Vacances Français

My parents bought a house in France back in 2013 and so far we've enjoyed many lovely holidays out there in all manner of weather. Their house is typically French with quirky décor and used to be a cattle barn. It is situated in the beautiful Loire Valley, not far from the stunning riverside town of Saumur.

The house when my parents purchased it Autumn, 2013

 

My parents have done a wonderful job of giving the house a bit of care and it's beginning to look fantastic inside and out. My Dad is retired and spent much of last year out in France doing updates to the house which has included putting a small extension on the back of the property which now houses a kitchen (before it just had a sink, one counter and two hob rings!). My mum was still working last year and would visit Dad in France as often as she could in order to lend him a hand. They have a lovely spacious garden and views over the fields and forests nearby, with only a handful of houses nearby. They also have a very handsome Percheron stallion for a neighbour in a paddock opposite their house and I think they enjoy giving "Horace" his daily carrot.

 

The lovely new kitchen extension my Dad has done

 

My Mum retired earlier this year and my parents decided to sell the house my brother and I grew up in and bought a lovely bungalow in Overstrand, Norfolk. It's a lovely place and they have a generous garden here too. Their new home in Norfolk is now a holiday let and they intend on spending most of next year in France while renting out their place in Norfolk. I miss them a lot as we only see each other once a month or so, but I'm so happy they're enjoying themselves and believe it or not it's actually easier to see them in France sometimes than it is in Norfolk! My Mum has always wanted her "little place in France" and she's made me believe that if you work hard enough and keep believing, your dreams can come true.

 

As mentioned before, we've had some fantastic holidays out in France with them already. We even took our friends out there this year and had a great time. I'm totally in love with French food (all food actually) and I loved popping to the bakery each morning to fetch some warm fresh 'pain tradition'. The roof of my mouth is usually shredded to pieces by the time we get home from France after all the lovely crusty bread. Jack and I have been out to France a couple of times with my parents too; Jack isn't one for sitting around and I think my Dad is very grateful for Jack's help with DIY and gardening jobs at "Le Petit Noisette" (our nickname for the house). Mum and I tend to supervise from nearby sun loungers or we can be found pottering around Mum's new flower beds out there tending to the plants. Dad's next challenge is to build veg boxes for Mum, she's keen to get growing her own produce out there.

 

Saumur view: Chateau and Loire River

 

This shows some of Dad's hard work; he's landscaped the garden, built a proper Boules court and built a terrace to provide some shade from the summer sunshine!

 

Beautiful roses in Mum's French garden, this one I've nicknamed the Rhubarb & Custard rose!

 

Pretty Saumur in the evening

 

Watching a performance at the Cadre Noir, fantastic!

 

Anyway, just a small blog post about it, I'm sure there'll be plenty of French holiday photos to come on here, along with holidays in Norfolk too no doubt! We're out to France again for five days next month, can't wait... :-)