Birthdays!

I Can't tell you how much I was looking forward to getting back out to France for my Birthday  and after all the rain we've had I couldn't wait to feel the warmth of some sunshine! 2 very old friends, Linda from Aberdeen, and Rosie from Northumberland came out with me and also a friend of Linda's called Alex who  I now hope I can class as a friend of mine too! This was to be a girls week of total relaxation, sunshine, good food and of course a bottle of wine or 12!

We were not disappointed on our arrival the sun was shining and it was a sweltering 35 degrees.  I was so excited to get back to my house and when we arrived Heather, our property manager, was there waiting with the windows wide open and a beautiful clean house with the lovely touch of a vase of fresh flowers on the table not to mention a big bag of home grown tomatoes!  I have to say they were the best tomatoes I had ever tasted, just on the point of softening but so tasty and juciy sprinkled with some salt and pepper and a splash of olive oil...yum!

We settled down with a glass of wine and tucked into the delicious french bread and pate that Heather had got in for us. With such an early start we all proceed to go off for a lie down for an hour or so to refresh.  Lying in my bedroom with the windows flung open and the lacey net curtains blowing slightly in the breeze the only sound outside was the birds tweeting.  I love the Scottish Borders ad but I do so much feel "At Home" here in Bousseresse.

We all got up feeling a little more refreshed with a wash and a change of clothes we headed out for Steak et Frites at La Gondole Sur Toit. Sitting outside in the evening sunshine watching La Souterraine coming to life with the evening trade was lovely and within half an hour the restaurant terrace was full! We rounded off the evening with a glass of wine or two in the back garden still feeling the warmth in the air from a glorious sunny day.

Steak et Frites Al Fresco!

Waking up on Sunday morning I headed off for fresh croissants for breakfast making sure to include my favorite Almond ones.  We set the table and eat Al Fresco in the morning sunshine.  I decided that I needed to tackle the weeding so set about the borders and Rosie kindly helped, within a couple of hours everywhere was tidy, the lavender trimmed and the roses dead headed. I couldn't get over the scorched  grass that had been so beautifully green back in July, the sun had really taken its toll over the past couple of months unlike the sodden fields back in the UK.

 

Always get the guests working but make sure you allow them a coffee break! 

Linda opted for the easy life!

We all took a walk up to the local lake in the afternoon which was quite a task as the temp was hitting a high 30.  It was lovely to watch the locals playing boules and to soak up the sunshine watching the fishermen. In true French style the cafe was shut with it being a Sunday so we just got stuck into the bottles of water that we had taken with us although a glass of cold larger would of been a much better treat.

Returning back to Bousseresse we had a quick drive out to Hotel Alexia and managed to get that glass of larger by the pool then it was back to the house. We had bought some delicious looking  Fresh Prawns and set about preparing them accompanied  with a salad of beetroot, advocado, blue cheese and lots of other lovely ingredients all washed down with about 3 bottles of rose!

 
The next few days I planned on getting out and about as much as possible to show the girls some of the wonderful places that I had got to like over the last few months.  A ride up to Argenton via Lac Chambon and Le Petite Chateaux, where the beautiful little chateaux never fails to impress anyone you take there Spring, Summer or Autumn.

We then had a day out to Boussac which was lovley especially the delicious breakfast that we had a Auberge Des Pecheurs in La Celle Dunoise en route. If you ever get to go here  you have to try the Irish soda bread here with homemade Jam... yum!

Boussac is a beautiful Chateaux perched on a cliff edge over looking the town here you will find a wonderful collection of tapestries and the Chateaux is well worth a tour around as well as the beautiful gardens.

 

Wednesday and my birthday had arrived, it was lovely to wake up the sun streaming through the bedroom window and I never tire of throwing it open in the early morning and listening to the birds chirping away. The cockerell that crows about 9am well after the first rays of sun have risen never ceases to make me smile! The girls  really spoilt me with a delicious breakfast followed by coffee at Cafe Chaud, no trip is complete to La Souterraine without a coffee at Cafe Chaud... especially on my birthday!

We then had a delicious lunch by the pool at Hotel Alexia which we thoroughly enjoyed and it was the perfect way to round off Rosie's first trip to Bousseresse as sadly we had to whisk her off to the airport for her late afternoon flight back to Leeds.

Linda, Alex and I had another day to spend before we caught the early morning train up to Paris.  Unfortunatley the sun didn't follow us on this trip and it was unexpectedly much cooler in Paris however we had a wonderful time and managed to get to the top of the Eiffel tower even if it does look like we are going to be blown away.  The hot french onion soup at lunch went down a treat before we caught the train to head out to Charles De Gaulle and our flight back to Edinburgh.

Another trip comes to an end, thank you to Linda, Rosie and Alex for sharing it with me and for a lovely birthday. And the really good part is it's only 3 and half weeks until I am back again in October.