A day of bric-a-brac

Since arriving at mum and dad's, we have heard so much about the weekends of bric-a-brac. Dad has been a big fan of spending his weekends driving to the smallest French towns, only to arrive to find fields full of people from France and England, offering the greatest of treasures to some, well, bits of rubbish they are trying to rid of.

Intrigued by the sound of it and wondering what hidden gems we could find, we set off for the town of Saint-Michel-de-Villadeix, about an hours drive from Montemboeuf. A gorgeous drive through countryside, which included a stop for lunch in Brantôme which was a really beautiful little town to stop in and enjoy a picnic in the park.

Arriving at the bric-a-brac was everything we hoped and a short while later we hit the road home with a couple of cute finds and the debate over whether the purchase of a second hand foot bath is acceptable. Bubble wrap will be needed to keep our purchases safe on the flight home!

 A stop back in Brantôme couldn't be resisted for an afternoon tea of some crepes and a cup of tea. A lovely Sunday in the country.

Chasseneuil-sur-Bonnieure National Cemetery and Memorial

On our way out today we stopped at a memorial in Chasseneuil dedicated to the men and women killed in action and to the 1,465 martyrs of the French resistance.

I have only recently started to become very interested in World War 2 history and this visit to the memorial was a really fascinating albeit sobering experience.

There is a timeline of events that told us the town of Angloueme (where we were shopping yesterday) was occupied by German forces on the 24th June, 1940.

The French resistance then were instrumental in the war for several years incurring many losses but ultimately contributing towards the liberation of the town on the 31st August 1944 - just one week after Paris was liberated.

Well worth a visit if you're in the area.

A little drop of Cognac by the river

Today we took a trip to the town of Cognac, home to many producers of the drink of the same name. We went to the Hennesy distillery who host regular tours (in French, German or English) of the premises.

The tour started with a boat ride across the river to a series of exhibits that showed the production process.

After that you are lead into one of the warehouses covered in "pas fumer" signs and flanked by rows of fire extinguishers, and once you walk in and smell those alcoholic fumes from the fermenting barrels of cognac you understand why.


A protected area of the warehouse revealed some barrels that date back to the late 19th century, with the oldest that we saw marked with a white "1893".

After a boat ride back across the river we had a quick overview of the various sorts of Cognac that Hennesy produce including the popular VS and VSOP and some of the more exclusive blends such as the 6,000+ Euro Hennessy Cognac in Baccarat Crystal.

Then, the final part of the tour, where you get to sample some of the blends.

A couple of measures of some fine Cognac at 11.30 in the morning was a pretty good way to start the day.

More information on Hennesy and the tour can be found on their website: http://www.hennessy.com/

Donkeys, and a bull

There are lots of animals in the local area. We went on a walk and discovered a field inhabited by four donkeys and a bull.

They were henceforth named as Phillipe, Phloppe, Kong, Brownie and Fabrizio (the bull).

Pictured is Phillipe ... no, it's Kong ... er ... actually I have no idea which one this is.

Château La Rochefoucauld

For our first full day in the French countryside we took a trip to the local town of La Rochefoucauld to take a look at the Château.

The family history for this building can be traced back to the 11th Century and viewed on the large genealogy diagrams on the walls of the chapel.

The Château has many levels with my favourite being the grotto two stories below the ground. This is a series of tunnels and caverns carved out of the rock which are pitch black apart from the dim lighting that adds to the spookiness.

On the top floor you will find the Salle De Oiseux. This is a room with clothing rails full of medieval costumes and headgear that you can try on. Pictured here is Jacq ready for battle with her war helmet and (plastic) sword of justice.

More on the Château can be found on their website: http://www.chateau-la-rochefoucauld.com/

Watching A380s coming to life at Toulouse Blagnac airport

Today I cashed in a couple hundred boyfriend points and went with Jacq to the Airbus tour at Toulouse's Blagnac airport.

Here they assemble every A380, A340, A330, A320 and a few other models that are then delivered to carriers across the world.

Our tour focussed on the A380. For 9.50 Euros each we got an insight into how the world's largest passenger aircraft is manufactured.

The tour started with a quick overview of the inaugural flight of the aircraft from April 2005 and were given a little insight into some of the many tests that the prototype models underwent in order to get certified by the FAA.

After that we boarded a bus that took us to one of the hangars where the aircraft are assembled. Parts are shipped in to Toulouse from the UK, Germany and parts of France via the Beluga A300's, barges and road transit. Then the pieces are assembled in Toulouse with just 2 weeks needed to put a completed aircraft together.

Airbus said they have over 240 orders for the A380s currently paid for with deliveries scheduled into 2014. Air France put in a request for an extended A380 that would be capable of carrying 1,000 passengers in a full 2-level economy configuration. The current 72m long A380's have a variety of capacities depending on the configuration ranging from 450 for Qantas up to 517 for Emirates and so on.

