My name is Jo, and in 2020 I moved to France with my husband, Brian. From our move to France, to running our B&B, my blog, which you can read below, is a diary of ‘Our French Adventure’. I share short stories about the Champagne region, and its people, and the life we have embraced here.
The drunkards
Whilst we were supping our glass of champagne outside the bar in Landreville I spotted that the name of the ‘place’ opposite had a date below it. It also said poet and wine maker. “I wonder who he was?” I asked Brian. So we decided to do a bit of research, but we couldn’t find too much.
Aristide Estienne (1851 - 1926) was a poet-winemaker who lived in Landreville, he is the author of some poetry collections which apparently are printed on beautiful papers. He also produced Champagne wine, and the capsules of his bottles were decorated with his portrait, and can still be bought today as a collectors items.
I thought I’d share one of his drinking songs,
The drunkards
Come on Grenet and you Bertholle
We are waiting for the Doctor!
Leave the vines and the school
For a comforting Pernod.
We will gather the station master
Without regard to his dignity,
And while smoking a cigar,
We will drink to our health.
We are the drunkards who empty pots
Without fear of severe foreheads,
And we sing and pour
Good wine into our glasses!
Les Poivrets
Allons Grenet et toi Bertholle
On nous attend chez le Docteur !
Laissez les vignes et l'école
Pour un Pernod consolateur.
Nous cueillerons le chef de gare
Sans souci de sa dignité,
Et tout en fumant un cigare,
Nous boirons à notre santé.
C'est nous les poivrots qui vidons
Les pots sans crainte des fronts sévères,
Et nous chantons et nous versons
Le bon vin dans nos verres !
One or two!
We had both been working hard on getting all the information together for our website today, so at about 5pm I suggested to Brian that we take a trip into Landreville. It’s the next village to us, about 3km away. It has a newly refurbished café and a small convenience shop, where I wanted to buy some nuts. I was quite amazed at the choice of nuts. I needed blanched almonds and hazelnuts, and they had both.
We decided, as it was such a gorgeous evening, to go and have a coupe de champagne at the bar, or perhaps two.
The sign in the bottom right hand side is outside the boucherie
Chambre d’hôte
We wanted to share with you all that we will shortly be relaunching our website lamaisonenchampagne.com and adding a page for our two Chambre d’hôte rooms - The Magnum and Jeroboam - with booking details. So we thought we would have a bit of fun and make a short video walk-through of the two rooms. The Magnum is the first one you will see, which has a double bed and en-suite bathroom with large walk in shower. The Jeroboam sleeps four with a double bedroom leading into a twin room and en-suite shower room with a large walk-in shower.
Jeroboam main double room
We do not want to dive head first into our new venture, but take a gentle dip. We are going to do a very soft launch via social media. We will use Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn and would appreciate any shares you can support us with through family and friends. It will be great just to get the word out there and start to gain some interest in bookings.
Facebook, Instagram (la Maison en Champagne) and Instagram (La Grande Rue).
Health first!
We were back at the CPAM office this morning. It was not like the last time we were here, five weeks ago, when it was a scorching 30 odd degrees day, today it was a little bit overcast. CPAM is where we apply for our carte vitale, which is effectively all our health cover, doctor, dentist, opticians etc. We do have a temporary social number which gives us access to the health system, but does not provide us with automatic settlement of the costs. The carte vitale will do this. For some reason, which we understand is very normal, we needed to return to provide additional documentation…again. Oh well, the interaction was good for us to practice our french. We then thought we’d make the most of the day and go into Troyes city centre for a light ‘not so healthy’ lunch.
Chocolate mousse
How can just two ingredients taste so yummy. Six farm fresh organic eggs and 200grams of dark chocolate which needs melting. This can be a bit messy but don’t let it put you off, it’s worth it. Then whisking the eggs and voila, a french chocolate mousse that you will want to make again and again. This recipe makes 6 with no cream in sight, although you can add a dollop on top if you’d like.
Hope you enjoy my short video on how to make it.
River runs deep
It was absolutely wonderful being able to entertain friends again. I really enjoy cooking for people, especially when they enjoy eating it.
It had rained earlier in the day, quite heavily, so we thought it wise to eat indoors. We have had a day of short, sharp showers, but they are heavy when they happen, just like having a bucket of water thrown over you. The little river in front of our house had risen slightly and was not looking its normal crystal clear self, but I do love the sound as it sploshes past the window
Dinner tonight
We are having friends over for dinner tonight, so looking forward to it. Table all laid and ready for them to arrive.’
Slow roast pork cooked in wine and fennel with plenty of crackling.
Rose to the occasion
Great excitement this morning as the lady from Colissimo (parcel delivery) blew her horn on the van as she approached our gate. ‘It must be the ceiling rose’ Brian exclaimed. Out he ran to greet her and take receipt of our parcel, before she sped off to the next delivery with a smile.
