Remembering our ANZACs

Today we took a drive to Lourmarin, and even though I've been spotting poppies everywhere since arriving in Provence, the poppies today were something else. So fitting on Anzac Day.

Poppies were said to have been the first plant to have sprung up in the ravaged battlefields of Belgium and Northern France, and seeing them in all their glory today was quite moving.

In the town, this war memorial in the primary school reads "to the children of Lourmarin who died for France" and sadly many siblings were listed. Very moving.

Lest we forget ....

A xx

From market to table

It's seems all of Provence is enthralled with the harvest of asparagus. Driving through the countryside  there are little pop up stalls and signs directing us to asparagus farms. The market tables are overflowing with all varieties....

So today's shopping was quite simple... eschalots, mushrooms and freshly picked asparagus.

Et voila ... the most delicious risotto I ever did taste! Bon Appetit :)

A xx

Backtrack to London

How good is London in the Spring!

The gardens are in bloom, everyone is happy to be enjoying the sunshine, the pubs are sprawling onto the streets, and with E's love of buses and trains London transport was a dream come true.

Of course, travelling with a 2 year old means we spend a LOT of time in parks .... and even though we've been to London numerous times, the parks and gardens were something we had never really appreciated until now.

We hit up Hyde Park to see the ducks, had lunch along the Serpentine, played in Kensington Gardens, strolled Notting Hill and enjoyed a long Sunday lunch in the sun, waved to the Queen at Buckingham Palace and joined the crowds of tourists at Westminster and Big Ben.

A xx

We have arrived

We are two weeks from home and one week into France, and it is starting to feel real.

We are here. For. A. Long. Time.

We knew it would take some time to start sinking in, it doesn't feel like a 3 week dash from work. When you have 200-odd days yet to experience you have to pace yourself, which is what we have done and it allows you plenty of time to stop and smell the flowers... (Alison's latest obsession is to point out poppies along the roadside and compare prices of peonies in the market!)

We have a car, a cottage, a yard for E, a dog that visits us and a main street nearby that is dotted with boulangeries, patisseries and restaurants. Perfect!

The adventure to get here was a lot of fun. Dubai, London, Lyon, Uzes and now buried in Maussane-les-Alpilles, IN THE HEART OF PROVENCE.

We haven't busted out the white linen pants yet, that will take some time, but we are beginning to feel at ease with our little French life...

Scott

Au revoir mes amis

24 hours till take off!!!

It's been over 6 months of planning and we have needed every minute of that time to make this happen....

* Flights - easy. Finally we will get to see what a million frequent flyer points get us (lots of champagne and an eye mask I suspect).
* French Visa - not so easy. Wow, talk about french bureaucracy. Bank statements, lease agreements, police checks, health checks, a promise not to work, our intentions in France, our life story, my left kidney, you get the drift.
* Car - not so easy. How on earth do you buy and insure a car when you do not have a permanent french address?!
* Accomodation - well, this was the fun bit. Hours and hours of trawling through rental houses to find our perfect summer house in Provence. I admit I had quite a few requirements for my dream home - must be a restored farmhouse, must have shutters, hydrangeas would be ideal, obviously needs a pool, view would be preferable. Too picky?
* Learn French - fairly important you would think, there's only so many croissants I can order before that runs dry. Alas, I have run out of time to take my french lessons seriously and my high school french will have to do for now. C'est la vie.

We've finally finished work, myself on a sabbatical and Scott permanently.

We've rented out the house. 

Taylor has moved into mum and dad's place. 

The bags are packed.... almost :)

We're ready to go! 

A xx