Impressions July 9

Impressions July 8th

Vero (short for Veronique) is very energetic and full of life. She is about my stature and build. Her smile is contagious. She is very patient and doesn't seem to mind explaining things or translating something into English. I think that is a sign of a good B & B hostess! She is very comfortable in either language.

Peter reminds me of a big teddy bear. He moves at a slower pace and is methodical and thoughtful. He is patient with us as well and stresses we shouldn't do anything we don't feel comfortable doing. He's a great host too with their clients attending to their needs. He often has recommendations for places to go. He keeps us focused and generally does the shopping every day for the food we need and hardware for repairs. Writing out a shopping list he takes seriously as he doesn't like to take 2 trips.

Two Weeks into France

It is so neat to see the family pictures on the walls of the villa. You can read more on their blog called Postcards from a French Inn. There are 5 rooms that are for guests and most of them can hold an extra bed or two for children. All the furniture is old dating back 100 years or more. Many of the sheets come from Vero's grandmother. They are made of cotton and have the most beautiful embroidery or lace on the top border, often with the family initials. Unfortunately, they all have to be ironed! I think Vero spends 6-8 hours a week just ironing. All the guest napkins have to be washed and ironed too. Obviously if we can get guests who stay for a week, that lightens the load.

The grounds are beautiful.   Entering through the front gate you have flower gardens on the right and a small lawn on the left in front of the 2 apartments. On the hill above the flower garden is the herb garden. It has 3 small rows each with 3 squares. The beds are held in place by ancient stone from the original construction. The area is tucked away from view and the rosemary seems to like being forgotten. Thyme, sage and mint keep the rosemary company.

In the rear of the house on the north side is the vegetable garden. It seems very hardy and I try to keep a close eye on it. The onions do much better than mine in Colorado. There are some new raspberry plants starting to produce and 4 currant bushes. Anne and I harvested those this week. They will be made into currant jelly and crème de cassis – a delightful liquor to make a Kir Royal (champagne with the currant liquor).

 

Next to the garden is a 20 meter covered pool. I was able to swim some laps on the 2^nd day. It's not the normal length but it's better than nothing. Directly behind the villa is the terrace and another small yard and a new patio in process. Finally behind the terrace wall you will find the chicken yard and coup. The girls have been rather slow with their egg production, but hopefully they will pick up as the summer progresses.

Oh, and did I mention there is a special outdoor clay pizza oven. Yes, you build the fire in it to heat up the oven and then using a long paddle, shove the pizza into the oven and bake away. We had a party the other night for 14 and cooked all the pizza in the outdoor oven. It was superb.

I feel like I am in a novel written centuries ago. The dress has changed and electricity has arrived but the charm and ambiance of a little village and a family villa are still very much in present day time.