The Simple Life- The French Countryside

The French Countryside

Some days you realise life really is beautiful and that is how I felt at this time in my life when I spent a summer in the French countryside.  

Lying by the pool in our French country house, a million miles away from home, all I can hear are birds, cicadas and buzzing bees. All I can see is the bright blue sky with a few clouds and lush green countryside. I have a beautiful round belly as I am half way through my third pregnancy. My little growing baby is soaking up the European sun as much as I am under the umbrella. I have had plenty of beautiful moments like these in my life but this is extra special. As I get older I seem to appreciate it more when I am away from our everyday life on holiday or travelling. 

My family and I have been lucky enough to experience life not only in Australia but overseas in Europe a few times and it always makes me grateful for all I have in my life. 

We were living in the French countryside for my sister in laws wedding surrounded by friends and family, sharing in its magic. It was a beautiful time that we all still talk about with the fondest of memories and dream of going back one day soon. The house was rustic and not at all fancy, the life was simple but we loved every single minute of it. We lay on the grass gazing up at the blue sky, cloud watching and counting the hundreds of planes that passed over us daily. We would walk around exploring the large garden collecting field flowers and stones. We would read books, learn French, tell stories, have picnics in the garden, build cubby houses, dress up, play tennis and football, do yoga, roast marshmallows, cook French food, eat and laugh. It was such a special time doing the simple things in life.

One rainy day and we got dressed in our rain jackets and umbrellas and took the children walking.  We found wild strawberries on the side of the road they were tiny but full of flavour. Then we found lots of cherry trees. The children had the best time trying to pick the cherries without getting caught. My daughter and I couldn’t stop eating them. 

We took home a good few containers of fresh fruit that day and we were not expecting to get anything on our walk. We stumbled on some cows and spent a good half an hour looking at them and their babies having milk. The cows were as fascinated with us as we were with them and the children thought it was hilarious when they went to the toilet. While looking at the cows a nice older lady said ‘Bonjour’ to us and we found her watering her veggie patch behind us. She was very sweet and chatty. Luckily I can speak French so we could talk with her about the weather and temperatures. She talked about her fruits and her garden and what she was growing. She told me to tell the children to go and serve themselves to the cherries a few meters down which they didn’t hesitate to do. She told me about the jams she had made the night before and before I knew it she was giving us some to try. One was raspberry (framboise) and red currents (groseille) and the other was a raspberry coulis for eating with fromage blanc (a type of yogurt made from cheese for dessert). After our walk the children were dying to get back to show their grandparents all we had found and to try the jams with them. They were delicious!

 The next day the family went mushroom hunting and came back with a bag full of girolles mushrooms. Bubby (my mother in law and the children’s grandmother) cooked them with garlic and butter and we had them with the rest of our food that was cooked on the outdoor wood-fired BBQ.

 While I sit here writing my husband and children are sitting on the grass with their Bubby under the trees, looking at the sky as the clouds pass over from time to time. It is hot today and life really is beautiful (la vie es belle) and I don’t want this time to end. Like all things great they have to end but I will always hold onto the memories we have made and look forward to the next. Next time I will have a new baby and I can’t wait to show baby’ la vie en rose,’ (life through rose coloured glasses). 

If I can give any advice it is to travel with your children but not just travel, live. Live in countries for a month or more if you can.  We live like locals, we shop and eat like locals and we live a simple life so it doesn’t cost a fortune. We eat out a few times a week but also cook at home or have picnics. We find nice local recommended restaurants to have a nice dinners when we want to eat out. Some people ask how we can afford all the travel and it comes down to our priorities, saving really hard and the simple life when we are away. Yes, it is not always cheap, you have to pay for the flight and hire a car or lease a car but all up it isn’t as much as you would think. When overseas for a long time we live like a local, shop at the markets like a local and it probably costs less than here in Australia.

Stay

You need to research online houses or apartments to rent in the area. Then we decide based on reviews and our feeling of the area and house. We tend to rent basic houses that are affordable, clean, have enough rooms to accommodate our needs and are in a good area. Sometimes it is a gamble but we look at lots of reviews and photos and see about the area. You can spend hours researching (I won’t take credit fo this my as my family does this job). We try to find the best-priced and most interesting place to live based on all your knowledge. It is worth the work for such a beautiful experience.

You can look at renting your house at home to help the cost of travel or do a house swap or house sit or animal sit. They all have designated websites for these options.  Try and stay in a long-term rental. It is much cheaper than a hotel and you experience the life of a local and more. If you have the budget you can rent the most amazing places also and live like a queen. There are so many options.

 For us living like a local is a much better experience than changing hotels every few days. I obviously love travel and would take hotel life any day but it is nice to experience living like locals especially when you have children or if you don’t want live out of a suitcase. It’s great to go with extended family and friends to share the cost and share the experiences. 

I love a little travel, it is so important to my family and I for so many reasons. The education, new experiences, memories, making us all more adaptable and open minded to the word.

You can look at my other blog posts for recommendations on areas to visit and places to eat in France and all over. Love a little travel Dordogne is all about the French country I talk about here.

Feel free to share your travel experiences as I would love to hear them or ask me any questions as I am only happy to help xxxx