After visiting the hangar we had a quick look at a mockup interior which was interesting but pretty aged with a lot of the finishes tearing or peeling away.

The tour is a good insight into the manufacturing process of the A380, but aviation enthusiasts may be left wanting a little more. I would have liked to have been given a tour of the actual airport, to have seen the tower and to have taken a closer look at areas like the run up bays and other hangars. Getting closer to some more finished aircraft or being able to watch a few movements on tarmac would have been a nice bonus.

After the A380 experience, there was an option to take a Concorde tour (two of the original fleet are located at Blagnac) that you could purchase as well as the A380 tour but we only found this out at the end which was a bit disappointing.

All in all, not a bad morning for anyone interested in aviation, but a few little extras could have added a lot to the day.

Yes we Cannes...buy Chanel!

Getting to Cannes is exciting, you imagine yourself as some famous movie star, your film launching as part of the film festival and you can imagine it as you drive into town. The town is busy, very beachy and the stores scream money, LV, Dior, Prada, Miu Miu and of course Chanel.

We spent the morning wandering around, passing the main steps of the Grand Auditorium at the Casino. However it was obvious that they were taking advantage of the down time after this years festival and the works outside the Casino did bring our film star dream down a few pegs.

It can be tough finding somewhere to eat as there is a lot of tourist haunts offered along the water. We were lucky to find a sweet little cafe, just off the main strip where Stef got to relive a memory from long ago...the pan bagnat. For those, like me that aren't familiar, it is a tuna baguette but it is rated highly in the south and after tasting some, I can see why. Tres tasty.

After lunch it was time for a little indulgence, a purchase I have been building up for since we got here, my Chanel handbag. It was love as soon as I walked into the store. A quick swipe of the credit card and my beautifully gift wrapped purchases, a few presses were in their too, and we were off out of town. Thank you Cannes, you made my day.

Antibes

What can I say about our time in Antibes. Well it was simply amazing.

Antibes is such a beautiful place to go, about 30 minutes from Monaco, right in between Nice and Cannes, it would be easy to miss it amongst such popular places nearby. If you ever have the chance though, go. This place is something else. The med is so impressive as it is, but unlike the busier neighbours, Antibes is a little more relaxed, a little more quiet, a little more what we were after for a couple of days to rest.

Our quaint little hotel, situated one block back from the beach, offered everything we wanted. Run by a lovely yet, typical French couple, they offered us a fabulous suite so we jumped at it. We even had our own reading room. Each morning we sat in the courtyard and enjoyed our assorted baguettes, croissants, home made jams, yoghurts, fruit and juice whilst planning the day. It was heaven.

I think the best find of the town has to be the amazing food markets, held Tuesday to Sunday, offering cheeses, fruit, spices, olives and flowers and all so cheap but the best quality. You can easily picture yourself strolling into town each morning to pick up a fresh baguette and some fruit each morning.

The last two days have been such a needed break. Safe to say I am very sad to leave. Lucky a trip to Cannes is planned for tomorrow, which includes a weee Chanel purchase. That helps.

Living the highlife on the Mediterranean in Antibes

Today we spent our second day in Antibes rubbing shoulders with some very very VERY rich people. The harbour in this small town on the South of France is full of yachts and cruise liners, some of which (we Googled) are valued at over 60 million pounds.

So we decided to hire one for ourselves, and after a little negotiation got ourselves a cruise liner of our own. The "Poseidon 455" - basically a bathtub with a Vespa motor stuck on the back.

It was fun though, actually loads of fun, pootling around the Cap D'Antibes watching the fish, staring at the amazing boats and finding secluded bays to stop in. We dropped anchor at a beach away from the main harbour and bobbed around for an hour or so soaking up some sun and jumping in for a cooling swim in the Med.

We both drove, and Jacq became very good at pointing us into the wake of the big boats to try and bounce me out into the sea.

We both agreed that this was one of the most fun things we've done on the trip so far.

Monte Carlo and a special day

Monaco is really something else. It is tiny, one minute you are in
Monaco and then the next you are actually over the border and back in
France. Everything is so steep as it a town carved into a side of a
mountain and the wealth there is overwhelming.

It was a short trip but something very special and despite some bad
weather when we arrived, it was so fun walking then driving around the
Grand Prix circuit, visiting the Monte Carlo casino and wandering past
Prada, Valentino, Louis Vutton and of course Chanel.

An amazing dinner was had, oysters to celebrate of course followed by
some Laduree macaroons and some Tattinger Rose. Happy anniversary!

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Monaco Grand Prix

This is me driving up the start/finish straight as I ended a lap of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit.

Great fun driving over the red and white rumble strips around the corners.

I did it in 8mins something. A personal best, but the F1 lap record remains intact.

