Colmar by night

The streets of Colmar seem to glow at night.

The coloured houses look like they could be made from candy, carefully lit to enhance their chocolate box character.

We spent a couple of nights in Colmar. The first evening we kept things simple and ate at our hotel, the second night we ventured out to a Thai restaurant that we had discovered on trip advisor. Both made for a good start to our holiday.

The streets are just so pretty at night, it’s a fabulous little town.

A leeky boat

We decided a perfect way to appreciate little Venice was to see it from the river. For €8 you can book online boat trips, in precarious looking, low, wooden, flat bottomed boats.

When we arrived for our scheduled trip, the queue, at the bottom of the Saint-Pierre Bridge, looked a bit haphazard, but we soon realised it’s all very carefully administered. After a very short wait, Brian’s name was called, as our boat arrived at the quay, and we were directed to our seats.

The trip first took us along the lush, tree-lined river, past some of the fantastic art nouveau houses that were built in the 1920’s by wealthy merchants and businessmen.

Along the way, our boatman explained the importance of the river to the market gardeners and boatmen of years gone by. The river Lauch, which translates to leek, carries a tale that it was named that way due to the frequent flooding of the area, and uprooted leeks being seen floating down the river. I’m really not sure how true that is, or whether it’s one of many tales possibly made up by the, rather amusing, boatmen to share with the tourists. What we can be sure of though is that vegetables were transported by the flat-bottomed boats, along the waterway, to the markets.

We turned around at one point, and slowly, and quietly, motored back to the little Venice district, where there is still a market today, in the area known as Quai de la Poissonnerie. It’s a beautiful area, where wealthy fish merchants built their houses to be close to the market place.

The trip takes around 30 minutes, and is well worth the €8 ticket price, but beware of the low bridges!

Colmar by day

Colmar is a delightful little town in the Alsace, close to the German border. We were visiting for a couple of days, staying near the old quarter of the town, known as ‘little Venice’.

It’s full of colourful half timbered houses and beautiful cobblestone lanes. Bakeries line the streets, their gorgeous aromas filling the air, whilst pretty little sweet shops, and cheese and charcuterie shops—selling local produce—bring extra colour to the alleyways. There are also an abundance of delightful little restaurants and cafés.

After taking in the atmosphere, we took a wander along to the market, which was alive with locals and tourists, buying pretty little souvenirs or something tasty for later. I found some cherries soaked in vanilla, which I plan to take home and serve with some homemade ice cream, or possibly a chocolate mousse.

We then decided on a trip around the town, on the little green train that’s a great way for you to see all the sights. There was a recorded guide to listen to on the way round which offered some fascinating facts about the town.

For instance, the half timbered medieval and renaissance houses demonstrated the wealth of their owners by using carefully shaped oak beams, and hand-cut patterns with complicated joints. These features were only attainable by people that could afford the best craftsmen.

It’s such a beautiful, chocolate box, town.

Jazzabar

Every year, in September, a jazz weekend is held in Bar-sur-Aube. We’ve never been able to go to it before, but this year we were free, and I was keen to see what it was like.

They advertised two groups performing on Friday night; March Mallow and Le Quintette du Hot Club de France. We were able to listen to their music on you tube, so we were hopeful it was going to be a good evening.

Astrid Veigne, from March Mallow, set a glorious tone for the evening, choosing some modern and old classics that created an atmosphere worthy of any jazz club. battery

The introduction of the trumpet brought the group to a whole different level, they were definitely one to be followed.

Next came a bunch of rather suave looking chaps—in their white dinner jackets and bow ties.

The band leader, guitarist Dunayevski, is internationally recognized for his interpretation of 1930s jazz, in the legacy of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grapelli. Their ensemble, officially recognized by the Hot Club de France association in December 2024, forms an elegant swing group faithful to the tradition of Manouche jazz, which I soon realised I really enjoyed.

We will certainly keep an eye out for these playing again, they were simply superb.

