Art for Heart's Sake

Hi, I'm back in the bar in Cuxac where they have wifi!! We've just had a lovely pizza for lunch on our way to the supermarket for some supplies.

Today has been a bit of a funny day so far. John has a rotten cold with a gnarly cough which is such a shame. We drove to Gruissan beach yesterday afternoon which was nice, the sun was out (at last!!!) but it was a bit windy. This morning we woke up to showers (oh sun come back!!) and headed out to Narbonne only to find the two shops I desperately wanted to go to (art shop and oooh ribbon shop) were closed today and it's a public holiday tomorrow (May day). Needless to say I went into a bit of a blue funk and if I could have got on a plane home I WOULD have. Breathe, Philippa, breathe.. so I did and here I am writing this and I feel better already!!

Tomorrow we are thinking we will drive into the mountains that are near by and go for a walk by tumbling waters which sounds good to me, here's hoping it won't be too crowded due to holidays. I am determined to get back to Narbonne to go to those two shops on Wednesday, then I think we will pack for our departure on Thursday morning.

Oooh we have a local homemade Cassoulet for dinner that we bought in the market in Narbonne. It has duck (sssssshhhhhhhh don't tell our ducks) and goose, plus white beans etc and is authentic for the area. I am looking forward to cooking vegetables!!

I can tell me soul is so much entrenched on our property because I an visualise every square inch (cm) of it and can even see what is planted where in my mind. Just amazing!

I have to say yesterday we had a lovely time at the Caperstang market and got a rotisserie chook and potatoes for lunch/dinner. It was DIVINE and the first chook I've eaten since we left NZ on 13 April. I also got my first ever raspberry macaroon (the REAL macaroons that we see on Master Chef) with fresh raspberries and cream between. YUM!!!

Okay I'd better go. Will get to post again before we go and then maybe not for a few days. We are heading up the middle of France on Thursday, then to Rouen, then Paris for three nights and over to UK after that. Can I just say, very quietly, that there are only 30 days until I come home... shhhhh I'm allowed to say it. I'm loving my experiences even though this morning was iffy to say the least, it's just my soul is missing home so much, especially the ducks, chooks, bunny, and yes (gasp) Chester!!! I also want to see Sabah's grave very much! I am going to drink in EVERY second though, having said that. I can't wait to get to Ruth and Bob's place because Ruth will be sowing seeds, planting etc madly. Yay!!! Love and hugs to all.. with smiles...

Hi everyone from Cuxac!! We have had a lovely few days here, even though the weather has been irksome. It was sunny when we arrived and then within about 1 hour the cloud came over and it has been cloudy and windy ever since!!! Ruth and Bob were most distressed there was no sun and I have to admit today we are longing for it to come out!

Having said that, it is SO SO SO lovely to be settled for a week in such a beautiful area. We have a few things to explore over the next few days and a highlight will be a market in a close village called Capestang which is where I'm writing this in a wifi bar and grill! Ruth and Bob left early afternoon today and it does feel strange not having them in their gorgeous french house.

Tomorrow we are going to a wonderful market here in Capestang and we are going to buy lots of vegies for me to cook over the next three nights. I am SO missing my vegetables which may sound odd but I am so used to having three vegies at least a night. Some meals on this trip so far there have been NONE.. aaagghh, giggle!

Poor John has a cold which has developed today so we are pumping echinacea into him in the hope it will go away fast! I really hope so because there once we leave on Thursday it will be full on for 2-3 weeks!!

I really miss posting every day! It feels weird because there is so much I want to tell you but right now I can't remember it all!!! Crikey!! Oooh we went to Narbonne the other day and there is a lovely ribbon shop that I want to revisit and oh wow the covered market has to be seen to be believed. We are going there on Monday to get gorgeous fresh seafood for dinner... I fear we will be having bbq'd squid, young sardines and all sorts of other treasures! YUM!!!

