Feed the birds

I so love encouraging the birds in the garden, and providing them with safe places to feed, it really puts a smile on my face. Today Brian bought me a new bird feeder to hang out. It’s looking good, not too far from the front door so we see them occasionally, although I think I may move it to the walled garden, to give them a quieter spot.

They are also enjoying the nuts I put out. They emptied this one in about 3 days.

Normally we have blue tits, chaffinches and sparrows coming to feed, but recently we have also had a little robin come and visit.

Champagne tasting

Last week some friends invited us to a Champagne tasting at a producer local to them, Arnoult Ruelle. Their son and future daughter-in-law were visiting, and they wanted to choose some Champagne for their wedding later this year, and their friend, Olivier, was hosting the tasting.

After Olivier had shown us his cellar, and talked about the production of Champagne, he invited us through to his very colourful tasting room. Over the years he had collected some amazing enamel signs, including a London bus stop sign, of which he was very proud.

His Champagne’s were full of character, and it was great fun tasting them and discussing which would work best for their big day. Of course we came away with a few as well: his 100% Meunier, and his 2018 vintage.

Top of the wall

After our friends had left Brian decided he wanted to tidy up the tiles on the top of the wall. He started off by carefully removing all of them and cleaning down the debris and dust left, ready to refit them. The plan was to cement them back into place.

He then cleaned the old tiles up, removing any old cement and moss. He discarded any badly broken ones, leaving them for me to use in pots. Luckily we had some extra tiles that a friend had offered to us as he no longer needed them.

The temperatures had already started to drop, so unfortunately he was not able to re-cement them back into place before winter set in. That’s a job that will wait for the spring. So he covered the top with a tarpaulin and rocks, just to provide some protection over the winter to stop the water getting in.

Garden wall

Early last year our Workaways that came to help us ready the garden for the upcoming season had worked hard to clean the cement from one side of our garden wall. It was a mammoth task, and it left another mammoth task in re-grouting the entire wall.

Brian knew I was very concerned about leaving the wall ungrouted over winter. He’d shared this concern with Chris, a good friend, along with the fact that he knew some jobs needed doing in the garden, but he had not had the chance to do any of them whilst caring for me. So he was also a little worried about the situation.

Within days Chris had organised a group of fabulous friends to visit and help us prepare the garden for winter. Sara contacted me with some dates, and asked if they could come to visit us. I was probably at one of my lowest points health-wise, but she assured me they would not need any looking after. It was all under control and not to worry about anything.

Chris, Sara and Trevor arrived a couple of weeks later, around midday, and were immediately all up on the slope getting the grass cut and strimmed. The next day each of them took on tasks: Sara became head gardener, attacking the courtyard and formal garden that had quickly got out of control, Chris and Brian adopted the wall, and Trevor became our odd job man, making sure they had grout when they needed it, taking on the task of cleaning out the weed in the river and trimming some shrubs (actually I’m not sure where my honeysuckle went, but I keep telling myself it will grow back).

The wall was a huge job to take on, and as I kept looking out the window I wasn’t convinced Chris, with a little of Brian’s help could do it, but after three days of very committed effort through rain and sunshine the last of the gaps was filled with chaud.

What a magnificent job. The garden and wall looked amazing, and I was so pleased and relieved the jobs had been completed.

What wonderful friends we have.

La poste

If you’ve spent any time in France you would be forgiven for thinking this is the ‘hôtel de ville’, or the mayor’s offices, and you would be right. What you would find harder to guess is that this is also the main post office of the quaint little village of Mussy-sur-Seine, which is steeped in history and well worth a visit.

On the whole, for non French people, the hôtel de ville can be a rather imposing building, and one that you really need good purpose to approach and enter. So strolling up the front stairs and going through the metal doors in the hope of finding a post office can be a little daunting, but that’s what we had to do, as Apple Maps was certain it was here. Fortunately, it was right. Behind the grey metal doors is a glass fronted, modern post office counter, with a smiling receptionist behind it.