Weed free

Brian had been getting a little concerned about the density of the weeds in the river Artaut, just in front of our house. I think with the lack of rain and strong sunshine the weeds had got very well established in the slow flowing water.

fortunately our friends Chris and Sara have arrived—we’ve planned a little road trip with them—and before we leave on our trip they have offered to do some garden jobs with us.

We always appreciate a helping hand, and it’s amazing how many little jobs we get done with those extra hands.

I wanted to get the lavender trimmed, and I started just outside the gates. Sara started on pruning some of the roses and tidying up the walled garden.

We all put in a lot of work, and were able to enjoy coffee, and an alfresco lunch together, in the sunshine. A little bit more to do after lunch, and we were all finished by about 3pm.

Very pleased with all our work, especially with a weed free river.

L’union never disappoints

I can’t help but write about our evening at L’Union restaurant in Essoyes, we simply love eating there. They focus on seasonality, and flavour, and serve a great choice of bio wines. The atmosphere is relaxed, and it just simply never disappoints us.

Well worth a visit if you are ever in the area.

Processed

I still had some tomatoes to use that my neighbour had given me. I decided they would be good in a roasted tomato soup. We enjoy a tomato soup in the winter, with a nice chunk of french baguette slathered with salty butter.

I cut them in half, drizzled them in olive oil, sprinkled with some salt and pepper, and some thyme leaves, then dotted some garlic onto them.

They only needed roasting for about 40 minutes at 160°c.

I also had some figs which needed eating or cooking. I thought a nice fig chutney, made with balsamic vinegar, would be nice to enjoy with some fresh goats cheese.

Then lastly I prepared our plums for the freezer. They just needed cutting in half, destoning, and popping into freezer bags.

I labelled them clearly, to ensure I know when they were picked.

It’s nice to have some delicious, fresh produce prepared and preserved ready for the winter.

Stars at night

Before he got into bed last night Brian took this wonderful shot of the early evening sky. The stars were so clear, and Brian pondered what constellation might be visible. He thought I might know, but even after some discussion we really were not sure.

A quick query on the internet, and the suggestion was Cassiopeia. Im just not sure if that’s true, perhaps if you are a star spotter you can confirm it for us.

Plum done

I have not had great hopes for my plum harvest this year. The tree that had always produced plenty of plums for me had been badly affected by the drought. I’m hoping it won’t have done any permanent damage to it.

However, I do have a few other trees on the opposite side of the garden, and the plums here were a little small, but still nicely sweet, ripe, and juicy.

Brian and I managed to pick a full bowl, which we’ll be enjoying throughout the winter in crumbles or plum tarts. I may try and make some fresh custard to serve with them this year.

Lopped

Our laurel hedge was in definite need of a trim! We realised this week that you couldn’t open the shutters near it.

With the secateurs and loppers in hand, Brian was soon up the ladder, and we set to work with me holding the base.

It is a bit of a task but we were really pleased with the job once it was done.

Now we just need to clean up and make a déchetterie run before our guests arrive.

All white

With the masking Brian had put around the glass on the French doors it was a much easier task for me to apply the two coats needed. I did have to wait a whole day though before I could add the second coat.

Then Brian went to work peeling away the tape. It was mostly quite easy, with just a couple of bits that stuck a bit too well. The finished result was well worth it though.

Ratatouille

There’s something absolutely delightful about being given fresh produce from your neighbour that they have tended carefully in their garden.

We’d been invited over for a little glass of champagne or two, or so we thought. But were also greeted with two boxes of vegetables. A box full of large tomatoes and another with courgettes, green peppers and aubergines.

I can see some ratatouille being made.

Undostravel

Our recent visitors asked us if we minded them taking some drone footage above the house. ‘That’s fine’ I chirped, asking if they’d mind sharing it with me.

As we sat having our coffee we soon realised the drone was overhead, and they were setting themselves up to get some good footage.

These are some of the shots they took. If you want to see more from them, you can take a look at their instagram page @undostravel

Chaux right

The wall next to the back door also needed some attention. Some of the render and pointing had fallen away and was looking rather worse than we had thought.

