I have returned!
I am feeling quite intrepid, having managed to get both my colleague and I safely to and from the pretty village of Argueil near Rouen.
We set off bright and early on Saturday and chatted our way through the sun-drenched Surrey and Kent countryside. A rather rough crossing to Calais followed, then a lovely drive through the rolling hills of north-east France.
The directions we had been given then proved impossible to follow (a small matter of missing road numbers, stationary lorries hiding signposts and me not having taken a map), so we were quite lucky to arrive at our destination only a little late. And what a magnificent destination!
I am feeling quite intrepid, having managed to get both my colleague and I safely to and from the pretty village of Argueil near Rouen.
We set off bright and early on Saturday and chatted our way through the sun-drenched Surrey and Kent countryside. A rather rough crossing to Calais followed, then a lovely drive through the rolling hills of north-east France.
The directions we had been given then proved impossible to follow (a small matter of missing road numbers, stationary lorries hiding signposts and me not having taken a map), so we were quite lucky to arrive at our destination only a little late. And what a magnificent destination!
But by this time we were feeling a bit disgruntled, and beginning to think that the whole idea of taking a group of 9 and 10 year olds on a residential trip to France was an extremely bad one! We both desperately wanted a cup of tea (an essential after an eight-hour journey, I think!) and the orange juice offered just didn't hit the mark!
It was then suggested we go for a wander into the village just beyond the gates to the manoir, as it was the village's annual fete. My mood lightened when I saw that the fete also involved a vide-grenier! Although I didn't buy anything (it was gone half-four by this time, so all the best bits had probably been sold), it was still fun to look.
Argueil is a pretty village, with lots of the beautiful timbered buildings so typical of Normandy. Sadly, I neglected to take photos - just wasn't thinking about my poor little blog!
I won't bore you with the details of our time at the chateau (which involved getting so chilled that I had to go to bed with my pyjamas, a jumper, a dressing gown, a pair of socks and two duvets!) , but we did manage to re-discover our enthusiasm for the trip and its associated link with a French school, so will hopefully be back there within the year.
The journey home seemed to take forever, probably because it was raining and extemely windy, so I had to keep my foot off the accelerator. So it was all the more cheering to arrive home at quarter to five to find little Miss Gorgeous doing the ironing, and Mr U-t-B in the throes of preparing a joint of beef with all the trimmings! A BIG joint of beef. (If you read about last Sunday's joint you'll know that Mr U-t-B cannot be trusted to go to the butcher by himself, and as I was in France, that is just what he did!) 2 kilograms divided by 4 (3 + 1 friend) = rather a lot.
So two hours or so later, look what I sat down to...
Delicious!
What a clever husband I have!
Because this post has been a bit short on pretty things to look at, here are some gratuitous and completely unrelated photos of tins...
And the bundle of loveliness that has just arrived from the very lovely Sally of Sal's Snippets...
More detail tomorrow!
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