The orangery at Powis Castle

It’s been a little while since I left you admiring the terraces here, so let’s pop back today and check out the orangery - and I do love a good orangery, thankfully there’s a superb one nearby at Belton House our nearest National Trust property.

But back to Powis, and that view.

I had a good feeling about this space as we saw the multiple pots of tulips as we got closer.

And I wasn’t disappointed, though at first glance you may be wondering what on earth I was thinking.

But just look at the plants.

Though this one getting ready to flower did remind me of one of those plastic hands on a stick, and I couldn’t help but smile to myself. Who’d have thought this peculiar shaped thing could turn into such a beauty?

There were places to sit and enjoy, and I particularly liked this pale yellow flower as it cascaded out of its pot.

I was intrigued to see the money tree flowering, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in flower before - and I used to have a very large one on my open porch a couple of houses ago. That is until someone stole it when I was out - to this day I still don’t know how, it was huge and extremely heavy. But I guess if someone wants something badly enough, they’ll find a way.

Isn’t it a great space?

As we headed back up towards the castle we spotted these brick arches, and thought we should explore.

It was another great space, though I’m not sure what to call these as it didn’t seem to be referenced on our guide map.

You can just feel how cool it is here can’t you? I think in someways I preferred this space to the orangery, though they were completely different in feel and in planting.

And then I realised I wasn’t the only one enjoying the view, and smiled to myself once more.

Taking the train to Paris, Angers and Tours

At the very end of May we set off with a heavier than expected suitcase, a small wheely case and plans for a complete break. With MOH still on ‘light duties’ I think it was just the thing we both needed, especially for him as it was good for him not to attempt too much and jeopardise the holiday. Typically we’d booked this holiday just two days before any of this, so we were grateful that we were still able to go, even if that meant changing our plans slightly and definitely no cycling.

Newark to London and onto Paris

One of the things we loved about Newark when we were looking to move here was its connectedness, and the ease of getting into central London. Turns out that worked even better for getting to the Eurostar as it is just literally across the road from Kings Cross.

You can’t beat the Eurostar, and it’s been a while since we’ve been on it - but it is just fabulous.

Gare du Nord to Montparnasse

We stayed in Paris overnight close to the station at Montparnasse where we’d pick up our train to Angers the following day. People often say that Parisians are unfriendly, or brusque but I found exactly the opposite, especially with the suitcase and stairs on the Metro and more than once. Those people who offered to carry the case don’t know just how grateful I was.

Staying in Paris also meant that we had the perfect excuse to revisit our favourite Parisian restaurant, and even though it had changed hands it was just as good as we remembered. I’ll share more in a future post on this and another bouchon we visited when we returned to Paris, but in the meantime, here’s a glimpse of why it’s so special.

BOUILLON CHARTIER, MONTPARNASSE

Montparnasse to Angers

The next morning we were at the busy Montparnasse station earlier than we probably needed to be to make sure we could locate our train to Angers, which of course we did and was easier than expected. We settled in to our upper deck seats, yes the case came up the stairs too, and after a short taxi ride, arrived at our base for the week, a very pretty little chateau.

CHATEAU DES FORGES, ANGERS

It was perfect, and our room had a great view of the garden. It was a little out of town, but we knew that - and let’s be honest, not many chateaux are in the centre of town are they.

From here we explored the Jardin des Plantes with it’s spectacularly shored up tree and so much more, dodged a brief rain spell and discovered another art deco gem in a department store and saw the new bedding purchase which beat us home!

We visited the cathedral with its newly opened porch which was built to protect the fragile and deteriorating facade following the removal of the mediaeval porch. I didn’t realise at the time, but it was only officially opened in April of this year and was designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. We explored the town and I was unexplicably drawn to these large apples by Bruno, which were almost 2000 Euros and nonchalantly on display outside the shop.

And we enjoyed walking beneath the floral arched tunnel alongside the river on our way to the Castle, though MOH and his hayfever possibly less so. The Castle gardens were impressive as I peered in and looked over the wall, but those on the ramparts were even more impressive and I’ve more to share from this visit, including the vineyards on the ramparts and the Apocalypse Tapestry - the largest medieval tapestry known in the world.