I still have to visit a French cafe to taste gorgeous french cakes etc. I have had my fill of croissant but will still eat more as they are delicious. I'm too scared to stand on the scales.. giggle! Love to all and will post again in a couple of days. Hugs, smiles....

Hi, off to john's sister's house in cuxac today. Will be so lovely to se them. Last night we struggled to find a nice restaurant in the town but finally settled on an ok one. I got a few slices of carrot at last, giggle!!!

I also took a ride on a small ornate carousel, hehehe the horse was only just big enough for me!! Ok, must fly as need to pack. More when I can. Hugs...

Hi, we've had a lovely day today. We walked into the town and had a good look around the streets. Gosh the shops are lovely!! I took some photos of some gorgeous vegetable displays and can't wait to share them. I SO wish I could post photos on here but this iPad just won't let me..grrrrr! We also went to a Lavender museum this pm which was really interesting. John and I want to plant a decent amount of lavender so we can distill our own essential oil to use at home.

I learned one thing that is really interesting. True fine lavender is ONLY grown in Provence. All of the other lavenders grown for essential oil around the world are in fact 'lavindin', a cross. Fine lavender only has one flower stem whereas most of the angustifolia varieties we grow in our gardens have a main flower spike with another spike on either side slightly lower down. It was fascinating looking at all the different types of stills that have been used over the years.

Tomorrow we are heading off to Cuxac, near Carcasonne, still in the south of France where John's sister has a holiday home. I can't wait to see Ruth and Bob and it will be lovely to have some stability for a week. We need to do some washing and I can't wait to unpack so I can repack next week with a bit more order!

It does mean I won't have internet access regularly so bear with me, my posts might be a little erratic. We will go to wifi sites when we can. Just know that I will be thoroughly enjoying myself and I know I'm going to see some amazing things.

Oooh we had a lovely picnic on the roadside here in Provence this pm and I enjoyed my first real French brie on baguette with gorgeous fresh strawberries on the side. I've never seen strawberries quite like these - they were almost bullet shaped and so sweet! Yum!!!!

Smiles for now and I'll post again as soon as I can - it will feel strange not being able to!! Hugs....

Morning from St Remy de Provence!! We are about to go down to breakfast and then wander down into the town before deciding what else we want to do today. There are quite a few gorgeous places a short drive from here. Last night we had the most amazing dinner in the hotel restaurant. It was a set menu and very delicious. I have to say I'm in vegetable withdrawal though. Since we arrived in Europe I haven't eaten ONE orange or yellow vegetable. There just haven't been any, except roast red peppers! Oh to see a carrot or some pumpkin!! More later honeys.... Big smiles...

Hi, from Nice in France!!!! My first ever visit to the country my ancestor's on Mum's side were from. Riomaggiore was magical.. inexplicably lovely. The surf was incredible, our hosts were so lovely. Maria (80) who spoke no english realised it was my birthday on the 19th from my passport and immediately phoned her son who arrived a few hours later with a lemon tart he'd baked and a bottle of wine!! Maria's friend Rita (78) is teaching herself english and she asked us to her house for coffee the following morning. The seafood at the local restaurants was gorgeous and oh boy did we eat well. Luckily Riomaggiore is on a cliffside so there were hundreds (if not thousands) of steps to climb all over the place and they were really steep.

We are in Nice tonight and then tomorrow we go on to Remy de Provence for two nights. Hopefully we will have access to WiFi internet there. I'll write more then as we are desperrate to get out and explore. Smiles....

Hi, today we are leaving Rome (sob) and heading up the coast to Riomaggiore which I know is going to be amazing!!! If we have time we will take a slight detour to Pisa because I've never sen the leaning tower. We spend two nights in Riomaggiore then drive on to Nice for a night before continuing on to Remy de Provence for two nights.

Last night I had a wonderful birthday dinner and yes I had roast rabbit in white wine sauce!!! Yikes musn't tell Benjamin bunny! John had balsamic marinated DUCK!!!!!! Giggle, wait till I tell our pet ducks...

