Bonjour!

Ahhhhhh Bonjour mes amis!!! How have you been? It feels like I've been away for aaaaages! Very glad to be back here I have to say, I've been trying to find time all week to pop in and say hello but it just hasn't been happening. Have managed to carve out a little bit of breathing space now though, and am here with some photographs to share with you from my sunny trip away to France last week.

The memories from last week are still so very fresh in my mind, although they feel a little bit dream-like now I am home. This is the beautiful villa that we called "home" last week, it was a wonderful light, spacious and peaceful place for sure. Petah from Provence Temptations had sent me some pictures of the villa, but it was so much more beautiful in real life.

As you know, I adore taking in a homely landscape view, and I spent quite a bit of time leaning out of the wide open windows at the villa gazing out. It looked so beautiful and not too dissimilar from what I am used to. Cute rooftops and chimneys, old walls and lush trees, distant hills and wide skies.

That large mountainous looking heap in the distance is Mont Ventoux. It was oddly exciting to look out of the window and see a real, genuine mountain. Definitely not Yorkshire!

This was the view I woke up to each morning, the view from my bedroom window. It was incredibly peaceful, apart from a little noise from the local vineyard as truck loads of grapes were unloaded in a tumbling heap.

It's hard to describe the beauty of the light, it was just so very lovely. The mornings often started out quite hazy and misty with pale sunbeams shafting gently in through the trees, but as the day wore on, the sky cleared and the sunlight was bright and intense. The night sky was equally astonishing due to the complete absence of light pollution (the villa was in a very rural location, a small village surrounded by open countryside). The stars were extraordinarily bright and there were so many of them! Great swathes of them spattered across the sky, far, far more than we ever get to see here in town. Some nights I would wake unexpectedly, pad across the tiled floor and go to the open window just to breathe in the sent of the cool night air and feast my eyes upon the starry sky.

The week was a very busy one, with a full itinerary of places to go and things to see. We started each day together around this table enjoying a truly scrumptious breakfast. The ripest, juiciest peaches, warm flaky croissants, fresh rustic bread delivered from the local bakery each morning, spread with creamy farmhouse butter and fruity preserves. And lets not forget the coffee. Ohhhhh the coffee had me in raptures! A shot of rich espresso topped with lots of hot milk, I adored it. Me thinks I definitely need to be a super-good girl and write a letter to Father Christmas to beg for one of these. Pretty Please Mr C.

I took a heap load of photos last week, hundreds of them. I tried hard to capture the beauty of the landscape which day after day took my breath away. The landscape in Provence is just so rich and full and alive. Beautiful fields planted with row upon row of grape vines, cherry and apple orchards, lavender and olives. There is something so pleasing about gazing upon rows of planted stuff, whatever it may be, it made me feel so happy just being surrounded by it as we drove around.

The above olive tress happen to be very special indeed. They are situated just outside Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, a place made famous after Van Gogh did many of his paintings here.

It was remarkable to stroll amongst these ancient trees, it felt exactly like stepping into one of Van Gogh's paintings. We were actually having a picnic here, just imagine that! Sitting eating a picnic lunch inside a famous painting! It blew my mind a little every time I thought about it.

I need to tell you about the picnics we had last week. Oh boy. Such a feast for the senses. Eating this type of food happens to be amongst my all time favourites (alongside Spanish tapas and Greek meze), and we often picnic this way as a family. It speaks to me of relaxation, good company and happiness. Crusty fresh bread. A selection of local cheeses (ooooo do you see the little round one wrapped up in vine leaves? It was smelly and delicious!), a little paté, some simple salad and the most beautiful, sweet sun ripened tomatoes.

A glass of chilled white wine accompanied this plate full (well actually I confess I may have had two or three plate fulls), and it was completely Yum. Yum-yum-yum.

The above scene was our view across a picnic lunch on another day, near to the incredibly beautiful village of Roussillon (more of that divine place to come). See how blue the sky is? I can tell you that spending a week in Provence in October is really exquisite in terms of the weather. Hot enough to laze around comfortably in a light summer dress and to feel pleasantly warmed through to ones bones without breaking a sweat.

Bread and tomatoes for lunch.

The tomatoes were utterly delicious. And so big and unreal looking!

More cheesy delights too, gosh I ate a lot of this stuff last week, couldn't get enough of it. A mixture of sheeps cheese, goats cheese and cows cheese, it was all quite strong, ripe and whiffy and not the type of cheese I usually eat (we mostly eat local cheddar and Wensleydale up here in Yorkshire), but I loved it. The whole Cheese Appreciation thing struck me as being a very French experience. I loved that when we ate out in restaurants, there was generally a course served in between the main meal  and the desert which consisted of a bowl of fresh green salad and a selection of cheeses. What fun! I am going to try this at home for sure, I'm think the Little People would enjoy it.

