Birthday Greetings

Our lovely dog is a big 4 today!!!

Here she is, doing what she loves best ..... swimming!

Inca's a real water baby and can't resist water of any kind or temperature .... although this cool clear river in France might be top of her list!

Project 365 ~ Week 30

I think this might be my last entry for Project 365 as it's all gone to pot this week .... I haven't taken any photographs since I came home from my hols. I'm back at work, the weather is shocking, and this weekend I found I've left my camera on my desk in school!!! 

So I'm going to bow out on my last week in France!

275/365

 A lovely display of  plates in the pottery in the hilltop village of Brantes.


276/365

 Amazing teas at the market .... we bought the strawberry one.


277/365

 Colourful gift packs of soaps


278/365

 A thunderstorm brings big puddles perilously close to the tents!


279/365

 The shady medieval archways in Buis les Baronnies ... lined with shops and houses.


280/365

 Sunday lunch with friends who actually "live in France!!!". We're very jealous!


281/365

 Stocking up with essentials to bring home.


282/365

 Last day. Can I take the sky home with me?


283/365

At Montelimar we discover that we're actually closer to Rome than London ... it's going to be a long drive home!

Our internet was down for a couple of days this week ... it was fixed the minute my lovely young man found out ..... so simple. He's going away to uni next weekend .... how are oldies supposed to manage without a teenager in the house?

France on hold ....

This is the post I scheduled to go out last night:

I'm taking a break from blogging as we're off to France for a few weeks

See you all in September!

This is what actually happened:

 With a ferry booked for late afternoon, we set off early. It was a lovely sunny day and we were all looking forward to the holiday. We'd only been driving for about 40 minutes when the temperature gauge went ballistic, and clouds of smoke billowed out of the engine. Disaster!!!

Thank goodness for road side assistance .... we were eventually rescued and taken home ...

the car ...

the caravan ....

and the three of us ... plus dog

Inca was as good as gold while it was all going on around her, but it was a bit traumatic lifting her into the high cab of the rescue vehicle.

So .... last night instead of enjoying a glass of wine on a campsite near Calais, we were back home. 

The car is in our local garage and will be having major surgery on Monday  ... it all sounds very expensive.

We are so disappointed,  but looking for positives .... at least we were still close to home, it didn't happen in France, and no-one is hurt. We're all safe and well, and we'll try again next week when the car is fixed!

A favourite piece of art

Radiotherapy ~ Day 16 (9:15)

For sheer impact I have chosen Les Nympheas ~ Monet's Water Lilies which fill the stunning oval room at the Musee de l'Orangerie in Paris. Their scale is simply breathtaking.

On our very first trip here when our daughter was small, we bought a lovely little book in the gift shop. It tells the story of a little girl who is taken to visit Monet's garden in Giverney.

Up until then, I hadn't realised the garden was still there. We put it on our list of places to visit. We finally got there on a visit to Paris to celebrate my 50th birthday!

We spent a whole day in this magical garden ....which has been beautifully preserved and is faithfully planted according to Monet's plans. There are wonderful plants to see in every month of the year. We went in August!

The big pink house has been meticulously restored and you can have a glimpse into the rooms once occupied by Monet and his family ... the yellow kitchen is fabulous!

And best of all, we got to stand on the famous green bridge!