Dijon, city of Moutard

En route from Provins to Valence we stopped at Dijon, the home of the
famous mustard.

We popped into the Maille Mustard shop and bought a few jars, one of
which we've already cracked open for a car picnic.

The Notre Dame church pictured was beautiful too.

Dijon is well worth a visit if you get a chance. We also bought a
bottle of a local Boulogne red which we shall be opening as soon as we
find a shop that sells corkscrews...

Dijon to Valence with an unexpected detour.

We always knew that yesterday would be a driving day however, I don't
think either of us expected it to turn out as it did.

First we drove to Dijon, the home of the mustard and whilst there we
few signs of mustard making around and according to Wikipedia, there
is actually none there anymore, we did locate the Maille shop. A very
clever store on their behalf, purely for tourists, but full of some
great things and we stocked up on some mustard for lunch.

Our destination for the day was to be St-Etienne, so after a car
lunch, we headed off. Thanks to some confusing French signs, I
directed Stef to take the wrong turn and we ended up on a small detour
around Lyon, instead of driving straight past. What a mistake as it
was that Lyon, well was basically rubbish, full of traffic and smelt
really, really bad.

Spirits were down by the time we arrived in St-Etienne, only to
discover that it was a dive too so off we set for another hour to
Valence. Fingers were crossed Valence had more to offer....and it did.

Finally we arrived and the town was much nicer and we checked into a
hotel straight away and ventured off for some dinner. To pick our
spirits up, we thought we would treat ourselves to a nice meal at a
cute French bistro and we have both agreed it was the most amazing
meal we have had in a long time. They were so kind in helping us
decipher the menu and three courses each later, we collapsed into bed.

A long and tiring day, learning French roads, tolls and also to use
Google maps, but it all worked out in the end.

French life

I've read the book French Women Don't Get Fat, though I am not
sure if that philosophy applies to us all.

The food in each and every town we pass through is simply amazing.
Baguettes smell amazing and are always freshly baked, the cakes are
artworks and are so cheap and I won't even start on the cheese. When
there are about 10 boulangeries in every town, it is making it so hard
to say no.

The French women are all so chic and thin, I really don't know how
they resist the temptation. My jeans are already feeling snug.

Oooh, the coulommiers is ready to be eaten now....
X

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Provins

Our first day on the road and we've stopped for the night in the beautiful town of Provins.

The town used to hold host to Champagne fairs in the past and it's right in the heart of Brie region so Jacq and I are both very much at home here.

After checking in to our lovely hotel room, we walked to la Tour César that overlooks the town. Some of the buildings here were constructed in the 10th century, it really is the most picturesque French town and exactly what we wanted from our first day out of Paris.

La Tour Eiffel

A few photos of The Eiffel Tower taken on our last full day in Paris.

The protest was about France wanting to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62.

I think we both preferred the Eiffel Tower at night. It really is very
beautiful when it's lit up.

Au revoir Paris.

Afternoon snack

We came back to our apartment and fancied a snack, so we got a bottle of rose, some cheese and bread.

One of the cheeses was called Delice de Bourgogne. It retails for around $10 for a slice in Australia, we got a whole wheel of it for around $AUD4.

Love a lunch wine.

Dinner in Paris

Some photos of our dinner at Gallopin in Paris with Anita and Oz.

Pictured is a goats cheese and mushroom tart, Mediterranean vegetable terrine and salmon/cucumber tart.

The food was even tastier than it looks in these photos, and the staff were very forgiving with our attempts at French.

Wine in the supermarché

I wish our local Coles was like this - there's a whole aisle just for wine. We picked up a Bordeaux Rosé for €4.

Lunch in Paris

Deux salade nicoises, un peu du pain and a massive plate of chips.

Our Paris apartment

Some photos of our little Paris apartment on the 4th floor of a house on Rue St Martin in the Marais district.

Thankfully it has a lift.

The place is perfect. Has a little kitchen, bathroom with a laundry, big bed and balcony windows that open to the street below and let in heaps of natural light.

Off for a walk to get some food then down towards the Seine to be tourists.

Meeting Graham

This is a photo of me and my mate Graham at the Blue Post pub just off Carnaby Street.

It was really good catching up with an old friend I've known for almost 15 years now. A few of Jacq's friends also came out to see us on our last night in the UK before we head out to France.

A chat and a catchup over a few pints was the best way to end our time in London.

And now it's off to France (Le France according to Jacq)...

My family

Had a lovely morning with my sister and her son Sam around St Paul's and the river today.

We tried to get some corn on the cob from a Jamaican food stall at the little Thames River Market but the English service let us down again. "Erm, can you come back in 5 minutes mate?" we were asked even though there was no queue and we had our money out. We never went back.

After sadly saying bye to my sis and Sam, Jacq and I then wandered over to Borough Market to have a look around before heading back towards Gloucester Rd.