So.....I've talked a lot about landscape and weather conditions, views and fodder, but hey, what about the hooky time?? Well truthfully there wasn't a huge amount of time each day for dedicated crochet, but we did always carry it with us Just In Case. I think there is something extra special about crocheting in the Great Outdoors, it's as if the memories of the time and place, of the light and landscape get captured within the stitches. It was pure pleasure to sit in a sun warmed field after a delicious lunch, chatting and laughing with yarn and hook in hand.

I really, really enjoyed watching other people at work with my yarns, colours and designs. Once I got over my initial nervousness about the whole thing (oh dear, I really was soo nervous!), I realised that my project was bringing a lot of fun and enjoyment to everyone. It was the best feeling. The best.

We did crochet at the villa too of course. The living area was comfy and spacious and we enjoyed many mornings and evenings sat here with a coffee/glass of wine, chatting, laughing and  creating. On the very first evening when I introduced my project, I turned the coffee table into a yarn palette so that I could rabbit on about my way of using  and choosing colours. I found I was able to verbalise a fair bit of what I do instinctively with colour, and I did really enjoy talking about it and discussing the use of colour in general. If you are interested in this sort of thing, I have written about it before here.

If you look back at the first picture in this post, the picture of the villa, you will see this amazing balcony that runs across the front. It was a beautiful place for us to sit and work, and I have such lovely memories from my time sat in this peaceful place.

By the way, I'm not deliberately keeping you in suspense about the project we worked on in Provence (honest!), I just need to take some more pictures first. All will be revealed very soon I promise.........

....it was great fun I have to say.

Would you like to come on a trip with me tomorrow? Yes? Great stuff, I'm going to take you to market! See you soon, don't be late...

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Comments

[Megan]

Looks like SO much fun!! :) :)

[tara]

wahou!!!! you were in france!!!! so marvellous moments! many thanks to share them with us...I would love to meet you^^

[Elaine]

Hey Lucy! Glad you're back & that you had such a wonderful time. Pictures are beautiful. Can't wait to see your new project. Thanks for sharing.

[Susan wright]

Hello Lucy , we have missed you. Oh it looks wonderful. Can't wait for more. Sue xx

[patonslake]

I'm envious!! Next time, I hope to be there!

[MsZeb]

Can't wait! I am a bit addicted (can you be a 'bit' addicted?) to your blog.

[Sarah A]

I thought of your trip last week anticipating seeing your gorgeous photos!! I am sure it was amazing! Thanks for "bringing" us along!

[coco]

I missed you. What you descripe is beautiful.....

[Pamela Mc]

I've only recently discovered your Blog, and I've missed you!I love the way you put colours together and how you make your home look so cheery with your crochet items

[Louise]

Brilliant! I love the photos and descriptions, it sounds like a magical place. Can't wait for tomorrow's crochet post!.

[margaret]

Wow- it sounds fabulous and I can hardly wait to read more! Welcome back!

[Jacquie]

Welcome back Lucy , I've been looking forward to these posts soooooooo much .I'm glad all went well and looking forward to hearing more........it looks like a magical place.
Jacquie x

[Nani]

Nespresso, whatelse! ;)
What a beautiful place and your yarn always so colourful.

[Anne Marie]

Wow, what a time you have had. I had a Magimix Nespresso machine, not quite so cool as the one you like but I love it. Maybe next time I will get a Pixie. Do get one and try all the lovely Lungos which are a little longer than the espresso.

Your food photos look fabulous, love cheese. I cant wait to see the rest of the pics.

[Anne Marie]

Forgot to say, inspired by your ripple, I have been doing one, a little lap blankette which is looking rather delicious if I may say so.

[Fruitful Fusion]

Looking forward to reading more about it! Looks gorgeous!!!

[Kate]

Welcome back, so pleased it went well- just knew you would be brilliant, even if you didn't! So pleased it went well for you.
I envy you the warmth and seeing the stars at night...and the cheeses...

[Fiona]

Glad you had such a wonderful time. Looks really lovely. Really looking forward to hearing more. Fiona x

[Brenda]

Yay! You are back, I have been waiting for you to return and see your posts on France. I have just had 2 days in paris - very exciting for an aussie, all the way to the other side of the world. We also went to the uk, and guess what we drove right past your little part of the world! I have relatives in draughton! What a beautiful part of the world, you are so lucky to live where you do. Can't wait to see more xxBrenda

[Ellie]

Nice to have you back! Looks like you've had lots of fun. I can't get over those October skies. I could do with some of them right here in Dorset this weekend.
Looking forward to the next instalment.
Ellie
x

[Lynda M O]

Loving the tour of that fabuloous countryside. Thanks for taking us with you, Lucy.

[Ada Bea]

Welcome back! Looks like you've had a great time! Ada :)

[Chel]

Welcome back and can't wait to open the page tomorrow on Chapter 2 xx

[Bonnie]

Totally fantastic! Love the details you used and those tomatoes are amazing! Can't wait to see/hear more about the crochet!

[Katy]

Welcome back, lovely photos and descriptions! Have been sooooo looking forward to your return post, and look forward to chapter two! (Nespresso is the best, get one!!) x