Batman

The very funny Remi Gaillard 

Bordeaux: I love you

Bordeaux Bordeaux how I love you

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Twisting cobbled streets, unbroken facades of dusty gorgeousness, more laid back then Paris with a plethora of quirky public spaces overflowing with people. The Gironde flows through the centre, its tides marking time - from lazy red mud slowly meandering east to rushing tides west 

Trees on every balcony

Exotic smells and markets full of tres trendy industrical chic

Central street lights strung from buildings - why were we never allowed to do that in Barnsley?

Canopy of London Planes 

The original mirror pool reflects the Bourse and changes throughout the day, lights reflect at night, cool steam in the heat if the day, teens hang out drinking and laughing, children play, people make music - it's all so animated. Such a simple and successful design

Île d'Oléron

Île d'Oléron is an island off the west coast of France, due west of Rochefort and south of Ile de Re. Ile de Re is one of my favourite places, beautiful villages, lots of chic french people, pine forests and altlantic waves but we decided to give Île d'Oléron a chance as the bridge is free to cross and it's closer to the chateau.

You can't beat the atlantic coastline in France for gorgeous light and dramatic weather and the island didn't disappoint. That magical french grey that all of the shutters are painted seems to glow against the old stone houses. That grey I have found out is called gris clair, in other words plain old light grey and not some fancy farrow and ball dead pigeon, just bog standard light grey which I have become very familiar with and am covered in it as I type this!

The Île d'Oléron isn't as gorgeous as Ile de Re but feels much more like a working town with fishermen and warehouses and hippies and dreadlocked surfers. Huitres shacks with flaking paint litter the salt marshes and pine forests flank the southern shores, its really quite pretty - although not quite as preened as its northern neighbour.

 Moules mariniere with a bucket for the shells

Bordeaux

We have arrived in Bordeaux where vines replace rolling hayfields

and the sunflowers are all dead. The fields look quite morose with withered black stalks and drooping black heads facing east.

Our home for the next month, the rather fabulous Le Ramet. We are now speaking French all day every day so hopefully it will improve by the time we head back up north to Normandy

The chateau used to produce award winning Cognac, these plaques are remnants of that golden age.