On a cold and rainy day, what better to do than sit in front of the fire and, finally, catch up on my blog, which has been terribly neglected since we arrived. Instagram has had some attention (postcardsfromkaren), as it so quick and easy to update, but I like to have some nice, quiet time to blog and today is that day!

I feel really indulgent having the fire burning during the day and it just one more reason for us to love where we are. Our mild Queensland winter temperatures mean that having a fireplace is rare, let alone needing to light it, so I’m revelling in the chance to sit in our lounge, warm and cosy, and tap away on my iPad. Plus I can admire the trifecta of copper ware I’ve slowly found at brocantes, the most recent being an old copper milk jug, found in our favorite Depot Vente last week, which has now claimed a new life as the home for our fireplace tools.

Some beautiful old lithographs purchased during our first week here from a Brocante (a real find, so I snapped them up!), now grace the walls in our lounge as well, so very slowly, our little cottage in France is becoming much more homely. I love it.  No doubt at some point we’ll paint, but it always takes me ages to decide on colours and in any case, there is absolutely no rush….

So, what have been up to during the few weeks we’ve been here? Never one to have much success in making a long story short, I’ll try my very, very best to give you the abridged version, but in no particular order..

1. Seoul, CDG and Paris..

Our regular stopover in Seoul, was again at the Hotel Grand Hyatt Incheon, where we also stayed during our trip in December. This very luxurious and comfortable hotel is quickly becoming our favorite, so I hope it becomes a regular occurrence.

While it’s location so close to the airport means fewer opportunities for exploration on the big walk we always like to do before the next long leg of the flight,  there’s still plenty to see, so we managed a solid hour of walking, before our airport pickup.

Our experience on arrival at CDG in Paris was, unfortunately, oh too familiar. We love France, but we certainly don’t love CDG.  Our flight was late, for reasons unknown, so perhaps I should allow some leeway, but having only 3 staff on the immigration gates, to stamp the passports of hundreds of people, still seemed..let me find a word..RIDICULOUS! Worse, was somebody’s bright idea to allocate only one person to process economy class passengers (the majority) and the remaining two, to business class. The concept of having 2 seperate queues was not made clear either, so there was mass confusion all round, almost resulting in anarchy, as the holdup meant many people missed their connecting flights. By some miracle, we were put in the business class queue, but even with it apparently being the ‘fast’ option, it was still close to an hour and a half before we found ourselves on the other side of the immigration gates. Certainly not an experience anyone wants, or needs, after a long and tiring 11 hour flight.  Thank goodness our driver, Victor, had waited for us very patiently, so our annoyance was quickly forgotten as we travelled, comfortably ensconced in his beautiful car, towards the city lights of Paris. We’ve travelled the route from CDG many times now, but still always find things to ohhh and ahh about. It’s just that sort of city…

After a great night’s sleep in our beautiful boutique Hôtel Champlain Rive Gauche, we were up early and, after a quick breakfast and a big chat to our very friendly concierge, Yann, we headed off for a walk. Luxembourg Gardens was just around the corner, so how could we resist? It was a spectacular way to start the day…

2. Festi Gartempe

We’d planned our arrival in Montmorillon to coincide with the annual music festival held here each year in September, the Festi Gartempe. We’d heard that it was great, but hadn’t been here in September before, so were entirely unprepared by how fantastic it is. Held over 3 days, it offered something for everyone. Jazz, Rockabilly, Gypsy Jazz and Contemporary music, our toes were tapping from the moment we got there. I’m a big fan of the Cat Empire and I’ve now found their French equivalent, except with the energy ramped up even further. Lemon Furia now have a new groupie! I’ve added them to my Spotify list and their songs are now played (très fort, s’il vous plaît!) very regularly. I did take a video, but for technological reasons unknown, I can’t seem to upload it, so a YouTube link will have to suffice! (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BzurVAT18Lg)

 The atmosphere of the festival was fantastic, the quality and professionalism of the bands amazing, the food and wine were delicious (bien sûr!) and so reasonably priced. The organisation of the event was exceptional. Held under a huge marquee, any variable weather was well catered for, but thankfully,  there were perfect conditions on the Friday night and all day Saturday. While it did rain on Sunday, it certainly didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. It’s a free event ( yes, you heard that correctly!)  and, very fortunately for us, just a short stroll from our front door. The dates for next year have just been confirmed too, so we’ll definitely be making sure we return in time for it again, in 2020.

Rock on, Montmorillon!!

3. Marché de Les Hérolles

The huge market at nearby Les Hérolles, is held on the 29th of every month, except if the 29th is a Sunday, in which case it is held on the following day. We’d heard about it when we were here back in May, but hadn’t managed to find the time to go, so decided we’d take the 30 minute drive this time and finally see it for ourselves. Let’s face it, any market is a good market, in my opinion, so it certainly wasn’t any hardship to get up early and head off. We were very glad we did. It’s extremely popular, so our early start made parking a simple affair, thankfully. When we left, several hours later, there was a huge queue for car spaces, so I’m really glad we didn’t have that argument.  The market is absolutely enormous and, we’ve been told, the biggest livestock market in France. Not just animals though, there are all sorts on offer; the amazing array of poultry, pets and livestock of course, but also clothes, farming equipment, cheese, bread, mattresses, wine, honey, meat, fruit and vegetables, plants and flowers… Something for everyone!

In search of a coffee after several hours at the market, only a short drive from Les Hérolles and in the small village of Coulonges, we found a pretty little Salon de Thé, run by the very friendly Annabelle. Originally from the Netherlands, she now owns both the Salon de Thé and the adjoining Chambre d’Hôte, along with her mother. We had that coffee of course, which morphed into a very long lunch, as we sat and talked to Annabelle for several hours. She is delightful!

Well, it’s very late, so I’m off to bed now. This sitting in front of the fire is sleepy business!!  It’s meant to be raining again tomorrow though and that means you’ll likely find me in just this same, cosy spot again, so stay tuned folks!!

To be continued…..

À bientôt!