn't have wished for nicer weather, really warm, sunny and azure blue skies.


I took the opportunity of catching up with some reading. I read more in those couple of days than I had done in the past four months! So wonderful to just be able to relax and not have any work to do :-)
Miss P spent a fair bit of time playing in the garden and looking out for bugs.
On one afternoon we took a stroll along the beach and visited a nearby war cemetery where soldiers and airmen from all over the world are buried. It was the first time that Miss P had visited one, she found it sad and interesting.


Making new discoveries in the garden


On Friday we left France and drove to Southern Belgium (Wallonie - French speaking part) to attend a family wedding over the Easter weekend.

On the way we drove past this sign. Each country seems to have funny place names.


We arrived on Friday afternoon at my cousin's house (my Aunt Suzy's daughter). She has a lovely big house, I couldn't resist taking a few pictures to give you a little taster of it.

These beautiful tiles are in the hallway


Very large mirror in the hallway. It used to belong to my Aunt Suzy who restored it and painted it by hand.


The door leading to the cellar


The garden shed

On Saturday morning, we all woke up early. The house was a hive of activity as around 10 of us were getting ready for the wedding, it was a great atmosphere.


Alan and I outside "Le Chateau d'Oupeye" (The town Hall) where the civil ceremony was held.






Miss P and I about to join the rest of the guests for the start of the wedding.

The rest of the wedding photos will be in Part 2 where we will be heading for the Château de Florzé...

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

Easter Flea finds

I hope that you all having a good Easter weekend. Today, the weather was a bit cold and windy but it was SUNNY!
First thing in the morning we went around the garden in search of eggs and Easter goodies. Miss P had a great time collecting eggs in her basket.







After that, I headed for the Shepton Mallet Flea market.

I am pleased with what I brought back. However, I made the mistake of thinking about buying a floral eiderdown I saw as soon as I arrived there. Instead of snapping it up on the spot, I went away and thought about it. By the time I decided to go back for it, it had gone...You know that feeling, when you look back and wonder why on earth you just didn't go for it when you had the chance, nevermind....


This is my favourite find! I didn't hesitate one bit when I saw this chair. Although I don't really know where it's going to go in the house, it still had to come back with me. The colours are so me!


















When I returned from the flea market, Alan had a lovely Sunday roast ready for me and one of these was waiting for me. Decorated by Miss P.

Have a great rest of the weekend!


A bientôt!

Isabelle X

Happy Easter - Joyeuses Pâques!

Happy Easter to all!

We are off to have an Easter egg hunt in our garden now... Miss P is very eager to go out with her basket! I wonder what les cloches de Pâques (Easter bells) and Easter bunnies have brought with them?...


I wish you all a lovely day filled with fun and happiness.



I'll be off to the Shepton Mallet Flea Market today. Let's hope the sunny start to the day stays.

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

Happy Easter!

One of my favourite tins.





3 Little chicks in my kitchen. I really like the blue and white salt holder, my Father bought it for me whilst in Czechoslovakia some years ago.


Little nest on paper napkins.

I have a LOT of paper napkins. I love all the different designs and colours you get and how they add a nice little touch to the table. I bought these in Bruges, as well as buying some with the letter 'W', I bought some with other initials too. This one matches my surname. Cath Kidston also has a wonderful selection.

What ever your plans are this weekend, I wish you all a lovely Easter!

A bientôt!

Isabelle x