Our Wedding, Chateau la Durantie, France

Posted in Europe, France by La Vie By C

So, 13 years in we thought we’d get this thing done!! We married in the countryside of the Dordogne region of southwest France last August. Yep, like nearly a whole year in 🙂 It’s definitely different being married – I love the feeling of having John as a husband. It’s really special. So I won’t go in to too much detail, I’ll just pop some photos below but here’s a little information just in case it’s of interest to anybody out there in the blogosphere.

As we’re not residents in France we had to have a civil ceremony back home in Ireland before our religious ceremony in France. It wasn’t that easy to organise from Australia to be honest but my Mum was a superstar helping out with SO much stuff.

Ireland

To get married in Ireland you need to provide 3 months notice. Here’s some information on the technical side of things. After our ceremony we took some photographs at Muckross House and Gardens (my Mum and Dad took photos here on their wedding day so it was something I really wanted to do hail or shine). We then had a small family lunch in the Europe Hotel in Killarney. We stayed here before flying to Paris the following day. Oh ya, John decided to go mountain climbing whilst feeling a little under the weather a couple of days before and ended up with full blown tonsillitis. He could barely speak for this ceremony and his doctor told him he shouldn’t fly to France. What the actual…

France

Anyhoo!! We celebrated our wedding at Eglise Saint Thomas in Excideuil and we had our reception at the Chateau La Durantie. Most of the wedding party stayed on the grounds with us for the weekend which was fantastic. We booked the chateau from Thursday afternoon to Monday morning and this was our itinerary:

Thursday: Everybody does their own thing. John and I frantically chase around the countryside buying alcohol and food. Also, Ciara has to visit the GP as John passes on his disease and I end up with a blocked ear!! NOOOOO – antibiotics for both of us on our wedding day!!
Friday: Our guests had the day to themselves to lounge by the pool or wander to the local village. In the evening we organised welcome drinks and lasagne at the Chateau.
Saturday: Wedding Day!!! Ceremony: 3pm. Reception back at the Chateau.
Sunday: Poolside BBQ and chill.
Monday: Guests loaded up on the bus and John and Ciara hit the road! Honeymoon time!

2Apr2018

Honeymooning in…PARIS!

Posted in City, Coffee, Europe, France by La Vie By C

We chose to finish off our honeymoon in très romantique Paris. We stayed in the Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg which is in a fantastic location, right around the corner from Concorde metro station and the Hotel de Crillon (side note: that’s one amaaaaaaazing hotel). The Sofitel is on the same street as the American embassy and there were police on each end of the street blocking vehicular access…just a little odd. The Sofitel has Hermès toiletries so let’s just say we now have quite a collection 😉 We didn’t really hang around the hotel at all (there’s not really that much to it), instead we spent as much time as possible traipsing the cobblestone streets. The hotel is just across the road from the Jardin des Tuileries so it’s really a wonderful location if you like pottering about.

We had cocktails at Les Ambassadeurs at the Hotel de Crilllon just around the corner one evening. One should be overdressed for this activity!! Luckily, I had my wedding shoes (read: rent) to ‘spruce up’ my holey jeans. HA!

Said shoes/babies…

We bought some tickets to the Moulin Rouge one afternoon for that evening. There are a few sittings most nights; we chose the 9pm with a bottle of champagne. The seating in there is super tight but the cabaret show is worth seeing. They do have live animals as part of the show which we were not expecting; not really necessary to be honest but something to bear in mind…

Moulin Rouge

Visiting the Louvre

We purchased tickets online a couple of days before visiting the Louvre. It was our first visit and hopefully not our last so we just decided to do a little of the museum, check out the Mona Lisa, good ol Venus di Milo and just a little bit more. We need to leave some stuff for future trips to Paris so we only went in for about 3 hours – I think you could spend a month just getting meandering the halls here.

Lots of people queue outside the Pyramid but if you go downstairs in to the shopping centre, Le Carrousel du Louvre, you can pick up tickets in the tobacco shop, La Civette du Louvre if you fancy skipping any queues 🙂

Carrousel Arc de Triomphe

The Louvre Pyramid

Pavillon Richelieu

You can pick up Louvre Tickets here

We used this entrance – in the Carrousel du Louvre shopping centre

Already lost

Getting all artsy

Beautiful inside, beautiful outside

Venus di Milo

View from inside the Louvre

She’s beautiful at night too

Visiting Musée de l’Orangerie

After a trip to the Louvre it only makes sense to walk down the beautifully manicured Jardin des Tuileries to the Musée de l’Orangerie. Although we’ve been before it’s going to be forever on my list to do in Paris since Monet is without question the greatest artist that ever did live. For sure next visit we’ll do Monet’s garden in Giverny.

