a château in normandy

Today I am taking you to dream of living in the heart of Normandy, to a beautiful château with nothing but fields and private woodlands all around.   This beauty is further west from us, in a part of normandy known for its grand homes and rolling countryside.  Can't say that there's a lot to do once you're there but, hey!  in a place that looks this good, does that matter?!

 No need for too many words, these stunning pictures do the work for me.  Just know that it was built over the 16th 17th and 18th century, and comes with its own 32 hectares or 80 acres of land.

I so love these double sides steps down into the lower garden ...

 

and if you'd like to find the details of this beauty, and several others!, you are welcome to check out the real estate site here

dahlias from my french garden

One of the the cool things about writing a blog is that I can justify, to myself at least, taking half an hour out from work and fooling around with flowers in my garden.

Today is grey, and damp, and sort of fuzzy, with a little normandy drizzle falling from the sky  ... and I love it!  I know that those of you heading into summer in Australia or enjoying gentle sunshine in California, may think I'm mad, but there is comfort in grey damp weather.

So with a little help from two young men I found hanging around in the garden ...

I started wandering around with my camera and secateurs....

then I got out a table, and a few props ....

and before I knew it, I had a little photo shoot going on here ....

It doesn't take much to keep me happy ...

and a little later on I had to put everything away, then thought these colours would like nice in a tureen I found at a fair on Sunday, .....  so I'm afraid you now have to sit through a few more !

I hope you enjoyed the pics!

floating down the river in Normandy

There are good reasons for the Seine valley in Normandy to have been so popular with Impressionist painters.  The light, the rolling hills, the combination of old stone-built villages with farm land, and of course the river itself.

Today, river cruises are a popular way of seeing some of the sights, with the obligatory stops at Giverny, Rouen and Le Havre, but if you go by car  there are so many other really good bits in between.

Here is just a taster: my way of showing you some of the reasons that I love this part of France.  Pictures taken of the riverside town of La Bouille; the Château de Soquence; the Abbey de Jumieges; and de Wandrille.

And if you find yourself in Normandy one day, and you have some time to spare, then do your own exploring and check out some of the gardens, abbeys and tiny villages in this quiet rural part of France.

PS  Don't forget this week's giveaway, entries close tomorrow midnight!

all pictures thanks to google images