A Tailor Made Château

Last weekend we visited a brocante that was just a little more special than the ones we attend. Generally in car parks, fields, villages or town squares I was especially keen to visit this particular one because it was being held in the grounds of a château.  My hope was that it would be a cross between The Antiques Roadshow and a summer garden party and I wasn't disappointed.

It was a bit of a chilly and overcast start to the day but it soon warmed up

The story behind Le Château de la Mercerie (translated as The Castle of Haberdashery) is very out of the ordinary because this grandiose façade is an illusion.  In 1924 two brothers, Alphonse and Raymond Réthoré, made their fortune from the textile industry and proceeded to purchase a modest manor (if there is such a thing).  Inspired by Versailles they then constructed an imposing and magnificent structure on the side.  Over the years they collected architectural treasures including paintings by Italian Masters, sculptures, delft tiles to create vast murals and, like Versailles, they commissioned a mirrored gallery. 

The château or folly that can be seen today was finally completed in 1970 only to fall into disrepair over the subsequent years. Luckily the local residents have taken up the baton to save this treasure and have been busy fund raising with this annual brocante being just one of many events held in the grounds.

The brother's additions to the original building are very long and virtually impossible to photograph in entirety so here is a photo I found that shows the whole thing

A work in progress as a new roof to one of the turrets is under construction.  If you had ever wondered how they made them well wonder no more.  I don't know why but I suddenly fancy an ice cream!

From this side you can see the original manor house

A beautiful view over the Charentaise countryside from behind the façade

I did a bit of treasure hunting myself that day (soon to be put on my Etsy shop) and thoroughly enjoyed having such a splendid backdrop to do a bit of haggling.

Paris - La Deuxième Partie

As promised last week here is part two of our recent trip to Paris.  

"I want to step out down the Champs-Elysées from the Arc de Triomphe...

Me risking life and limb to get a picture
of the Arc de Triomphe in the background

to the Petit Palais - that's for me... Bonjour Paris!" 

The Petit Palais

Sorry about that - I feel much better now! Do feel free to click on the link for the original (and some may argue superior) version of this famous song from one of my favourite Audrey Hepburn films 'Funny Face'.

We were very lucky that there was a brocante being held right in the centre of Paris on the day of our 10th wedding anniversary.  It was situated in picturesque surroundings along the Seine under the Pont Alexandre III and although most of the trucs were well out of our price range it was so refreshing to see some genuinely beautiful antiques.

This obviously unimpressed lion (well he is a Parisian) begrudgingly pointed us in the right direction...

et voila! a perfect scene of a charming little brocante market in Paris complete with a stunning view the Eiffel Tower in the background.

I was determined to buy something so after sifting through the wares of numerous stalls I did eventually invest in a a little sugar sifter and berry spoon with beautiful Paris Metro style Art Nouveau detailing on them and...

as modelled by my lovely vintage mannequin (also from Paris but bought locally) - a hat (I can't resist a good hat and this one spoke to me!)

My lovely Girard of Paris mannequin

After the brocante we set off over the bridge with the intention of catching a train from Les Invalides to Notre Dame Cathedral but unfortunately the trains weren't running that day so we had to walk.

Because it was just a day trip with the need to get home to the host of animals we have in order to feed them that evening (especially our beagle Oscar who has been known to get an attack of the vapours if his dinner is late) it was more of a schlep than a gentle stroll along the Seine but eventually we reached the Latin Quarter and headed through the narrow streets to our pre-booked lunch destination opposite the Jardin du Luxenbourg. 

I was a little disappointed with the Latin Quarter because I had romantic notions of it being like a 1950's Hollywood film - home of poets and beret wearing beatniks - but it has become a bit of a cheap and nasty tourist trap full of people like me looking for the beret wearing beatniks that no longer exist (either that or they've all found an alternative bohemian quarter of Paris that's not so crowded).  

Once we reached the Bistrot Au Petit Suisse we were back into a quarter of Paris that had some real charm.  We had decided on simple lunch because we were pushed for time and I had set my heart on trying the traditional home-made onion soup.

The Bistrot Au Petit Suisse (Spike is half Swiss so it seemed a fitting choice)

The interior of the bistrot was bijou and wonderfully authentic and the atmosphere revived me after stress of dodging through the busy streets of the Latin Quarter.  It also revived my desire to launch a one woman campaign to bring back anaglypta wallpaper (I have controversial plans to paper the ceiling of my future bistrot style kitchen with it).    

Spike and me on the mezzanine as I strive to capture the wonders of
anaglypta wallpaper in all it's bumpy glory

We had booked a little table for two on the mezzanine which was away from the bustle downstairs and charmingly intimate (although I wouldn't recommend it to anyone over 6ft).  

The onion soup didn't disappoint although any thoughts of having a light healthy meal went out of the window when I found myself digging through a large layer of melted cheese to find it (not complaining though v. yummy).