After I had given the chandelier a really good clean and replaced the bulbs, Brian carefully fitted the rose to the ceiling and rehung the lamp. It has become a really useable space with the vitrine, which we had bought from the depot vente in Troyes, now in place.
Too hot, just yet
Absolutely beautiful blue sky today, and although we had a big day tidying up the garden, pruning roses, mowing the lawn and trimming the laurels, I made time during morning coffee to enjoy reading my magazine that arrived in this morning’s post. It is so delightful to sit under the umbrella, listening to the bees collecting their bounty from the lavender, whilst reading what’s happening across the diverse regions of France and sipping at my ‘too hot to drink just yet’ coffee.
One year on
It was a year ago today when we arrived in France anxious but excited, and so looking forward to our new adventure.
I cannot say that I wouldn’t change a thing, as we have had some low times, but we have also had some glorious highs and learnt so much. I know that moving to France was a wonderful decision for us, and with the support of family and friends we are thriving here. My mum and dad and Brian’s mum (Hilda) were so supportive of our move, and dad and Hilda continue to encourage us and share in our successes.
We will shortly be opening our chambre d’hôte, something we have been working towards, and cannot wait to welcome guests into our home and share our hospitality and a little bit of the region with them. Exciting times ahead, and we are looking forward to our next chapter.
I hope you all will continue reading and enjoying my blog, and providing your comments. I love receiving them. Please feel free to share it with friends and family if you think they will also enjoy the read.
Sunflowers
We had a day of getting lots of little jobs finished off, and it was all very rewarding. I scrubbed the stairs, then polished them, which they soaked up and are looking much healthier. Brian waxed the landing floor, which again was very dry and looked much better for being nourished with a good dollop of beeswax. I then cleaned the window and we hung the curtains back up. We brought my new vitrine in, and after Brian had stabilised it on the very wonky floor, we stood back and admired the look. We just have a couple of bits still to do and then I will photograph it, but I can say it is looking good.
After all that, we loaded up the trailer and took a lot of rubbish and garden waste to the decheterie, it was quite a full mixed load, but the chaps at the tip are so helpful, directing us to the right container and helping out to get the job done. It’s great knowing it’s all gone again. Well, until the next time.
On the way back we pulled over to take in a gorgeous field of sunflowers. They looked so bright and beautiful against the striking blue sky, enjoying the warmth of the day.
The roads were quiet as it was lunch time, so no one was there to mind us pulling along the side of the road to take in the view. I just love being able to take the time and delight in simple pleasures like this field of stunning yellow sunflowers all smiling and staring at the sun, and stretching to be just that little bit taller.
Toile de jouy
I’d been looking for some fabric to make a curtain for the shower room door in the Jeraboam and had decided I wanted to get some ‘toile de jouy’. Toile de Jouy is a fabric that originated in France in the late 18th century and originally comes from the town Jouy-en-Josas in a south-west suburb of Paris. You would probably recognise it as it has quite a distinctive look. It tends to have a white or cream background with a repeated pattern printed on it. The patterns will often tell a story, normally involving a french country scene, but some included more industrial stories or detailed fables. The fabric used is normally linen or a light canvas, but now often cotton. Toile made a bit of a comeback in the 70’s when designers started using the patterns for shirts, and then again in 2000 when the patterns started to appear on teapots and other homeware. But toile has also appeared in other countries, it was popular in the US in the 1930s, particularly in the historical areas such as Williamsburg, all having their own stories to tell. Modern fabric designers today, such as Timorous Beasties, are still producing it.
Troyes has a strong history in textiles, and has an amazing collection of fabric outlets in the old warehouse area under the Ellen brand. The ladies in the upholstery and curtain outlet that we went into were super helpful, They had a good selection of toile for me to chose from. And I will definitely be going back for some upholstery fabric too.
It was great having my sewing machine all set up in the atelier ready to cut out and sew up my curtain.
Relève le barre
We nipped out this morning for coffee and a pastry and noticed this sign en route.
I said to Brian that I thought it was to advise that the maire would be taking water meter readings next week. I didn’t know exactly what it meant, but from what I did know this seemed a fair translation. He asked me if I knew what relève meant, which I didn’t. So a quick look at our translate app revealed it meant ‘relief’. Which then didn’t seem to make sense of my translation. So he looked up ‘relève de’ which means ‘succession’, so ‘relève de famille’, means family succession. So again, it did not make sense of my translation. So this time he looked up ‘relève des compteurs’. Voila! it means ‘meter readings’. He then mistakenly typed in ‘releve’ (without a grave accent) and got ‘raise’. So as a joke he typed ‘relève le barre’, (this time correctly with a grave accent) and that translated to ‘raise the bar’. So, it seems, relève can mean relief, succession, raise or reading (at least, but there may be others examples!).
