Place des Vosges

I’d been romanced by the idea of enjoying breakfast at La Carette, a well situated cafe/brasserie on the Place des Vosges, ever since I first read about it.

Initially, when we walked by, we were put off by the volume of tourists that had descended. Perhaps being well-instagrammed, and part of the ‘Emily in Paris’ effect, contributed to it seeming like an over-hyped venue. But Brian managed to negotiate us a table for two at the front on the edge of the establishment, quite removed from all the hubbub in the central area—An ideal spot to enjoy my treat.

It very quickly became clear that it wasn’t only the publicity that attracted people, the gorgeous sunny spot, and the quality of their offerings, was clearly why it was so popular. It was an incredibly indulgent breakfast.

After our petit-déjeuner we went for a walk around the Place des Vosges. It’s the oldest designed square in Paris.

The gardens in the centre are popular to enjoy picnics, take a moment to read a book, or simply take a stroll in the shade of the beautifully clipped Linden trees.

It is famous for its strict, symmetrical, red brick architecture and vaulted arcades, which were built by Henri IV, and inaugurated in 1612. It was known originally as the ‘Place Royale’, but in 1800, after the revolution, it was renamed ‘Place des Vosges’, in honour of the department of the Vosges, which was the first to pay their taxes in support of the revolutionary army campaign.

It’s certainly worth a visit.

Platform 2

We are off to Paris today, to enjoy a few days in Le Marais district. We’d decided we’d travel by rail this time, catching a local train from Vendeuvre-sur-Barse station. The journey is approximately two hours into gare de l’Est.

We’ve chosen a small boutique hotel called the Caron de Beaumarchais. It is situated just off the rue de Rivoli on the edge of Le Marais.

Our room is very quaint, with little antique artefacts adorning the walls. The bathroom is tiny, but the shower is good and strong and the room has everything we need.

The best thing is that we have a small balcony to enjoy an afternoon cup of tea on. What a treat.

Planting

Now that the left wall was looking good, the corner of the right wall also needed some attention. Although Sara and I had tidied up this area already, Chris made a bit of mess doing the chaux in the corner, which was completely expected, but it meant we needed to revisit it.

A quick clear up of the chaux, a dig in of some compost, (careful not to damage the little honeysuckle I’d planted there last year) and a replant of some irises and it looked a lot better again. We also planted a Camillia which I’d bought recently. I think the bright pink flowers will look beautiful against the newly chauxed white wall. A white rose grew on this wall, which had to be cut down pretty hard when they chauxed it last year, and it’s showing some strong signs of life, so I’m hopeful it will be okay.

We had a little bit more planting to do in a couple of the beds also; some perennials and some herbs that I’d bought recently.

We watered them all in well, as we do have a few sunny days forecast. Hopefully they will enjoy their new environment.

The big breakfast

Fruit juice, scrambled eggs, marmalade on toast and a fresh cup of coffee. Such a great way to start the day. Even better that the mornings are becoming warm enough to enjoy it outside.

It makes for such a beautiful start to the day, tucking into our breakfast, chatting about what we’d like to do today, and delaying the jobs by playing wordle; seeing just how quick we can crack it.

Delightful.

The big clean up

The thing with using chaux is it gets everywhere, and the plants do not react well to the lime, so I was keen to clear up the dropped chaux along the wall as soon as we could.

We couldn’t quite believe it created another six bags of debris. I feel another déchèterie trip coming on.

I’m thinking about some plans for planting. First though I need to get some compost dug in, to help nourish the soil after taking all the debris out.

I can smell summer

As I walked out into the garden this morning, ready to have a look at what I could easily achieve on my own, I spotted my first peony flower of the year. It was on my tree peony, a gorgeous candy pink.

I wandered up the steps towards my dahlia bed, and in the warmth of the air I could smell summer. Sweet and calming. The bees 🐝 are already buzzing around. They’ve woken up now, eager to get out and start collecting the sweet, early pollen from the blossom on the fruit trees, which seems abundant.