Jardin des Tuileries

Oh to look at this Renoir every day…

Renoir

Miles of Monet

Getting a closer look

Water Lillies

Visiting the Eiffel Tower

We took an evening trip to visit the Eiffel Tower after pizza and a wander by the Seine one evening. It was a last minute decision (like most experiences when we’re travelling) but when there’s no queue you just seize the day!

Sunsets

Pont Alexandre III

The perfect evening

Eiffel Tower

In all her splendour

I don’t even know how to explain this chap!

What can I see!!

View from the Eiffel Tower

Oh so pretty!

Rue Gustave Eiffel

Parisian Wanderings

Are there any ugly buildings in Paris?

Strolling the Seine

Coffee stop!

Shop fronts

Petite street strolls

Les Deux Magots, Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Saint-Germain-des-Prés

27Jan2018

A stroll through Chateau de Versailles

Posted in City, Europe, France, UNESCO by La Vie By C

We took a taxi (c.€50) from Paris to Versailles because we just could not be faffed getting on public transport PLUS it was before 9am AND we were on honeymoon. Easy decision!

Tickets (Versailles is not open on Mondays)

We didn’t purchase a ticket in advance as visiting was a last minute decisions for us; even though we arrived quite early we still had to queue for a good hour. I’d definitely recommend picking up a ticket in advance. It was worth the queue though!

On admission we high-tailed it upstairs to get a hot chocolate from Angelina, sustenance for the hours we knew we’d be walking around the gardens! We checked out the Hall of Mirrors first, actually we ended up inadvertently skipping the queue (which starts outside in the main entrance courtyard – to your right if you’re looking in the entrance gate), by going in the opposite direction to everyone else! After we checked out bedrooms, hallways, ceilings and floors we wandered out to the stunning gardens and spent most of our visit out there. During the summer months, there are musical fountain shows; basically there’s classical music playing and the fountains are ‘dancing’ to the rhythm. We meandered through the gardens for a couple of hours and after we exited the Chateau de Versailles we crossed the road and visited the Coach Gallery. It only opens in the afternoon and is quite small but houses the most ornate horsey paraphernalia you could possibly imagine! It’s free so worth a little trip in. We caught the train back (RER C) in to Paris after lunch in a local spot. Such a lovely morning and afternoon!

Kind of an ornate entrance

What an entrance gate!

Queuing…

I could wake up here!

Beautiful ceiling

You know what this place needs more of? Gold.

A bust at Versailles

And another…

Welcome to the Hall of Mirrors

Hall of Mirrors

Pretty epic first impression!!

Garden Arches

Those colours!!

Latona Fountain

The Coach Gallery

The Coach Gallery

Sleds!

1Jan2018

Monaco, Èze and Avignon, the French Riviera

Posted in Europe, France, UNESCO by La Vie By C

Monaco

We left Genoa/Genova in Italy for the 2 hour jaunt across the French border in to the stunning French Riveria, stopping off at Monaco for a quick coffee on the way. I had been to Monaco on a girls trip a few years ago so had done the Prince’s Palace and seen all about Princess Grace, not exactly something John was too into visiting but from last trip, I recommend taking a tour of the palace if you can fit it in. As we wandered Monaco’s waterside, I thought I’d give a cappuccino a go, randomly at the Wine Palace Monte-Carlo, it was AMAZING. John just goes for a long black but that was apparently awesome too. At a wine shop.Who knew?!

Prince’s Palace of Monaco up on the hill

Views for everyone!

Yep, that’s a yacht in a yacht

Back of the Casino Monte Carlo

Botero’s Adam et Eve

Èze, France

If you’re looking for the most beautiful village in the universe, get yourself to Èze. It’s just a 15 minute drive uphill from Monaco. We spent a few hours meandering this little medieval spot (mostly looking for a parking spot – haha – this is like 40% accurate – it did take us ages and we ended up parking quite a bit away and walking in to the village – or you could just park at the Fragonard factory/perfumerie right at the base of the village). There are lots of little cafes, shops and art galleries to check out in Èze. The scent of lavender emanates from even the stones here – you can pick up soaps, pillows, post-cards, lotions, candles…whatever you can think of that you could possibly put a drop of lavender in here. We stopped for lunch at Deli’ and it was delicious. The staff were very helpful too. We brought home some flavoured olive oils here from A L’Olivier and I’m now planning our next trip to Èze…which is looking likely to revolve around olive oil. Rightly so.

