A newsletter about France with soul

Bonjour,

I hope you and yours are well.

I’m just back from a grand tour of the south of France to explore Grasse, the perfume capital of France and the lovely villages that surround it. Then I went to the Côte d’Azur, or French Riviera as we call it in English, to find the prettiest villages and lovely towns outside of the main resorts. And then on to Provence to discover the wines of the Rhone Valley, explore the area and discover some of its secrets – exquisite villages, and things to do.

Travelling is just one part of my life, the rest is all about home, my husband Mark, my lovely neighbours, growing vegetables, writing, renovating our old farmhouse (alas, despite our plans, we didn’t finish this year, so we’re now in the 22nd year of renovation) learning to cook, and caring for my animals. I have 4 dogs, 6 cats, umpteen chickens, and Charlie the hedgehog. Charlie lived in the house with us a couple of winters ago after we found him starving and wandering disoriented in the garden and took him in to nurture him through the cold months. We released him when it was time, and off he went. But he soon came back, dined with the stray cats each night (we put food out for them), and bought more hedgehogs with him and now we have quite a community of them in the garden. They visit, eat, wind the dogs up then disappear to their dens. But Charlie discovered that the stray cats have nice cosy beds in their little hut, and he’s moved in. I’ll pop a photo on Instagram shortly (ps I’m sharing little stories, vignettes of life in rural France – my neighbours, animals and daily goings on – on Instagram – feel free to join me!).

Meanwhile, the temperature here in the north is cooling daily, the clear sky twinkles at night with millions of stars, mist covers the valley in the morning when the grass is heavy with dew before the sun comes up and lights up the gold, copper and crimson leaves of trees and bushes. The hedgerows are heavy with berries, and I can feel the first nip of frost waiting to make its debut for the season. Claudette, my nonagenarian neighbour, of course has a quote for autumn, it is her speciality to know the most beautiful phrases of literary giants including Albert Camus who said, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”

And one last thing – if you’re dreaming of, or planning to move to France and you’re anywhere near Cheltenham, England, pop along to the French Property Show this weekend, and meet some lovely people who would love to help you, experts in buying property and living in France – from visas, to healthcare, working, admin and more – anything and everything France (and if you miss this event, we’ll be back in April – The French Property Show is held twice a year in the UK).

Wishing you a very bon weekend,
Bisous from France,
Janine
Editor

PS Top photo: Autumn in Provence, looking over the tiny village of Suzette, Vaucluse

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