Family, friends and fun.

I am back. It feels as if I never left. My house is a tip, and we have had five world wars in one day, there are four more weeks of school holidays. Gun, head, shoot.

I now have to tackle the mountain of washing (actually I lie, its like one pile as I stayed with a friends parents, so we had a washing machine and 35 degree heat to sort us out for two weeks) and then sort my work diary for the next few months.

This trip to France was a gorgeous one, made solely with the purpose of visiting a very old close friend and her little boy, who’s friendship has lasted across sea and time. As her house couldn’t fit all my five thousand, her parents Kindly allowed us to stay in their house. A typically beautiful French town house, four floors including a wine cellar, dating back to 1722. The kids of course loved it and spent lots of time roaming the house and playing hide and seek.

We had two evenings out (minus the kids!), courtesy of our eighteen year old, the food and drink in Orleans is incredible. And they have a fab mojito bar too! I usually make a point of visiting at least three Chateaux’s, but this time we missed that, instead spending days having picnics, roaming the old town and river banks, mainly playing in the towns brilliant water fountain in the main square.

My luck is two fold as my friends brother is a sommelier, and although he runs an incredible wine touring company he also now has taken over a Cave, Caves Duhard in Amboise. Steven and I were incredibly lucky to be given a wine tasting experience. We loved the wine so much Steven bought a vintage from the year I was born as an early birthday present and one from the year we married. Watch this space for a mini review on it at the end of August for my 35th birthday! (we didn’t get Steve a bottle for his year of birth as that year there was heavy rain and the grapes were crap hahaha!)

We also had a cheeky trip to Paris. I am not going to lie it was a nightmare, but great in hindsight for the kids to see some stuff. I completely forgot I had bought tickets to Musee d’Orsay and we spent the majority of the day walking along the Seine taking in the sites and hearing non stop whinging about how tired and hot the kids were – from our fifteen and eighteen year old! We then had a boat trip (Batobus) back along the Seine to the pre-paid car parking (we used Parclick – they are fab! we parked literally underneath Notre-dame!!). All followed by a beautiful meal at L’Esmerelda, a block along from Notre-dame.

Anyway, that all aside I forgot my usual holiday camera and so here are a few snaps I took on my phone…