Village map

Èze

Taking in the surroundings

Bougainvillea, gets me every time

Craving the ancient

Lavande

Inspo!

Who wouldn’t like a French escape pad?

Gorgeous

The Church of Èze

Garden of Èze

I’ll take them all!

Teas, herbs and spices

Avignon, France

We continued on our journey for about another 3 hours from Èze to Avignon, and spent the night at La Mirande. You really need to follow the hotel’s directions to find yourself at their door – it’s not easy to drive around Avignon; all one-way and closed off minuscule streets. We just had an evening in Avignon, a UNESCO listed site, so took a wander around and had dinner at the hotel’s garden restaurant and a morning courtyard breakfast before leaving for the drive to PARIS!! Avignon is a lovely town to spend some time. There are lots of shops here for souvenir hunting but also plenty of history. The Palace of the Popes/Palais des Papes was built in the 14th century as Avignon was the seat of the papacy back then. It sits right in front of La Mirande; there’s even a passageway from the downstairs kitchen/cooking school across to the palace.

The Pont Saint-Bénézet/Pont d’Avignon bridge houses the church of St. Nicholas and is a must visit on a trip to Avignon. Four of the original 22 arches still stand.

La Mirande

Cosy rooms at La Mirande

Palais des Papes

Pont Saint-Bénézet/Pont d’Avignon

Options, options!!

Opera Theatre d’Avignon

Strolling in Avignon

Soaps all around

Mmm tea!

14Sep2015

Bordeaux, France

Posted in City, Europe, France, Shopping, UNESCO by La Vie By C

We stayed in a lovely apartment we rented on Airbnb about a 15 minute stroll from the centre of the city. Airbnb really is awesome – you definitely feel like you’re living in the place you’re visiting. We had 2 days here and honestly one of them was pretty much dedicated to perusing the ol’ shops. The streets of Bordeaux are perfect for ambling around, stalling for a vino and photographing doors…haha I can’t stop taking pictures of doors and windows. They’re just so bloody awesome sometimes!

Chateau en route to Bordeaux

Our street

One of the most beautiful places we saw in Bordeaux was the St. André Cathedral at night. It has been here since 1096 (yep! ok, only one wall is around since then, the rest since the 13th and 14th centuries) and is an absolutely stunning building (currently undergoing some renovations). It’s absolutely worth strolling in here – it’s a behemoth of a building and the internal architecture is amazing. The 66 metre high Pey Berland Tower adjacent to the cathedral is a tourist attraction all on its own; you can climb 200-odd steps to get a view over the city. Randomly, the tower was home to residences and a lead factory prior to getting its bells. It was built separate from the cathedral so the (eventual!) bell vibrations wouldn’t damage the cathedral. Just next door is the beautiful Hôtel de Ville or Town Hall.

There seems to be a hell of a lot of places to eat in Bordeaux – plenty of cafés with outdoor seating for people-watching. We stopped in at a few cafés but none of major noteworthiness – we did have cocktails one evening in Cafe Brun, a pretty cool music bar on Rue Saint-Rémi. The main shopping street here is Rue Sainte-Catherine. Bring your flats – it’s suuuper long. There are plenty of high street stores here; Galeries Lafayette is pretty large, Sephora is here (yay!), Mango, 7000 or so shoe stores, Zara, H&M etc. etc. – it’s not a bad weekend shopping destination.

One place I couldn’t find in Bordeaux was Ladurée. Can’t a girl get a damn macaron?

St. Ándre Cathedral

Little sculpture outside the Cathedral

By moonlight

Hôtel de Ville

There are lots of little windy streets in Bordeaux and a wealth of architectural surprises at every corner. The French know how to pretty concrete up you know! The 18th century Place de la Bourse is probably Bordeaux’s most beautiful spot. Designed by Jacques Gabriel and his son, Ange-Jacques for King Louis XV and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s a glorious square with a stunning water mirror across the street which reflects the image of the building…not that we got a picture of that. Pat on the back for that one…

Place de la Bourse

Fountain of the Three Graces

Grand Hôtel de Bordeaux

Bordeaux’s adorable carousel

Honestly, such a random sculpture – it’s completely flat

Oh the loveliness!

You’re coming with me!

Typical Bordeaux buildings

Street scene

Pretty details everywhere

Just delightful

Lovely streets

Cocktail hour?!

Little glimpses 🙂

Colour in the city

Rustic 🙂

Porte Dijeaux – the gate in to the heart of the city

Since when?!

The coolest cinema in the world?