But why did we drive the 15 km to Mussy to post our mail? Well, recently our local post office hours have changed, and I’d forgotten that the main post office in Bar-sur-Seine is now closed on a Monday! In fact all our satellite offices also seem to be closed on a Monday, they seem to do a half day on Saturday, and then have Sunday and Monday off. Thankfully for us though, Mussy was open, and our important post was sent on its way.

Watercolour

A friend arrived this afternoon with a basket full of watercolour paints and inks. She had an idea to have some fun painting very abstract art. For me that’s a good approach, as I’m no artist. I love the idea of being able to paint, but it’s not something I’ve ever really put my mind to, although I have said to Brian on occasions I’d like to give it a go, so this was a great opportunity.

Brian made us some tea, and brought out a few sweet treats to help our artistic flair and we sat down to enjoy our afternoon, happily chatting about what we were discovering as, we each started to lay the paint down and develop techniques. I was loving how using the water on the paper could change the colour and textures of the paint. Although the plan was to create abstract shapes, we could see landscapes and natural shapes appearing in our paintings.

This is the first one I completed, the one I definitely preferred. I loved the colours, and I felt that although not intentional at all the picture looked like a lake surrounded by woods, with a stormy sky building overhead.

With the second painting, I was bolder with the colours, and placed more water down to see how that changed the blending.

It was such a pleasure learning new things, creating and relaxing with friends. I certainly want to do more.

A new door

Those of you that have stayed with us at our B&B will know that our metal double doors were a bit difficult on very hot days. They would expand in the heat and with their very wobbly door handle were almost impossible to close until they cooled again in the evening. What you won’t have known is just how cold they could be in winter; shrinking in the frosts and allowing chilly winds to whistle through the cracks. But we loved them they had real character.

We decided to ask an artisan if there was any way we could insulate them better, as they were so cold in winter. He took one look and replied “C’est normal”. Apparently this was true of all metal doors, and as they were hinged directly from the wall without a frame there was nothing that could be done, except to replace them. It wasn’t our preferred route, as we truly did love them, but it seemed we were talking to the right man, because he could make new ones for us that were very similar in wood. After much soul-searching, and asking for a technical drawing, we decided to go ahead. This was in June.

Building the door took longer than we expected, and it was a Monday evening in early December, and minus two centigrade outside, when they rang to say they wanted to fit the door the next day. We agreed, but were a bit nervous about the cold. But it seems they were smarter than we’d given them credit for, as the next day there was a staggering 11 degree centigrade jump in temperature.

They started early, and wasted no time at all getting the old doors removed.

They worked cleanly and swiftly, and just after midday the work was finished.

The new doors are even more beautiful, and they’ve made such a difference to the warmth of the house. We are so pleased with them.

Plat du jour

Earlier this week we met up with some friends to enjoy a ‘plat du jour’, or menu of the day, at a local relais routier restaurant. A relais routier restaurant is where truck drivers and travellers can get a good home cooked meal, and wash and rest if they need to. There are not as many relais routier restaurants around as there used to be, I think as the roads across France became bigger, and service areas become better, the smaller relais routier services have closed. However, the ones that are left do offer great value for money meals.

The plat du jour at this one was €14 for a four course meal: sausage in a brioche bun, turkey kebab with mashed potatoes and mushrooms, followed by cheese, then finally a delicious light vanilla custard rolled sponge. It was all cooked very well, used local products, and was absolutely delicious. Still a very popular stop for drivers and locals, it was full when we arrived at 12h45. Luckily we had booked.

A mini mountain to climb

I’d set myself a goal of walking up to the point de vue. To me it really did seem like a mini-mountain to climb. I thought if I could achieve this by the end of February that would be a very good result.

Today was such a perfect day for a walk, so I was keen to get started. The sky was blue and the sun was shining, there was a chill in the air, but the sun on my face was warm and invigorating.

