My basket now...

basket stall, Loches market

As fellow teachers will know it is amazing how much stuff one schlepps to and fro to school on a daily basis. My collection is usually an amalgm of: papers to hand back, DVDs, papers to mark, notes, files, the odd spare copy of a text and all manner of other gubbins; such as enough keys to sink a jailor, a memory stick or three [aka clé USB] and of course my laptop.

Nothing odd in that, but it all needs to be carried around in something. 

While our friend Jane was visiting us earlier this month we went to Loches' Saturday market. Right at the crossroads of two of the main streets there's a lovely and much photographed basket stall. It sits on a corner diagonally opposite the fountain and always has a host of beautifully colored and patterned baskets. Here Jane very kindly bought me a lovely basket as a belated birthday present. It is just the right size to cart a whole load of stuff to school in and I was going to start using it when school re-starts.

mine, all mine

Perhaps not..... 

As of this morning Tinka seems to have taken up squatter's rights.....

Cyclamen & Peaches

ripening peaches

It is a slightly odd time of year right now. We're on the cusp between two seasons. The temperatures have soared since the tail-end of last week and our thermometer has been registering temps well above 30C--exactly what you'd expect in summer. Cats are splayed out in the shadiest places and don't even have the inclination to chase the lizards. The cricket is on BBC radio 4 long wave. Yes, we may be living in France but some things are simply non-negotiable. I look at our little peach tree and see the ripening fruits which will be ready to pick soon and all feels 'right and in it's proper place', as it were, for summer.

By contrast when I look at the foot of our red maple the ground is beginning to get its carpet of pale pink and white cyclamen--definitely an autumnal flower.

pale pink cyclamen

The 'Rentrée' - as the French term the return to school has also reared it's head; and not just in the supermarkets, where any and everything to do with school has been in evidence for some time. Far too soon now summer will officially be over when school starts in early September. This means I'm also going to have to settle down behind my desk and do some work! I have done some prep in gentle intervals for the new school year but that doesn't mean there still isn't a fair bit to do.

Outside the grass continues to grow in summer fashion and the hollyhock and hibiscus are still in good flower. At the same time the walnuts have started dropping. Just the odd one but nevertheless a little 'head's up' for autumn. 

just some of the wood needing sorting!

Soon Niall will be tackling the woodshed, tidying it up ready for storing logs. It is a spider-y business best left to him! Then there's the salvaging of useful wood from the inherited woopile for us to chainsaw into the right size for the woodburner. There was a shed, but it had all but disintegrated leaving a dangerously unstable corrugated iron roof which we had removed. The thought of it taking off in a wind was a scary one. In taking it down the wood which had still been partly protected fell into an even more untidy heap than it had been before. Still we are pleasantly surprised at how much is still usable. There's also the delivery of 10 stere [10 cubic meters] of logs to look forward to and the job of turning it into a properly tarped woodpile.

It is definitely tipping towards autumn.....but not quite.... yet!

Home from Dutch adventures

The lake on the walkies route

The weather has turned warm and sunny to welcome us back from a few days in the Netherlands. Our cats are in a humph at our 'desertion' despite being spoilt by our neighbour Alexandra, but hopefully they will relent soon.

Pepper: grande dame & boss dog

According to 3 different route planners we should have driven via Paris, then A1 to Lille--notoriously hectic, Gent, Antwerp and Breda to reach our destination in Utrecht. Instead we took a totally different route and ignored their advice. Firstly as getting round Paris can be 'affreux'; and secondly because we knew there were roadworks in Belguim--Gent & Antwerp and in The Netherlands--Breda.  

Loulou: "I'm so pretty"

Our route took us via  Orléans, then  across to Sens and Troyes and then up to Reims. From Reims we cut up to Charleville Mezieres and Sedan. There we popped over the border into Belgium at Boullion and up to Liege and Maastricht and finally on to Utrecht via Eindhoven.

Both there and back the (toll) roads were quiet and the drive serene and stress free--the way driving ought to be. Cruise control virtually all the way. It only got a bit busy on the stretch between Maastricht and Utrecht, but then The Netherlands is a very densly populated country.

Roosje [not a cat!!]