John carrying Mum’s shopping 🙂

Local life

Eglise Saint-Pierre

Too true lads

24Aug2015

Dordogne Region, France

Posted in City, Europe, France, Shopping by La Vie By C

We (along with my lovely Mum) just took a little trip to the Dordogne region in South West France to have a look at a place for our wedding…in 2 years. Oh so organised I know but since we’re moving back to Australia we need to get these things in motion. Yay! Anyhoo, I won’t mention the place as it’s not set in stone just yet but here’s a little looksie at the surrounding areas – Poitiers, La Tour Blanche, Verteillac, Brantôme, Excideuil, Ribérac and Saint Émilion. Phew!

Fields and fields! 🌻🌻🌻

We flew in to and out of Poitiers…which I believe is just a Ryanair airport – pretty small with absolutely nothing to do…except rent a car – which we did – a teensy little Toyota Yaris but it was perfect for buzzing around the countryside. I felt just like Russell Crowe in ‘A Good Year’ AKA Best Film Ever (although that was filmed in the Luberon region down near Avignon). We did take a quick tour of Poitiers in the rain – their cathedral is an absolute work of art. Stunning. We did visit on a Sunday and every single place was closed. Mainland Europe still does it’s own thing on a Sunday 🙂

City Hall in Poitiers…on an exceptionally grey day

Checking out Cathédrale Saint-Pierre

From the front

La Tour Blanche

We used the little hamlet of La Tour Blanche as our base for exploring a few villages in the Dordogne region and stayed at Le Patio Chambres d’Hôtes – honestly the nicest B&B I’ve ever come across. It’s run by the friendliest couple from Scotland who provide the most amazing breakfast. God and the bathrooms are the size of studio apartments! There’s little to do around here except hop in your car and explore the surrounding sunflower fields. Um, yes please!

Verteillac

We came to this little village and its restaurant Le Perigord Vert for dinner 2 nights in a row. The menu is pretty much choc-a-block with a duck and even though we were 3 non-duck eaters we were looked after. They happened to have a night food market on our second evening so the whole village was buzzing – it’s so nice to come to place which is so neighbourly!

That would be some sunset to watch from the top of the church

Lost in conversation with Mum outside the restaurant

Preparations for Verteillac’s Night Market

Just like little hearts – adorable!

Brantôme

The medieval town of Brantôme was about half an hour from our B&B so we took a little wander around here one afternoon. It’s just so beautiful. It’s situated on the River Dronne and you can rent a canoe or a little boat and take in the sun. Brantôme has been likened to Venice but I’m not entirely sure about that one… Brantôme’s Abbey is probably the epicentre of all things tourist and you couldn’t miss it towering over the river. Just across the street, Le Moulin de l’Abbaye, is a hotel on the site of an old mill which sits right on the river. It’s definitely going on the ‘have to stay here’ list. There wasn’t much happening around the town on our visit, it was oddly quiet actually – but Friday is market day so I think on our next trip I’d like to get that in.

Walking into Brantôme

The prettiness!!

Brantôme’s streets

Brantôme’s Abbey

Inside the Abbey grounds

Pedestrian bridge and the Abbey

Perfectly manicured town

Wouldn’t say no to this hotel

Perfect location

Don’t know what my act should be…

Excideuil

We visited Excideuil on a Thursday and just missed their market – which seems to be totally over by about 1pm. God damn it! None of us are early-risers by choice but I think that needs to change 😦 We had some food at Kitsch Kafé, a really cute English-run café with seating on the sunny street and a cool courtyard too.

Some homes in Excideuil

Just gorgeous

Up close! 🌸🌹🌺🌻🌼🌷

Ribérac

On the drive down to Bordeaux we took in Ribérac on a recommendation from our B&B hosts since Friday was market day. Thank Jesus. Needed a market fix. This was a typical French market brimming with flowers, local honey, awesome straw baskets and bags, hats, teas, cheese, breads and obviously the quintessential French fare that is escargot. I wouldn’t say it’s the prettiest of towns but the market is a saving grace – definitely worth a stop off for a potter around.

Riberac’s market

Tea all round

That’s some POTENT bee pollen

Saint Émilion

Well this place was an absolute find! The sunflower and corn fields on the drive from the Dordogne give way to rows and rows of beautiful vines and chateaux en route to Bordeaux (which I’ll write about in the next post). The town itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and sits on a hilltop which allows for the most beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. Mum went a little crazy in a handmade soap shop so we definitely won’t be running out of soap ANY TIME soon. There are plenty of wine stores here with lots of different offers making this a great place to stock up 🙂 The Hostellerie De Plaisance looks like it would be an amazing place to stay right in the centre of town, just next to the hill-top monolithic church. Saint Émilion is only about a 30 minute drive from Bordeaux.