My cheese and onion soup

Continuing the theme of enjoying a low fat healthy meal I perused the dessert cabinet from my mezzanine seat and decided on...

My view of the dessert cabinet

the most enormous crème brûlée I have ever had the pleasure of eating. It was home-made and delicious but probably didn't do my waistline any good so it was fortuitous that the train wasn't running that day and we had been forced into such a long hurried walk. 

The photo doesn't really show the scale of the crème brûlée

After lunch we waddled across the road to the Jardin du Luxembourg to see the famous Medici Fountain.  A beautiful fountain that's very hard to photograph because it was so crowded with tourists (like ourselves).  We would like to go back to see it out of high season because like many beautiful destinations it has become a victim of it's own success (I don't like sharing).

My best shot of the Medici Fountain without
other camera toting visitors in it

We passed a super formal pond where children could hire little yachts with sails that depicted the flag of their country of origin. It was wonderful to see the utterly timeless scene of children running around the perimeter of the pond with sticks to push their yachts away from the edge. I'd never actually seen first hand pond yachts in action and was surprised how quick they were when the sails caught the wind.

The charming yacht pond

We then whizzed past the Palais du Luxembourg...

and the beautiful Orangerie

before heading off past the Eglise St. Sulpice to the metro that took us back to Gare Montparnasse and home. 

The Elgise St. Sulpice

Visiting Paris was a wonderful way of celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary and has made us determined to find some animal sitters next time so that we can stay overnight and avoid the clock watching we experienced because we had a train to catch (you'll be releaved to hear that we were home in time for dinner so we didn't have to break out the smelling salts to revive Oscar).  

I still have four tickets for the metro left to use (due the the cancelled train) and with any luck we will be back in the autumn for another, slightly longer and hopefully less crowded visit.  Although I was sad to say au revoir to Paris it was heavenly after such a hectic day to be back home and say rebonjour to Cognac.

Bonjour Paris!

To mark the occasion of our 10th wedding anniversary last Monday Spike and myself decided to take a day trip on the train to the romantic capital of the world - Paris.  

I am currently drowning in the numerous trucs I purchased at a flea market on the following day in Hiersac (a special brocante held for the Fête Nationale) so I am posting just a few photos from our lovely day out. But never fear I will be boring you with the whole story another time when I don't have quite so much to do!

I have decided to publish my pictures in black and white because it gives them a charming vintage quality and shows off the Paris I love at it's best. 

We start with a view of the Tour Eiffel from the Art Nouveau Pont Alexandre III 

then pass the amazing clocks of the Musée d'Orsay

before reaching the unmistakable cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris

and a traditional Parisian café near the beautiful Jardin du Luxembourg

 

As promised a very brief post this week but I hope you enjoyed the pics - Nx

Park Life

It's been a while since my last post because I have been busy enjoying myself.  This is the first year I have been to the Blues Passion Festival in my (now) home town of Cognac and it was amazing. Even though we had a veritable heatwave last week with humid temperatures well above 35°C we still managed to have a great time.

My friend Sally came over from England to visit because we had booked tickets on the Thursday night to see Lenny Kravitz and we spent much of the time she was with us wandering around the centre of town and visiting the Jardin Public where the best part of the festival was taking place with three stages and numerous free concerts during the day.  

Sally in Cognac old town

It's lucky that the park and the town centre is just a five minute walk from my house because being fair I did struggle a bit with the heat (obviously made for more northern climes - although I hate being cold too so what can you do?)

Me looking a bit pink in front of a lovely town house
(I do have feet by the way -
the street was very narrow... apparently!)

So rather than blather on about how brilliant (and hot) it all was here are just a few photos to give you a taster of the week:-

I wish I knew who this band were because the lead singer played a mean harmonica and on such a very hot day (that I won't go on about) just exuded energy and joy.

I loved Benjamin Booker who was the first act on the Thursday night (Lenny Kravitz night).  Benjamin Booker has a really individual voice and style that was so refreshing and the three of them played an impressive variety of instruments.  They might be big one day so click on the link to have a listen.

I did feel a bit sorry for them though because I'm sure that these young performers from New Orleans are used to a slightly more responsive audience but it was hot (I know I've mentioned it again) and most of us were just enjoying a lazy evening sitting on the grass (also I can't speak for anyone else but I was saving my energy for later).  

This was the moment we had been waiting for as Lenny Kravitz and his band were about to appear on the stage (v. exciting!).  I didn't want to take too many photos as it would have spoilt the experience (some people were virtually (and I mean virtually) watching the concert on their video phones!) 

The alarmingly full to bursting amphitheatre in the park!

At one point Lenny Kravitz made his way through the crowd and managed to make it back unscathed (a brave move appreciated by the people at the back... he was surrounded by very big men and much of the crowd were middle aged so I'm guessing it was a calculated risk although he was lucky that Sally wasn't down there!)

