Paris: Those little details

The 'I Love You' wall, I Love You written in hundreds of languages... can you spot the English?

Oh boy, there are opticians on every corner of Paris, most of the glasses I reeeally wanted to buy.  I wonder if it might be a change of frames?

In the Jardin des Tuileries seemingly they use goats instead of lawn mowers.... whatev's.

SWAG.

The beautiful roof in the Gallerie Lafayette.

Paris: Two windmills cafe

Squeeeeee!  Whilst in Paris we visited the Two Windmills cafe where Amelie, one of my all time favourite films was filmed!  The cost of a coffee was a joke but it was awesome to see the cafe in the flesh hee heee so exciting.

Paris: Disneyland

I last visited Disneyland 9 years ago when just my sister and brother-in-law and I visited.  This time our group was joined by MozzyMa, Missy Big and Missy Small which added a very different dimension to the experience!  The girls were so excited and to begin with seemed a little over-whelmed but once we had a couple of rides under our belts the girls began to get into the swing of things.  One of the most memorable moments for me was seeing how the girls reacted to the parade, they were waving and shouting and taking as many photos as they could.

The castle was at it's most impressive during the fireworks show at the end of the day.

Loved the Alice in Wonderland labyrinth with creepy looking star things.... 

One of the best moments of the day for me was being witness to how the girls reacted to the parade, MozzyMa was very much getting into the swing of things with her Minnie Mouse ears on.  I had to keep reminding myself that Disneyland is all about the kids, no matter how much I may have wanted to elbow them out of the way to get a better view of things that really isn't the done thing.  Sigh.

I loved the details found around the park especially this pumpkin lamp.

Paris: the Eiffel Tower

So it has been a week since we returned from Paris and MozzyMr and I have hit the ground running so apologies for not posting earlier!

For five nights the Mozzy family upped sticks and decamped to the Chateux de Vincennes area of Paris. Our crew included MozzyMa, Our Jim, my sister, and brother-in-law, nieces Missy Big and Missy Small, MozzyMr and myself.  It was Missy Big and Missy Small's first trip abroad and I was so happy to be there to witness it!

So first things first, no trip to Paris is complete without a trip to the Eiffel Tower, either Missy Big or Missy Small asked if we went up the crane would we see the Eiffel Tower, we had to explain that the crane WAS the Eiffel Tower....

France: all the blues

France: a visit to the brocante

So last night it thundered and it rained, and boy was there lightning.  Today it is still raining and overcast so MoMa and I took a leisurely trip to the local brocante in Aigre, the prices were incredibly high but there were a lot of interesting bits to see:

Check out the entrance to the brocante, lots of treasures to explore...

I love this collection of cuckoo clocks, the kitsch landscapes and the picture of Jesus of course.

Check this fella out!  No idea who he is but that is one winning smile for sure!

I am undecided as to whether this is an Eiffel tower shaped pigeon cage or planter holder, either way I'm certain it would look great in my garden.

What's that you ask?  Is this a bitchin' glittery gold bath?  Damn straight and in fine condition as well :)

If ever you want cross stitch art come to France, you cannot walk down the street without tripping over some amazing examples this being one.  On Saturday there was a truly awesome flamingo cross stitch which I did give serious thought to buying but it was quite big and I wasn't sure where I would have put it...

France: bee gif

OK so this isn't the best gif in the world, it didn't help that the flowers were bobbing about in the breeze, but you get an impression of how massive this bee is!  I have never seen an entirely black bee before but this fella was just loving the flowers next to where I was lounging reading my book, his wings are an amazing iridescent blue/black and his legs as you can see were laden with pollen.

Happy Skippy Purchases

I wanted to share with you some of the things I brought back from France.  The toadstool above is a salt mill found in a beautiful little gift shop in Ruffec and is my new most favourite thing ever.

1. A 1950's vase found at Emmaus, Ruffec where my aunt now works.  It is a charity depot that opens at 2.30pm on the first Saturday of the month, to say it is a elbow jabbing fight to the good stuff is an understatement but happily I've had many a car boot and jumble sale experience and could shove as good as the next person.
2. Another Emmaus purchase, I was in a queue to pay and spotted this little beauty at the last minute, it's been a slow burn of appeal on this one but it is fast becoming my new favourite serving dish.
3. Emmaus again!  This is a slightly chipped but beautiful little glass perfect for a snifter of Pineau des Charentes the local tipple.  Somewhere between a sweet wine and a Cognac I do love a glass of Pineau and now have the perfect glass to serve and enjoy it!
4. Tulip egg cups, these were a present from my aunt, any guesses where it is from?
5. Lovely, lovely enamelware pan, yep you guessed it Emmaus again the pans that I've had for years have started to break so I've decided to collect enamelware pans, we have a lovely butter coloured pan already, I'm not fussy about them matching, life is too short to be all matchy matchy.  Happily all of my Emmaus purchases came to an astonishing 3.20 Euros that's about £2.60!!
6. Toadstool cookie jar, this was surprisingly NOT an Emmaus purchase but from the little gift shop in Ruffec if I could take you all there I would because I know that each and every one of you would find something there that you would love.

Sad that we have had to come back to cold and rainy England especially with the various bits of sad news that have rocked our little world recently.  But you must not dwell on the things you cannot control but focus on the good things still to come so we're already planning our trip next year this time we're taking a couple of Brummies with us...

Fabulous Fake Flowers

Fabulous French Fake Flowers at their best.  I am all for a vibrant flower display real or fake.

A Random Assortment of French Loveliness

1. In the village of Aigre for a festival in May each shop in the village had the portrait of the shop owner painted on their window.  Apparently some were removed as soon as a polite amount of time had been observed...  This one was my favourite.
2. Yep this was my sat nav, and do you know what?  This and a map got me there just fine thank you.
3. Max the dog.  A new addition to my aunt and uncle's household, he made light work of the squeaky toys I bought him, he's a strong little beast but cute as a button.
4. Naff-o birthday cake made for my brother's birthday.  Nom nom.
5. Super hot evenings playing cards by candle light, on this particular night we waited for a thunderstorm to roll in, it arrived around midnight and was quite a show.
6. Decorations for my dad's birthday.
7. Yay!  Neon plastic cups!
8. Everything ready for our celebration meal, we cruelly made dad wait for his present until after dinner, after which he scuttled off to play with his new iPad.  He is a very happy 70 year old, in fact we haven't heard a peep out of him since.
9. Cake, lots of it.  Sadly I couldn't eat this one but MozzyMr enjoyed it.

Interior Details

MoMa has a knack for the details especially when it comes to interiors, these are just a couple snapshots of where we have been staying in France.  Of course we came along and spread our stuff far and wide and the quiet, calm, tidy equilibrium has been well and truly shattered. 

Blooms

France is awash with flowers at the moment, predominately roses and poppies, they're everywhere and they look amazing!  The roses in the pictures above are all in my mum's garden and the courtyard at the front of their house in France.  They smell amazing and are exactly what roses should be.

Birdhouses

A collection of birdhouses to be found in Tusson, France where MozzyMr and I have been celebrating family Birthdays and soaking up a little sun...