Must fly as taxi coming. Will post when I can!! Smiles...

Lovely day so far, went to Spanish Steps and saw lots of very expensive, incredibly beautiful shops. Held pair of Jimmy Choo shoes that were worth 995 euros!!! Screech!!! Also saw a real crocodile bag (poor crocodile) worth 22,000 euro!!!! Crikey.. pant, pant! Had coffee at a special tea rooms circa 1760 with butler service.. 2 coffees.. 14 euros.. J almost fainted! Nice birthday treat! Walked flaming miles.. without really seeing or doing what we wanted to. Picnic area J had planned was too far away and difficult to access. Went to Villa Borghese, amazing park (green area).. slightly frustrated as Galleria Borghese (masters such as Leonardo da Vinci etc) was booked for tours until 27 April.. Long walk back to apartment then out again to Trastevere district to try and find cake for my birthday. Finally found it.. then stopped at hosiery specialist store, lovely lady and bought some top quality things for my feet!

Packing for our departure tomorrow then changing and off out to dinner. Trevi fountain at night if we have the energy!! Hopefully I can post tomorrow, but may not be until 21/22nd. Hugs and smiles...

Hi on the 19th of April from ROME!!! I am now officially 50, crikey!! We've just finished the most gorgeous breakfast.. crisp toast, soft Italian cheese, prosciutto & tomato (the best tomato I've every eaten in my entire life!!!), followed by tiny wild strawberries and raspberries that John got from the market this morning, all washed down with Prosecco (italian bubbles).

Yesterday was magic. We took the long route through the vatican museum to the Sistene chapel and it was just gobsmackingly amazing! I took around 150 photos including a lot that will be wonderful or image transfer for my art. Lots of statues, beautiful sections of frescoes etc. The chapel itself was so much better second time round. Last time I was jetlagged, but this time I could just drink it in. The longer I looked at Michelangelo's magnificent work, the more I saw!

We had a slight panic when we went to retrieve our backpack (you have to leave it at a check in counter in the foyer of the vatican museum) because they had just given John a stub with NO NUMBER on it! They were totally perplexed and had to call a guard to take us into the bag storage area. There were hundreds (if no thousands) of bags there and luckily John brought his rugby world up bag which had obvious logos on it. He spotted it immediately, phew!!!!! That was close, we could have been there for hours.

Yesterday pm I bought a pair of lovely boots.. very unique, black, slim fitting on my foot with holes punched all over them. They reach 2/3 way up my calves.. lovely!

We wandered around a bit yesterday pm trying to find a restaurant for my birthday dinner and finally fell across a lovely one specialising in Tuscan cuisine. Me thinks I might be eating rabbit tonight...shhhh don't tell Benjamin our bunny!!!

Today John has planned a picnic (or lunch at a cafe) somewhere and then we have dinner out tonight, plus we are going to venture to the Trevi fountain again to see it lit up! We have to be up early tomorrow because we are going to the station to pick up our rental car, beginning our trip up the west coast of Italy towards France. We won'thave internet access until about the evening of the 22nd, so bear with me! I'm so enjoying writing about our trip.

I'd better get going now, lots of smiles and hugs to all from a 'very happy to be in Rome' Philippa.. p.s. I DO miss our ducks, chooks and bunny though.. Oooh and Chester of course!! Crikey!! Giggle

Hi just a quick post this morning as we are heading off to the Sistine chapel early in the hope we will avoid the major crowd crush!! Yesterday we had an amazing day. With the help of a GPS navigation system we managed to negotiate our way out of Rome, to the gardens, and back again. It was a bit nervewracking for John especially on the way back in as we had to trust the GPS totally and the traffic was thick! Crikey.

The gardens were amazing. Not flowers as such but still absolutely amazing, especially Sacro Bosco. Unlike any other garden in the world and so incredible to think the stone creations (hugs) were created around 500 years ago!!!!

Sorry this is so short and also I still can't upload any photos for you which is driving me mad!! Smiles....