Water, water, everywhere...

What a wet winter we've been having! Water everywhere, but our area is not as bad as others in France & the U.K. While walking the dogs today, it was evident how much rain we've had; so many fields were water logged.

Despite all the wind & rain, spring is starting to emerge in the hedgerows...

Our walk takes us through an pretty little hamlet with a secret garden...

& old covered well...

hidden treasures...

& two ancient towers, one a ruin...

the other restored...

The light is wonderful at the moment - when the sun is shining! Colours seem to really be bright, like the turquoise blue of this old copper...

  

or the lichen on the walls...

this yellow was so bright, it looked like gold glinting in the sun...

Spring must be on it's way as les grues (cranes) flew over this week...

Another cup...?

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It's a bright but chilly day today & I'm glad I have a hot cup of coffee to warm me up.

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The many French start the morning warming their hands around a café au lait bowl.

Children often have hot chocolate in theirs,
just like the famous Delespaul-Havez chocolate publicity.
I just love the expressions on the children's faces...

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We have some lovely café au lait bowls in the shop...

We're love these, they look so pretty sitting next to each other on the shelf...

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So you're out & about, you stop at a café, what should you order?

un café
a small espresso
♥
un grand café
a double espresso
♥
un café crème
a white coffee made with frothy hot milk
sometimes called un café au lait but crème seems to be more commonly used
♥
un grand crème
a large white coffee
♥
un allongé
an espresso with the same amount of water
♥
une noisette
an espresso with a dash of cream
♥

Remember these so next time you visit a café here in France,
you can order your coffee like a true monsieur or mademoiselle!

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We also have a perfect set of coffee cups in the shop for your for café, café crème or noisette.
These are rather special as they are decorated with the logo of the Wagon-Lits company.

Wagon-Lits is a French travel company,
famous for running great train routes like Le Train Bleu or Le Nord Express..

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...but the most famous was, of course, Orient Express...

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...such luxury...

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..sip your café crème from these cups
& imagine being transported back to the golden age of luxury travel...

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A misty view this morning from the Petit Pica atelier...

Home again & loving France...

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I thought I would bring you back to France for this post, to our petit coin. There's nothing like being away to make you look at where you live with fresh eyes. Something I love about summer is the smell of pine trees on a hot day. I will always associate this with summer in France...a smell that always makes me smile.

Pin Parasol (Umbrella Pine) common in the south of France

We are lucky enough to live in a very beautiful part of France with wonderful views, undulating hills, vineyards & amazing architecture. It's steeped in history.

Chateau Monbazillac                                                                       source

Of course, there are amazing chateaux, like but you don't have to go far to see bastide towns with medieval arches, covered market places & wonderful pigeionniers...

wonderful tree-lined roads & flowers everywhere...

or this cute pied de terre...

but the best is fields full of sunflowers as far as the eye can see ...

This is what happens when you leave your sewing to make a cup of tea....to a four-legged friend, a reel of cotton is wonderful to chew!

If you are thinking of creating something and want to make it unique, why not add a vintage French trim? Pop over to the Petit Pica shop and look at our lovely collections of vintage laces, buttons & trims...

A taste of Malta...part 2

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Here we are again - another little piece of Malta...

The Maltese adore bright colours, like the luzzus, & there are such wonderful colours to be seen all around you...

like streets decorated for a festa...

or the turquoise sea of the Blue Lagoon, on the tiny island of Comino, (off the northern shore of Malta)...

or light bouncing off the buildings as the sun goes down...

or the sun setting over Valletta...

colour everywhere you look...

Two things come to mind when thinking of Malta - history & lace...

like the ancient city walls of Valletta...with a restaurant nestling in between...

the covered walkways and steep streets leading down to the port...

the covered balconies which feature on so many of the older buildings

 & the small shops sitting side by side with the modern multi-national chains...

Top left: wonderful traditional store complete with chandeliers

Top right: traditional drapers - packed floor to ceiling with fabrics
Bottom left: men's shirt shop - every colour under the sun
Bottom right: one of my favourite haberdashery shops packed to the rafters with goodies

including a traditional Maltese pie shop, tucked down one of the side streets...this became a favourite as they also did take-aways - yummy!...

& old walls and doors weathered by salt and wind...

Malta has a long tradition of lace making & produces some beautiful pieces. Sadly, it's a dying art, due partly to cheaper mass-produced machine lace...

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Gozo (another island off the northern coast) used to be known as the "capital of lace-making of Malta"  & the lace is referred to as bizzilla. Maltese lace has it's own characteristics which makes it different from other lace, notably the use of the Maltese cross in the design.

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In the past, it was not unusual to see women sitting on their doorsteps making lace. Unfortunately, this is a very rare sight today as only a few still make lace on the island.

This gardenia flower had the most heavenly scent. Each morning I would pick a sprig from the bushes by the pool & keep it in the pocket of my beach bag to enjoy the perfume while I sunbathed...big sigh...seems such a long time ago now...