Espagne

Our brief but pleasant visit to Spain hit all the cliches of what a trip to Spain is supposed to be.

 First of all, tapas, tapas, tapas, lots & lots of tapas.

With no shortage of tapas bars, there seemed to be at least one on every corner.

You really do see lovely señoras fanning themselves with beautiful fans in the afternoon heat.

Not to mention pretty señoritas looking out of flower covered windows.

And then there were the tiles, the amazing tiles, like these in a neighborhood  bar where men gather at the end of the day.

And what would a visit to Spain be without paella?

There were of course beautiful old cathedrals & other quintessential Spanish architecture.

As well as a complete & varied landscape of mountains, land & sea.

In just a few days we felt we had experienced it all.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend & that it will fulfill all of your expectations 

Hondarribia

I have just returned to my little village from a 5 day excursion to Spain. The last night there we stayed in the  magical seaside town of Hondarribia, which is  in the Basque region right on the boarder of France. We stayed in the colorful  pink & blue hotel San Nicholas. 

Surrounded by flower covered balconies 

And a view of the sea

The little town was so pretty waking up in the early morning light....

...and just on the other side of the bay you could see France.

If this is not what dreams are made of I am not sure what is. 

Find other dreamy spaces & places on

Dreaming of France.

The Windows of Bilbao Spain

This week we have been visiting Bilbao Spain. My first impression? The windows, the beautiful windows. I was immediately struck by all of the amazingly beautiful windows.

The sheer volume of them....

....the shapes...

...the sizes...

...the elegance.....

....& oh the colors....

.... no matter wether bright or subtle... the colors, oh, the colors....

....& oh....oh, all of those incredible details.....

...of the beautiful windows....

....of Bilbao Spain.

Vide Grenier

Our little village had it's first very own vide grenier on Sunday.

After the extreme high temperatures of last week the overcast day was a relief from the heatwave & a perfect atmosphere for the event. 

We had our very own sign to proclaim the day & quite a large number of participants for such a tiny village. Vide grenier means quite literally "empty the attic" & that is just what everyone did.

There was a little bit of everything & certainly something for everyone.

From trinkets to cast off treasures 

Young & old alike found some little something to bring home.

But mostly it was just a happy occasion for neighbors to gather together & enjoy each other's company & celebrate the life of the village. 

I am connecting this post to Paulita's weekly meme

Dreaming of France

because sometimes dreams are all about real life experiences.

Retard à la Fête

Oops! I totally spaced out yesterday & forgot to wish everyone in France a 

Bon 14 Juillet

 Sorry I am late to the party but I do hope it was a fabulous day all the way 'round.

Not much happens where I am here in the countryside to celebrate the day, which might explain my forgetfulness. There are no fireworks here, although I have, on a number of occasions, had the opportunity to see the beautiful "feu d' artifice" in Paris. That is an amazing & memorable experience to be sure with the

Eiffel Tower as backdrop.

I did see this acrobat performing her acrobatic stunts to old French tunes in the square of Gaillac recently, which called to mind a festive France of an earlier epoch.

A lot of visitors do come to this area for the holiday though. They come to hike, ride bikes, picnic in the countryside, kayak down the river or just relax in small riverside cafes. It is definitely  a more low key sort of celebration here in the country, which for many is the start of the official summer vacation. 

So Happy Fête Nationale    

a day late & happy summer vacations to all!

Des Petits Chose

For me the beauty of France is in the small things. An artichoke flower on an old chair in a French garden for example.

A basket of lavender brought to me by a friend....

The first peaches of summer & rose petals to make a potpourri....

Or a little bird on the weathervane of the house across the road, there to greet me as I throw open my window to the morning sunlight.

I hope you also take pleasure in the small things when you are 

Dreaming of France.

Sweet Sixteen

Happy Birthday to my sweet, beautiful, smart, thoughtful, loving granddaughter who turns sweet 16 today. 

I love you Emily!

Claire de Lune

Last weeks beautiful night sky with it's golden full moon & planets Venus & Jupiter aligned  made for enchanting walks around the village.

The moon light gave a lovely warm glow to the surrounding countryside.

Although the amazing phenomenon of Venus & Jupiter aligning in the sky was astonishingly visible I was only able to capture this funny squiggle with my camera.

The moon had already risen too high to capture it with more earthly visions below. So I collaged together a shot of the moon & one of my favorite photos of the surrounding farmland bathed in it's light to create this image.

Sometimes 

Dreaming of France 

is no more than that, sweet, silent,

 fuzzy dreams flooded in moonlight.

Happy 4th!!

                          Happy 

                        4th of July 

       weekend to everyone in the USA

                               &

     happy lazy crazy days of summer 

                                to 

                       all the rest!!