Wrapped up in our hats and scarves we headed up through the village. Brian had suggested the point de vue as the walk we started with, because it was easy to remember how far we got each day, and there was a definite target to achieve. We would walk as far as I felt I could, then turn around and head back. Each day we will try and get a little bit further.

We set off, not trying to predict a first day turning point. We were chatting away about all kinds of things. I always find that walking, even short distances, clears the mind and your brain starts exploring.

Before we knew it we were walking through the little forest at the mouth of the point de vue, and heading for a well deserved rest on the little bench soaking up the stunning view.

This is such a beautiful spot that feeds my soul whenever we are up here, and offers such a wonderful calm. Idyllic.

So happy I achieved it on day one. Now to do it again.

Marc Bohan

It amazes me sometimes the wealth of culture our little region has to offer, and just how unique it can be.

Recently we were lucky enough to visit an exhibition in Châtillon-sur-Seine for the designer Marc Bohan. Bohan was the creative director at Dior during his nearly 30 year career at the house, and among his many achievements were his unique designs for princess Grace of Monaco.

Bohan had his home in Châtillon, so it was fitting that an exhibition of his work should be held there. What was incredible about it was that the family of princess Grace offered some of her most beautiful haute couture outfits for display for the first time ever. What a coup!

It was a spectacular exhibition, that felt almost private in its intimacy and lack of crowds. A truly ‘once in a lifetime’ event for us, and a perfect example of why we love our little piece of France so much.

What’s changing

The last six months have been rather challenging, and I needed to take a rest from the chambre d’hôte and the blog, but I’m healing well from my health issues, and my strength, are improving day by day. No long country walks yet, but that will come, and I’m enjoying building up to them.

We are not going to be able to relaunch the chambre d’hôte back to how we ran it last year, we will need to slow things down a bit, and give ourselves time to prepare properly for guests, family and friends that visit. To ensure we can continue to offer a relaxing and comfortable stay, we will have a minimum stay of three nights for guests going forward. We like to think our home is a haven of relaxation, and feel our guests get the most from us when they have time to truly enjoy their surroundings.

Website

It’s that time of year again, when Brian likes to ensure our website is all up-to-date. He’ll refresh any information that needs updating, and include any changes to the website to keep it current. It’s also important to make sure the website properly reflects the chambre d’hôte and its rooms, so with the new additions and changes we have made its probably time to update some photography as well, but that takes a little bit longer. So, for now, the website is where it needs to be, and is fully updated.

Thank you for your patience

Some of you may remember my last post of 2025: “Due to some health challenges I’ve had we needed to make some decisions with our day to day life, and one is for me to make a little pause on the blog.”

Well, things have improved since then, and I’ve really missed writing our French Adventure blogs. So I’m happy to say I’m ready to pick up the pen (mouse) again.

It has been a chilly start to the year. We’ve been experiencing temperatures around -9°c, which brought with it about 6” of snow. We had some friends arrive just as the cold weather was drawing in, and they had a little bit of a hairy trip from the motorway to ours, negotiating the freshly snowed roads that were already a bit icy beneath.

For the next couple of days we enjoyed cooking together, sharing recipes, eating together, chats in front of the fire, and tasting the local bubbles whilst playing board games and trivia. There was also time to just quietly sit and read a book, enjoying one of Brian’s delicious cups of coffee.

Their time with us went so quickly, but gave us a moment to reflect on the year that had just passed, and wish for hope and harmony in 2026.

We wish you all a very happy new year, and can’t wait to start sharing our adventure with you all again.

We have lots of exciting new adventures to look forward to in 2026 which we would love to share with you, and some projects along the way of which we want to start and some still to finish. I will once again blog about our adventures and let you enjoy our experiences together. It may not be a daily blog to start with, but little by little I’ll get there.

Taking a break

Firstly apologies for not being available to blog over the past couple of weeks.

