The month of August is quiet in Paris... The city is practically dead and most Parisians are away on holiday. 

We spent some time in Normandy, as we do every summer with the family, just eating, walking by the beach, gardening and playing some sports. This weekend, we will be off to Burgundy for a friend's wedding. Plus the apartment needs to be emptied & packed for the renovation work in September... And next week I'm going home to Singapore for a whole month! 

Needless to say, this space might be empty for a while... But do check back from time to time as I will be launching my new blog very soon!

Have a great summer! xx

Normandy

Once every few weeks, my husband deems the city too noisy, too crowded, too city-ish and we escape to his family's place in Normandy for a country break. Over the years, what was once just a holiday house to the family has slowly become a retirement dream for my husband. And it is easy to see why.

At 2 hours from Paris, little roads like this are aplenty in the Normandy region, where cars have to stop if another comes in the opposite direction. And one of these roads lead to our little piece of heaven. Nestled among several hectares of land, we are isolated from the city & yet Deauville is only 10 minutes away.

We stock up on groceries beforehand & breathe in the clean pure air of the country.

We say hello to the neighbour's horses and admire the hay rolls.

We pick raspberries & red currants from the garden, except that not many make it to the dining table as I am eating & picking at the same time.....

My husband has a field day (pun intended) cutting the grass, setting mole traps etc... Even though they have a gardener, nothing gives him more satisfaction than to ride the tractor up & down the fields & take care of the land himself. 

Every summer, they clear the pond of weeds & this time round, we had a lovely surprise. Besides the usual frogs, we saw many fishes! How they arrived there remains a mystery as the pond is totally enclosed. An educated guess (according to a local) is that a heron passing by swallowed too many fish and dropped one from his mouth into the pond. 

We make daily trips to nearby towns like Pont L'Evéque to buy food and I fell in love with the local drugstore and even the butcher! It's so inspiring to see butchers wearing ties to sell meat... the French really do take pride in their professions.

And of course, no trip to Normandy is complete without a Martine Lambert ice cream stop in Deauville... We were served by Madame Lambert herself and she had no airs.

On the drive back to Paris, we were both quiet, lost in our thoughts... Him no doubt wondering if the mole traps had been successful & when we would return again. 

Easter weekend

We spent a long lazy weekend in Normandy... & woke up to a dreary view every morning.

Though the weather was not on our side, it was fun walking in the fields & hiding Easter chocolate bunnies for the children.

The innocence of childhood is always magical no matter the season :)

Rain is forecasted for Paris this week... Stay dry & happy x

normandy break...

Back from Normandy & so many errands to run! Urban life seems like a rude awakening compared to the idyllic week we spent in the countryside.

The summer skies of Normandy always take my breath away. In this picture, we are on the way to the pond to clear the weeds.

The children already had plans of their own.

After the pond's cleared... we took frequent walks to look at the frogs, listen to the sounds of nature & enjoy the sun.

The oak tree which made F's parents fall in love with the land & purchase it. It's over 300 years old & stood testament to the reign of Louis XIV.

Fresh seafood from the port of Deauville. We ate so much this past week... warm fresh bread every morning from the boulangerie, heaps of butter churned by hand, creamy cheese from the region... long & heavy dinners... coffees & pastries & tarts... i put on so much weight it's not even funny :(

Have a great week ahead & please eat wisely! xx

 

the skies of Normandy

The most beautiful sky in the world.

We escaped Paris & drove 2 hours to Normandy... to a little village called Bonneville-sur-Touques.. where F spent his childhood.

We had the whole house & their 12 acres of land to ourselves. The luxury of silence & space.

We had breakfast with only the breeze for company.

Little walk. It was so quiet.

I ran till I was out of breath... we talked & laughed & no one else in the world could hear us.

We stopped by his favorite pond where he caught me a little frog.

and plucked flowers to bury our noses in.

we feasted on wild raspberries till our fingers turned red.

Then we drove to Deauville & bathed in the sun's rays till all the parasols were closed for the day.

I snapped pictures & each time, the sky surprised me.

And for dinner, the most amazing truffle risotto.

Dusk over Deauville.

The next day, we went to Honfleur, a town where Monet & Boudin honed their Impressionism skills. Old preserved houses dotting the Seine estuary, the ever-changing clouds, it was a charming little town.

The bell tower of St Catherine church.

Watching the clouds roll by.

It was good for the soul to be taken care of by nature, when people no longer do the trick.

Thank you for all your kind comments.. they really warmed my heart. Even if there are people & friends who try to bring me down with their lack of support & harsh words, I will continue to make my little purses because they make me happy & that's what really counts isn't it?