My cherry tree which we’d planted two years ago is starting to strengthen and flourish. I’ll enjoy picking them on the way up to the pool.

Free and organised

We bought some cheap pine shelves from ikea for the shed, and they are ideal for helping me get organised in there. I’d also collected a few old fruit and vegetable trays from the market to use to put things in.

A great way to recycle what’s free, plus they are just the rustic look I was after.

Hang tight

With the latch now fitted correctly, and the windows sealed in with their wooden cross bars, it was time to take the doors up the slope and fit them on the shed.

It was another gorgeous day, so we both headed up there, carrying everything we thought we would need to do the job. Brian had already taken the doors up.

First things first, Brian measured where the hinges were to go and marked them on the door frame.

It all looked simple enough, however having to align three hinges was not that simple at all.

With all the pieces screwed into place we could drop them on. They were not perfectly straight, and we needed the door to hang closer in places. They had a clever little way of turning on a thread though, so that each hinge could be moved closer or further away from the frame. However you needed to take the door off again to perform this, and as it was fiddly, it was not something we wanted to keep doing.

We were both extremely pleased though with the results. I am looking forward to getting the rest of the shed painted, and to start taking some of my garden paraphernalia up there so it will be easier for the summer.

Easter lunch

Our friends Julie and Andrew picked us up to go to Essoyes for an Easter lunch at a restaurant they like; La maison della Mamma. We’ve never been before, so we were looking forward to it.

It’s just off the main square, opposite the mairie. The menu looked interesting, with four courses for €38, so we relaxed back with a glass of champagne to kick off our meal.

First up was a little amuse bouche: a tomato and pepper gazpacho. Very tasty.

Then came our starters: I had the asparagus in morilles cream, and Brian had the vol au vent with sweetbreads. Both lovely.

Main for me was lamb, a spring favourite, and Brian chose the fish.

Finally, we both had the same dessert, with coconut and passion fruit.

It was all very delicious, and wonderful to spend a relaxing lunch with friends.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

A bit of persuasion

We woke to glorious sunshine, so straight after breakfast Brian was outside putting the second coat on the doors.

I came out and joined him, and went up to put the second coat on the back wall, whilst he started to understand the fixings for the doors. Which I have to say were not easy.

He soon realised that the door handle latch was the wrong way round for the doors. Normally you would find a couple of screws you can unscrew and turn the latch around. But this door handle had tiny clips that had been fixed into place, that were not designed to be removed. This wasn’t going to stop Brian, he got a pair of pliers and proceeded to man handle the lock apart. A few expletives later the lock had given in, and he could swivel the latch to face the other way.

A little bit of persuasion and the lock was back together and ready to use.

Provence vert

The aim today was to get the doors painted with their first coat, so that Brian can finish putting them together, and fit them to the shed.

We were both really pleased with the colour we had chosen—Provence vert—and how the paint was going on. I think the green completely changes the look of the shed, it makes it feel older, more used, and gives it a heritage feel.

It was such a gorgeous afternoon we decided to also paint the back wall of the shed, however we do need to do two coats within 48 hours, so hopefully the weather will be dry again tomorrow, as we won’t get two coats done today.

It’s looking great.

Blocked road

The road out of our village towards Chacenay was closed for a few days, as the commune needed to clear some of the trees.

A few had lost branches over winter, and a few more were in risk of falling, and blocking the road, so they called in the tree fellers to tidy things up and make the road safe.

It has certainly created more space at the side of the road. It will also help protect the wildlife, as it’s often hard to spot the deer when they have tree cover right up to the edge of the road.

Cheeky

We were invited for dinner at our friends house, along with a couple of other friends. It’s always a lovely night out, but last time we were here Brian managed to run the edge of their border over in the car. So this time they made sure he could see it properly.

Their house is in Burgundy, and shares similar geology to Champagne, although we’ve never found fossils as big as the ones they have.

It was a lovely night out, and so nice to spend time with friends.

Bags for life

We couldn’t believe how much rubble Brian had taken out of the wall. There was simply bags of it! When we loaded it all into the car the front lifted up.