There are always lots of these little jobs that need doing, and often the most obvious jobs get done first, but this one is a bit hidden away. However, if we left this for any period of time, we would find that water would start to ingress, and this could cause damp issues in the future. So Brian mixed up some Chaux, and set about making it good again.

It’s a bit tricky, as the lower half needs some quite thick filling. His plan will be to do it in stages, letting it dry between each stage. Then layering more on. We’re not sure if a plasterer would do it like this, but we’re hoping this will work for us .

First stage built up from the bottom, and pointing is re-done. It’s certainly looking better than it did.

Invitare to La Chêne

It was a gorgeous warm evening last night, just the right temperature to sit out and enjoy some cheese and wine with friends.

Brian wanted to start with a bottle of Invitare from M. Chapoutier, a wine producer in the north of the Rhone valley. It’s made with the Viognier grape, known for its strong stone fruit flavours, like apricots and peaches. This one did not disappoint, it was rich, oily, and full of flavours of summer stone fruits.

I brought the cheeses out, all soft cheeses from around France. A nicely ripe Brie de Meaux; a Saint-Félicien, soft and extra creamy; a Saint-Aubin; a Pont-l’Évêque—which was probably the strongest-smelling cheese on the board, but delicious and one of my favourites—and a Délice de Bourgogne, a soft, light, and wonderfully creamy cheese from Burgundy. Which is definitely a favourite of mine.

We then moved onto a Pinot noir from Sancerre, an area about two hours drive from us, and a region we love.

This wine didn’t disappoint either. It was a 2003, and had spent time in a very special oak barrel. The wood from the barrel had come from an old oak tree that had stood near the village for hundreds of years, but had been blown down in a storm. So that it could live on, the villagers all decided it would be a good idea to make oak barrels out of it, and to produce special wine from it ‘Le Chêne’. Thanks to the barrels, the wine enjoys soft vanilla notes behind the delicate taste of cherry and hints of fennel.

A perfectly delightful evening.

Making it easy

To make my painting experience a bit easier, and so that we aren’t spending hours removing paint from the glass, Brian has taped the edges of the windows for me. I’ve never had it so easy!

I got down to work, and soon had the base coat on, which is mostly transparent, and will help protect the wood through our harsh winters and the heat of summer.

I’m going to leave this to dry thoroughly before finishing with two top coats.

That’s fixed it

Brian is keen to finish off fixing the red tiles to the top of the garden wall. He’s already selected the ones he will be using, so just needs to mix up some cement to finish the job.

He’s layering some old tiles at the back of the first row of tiles to raise the base.

He is then laying another row of tiles on the top of that.

I’m loving the look, and glad the top of the wall will finally be water tight again.

The finished wall looks absolutely brilliant.

And we’re off

And so it begins.

This is a job that I had planned to do last year, but other things took priority. Never mind though, I’ve started it now.

I began by sanding the door. To be honest it doesn’t need much sanding, just enough to remove any loose paint—alright, there’s a lot of loose paint. I’ve carefully done it with the electric sander first, but will finish up by hand anyway, as that will get all the little bits a sander misses.

It doesn’t take too long before things start looking better.

Dijon

We had an appointment in Dijon on Monday, so we thought we’d tie it in with a visit to Emmaüs, the charity secondhand shop. It was our first time visiting the Dijon store, and we were pleasantly surprised with the amount of amazing furniture, bric-a-brac, china, glassware, linen etc—simply a huge selection.

We came away with a beautifully restored chair, for €50. It’s a perfect yellow for our salon.

…and a little wooden table for €10, which came up beautifully after a good polish. I wanted it for upstairs.

What a bind….

My butternut squash plants have gone potty, along with some purslane, which appears to have decided to grow out of the paving stones.

There was also a ton of bind weed that had started to take hold amongst my dahlias. So an intervention was needed, and we both headed up there to weed the area, and give the butternut a chance to grow where it wanted to.

We were very happy with the results of our efforts. Having slightly cooler temperatures means that being in the garden is so much more enjoyable.