discovering french country life

Don't you love travelling?   for all the little surprises, for the discovery of the small things that are done differently to home.  When I'm not travelling I get just as much enjoyment from seeing our guests take it all in here.

As our season in the guest cottage and for the brocante tours really gets under way, I try to put myself into the shoes of people arriving here.  Almost always for the first time to our home, often the first time to Normandy, and sometimes a first time to France.

Of course things are different.  There's be no point in travelling at all if that weren't the case.  It may be sleeping in linen sheets, or buying fresh croissant in the village, or the sound of the church bells in the distance.  Everyone picks up on something different.   Here are a few of the things that people comment on most often.

"It's so quiet, but it only took us an hour to get here from Paris"

Well, yes, it is pretty quiet here, and yes we do have the best of both worlds, with Paris so close. But here it's just a small village in a quiet valley.  There is a village school, and if the wind is in the right direction I can here the children at play time, but other than that my most constant noise here is birdsong.  And the sound of our neighbour's racehorses trotting up the lane, past my kitchen window, to  their training track.

"it's so green"

Yup, it's called a valley full of farmland and forest.  Even my teenage children who love to go into town to see friends, still appreciate the space and green surroundings we enjoy here.  And of course we try to take care of the garden, since that's right outside our window.

"There's so much more time"

Not sure about this, although I suppose life feels less rushed than in a city.  And I suppose it is true that we often shop on a bike down to the village store, or do a little painting and yes, we like to take our time over meals, and of course I always try to be sure to have plenty of time for our guests.

"You hang your laundry to dry on a line!"

This one always makes me laugh.  But yes!  I definitely hang out laundry to dry, unless it's raining. Nothing beats that sweet smell of fresh laundry, dried in the sunshine.

"You don't have bugs!"

We're lucky!  We can live all summer through with windows and doors flung open.  Meals outside, windows open at night-time too.   If it gets really hot we'll have a few flies from the horses all around, but nothing dangerous.  The children can sleep in tents without any worries too.

"It all looks so old and French"

Well yes, that's because it is well ... old and also,  well you know ... French!   Seriously though, I know what they mean, we are lucky to live in an area that is still pretty unspoilt, and of course we enjoy the whole brocante spirit, so at home I guess that shows even more.

So tell me, do you still get that tingly feeling when you travel somewhere new?  Can you remember a really striking first impression ?  Can you pin down exactly what it was that gave a place it's special character?  I'd love to know ....

I had the pleasure of joining up with Rural Thursday for this post!