The Loire

Every year I feel a bit of a draw. We talk over where we could go but I always feel a tug back to the Loire. I love it. The tiny villages and local shops. The lush green valleys and landscapes with the many chateau dotted along the routes. And I know this is replicated all over France – I really do; but yet I can’t help it, I feel a pull to thee area…one I can’t really put a finger on.

This year it didn’t disappoint. The sun was hot; as was the coffee, and we interspersed visits to the local towns and sights with a good deal of lounging at the pool and chat beside our tent…discussion about books over glasses of wine and hot cups of coffee. It was restful and peaceful and explorative all at once. I loved every minute. Family life ticks on and despite the beautiful site, the dynamics of family and siblings are every bit as normal as they are at home so let’s not pretend that bickering and arguments do not happen. They just aren’t lingered over as much as they are at home perhaps. Frustrated words are forgiven and cycling around the campsite, playing badminton on empty pitches and running to the pool with rubber rings around waists are what resonate. They are the things that stick. The things that are remembered.

So with everything, we cling to the good…we even now reminisce about what a great holiday we had, though we are
back such a short time. I feel we relished and savoured the break. The cut off from reality and a taste of life in the slow lane.

I hope that whatever you did that your July was a cut off from the norm…a break and a rest to renew your spirit and set you back on track. And if not July, maybe August, or maybe simply that weekend or afternoon you’ve got planned to escape the normalities of life. Whatever a break means to you, I hope you build it in to your summer and enjoy the rest it brings.

xx