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http://www.grandmontgites.wordpress.com/ 

Spring is here

well……. the pool is open

We have a fashion designer staying with us this week and she has taken some amazing photographs. I have asked if I can steal them from her blog, so here they are with her comments. always worth at look at her blog

http://thebigmacblog.com/

The old town of Limoges is a sight to behold, narrow streets lined with half-timbered town houses, the shops are predominantly independent business’s selling antiques, porcelain, cheese, chocolate, clothing and food. The atmosphere is very relaxed and tranquil, unlike other cities of such picturesque beauty Limoges remains very genuine and unspoilt, so you won’t find streets full of naff tourist type attractions or souvenir shops. The antique shops are well worth a visit, we stumbled upon a small Antiques Centre where we saw some incredible 1930′s Limoges pottery and stunning mahogany armoires all at fairly reasonable prices.

 

The bustling indoor market in Central Limoges sold every type of seasonal food imaginable, all delicious local produce. I loved walking around the market taking in the sights and sounds, vegetables and flowers in all the colours of the rainbow, the passing  smell of crepes, chocolate and strawberries and the sound of real French market traders. A real sensory pleasure.

A new website for our area. Worth having a look

http://www.pays-occitane-monts-ambazac.fr/theme2.html

SNOW

Finally, although a little later than usual. Temperatures have dropped to about minus 10, but blue skies so some stunning views. Managed only a couple of photos until the cold zapped the battery

 

local lake, frozen over

It looks like all the main summer weeks are now booked up, there are still some weeks begining 25t August and weeks available in June. The weather is usually scorchy hot in June and September and the flights are cheap. So if you fancy a cheap get away, get in touch.

Is Spring arriving early

Well, it seems all I do is talk about the weather, but im amazed this year at how mild it has been. No snow, no frost. I moved a lot of leaves today and the spring bulbs are already sprouting through an inch or so. If it stays like this the pool will be open earlier this year, only 8 weeks to go and I will be getting it ready, fresh salt, fresh water and get the heater going to get it up to temperature. It was end of March when I opened it last year.

The garden is now looking a little bare, and over the next week we shall be planting seeds in the barn to get them ready for planting.

I have found an old cart up in the field, our neighbour recons its been there for at least 60 years. It is now in the barn slowly getting restored. I plan to fill it full of plants and put it at the front of the house. Pictures to follow.

Two lots of guests arriving for the February half term. One is a family from the charity we support THHN who are here for a break with their children, one of whom is struggling through treatment. We have managed to get futurescope to give them all free passes to the theme park, so lets hope they have a good time. The other family is a couple who have stayed before and are bringing their parents with them. So we are looking forward to February half term.

Still no Snow

Still suprisingly warm here. I have found a few photos from last christmas we had snow nearly all of December. 

Katie and the dogs

 

So maybe its going to be a rarity and Grandmont sees no snow.

The new camera is going well, although a little confusing going from a point and press, a little too many options but hopefully by the time spring arrives I will have mastered it.

Heres my attempt at artistic

 

Bookings are rolling in now and we have very little availability in July and August. Anybody interested in dates either side of those months should email as we still have some offers on.

New year resolution

update the blog more…. I just seem to be busy doing other things and keep forgetting to update the blog. So the New Years resolution is to update more regular. So keep an eye out.

Christmas has had no snow, we were all expecting it as it normally snows at Christmas, maybe January will bring some.

We went skiing to Le Lioran which is not far from us and had brilliant time, another thing to add to the list of “things to do” at Grandmont.

The gites are booking up for Summer and most of July and August is fully booked, so another busy and exciting year to look forward to. We have decided to keep all of our out of season breaks at the same price as last year, and with Ryanair doing some great cheap flights, there are some bargains to be had.

A new digital SLR camera for christmas, so will be posting some pics soon