I think we need to understand the use of this a bit more, but for now it’s a good example that when translating a sentence, it needs to be as a whole sentence, as words on their own can often have totally different meanings when taken out of context.
Ups and downs
I’d managed to get a first coat on the landing by early afternoon, so Brian was then filling all those little gaps with decorators caulk. It makes such a difference.
Then after lunch we were both painting. The stairs are a little bit tricky as there are lots of nooks and crannies just out of reach - so Brian came along with his new invention, his ‘brush-o-matic’, a stick with a paint brush gorilla taped to the end.
Above the window has come out really well. A clear example of why the hallway needed work.
Before/after
All white
Some of the areas that needed to be fixed.
The weather the last couple of days, where we are in France, has been very persistent rain. So much so we needed to let some water out of the pool - but that’s another story! Firstly, we have been using the cooler days to focus on decorating the landing and stairs. There has been lots of having to make good, which Brian has been doing, and it is now starting to look like I can begin the painting.
Above the window, Brian cleaned it down and added a round wooden edge, this matches how the sides of the window are finished. He then filled and sanded it. Looks far more considered now.
The hole in the ceiling is now filled, it has had a few layers and once it dries tomorrow we can sand it and get the ceiling painted
Fête Nationale
Today is Fête Nationale.
Celebrated across France, and marks the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, which happened on this day in 1789. The Bastille was a medieval armoury/fortress and political prison, and represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. There were only seven inmates at the time, but it was seen as a strike against the monarchies’ abuse of power. Its fall was the kick off for the French Revolution. A key moment in French history.
Our village held its own celebrations last night with a candle lit walk through the village, followed by a spectacular firework display, which lit up the Champagne vineyards with its own fizzing and popping.
Chateau de Taisne
Church of Saint Peter in Chains in Les Riceys
On Sunday we visited Chateau de Taisne in the beautiful little village of Les Riceys, which is about 20 minutes from where we live. The family still live in the chateau, so you cannot visit the interiors of the main building, but you can visit the 12th century Cellar and the Grande Cuisine, including the bread oven room. The really beautiful part of the visit though is taking in the view of the chateau from the gardens - and the gardens themselves, which are open to visitors. It’s wonderful to be able to visit a chateau that is still being enjoyed and used today.
In the centre of the extremely manicured box hedging they had grown a very colourful meadow, which was delightful. It felt like we had walked into a painting by Seurat, one of his bright, colourful, pointillist pieces.
They were hosting a gathering of artisans, who were producing some very high quality products. There were a few different wood workers, one making shingles for roof tiles, another carving a very large piece of oak into a twisted pillar, and another making large wooden garden games. There was also someone restoring, and producing, very beautiful guilded picture frames. Within the Chateau, in one of the cool stone rooms that was topped by a vaulted ceiling, there was a costumier, a basket maker, a lady recaning chairs and a lady potter.
I was particularly taken by the pottery by GG, who has a poterie at the ferme BELAIR, in Bouix (21330). We will go and visit her studio at some point, but whilst we were at the Chateau we decided to treat ourselves to one of the gorgeously shaped jugs she had created. The soft light made the pearlescence of the glaze glitter against the gentle brown and cream sheen of the fired clay - it now stands proudly on my jug cupboard.
We finished the day enjoying a chilled bottle of Pouilly Fuissé and some locally produced mozzarella, with a tomato salad, and with basil from the garden, accompanied by some charcuterie.
A very pleasant Sunday.
Marché nocturne
Couldn’t be a better evening for me. Champagne, a night market, and a marching brass band - just love it.
Despite the little bit of rain, everyone was in really good spirits. The shops in the main Street all had stalls outside their shops, and smaller local artisans had also set up stalls selling handmade jewellery, bags, soaps, sweets, and of course champagne.
The band was excellent, full of energy and rhythm.
Hole in one
It was a beautiful day for a spot of gardening yesterday, the sun was not too hot and there was a slight breeze. I wanted to plant up some herbs I’d bought and do some weeding. The big job is to prune the roses, but I’m tackling that one rose tree at a time.
I was slightly amazed when I stopped to make some tea and checked in with Brian on how he was getting on with the landing. Slowly was his response. He then proceeded to show me a photo of the hole that had ‘appeared’ in the ceiling. He assured me it was not as bad as it looked! I was a little bemused as to how this had appeared - and he explained that once he started to knock it, it kept falling down.
I went up to take a look, and first saw the debris on the floor. What he hadn’t told me though, was that he had already started to fill it in.
He assures me a few more layers and some sanding and I won’t notice a thing.
