Wonderbox..

Our neighbours very kindly bought us a Wonderbox gift last year for our wedding. The package entitled us to a night away in a wide choice of hotels. It has taken us a year to get round to organising it but this last week we had a couple of days away, staying the night at our chosen hotel, Hotel du Donjon in Aulnay de Saintonge in the Charente Maritime region of France.

We decided to explore the wider region before going to the hotel and Saintes, some 41k south of Aulnay seemed to have a good deal to offer. On the right bank of the Charente is the Arch of Germanicus, built in 18-19AD. It was originally built in front of the bridge which crossed the Charente but was relocated and restored following the demolition of the bridge in the 19th century.

On the left bank of the Charente is another surprise: the remains of a Roman Ampitheatre (41-54AD) in a small valley. The Ampitheatre could house up to 20,000 spectators and a visit to the site is well worth the rather "undulating" walk from the centre..

The walk back to the town lead us to a vantage point where the Cathédrale Saint‑Pierre de Saintes

 stands out against the backdrop of red tiled rooftops....

The Cathedral can also be seen from the Jardin Public, a beautifully designed park, with a glorious combination of colour, texture, formal and informal planting ..

After a day enjoying the sights of Saintes we were ready to get to our hotel. Our room was very comfortable and the patron, friendly and helpful. 

We found a restaurant in for our evening meal in Saint-Jean-d'Angély. Le Petit Bouchon served well cooked, home made food - just what we needed!

Unfortunately we were beaten by the rain on our second day, but we still managed a walk along the beach at Chatelaillon plage, before making a dash back for the car and home.

Thank you, Nathalie and Jean-Noel for a wonderful Wonderbox of a present!

Musée d'Orsay, Paris

After queuing in the rain for quite some time we expected great things of the Musée d'Orsay and we were not disappointed.

The former Gare d'Orsay, (read more here) has been transformed into an elegant museum housing some of the finest collections of sculpture, art and furniture.

The following photos give a glimpse of the elegance of the building and the quality of design which has transformed it into one of the most popular museums in Paris.

The art collections are housed to the left and right of this central gallery..

I was keen to see the collection of Art Nouveau, which contained, among other things, some beautiful pieces of glassware and furniture..

The following gives a sense of scale..

The whole had been beautifully and elegantly designed....

Even the cafeteria had chairs which could only be described as art installations in their own right!

If you visit one museum in Paris, from our experience, make it the Musée d'Orsay!

A Cruise on the Seine.. in the rain....

Well it didn't rain all the time!

We had arranged to meet up with my daughter, Jane and her partner, Stephen who were staying in Paris for a few days.

As part of the day we pre-booked an hour's cruise on the Seine with Vedettes du Pont-Neuf, which proved a good choice. The rain certainly didn't spoil our enjoyment and at one point the rain cleared long enough for us to go on the top deck and get some photos..

The student of tourism who was our guide for the cruise was both informative and interesting, pointing out the landmarks en route:

But it was the less obvious points of interest which we found most fascinating.

The first photo, below, shows the Gare d'Orsay, which now houses the Musee d'Orsay. I was surprised to learn its history.

To read more on this here. (Also more of the Musee d'Orsay tomorrow.)

The Alexander III Bridge has in its centre the arms of Paris, flanked on the upstream side by nymphs of the Seine and on the downstream side by nymphs of the Neva, marking a strange alliance between Paris and St Petersburg. To read more, see here.

At the centre of the next photo is the smallest facade on the Seine in Paris. It has only two floors and two windows (but probably costs the earth!)

Pont-Neuf, dating from the 17th century, was the first bridge to be built without houses on it. The faces carved on the front of the bridge depict the friends and ministers of Henry IV, so the people could mock them each day as they passed!

This last, shows Jane and me, with Stephen unintentionally hiding behind Jane. Colin did a good job to get a semi-decent photo, as I was full of a cold and certainly not at my best!!

We followed the cruise with a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral where a wedding was taking place. Colin captured the sheer boredom of the bridesmaids and page boy...

It was a grand ceremony but not surprisingly it lacked any sense of intimacy. I certainly don't think I would have wanted to get married with hordes of tourists filing past!

Lunch followed and then the next stage of our day in Paris: a visit to the Musee d'Orsay.

More of this tomorrow!

A Celebration with the "Village People"!

To help us celebrate our first wedding anniversary we had invited friends from the village to come round.

As we'd been out to Saumur for the afternoon, the cake I'd made got very hurriedly decorated - but a few flowers can hide a multitude of mistakes!

The plate full of chocolate brownies went down a treat too!

We hadn't expected the beautiful gifts they brought us..

 We are very lucky to have met such a friendly group of people. We missed one couple who were away on holiday and another lady who, sadly, wasn't well, but it was a great way to celebrate.

It was only when everyone had gone, that we realised the significance of Philippe's comment: "souvenez-vous?" when he handed Colin the bottle....

This was his "home brew" and we had tasted it (with relish) at the meal he had invited us to back in August.

Yes, Philippe, we certainly do remember!!

ps. another example of the generosity of local people.... yesterday evening a very polite young girl rang our bell asking for help as she had a heavy nose bleed. We did what anyone would have done and invited her in to have a wash etc.. and off she went on her way, expressing her gratitude.

We just answered the door again and it was the same young girl with her mum and sister and this...

What a wonderful surprise and how very humbled we feel!

First Anniversary...

Exactly twelve months ago Colin and I married on a beautiful day, much like the one we're enjoying today..

I said at the time that this was the happiest day of my life. I should perhaps have said this was just the start of the happiest time of my life.

Thank you, Colin. You're the best husband I could wish for! Happy First Wedding Anniversary! xx

And for those friends who so kindly bought us a lovely Lagerstroemia...

That's blossoming too!

A Tale of Two Gardens...

After a couple of weeks of hard labour in our garden in England....

we arrived back in Braye today to start all over again! 

The one bonus, however, was that we were able to go out and gather our evening meal...

That makes it all worthwhile!

ps. the cucumber weighed in at 2lb 10oz and was delicious!

Chinon Nuclear Facility...

and EDF are having an open weekend

And after security clearances we have been accepted to go...

That is provided we both stay... "Etre en bonne condition physique"

BUT we are not sure we are that now!!!  Looking forward to it anyway!!