A bit of holiday time in France

A few weeks ago, E. and I headed to France for a bit of holiday time. The purpose of the visit was a little family gathering (something my dad and his sisters try to organise once a year). This year, it was held at my aunt's house in Brittany. Because we were driving up there the day before with my family, we thought we may as well drive a bit further and pop by Normandy for an afternoon visit of the Mont Saint Michel. It is one of France's most famous landmarks and I had never had the occasion to see it before.
I was really impressed by it, how it stood beautifully away from the coast on the sand waiting for the tide to bring the sea back around it. The day was amazingly sunny and hot but once you go inside the abbey, you cool down instantly.

The view you see is above is a photo taken from the Mont Saint Michel, once we had climbed up high enough to enjoy it fully. It is worth a visit if you are in the area but just a bit of warning first, Summer time means a whole lot of tourists up there.

The next few days were enjoyed at the family gathering where everybody had brought lots of delicious dishes. We ate so much and everything was so tasty it was hard to stop. The fruit, chicken and tomatoes you see below are from my aunt's garden. She also had some wonderful cherry tomatoes that you could pick and eat straight from the vegetable patch, juicy and filled with sunshine flavours. 

I feel like I probably spent most of that mini French holiday eating (which is really always something that happens when I go to France...). From refreshing cold tomato soup and organic soft drinks (I got to try the Meuh Cola Roseline drink, which is a pink organic cola drink - I really liked it and I am usually not into soft drinks), savoury galettes at a crepes restaurant to barbecued sausages served with incredible white beans, a huge array of French desserts to unusual and delicious Brazilian desserts, I can honestly say I tried a bit of everything.

All in all, I have to say it was a relaxing holiday, away from emails and technology as much as possible. Instead, it was all sightseeing, walks, family visits, eating and reading.

The flowers at the end of this post are grown by my grandfather. The hydrangeas were coming to an end but his garden if filled with beautiful blooms for every season. He takes a lot of pride in it and I understand, my grandparents' garden is so beautiful. I thought I'd share a few of his flowers here.