With Lenny Kravitz's performance, the brilliant musicians and the magical venue it was truly amazing!. The crowd were good humoured and relaxed and his music took me back to my early twenties and my time living in London.... in fact I can't wait to find out who's playing next year!

The following day (which was the hottest of them all - I nearly died... honestly) we went back to the park to see what was happening and it was hard to believe that the night before all those people were crowded into such a small space.  

The usually sleepy little public park where we often take the dogs for a walk and visit our (ex) ducks will always have a second identity to me now and I consider myself to be very lucky to have such a vibrant little town to call home.

Pizza Night!

Something we've missed very much over the last few years is having a pizza oven. Spike installed one in the garden of our first house in France and we often used it for the cooking holidays we used to run there.

In our last house we always planned to get one but never got around to it but once you have cooked and tasted a home-made pizza from a wood fired oven you'll come to realise that a pizza cooked in a standard kitchen oven is really not the same. 

One of the wonderful things about having a wood fired oven is that the pizzas cook in a matter of just a few minutes and then you can put in a casserole/tajine/curry and let it slow cook overnight or if you wan't a desert you could go for one of my favourites 'pain perdu'.  

We were chatting over dinner the other night trying to think of all the different things we could cook in one from baked apples to chestnuts, fish en papillote, baked potatoes and ooh yes pommes boulangère, roasts and of course... how could I forget... bread! 

Spike particularly enjoyed having an outside oven (as you can clearly see from this old photo) although he could be lethal with that big paddle (he's the same with anything long like copper pipes or ladders and it would pay for anyone in the vicinity to watch out lest they fall fowl of a rather painful, albeit amusing for anyone else watching, Laurel and Hardy moment).

Anyway, the point of this rather long story is that we have found a replacement for our trusty pizza oven in the form of this big old Portuguese oven found on, you may have already guessed, Le Bon Coin.

I was looking for a traditional oven when I came across this monster.  I thought for a town house courtyard it would look better than the normal rustic type and it comes on a stand with wheels so it is easy to move around.  

Like a normal pizza oven it has a terracotta interior which is ideal.  The only problem we had is that it was so heavy we could only slowly inch the thing out the back of our van onto some palettes so we are waiting for an army of men to help us lift it up onto the stand at some point.  It could do with a bit of a facelift but that's nothing a tin of black heat resistant paint can't fix. 

It's lucky that we save all kinds of silly things because Spike found a thermometer that came off our old boiler and retro fitted it onto the door.  It works a treat and looks really cool (or maybe that should be hot!??!?)

Once off the van we really couldn't wait so I knocked up some pizza dough (I had already made the sauce a couple of days before when we knew we were going to pick it up) and we were in business.  I have included the recipes that I used below in case you want to give it a go.

MARINARA SAUCE

  

200ml of olive oil

3 large onions (roughly chopped)

3 large garlic cloves (minced)

3kg of tomatoes ( 4 large tins sieved)

1 tablespoon of sugar

2 tablespoons of dried oregano

Salt and ground black pepper

Fry-off the onions until softened and add the garlic and fry for a further two minutes.  Add the tomatoes, sugar and oregano and cook for approximately 1 hour.

Place the mixture into a blender and blitz until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and allow the sauce to cool before using.  If storing the sauce for later use, place into sterilised jars when hot and once opened store in the refrigerator (or freeze).

PIZZA DOUGH

2 teaspoons of dried yeast

½ a teaspoon of sugar

150ml of warm water

350g of plain flour

4 tablespoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon of salt

Place the yeast and sugar into the warm water, stir until dissolved and leave until frothy.

Sieve the flour and add the yeast solution, olive oil and salt.  Work the dough with your fingers and then knead on a floured board until the dough becomes smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes).  If the dough is too wet add some flour or if too dry add a little more water.

Roll the mixture into a ball, dust with flour, and leave in a covered bowl in a warm place away from draughts until it has doubled in volume (about 1½ hours).  Knead for a further minute then roll out into a circle and raise the edge with the thumbs to form a rim.  The pizza is ready for filling and baking in a hot oven (approx. 220°C).

Our long awaited home-made pizzas ready to be cooked (oh bum... we should have done garlic bread!)

  

Number 12 took no time at all to heat (we have named it that for obvious reasons and have speculated that the previous owner - also from Portugal - may have liberated it from a campsite or somewhere similar or perhaps everyone in Portugal has one and they put their house numbers on them like we do with dustbins!)  

Our yummy pizzas cooking away (accompanied by some sweetcorn... but tragically no garlic bread... boo hoo!)

We are so happy with Number 12 and can't recommend highly enough getting an outside wood oven, of any variety, for your garden.  So if you have a little corner to spare it's well worth installing one (I'll be off now... very very hungry!)