Our new home in France

While looking for a house to rent, somewhere to base ourselves while we hunt for the right property, we found the perfect house in the perfect spot -and with the help of the lovely people at Cle Rouge Immobilier in Duras it is ours! This blog is primarily for our friends and family to follow the ups and downs of the adventures. However if we don't know you, I hope you'll enjoy the story too, and that one day you may consider booking into our lovely home as a paying guest - you'll be made very welcome!
Showing posts with label Rob and Susie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rob and Susie. Show all posts

Monday, 14 July 2014

Another day, another public holiday!

The sun is shining today for France's Fete National. Hopefully clear tonight for lots of fireworks.

A busy year so far and we must be doing something right ....our lovely guests have said such lovely things about us that Tripadvisor have awarded us this certificate.
Quite a lot to live up to, so no slacking this summer!

Over the last couple of months we have had some surprise additions to the hen house.
Our broody hens absolutely refused to give up their vigil, but I didn't really think they would hatch. We ended up with five chicks, none of them genetically linked to the broody hens. Four of them may be pure Lemon Cuckoo Orpingtons and one I suspect is crossed with the little brown hen - who is totally unimpressed by the chicks. They are now four weeks old and doing well. After a little hiccup with the first one, (slipped back into the nest once the others had hatched) the two Welsummer hens are perfect mums, caring for the chicks with no intervention from us. Fingers crossed that at least some of them are hens!

The flower market at Levignac was a bright and sunny day - plenty of plants to be bought and entertainment to be had.
Levignac flower market
Music and dance at Levignac
 In May we had a visit from Rob, Susie, Orla and Lucas with Susie's mum, Pauline. We had gorgeous weather and a lovely time, can't wait for the next visit.


One of our days out was to the rose garden at Boissonna. It was beautiful, we were inspired to create our own rose garden - still in the planning stage, and likely to be at that stage for quite a while longer!

We had another great evening with Dale Blade and the Roommates, this time at Domaine Gourdon.
This Friday they are at Monteton as part of a tour, fingers crossed for good weather.

We have had two clutches of Black Redstarts this year.
Four chicks in the first lot
and five in the lot that have just fledged
The latest chicks are still around the house being fed by the adults from time to time. 
A couple of weeks ago we went to The Naked Vigneron for lunch with my cousin Mary and Gary who were staying for the week.

We had the most fantastic, long, leisurely lunch accompanied by their lovely wines. Thank you Amanda and David for a lovely afternoon.

We've certainly had some 'weather' just lately. Scorching sunshine, hot and sticky one minute and cool and showery the next with amazing thunderstorms.
This is the forecast for the coming few days..

Hopefully more settled for the rest of the summer. Come and join us! The gite is full until the beginning of September, but we have some vacancies in our guest house.

See you soon

         Fiona and Hugh

Saturday, 25 May 2013

March - May

Oh dear....
It's May already, and if spring happened it was short lived and summer is still a promise! But still, we've had some lovely days and there's definitely more to come.
While I am a hopeless blogger, Hugh is making regular posts on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/vuededuras. I will keep going - however irregularly here.
Here's a quick photographic run through of the last couple of months at Vue de Duras.

Spectacular storm clouds over Duras
View of Duras from the terrace
 

 Signs of spring....
Another four Black Redstart chicks this year.
 


The spring flower fair in Duras


Tree frog and geranium
We have tried to walk around the area a bit more, these photos are from a walk around Loubes-Bernac and one around Baleyssagues




We have a number of maps with well-marked walks around the area for guests to borrow.
A trip to a terracotta tile factory - part of our French lessons -fascinating.
Coffee and pain au raisin at the Monday market in Duras
Frequent trips to vide-greniers (flea markets). This one at Eymet....

  and at Levignac..



and at St Vivien de Monsegur



A day out to Issigeac...
 and Villeneuve sur Lot for a photographic exhibition.

We've also been working hard. The car parking area has been extended and gravelled

 with steps added to make access to the gite easier
me, shoveling
Jacquie with the wheelbarrow
John building the steps
Almost finished
Just the shuttering to remove in a day or two
The decking is being extended
another job almost finished!
 And then best of all, visits from friends and family.
Gill, Ed and Sam visited us, and we all visited the Domaine Laplace vineyard for lunch and wine tasting. I don't know what happened to the rest of the day!



Rob and Susie with Orla and bump came next
back from feeding the chickens
washing Granddad's face after lunch!
with Mummy and Daddy
Daddy's girl!
Feeding the hens in her new T-shirt
A rare sighting of Granddad on the other side of the camera for a change!
"No comment!"



lovely yogurt for Orla....
and tortilla for everyone else!
and with us at the moment, 'on holiday!', Nicole and Adam....



See you soon ....x