Due to some health challenges I’ve had we needed to make some decisions with our day to day life, and one is for me to make a little pause on the blog.

I hope you will stay subscribed, so that when I return, later in the year, you will be the first to read all about our adventures, and plans for the future.

Thank you for supporting me via my blog since we moved to France in 2020, I so appreciate all your comments, suggestions and tips that you have shared.

Catch up again soon.

Dijon – a day trip

We needed to be in Dijon, which is about an hour and a half from us. This gave us a chance to roam around this wonderful city, with its gorgeous, typical French architecture.

The mansard roofs and Juliette balconies are just so iconic. I love their elegance.

The interiors are spectacular too. Would you believe this is just the tourist office?

Skylines are often very dramatic in their contrasts, especially with those beautiful blue skies.

And their famous market is pretty amazing as well. It’s a great place to head for, to enjoy some lunch.

Definitely a beautiful city — well worth a visit.

A fruity delivery

A friend of mine organises a delivery from the south of France of soft fruits; mainly apricots, but this year she also included nectarines.

The apricots, I’m just taking the stones out and freezing. I needed a simple way to preserve them, although I have kept a few back to make a tasty apricot compote to have with yoghurt in the morning. I think our guests will also like that.

I haven’t quite decided what to do with the nectarines yet. I have given some to a neighbour, as it’s nice to share when you have plenty, and I’ve already eaten a couple, although they are rather large. I think I may see how they freeze, as they could be nice in a crumble in autumn, or roasted with vanilla ice cream on a warm summers evening. Yum.

Canicule

We’ve had a bit of a ‘canicule’, or heatwave, with temperatures getting as high as 42°. It’s not normally humid, but this one was definitely steamy at times. When we have a canicule the insurance company sends us texts and emails, telling us to take it easy, or stock up on essentials, so we don’t have to go out.

When the weather gets this hot though there’s only really one solution!

We’ve had a few cooler days, which have been a nice relief, but they are forecasting another canicule in about a week. Better get the bathing suit out again.

Where should we put it?

If you read my blog regularly you’ll know we recently bought three paintings from a brocante not too far from us. They all need a little bit of attention, and Brian’s taking his time doing what he can when he can fit it in between other little jobs.

Yesterday he found a bit of time to take a look at this one. It was pretty dirty/dusty, and there was at least one scratch in the paintwork.

It’s a real labour of love, he started by cleaning the surface with a very diluted detergent and water mix. This was quite painstaking, but as you can see it took off years of dirt.

Next he tried a very small part of the painting with white spirit, which reacted well, so he pushed on and cleaned again with that. This was a deeper clean, and also removed a very thin layer of the yellowing varnish on top. It’s hard to get an accurate rendition of the change from start to cleaned, but these two shots are pretty true. I like the cleaner hues of the cleaned one.

On the right of the painting there was a rather deep scratch through the tree, which really stuck out as the contrast was so great. As the painting is done in oils, Brian thought it would be best to colour match it in acrylic, so if anyone in the distant future wanted to reverse it they could.

I have to say I think it’s a pretty marvellous job.

Now where should we put it?

Spooky

We do get some beautiful sunsets, but sometimes they turn a bit spooky. Like this one, where a low moon peaking through the faded light on a pink and blue cloud really looked quite creepy.

Don’t know what it was about it, but it was very eerie.

The cloud was soon gone though, and balance was restored.

Now I think it looks like a Christmas tree.

Champagne visit

While my nephew and his girlfriend were here we wanted to take them to see a Champagne house, and even though it was a Sunday we managed to find one willing to give us a tour.

Champagne Pascal Walczak have been making Champagne in Les Riceys since 1973. They’re only a relatively small outfit but they’ve created an impressive business with award winning Champagnes.

It’s always good to take a tour, because you learn something new every time, no matter how many times you’ve done them before.

Never ceases to amaze me how much they have in storage as well. We did help them here though by coming away with a few bottles.