My cottage in France

A week has passed since my arrival in historic Brittany, France. After working such long crazy hours in the Caribbean my exhausted body has needed some much needed rest. And so it shall be! My fridge is full of the wonderful foods and wine France has to offer and I sleep strange hours to my choosing. I have read 3 books; I pushbike around the hamlets in my area and also into my local village of Guilliers to purchase my daily baguette. I run amongst the fields of wheat and barley, skimming my palms on the soft tips and wonder at the silence amongst the huge trees as I walk deep into the surrounding forests. It is SO clean and authentic. I can almost imagine a Saxon knight riding through the forest on his horse toward the town. Nothing has changed here for 100's of years. The old farm houses are made of stone and must be out of a Hollywood set they are so charming. It is totally and utterly enchanting! I am without a car and must rely on my feet and bike for now but I do not care. For now my time is my own and every minute is special. I cherish the quiet, the privacy and the magic of my surroundings. My hosts are wonderful and run me into town when they go if I need to fill my fruit bowl or fridge.

My cottage is exactly how I imagined it to be. It is old, quaint and just utterly charming. It is over 200 years old and the walls are over two foot thick, the back wall covered in ivy. There is a lounge/kitchen/dining room with old dark beams with an open fire place and two large comfortable couches you don't wish to get out of. The luxury of heating has been added to each room and will no doubt be appreciated as winter approaches later in the year. There are two bedrooms with windows that open inwards on timber frames and flowers growing on the ledges in old timber boxes. My bed is an old french style frame, cosy, comfortable and warm with lots of pillows. I am in historic heaven! The clock above the mantle piece ticks reliably and the silence is only broken by my choosing. I have the modern technology of an Ipod and the small travel speakers allow me the pleasure of Vivaldi or any of my recorded CD's from home. Breakfasts are spent on the little deck out front listening to the birds and breathing the country air. It is a pure delight!