I’m not able to help lift such heavy things at the moment, so unfortunately Brian had to do all the heavy lifting. The great thing is though that in France they make taking ‘stuff’ to the tip really easy.

It didn’t take long for us to empty the bags and head for home for a well deserved cup of tea.

Those ‘bags for life’ really are very strong.

Getting comfy

We said cheerio to Chris and Sara this morning, as they were heading back to the UK. We were heading into Dijon, so we decided to take the opportunity to pop into Ikea, to see if we could buy some shelving for the new shed—I couldn’t resist a few other bits as well.

We also nipped to Leroy Merlin, and also bought some paint for the shed. Hopefully the weather will warm up a bit, and we can get that done later this week.

Fête du vin—Bar-sur-Seine

The Rotary club of Bar-sur-Seine launched a ‘fête du vin’ last year. It must have been a success, as they ran it again this year, and we decided to go along.

Wine fairs are such a great place to try not just lots of different styles and types of wines, but also experience vertical tastings. This is a tasting of the same wine made in different years. It really allows you to taste how a wine may develop over time.

There were about 12 producers, all with at least six different wines to try. We paid €4 for our glass, and could then taste as many wines as we liked. It’s a superb way to spend a couple of hours with friends, and also get to buy some great wines.

All hands on deck

The time had come to start building the shed.

Sara and I slowly started to take the wooden boards up to the now decked area. It all seemed like a huge 3D jigsaw puzzle to me, and I couldn’t see how it would become a shed. They immediately started piecing the bits together, squaring off the corners, and ensuring it was placed correctly on the decking. They clearly had a better idea of how it worked than I did.

It really seemed to come together quite quickly, and we were all excited to see it go up. Wanting to keep the workers energised, I nipped off to make some coffee, and bring the last of the chocolate brownies out.

Sitting in the sunshine, chatting about our week, and enjoying the view of our garden (that was now looking so much tidier), was all quite delightful, but the boys were itching to go.

Now that things were taking shape, they asked us if we could put a second coat of the protection on it, as rain was forecast for overnight. Sara and I got out our paint brushes and rollers and got on with the task.

It didn’t take long at all.

In the end, it took all day to build it, and they did run out of time to put the doors on. But Brian and I decided it would be better for us to paint the doors before they go on, so we will get some paint this week and finish it off very shortly.

For now though we are super happy with what we’ve all achieved.

A fabulous day in the garden

Sara and I spent most of the afternoon weeding the herb bed alongside the path at the bottom of our slope. She had already spent the morning potting up some plants for me, and had weeded the path. It was a glorious way to spend the afternoon, chatting and weeding, and listening to the guys banter about how they would tackle the next job on the list: the shed.

This evening we had planned to eat at L’Union, one of our favourite local restaurants in Essoyes. Anthony, one of the owners, is a great Sommelier, and always makes a good recommendation on what wine to drink with dinner. The food also never disappoints us of course.

Another fabulous evening spent at L’Union.

Dégustation at Robert-GrandPierre

I’d arranged for us, and our friends, to visit our local champagne producer – Robert-GrandPierre. Their Domaine is only about 500 metres from our door, so it’s very convenient. They converted the beautiful Priory, or ‘Prieuré’, into their Domaine residence about 10 years ago. It is an historically important building next to the 11th century church, which was apparently established in 1085.

As you enter the Prieuré courtyard you first see the connecting modern structure, a rather impressive glass and wood atrium in the shape of a barrel. It’s quite spectacular. The tasting room is built into the older part of the building, on the left.

They have a wonderful selection, and we love their champagnes, so going for a tasting is always a delight.

Thank you Céline for a delightful tasting.

The greatest chaux-man

We were hopeful of a dryer day, so the plan was to push ahead on the wall. Brian got the first mix of chaux prepared nice and early.

Then the two of them worked on pointing the wall together. They’d made great progress the day before, so could see an end in sight.

However Brian realised too late that his last bag of sand was a different type, and it was too late to go and get more. Finishing off will have to wait for tomorrow.