27-MAR-2007
A week in rural France
Our house in France was part of an old stone farmhouse, surrounded by similar stone barns and outhouses, yards and hedges, vegetable gardens and fields.
There was an ancient orchard of gnarled apple trees among which grazed a sheep and her lamb and a dear old grey donkey. There were also hens, free ranging!!, three farm kittens and a painted gypsy caravan…..just for atmosphere, I suspect.
27-MAR-2007
Our cottage, "Les Mezerais"
The farm “Les Mezerais”, has been bought by Brits (aren’t they all). Two thirds of the house is their own and the end third is the part for letting.
27-MAR-2007
Philip talks to one of the cats
The Brits, Bernie and Caroline, were away in The Canary Islands soaking up sun (what a life) so we never met them. Sharon, another Brit has bought the farmhouse next door…a grand old two storey stone house and accompanying huge stone barn where she keeps her bike and does her washing. She has moved permanently to France with her teenage son, Lloyd, who loves being able to ride his small motor scooter around and will soon ride it to school in a nearby town.
27-MAR-2007
Gypsy wagon, at our farm
Picture this farm of two houses and many stone outbuildings, extremely old, in pretty countryside, with daffodils and blossom, pots of bulbs at the doors, a river just a pleasant walk away and the sun shining. It did….for most of our time there.
31-MAR-2007
Evening light over our farm
Our part of the farm had living, kitchen and bathroom downstairs, including open fire which we had each night, and two attic bedrooms up a winding staircase. All decorated in French farmhouse style, and so idyllic I could have stayed for almost ever.
27-MAR-2007
The barn at "Les Mezerais"
30-MAR-2007
Where?
We were part of a small village, Brece, on the border of Normandy and Brittany…we were in one or the other most of the time. Every small village or town in that part of France ( or everywhere?) clusters around the church…usually old and most imposing. Tall grey spires seen from the distance. Our church in Brece “Eglise Notre Dame”, 15th C, was typical. Around it spread the cobbled streets, plain stone houses with faded shutters, windows with Breton lace curtains, some completely shuttered up (just for the winter?, belonging to absent Brits? or forever?…who knows), a “Boulangerie and Patisserie”, usually always a “Coiffure” and not much more. Very austere, except for the spring bulbs and blossom. There is always a town square, sometimes a war memorial, in plain gravelled open spaces. Nearby towns, depending on size, have more shops ….”Charcuterie”, “Boucherie” and “La Poste”.
30-MAR-2007
Norman pastorale
The countryside was lush, with brilliantly green fields (bocage), hedges (borage), stone farms and barns, bare trees in bud, rich brown ploughed fields and plump black and white or pale brown storybook cows. Old stone crucifixes appear regularly at various points along the roads. We would count these as we passed. Wild primroses, daisies and buttercups dotted the steep banks along the roads and, here and there, a pink or white blossom tree. NO vineyards in these areas, just apple orchards which produce the local “cidre” and the fortified apple brandy “calvados’ for which the area is renowned.
“Cows grazing in fields and apple trees growing in neat rows: these are what first strike the visitors to Normandy. The cream is made into the cheeses and rich sauces that typify the local cuisine, while the apples are used for the alcoholic drink calvados for a region whose climate is unfriendly to the vine.” - guidebook
02-APR-2007
The obligatory baguette
In villages and small towns all older men wear berets of one form or another and walking sticks abound!! Everyone over the age of 60 seems to have one !! Men and women carry shopping baskets and almost all seem to carry the inevitable breadstick. We bought ours each day and gorged on fine cheeses and terrines !!
27-MAR-2007
Castle wall, Fougeres
The superb “chateaux” and lakes, moats and town squares of the larger towns were worth exploring. Many cities had remnants of castle walls and the medieval houses within lined narrow, cobbled streets.