We had an excellent time. We were able to get all the admin bits relating to family matters done with a minimum of fuss. This meant that we were able to meet with various friends and former teaching colleagues to catch up on all the news. We just wish we'd had time to fit a few more visits in--there's never enough time! It was also good to re-visit old stamping grounds and see what had changed and what hadn't as we wrote about in the post on Wassenaar [the one previous to this].

Walkies!!

Ida, the relative we were staying with has 3 wire-haired dachshunds: Pepper, Loulou and Roosje, who are as cute a pie as well as lively and mischievious.
Pepper is a sprightly senior citizen aged 12 and top dog. Loulou is a beautiful golden colour and hyper-active and Roosje, the youngest of the bunch; a sweetie who rolls over for tummy scritches at the slightest glimpse of a man! 

On the last evening of our visit there was time for the 'ladies' to take Niall for a walk round the park with canals and a lake which is near to Ida's house.

Wassenaar revisited

Grain mill the "Windlust"

 Right now we're in The Netherlands. On Monday we drove up here to spend a few days visiting friends and to sort out a bit of 'corvé' as our neighbour, Alexandra calls it--bits and pieces of family related business.

Today we were in Wassenaar. We used to live here when we taught at the International School of The Hague. It is a village which used to be quite rural but is now just a hop, skip and jump away from The Hague and Leiden. This means it is a highly sought after location for many expats who need to live within easy commuting distance.

We loved living in Wassenaar because it has never lost its village feel and still has a nice mix of restaurant/cafes and independent shops.

Langstraat looking east

 The "Windlust" a 'classic' Dutch windmill, was used to mill grain, not pump water. It is the centre of the village and is a listed historic building. The ground floor houses a little studio and art gallery. When we lived in Wassenaar very occasionally one of the bakeries sold bread which was made with flour milled in the Windlust. This was quite a special event and the loaves sold out incredibly quickly.

typical old houses by the church

 The main street, the "Langstraat" is pedestrianised and runs west- east. Once upon a time it was a street lined with houses some of which had very smart facades. Now almost all are shops or little boutiques and if you look up you can still see the original windows and gables.

The 17th century white house in the photo on the left was once the library and is now a small YMCA. Not a bad place for a backpacker to spend a night.

Amboise impressions

Loire river at Amboise

On Monday our friend Jane had to return to the UK. As she had an evening flight from Charles de Gaulle [Paris] we didn't need to drop her off at the TGV station in St Pierre des Corps for her train to the airport until 5pm.

After a lazy start we decided to drive up to Chenonceau and walk along the tow path on the south side of the river Cher. That way Jane could see the outside and get some nice pics. The chateau itself was heaving. There was no other word for it--endless rows of tour buses and a parking lot full to the bursting. Exactly the type of visit to be avoided, so we decided to save it for the next time she comes to see us.

cafe & brasserie row below the castle

But the best-laid plans.... we had forgotten the weather. The rain we've been having turned one of the little bridges the towpath has into an absolute quagmire. The soupy mud was a barrier to anyone not kitted out in proper boots [which we weren't wearing]. So no pics as the chateau was still hidden by trees and a bend in the river.

super tempting chocolatier/patissier

After that we drove over to Amboise and were lucky enough to get a parking space right under the castle--one of Francois 1er's. Amboise was busy. Its castle, on a bluff over-looking the river Loire, with its royal connections is a strong draw for tourists, as is the Clos du Lucé. Francois 1er gifted this residence to Leonardo da Vinci who lived out his last years as a pensioner of the French king. It is an excellent museum and houses wooden models [to scale] of all Leonardo's inventions. 

looking up at the chateau chapel

Sadly we didn't have time to visit and settled for an enjoyable wander round Amboise's lively streets. We resisted the lure of a super-tempting chocolatier & patissier who sold a treat called 'baises d'Amboise' a confection made from meringue. Instead we found a brasserie and opted for: a sensible salad--Jane & Antoinette, and an omelette--Niall. 

It had been a lovely visit: a great mix of doing touristy things, catching up on all the news about mutual friends and doing some great reminiscing. Lastly we drove along the Loire via Montlouis back to the TGV station where we said 'au revoir' to Jane.