Another day we left the hotel on foot to explore the nearby Ile Saint-Aubin and marvel at the Bac, a small chain operated ferry which is the only public access to the island and its 600 hectare nature reserve.

We went along to the Museum of Fine Arts which was fascinating though both MOH and I preferred the contemporary pieces, and then we spent a full on day at Terra Botanica which if I’m honest I wasn’t sure about beforehand. Afterwards though I’m a complete convert, and we had a great day - though we walked just under six and a half miles that day, including getting there and back to the chateau. It’s billed as a theme park for gardens, which was what put me off, but it was brilliant - and I haven’t yet worked out how I can share what I saw there yet, we saw so much.

It was our first time in Angers, and it was brilliant - there was so much to see and do, and it definitely lives up to its reputation as France’s greenest city, but it was time to move on.

Angers to Tours (via Le Mans)

We were back at the train station, this time heading to Tours for the second main part of our trip. We needed to change at Le Mans, so we got to see some more of the French countryside on our not quite so direct route. Once in Tours, a city we’d visited before, some ten years ago we immediately noticed some changes, and yet familiarity too.

We took the tram to our next hotel, also a chateau but more along the lines of a larger corporate hotel, but no worse for that. We came to Tours for one main reason, and that reason was to revisit the Chateau de Villandry.

In 2016 we’d arrived by bike, and that was our original plan to for this trip - but as we couldn’t a taxi did very nicely, and much more comfortably instead. Again I’ve much more to share from Villandry, and somehow I never shared my photos from there before, but this sneak peek will explain why I was so keen to get back there for another visit.

Yeap, it’s a wow of a garden isn’t it? Wait until I tell you that the section at the top right is a potager and is filled with edibles, yes my mind is blown too. It’s probably my second most favourite garden ever with Huntes Garden in Barbados firmly in number one spot.

We also found time to celebrate our nineteenth wedding anniversary with a spot of wine tasting, as you do - and it was just as well that MOH insisted on bringing his wheelie case as that went home three bottles heavier. Well, when in Rome and all that…

Tours to Montparnasse and onto Gare de l’Ouest

Just a couple of nights later we were back in Paris, arriving once again at Montparnasse and this time taking the Metro to our hotel located within walking distance of both the Gare de l’Ouest and handily for the next day the Gare du Nord. We also found ourselves in another Bouillon which was just as good as the one we knew and loved.

BOUILLON JULIEN, PARIS

Paris to London and home

With supplies of baguette and pastries secured the night before we back at the Eurostar to start the final leg of our journey home, but there was still the chance to put some final holiday stitches into my holiday embroidery project. It’s far from finished - and of course I haven’t touched it since we’ve been home - but I’m loving how it’s going so far, and it’ll be a great keepsake to have of our trip.

I’ve plenty more to share from our trip and I’ll do that over the coming weeks and months, and as and when I do I’ll add links to this post so eventually the story will build up with several layers.

This June...

It’s been a tad warm hasn’t it?

We started the month in France, in a-much-cooler-than-it-had-been-the-week-before outskirt of Angers, which we were pleased about. The temperatures prior to our arrival were in the high thirties, and even on holiday, that’s not good. And then when we got back we had another heatwave, with another forecast for the start of July, so yes it’s been quite warm overall.

We made it to France travelling by train which turned out to be a complete breeze, and more importantly no airports! I don’t dislike airports as such, but travelling by train is much more preferable.

Anyway from Newark we travelled to Kings Cross before popping over the road to St Pancras International and the Eurostar to Paris. We stayed in Paris overnight, then headed to Angers on the train for the next five nights staying in a fabulous chateau, before getting the train to Tours for a couple of nights making time for some wine tasting and our second visit to the Chateau de Villandry (so much more on this to come!) before heading back to Paris for our last night before jumping on the Eurostar, and then another train back home.

THE VIEW FROM OUR WINDOW AT THE CHATEAU DES FORGES, ANGERS

I’d intended to travel light, as I would be the one manhandling the case, and even though we took stuff out as we were packing, it turned out that it wasn’t that light at all - in fact the case was actually rather heavy. Moving it up and down stairs at stations both here in Newark and in Paris was hard work, though thankfully I was offered help which I was very grateful to accept.

We celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary while we were away in a fantastic restaurant found my MOH, he’s very good at this and he found some brilliant restaurants during our trip. Though we arrived slightly later than intended and a little flustered as we thought we knew where it was, but had misremembered the way there. Oops.

The food here was brilliant though, as was their artwork.

A MEAL WITHOUT WINE, IS LIKE A DAY WITHOUT SUNSHINE.

Since we’ve been home we’ve been busy too - well apart from in the heatwave when we’ve been like hermits hiding indoors in the hottest parts of the day, then when it’s cool enough to do things not really doing too much as heatwaves are tiring. So we’re glad for some respite from the heat, which you may already have gathered.

I had a press day at Barnsdale Gardens in Rutland, which is relatively local to home, and I was also invited to the Gardeners’ World Live preview event and a day at the show too. Both of which were fantastic events, with plenty of inspiration everywhere you looked. I’ve more to share from both of these visits, but I’ve already shared my highlights from this year’s Gardeners’ World Live.

We were in Birmingham for England’s first World Cup game, and it all went rather well didn’t it? We had a fantastic table, with a view of the match, in our regular haunt of The Button Factory in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. And the game was a good one, and really gave us hope for England setting the tournament alight, but the following two games weren’t quite that and were as fractious as usual to watch. Let’s hope England remember the highs from that first game and show more of that for the remaining of the tournament, so that it can finally come home (for the men, the women’s team have already got that sorted!)

A GLIMPSE OF OUR FANCIER THAN EXPECTED ROOM IN BIRMINGHAM, WHERE WE COULD HAVE WATCHED THE FOOTIE FROM THE BATH IF WE CHOSE TO (WE DIDN’T!)

I’ve also lost some of my gained responsibilities this month, which is great news. Just this week MOH has reclaimed grass cutting, and since we’ve been back from holiday he’s back on his usual daily breakfast making. It’s great, not least because it means I can turn my attention to the rest of the garden, and because I’m still not good at mornings, but also because he’s so much better. We’ve been back to the hospital for his six week check, and they don’t want to see him again until his annual check up next year. Phew.

My car gave me a little scare though, with a warning triangle appearing alongside the ‘I need a service’ spanner. The manual was most alarming saying to stop driving and contact the dealership straightaway. So once home I did call the company, and was reassured that it was related to the service and the spanner, and as that was booked already there was nothing to worry about. And indeed there wasn’t, and until I’d read the manual I wasn’t that worried, but with two longer than usual journeys ahead of me I wanted to be sure I’d get there (and back).

I said last month that I knew exactly what holiday embroidery I was taking with me before I knew what clothes would be in the suitcase, and it was even better to actually do some of this while we were away, either on the train or just in quiet moments. It’s not finished, but I’ve made huge amounts of progress. Though needless to say I’ve not touched it since we’ve been home!

SEWING ON THE EUROSTAR HOME

In two pieces of shock (sewing) news I have almost finished my summer dressing gown - which has taken way less time than I expected, and really is much needed on those warmer days, and I’ve finally started my Flying Geese quilt too. As I said at my sewing group last week, now it’s started it’s a project rather than just a pile of material!

I know, I’m not even sure who I am either. Though of course I do have other projects still to finish, and yet to start as well as some new ones appearing on the horizon, so it’s all ok really! I’ll share more on both of these shock sewing projects here soon I’m sure.

One of the new projects that my head is grappling with arose from a workshop I went to last week, where I picked up many tips and tricks for making a pattern from clothes already in my wardrobe, and if I can make it work for the well worn and much loved dress I have in mind, then my mind will officially be blown. I have the start of the pattern, and I have some material I can test it out with - so hopefully I will have another version of this dress, which looks a lot smarter than the one I have and love sometime soon.

And that’s not all, today I’ve ordered my greenhouse after much (and a couple of years) deliberating. But with a price rise imminent (tomorrow!) I snuck in right at the last minute. I’m not rushing into this at all though, I have opted for the delayed delivery so within the next six months, my greenhouse will arrive.

Hopefully that gives me plenty of time to come up with a plan, that’s more adventurous than ‘sticking it in the garage’!