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What’s new on my writing blog?: Vanessa Couchman
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Author Archives: nessafrance
Vaour and the Templars
Situated on the edge of the former royal Forêt de Grésigne, the town of Vaour conveys a strong sense of history. This is not surprising, since traces of Neolithic tombs and later occupation can be found in the forest. … Continue reading
Posted in History, Places
Tagged Commanderie de Vaour, Crusades, fôret de Grésigne, SW France, Tarn, Templar commanderie, Templars, Vaour
17 Comments
Summer’s Lease Hath All Too Short a Date: La Rentrée
Yesterday, the summer holidays ended in France as children went back to school, people packed away their holiday gear for another year and workers prepared themselves for the routine of métro, boulot, dodo (subway, work, sleep). The eight weeks or … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Weather
Tagged autumn, autumn signs, canicule, heatwave, la rentrée, summer fêtes, Summer holidays, SW France
7 Comments
20 Years of la Vie Française
Last weekend marked the 20th anniversary of moving into our house in France. We had arrived in France a few days earlier, but we regard the occupation of the house as the true anniversary. This year I had a long … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Places
Tagged culture clash, France, French culture, French restaurants, la vie française, living in France, moving to France, SW France
13 Comments
Ma Vie Française #5: Author Olga Swan
My latest guest is a somewhat unusual occupant of this slot, in that she had une vie française but doesn’t anymore. More of that below. Olga Swan has had several novels published by Crooked Cat Books, including Vichysoisse, part of … Continue reading
Bons Voisins – Good Neighbours
I’m constantly amazed at French people’s ability to conjure up a social event from unpromising components, whether it’s an apéritif, an improvised barbecue or a full-blown fête. Last night, some neighbours organised a repas de quartier, a neighbourhood meal, which … Continue reading
Posted in French life
Tagged country fêtes, Fêtes in France, French farmers, French fête, living in France, repas de quartier, rural life, SW France
11 Comments
Varen: Haven by the River Aveyron
I never cease to be amazed by the new things (to me) I discover in this region, where I have lived for 20 years. We haven’t set foot in Varen for ages and even then we didn’t stop to have … Continue reading
Posted in History, Places
Tagged Château de Varen, French Wars of Religion, Hundred Years War, Le Moulin Varen, Lexos, patrimoine, River Aveyron, SW France, Tarn-et-Garonne, Varen
15 Comments
Un café, s’il vous plaît
Coffee fuels the French, who have a penchant for strong black espresso-type coffee. Having to use coffee substitutes during World War II must have been a real hardship in that case. A chance remark to that effect during a recent … Continue reading
Posted in Food/drink/recipes, French life
Tagged café culture, cafés, coffee, coffee substitutes, French cafés, French coffee, SW France, World War II
15 Comments
French Flavours E and F: Two Aveyronnais Specialities
Time for another instalment of my French flavours series. I realise I have only got to ‘E’ and we’ll never get to the end at this rate, so this week I’ll do ‘F’ as well and you get two for … Continue reading
Posted in Food/drink/recipes
Tagged Aveyron, Aveyron recipes, Estofinado, Les Farçous, River Lot, rural life, Stockfish, SW France, Villefranche de Rouergue
7 Comments
Water, Water, Everywhere – But Not a Drop to Drink
The joys of living in a rural French commune. We currently have to collect our drinking water daily in bottles from the Syndicat des Eaux (local water board), which for us involves a round trip of about 18 kilometres. The … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Places
Tagged drinking water, rainfall, rural life, Source de Livron, SW France, tap water, water
15 Comments
Discovering a Former Railway Line
Do you enjoy travelling by train? I do, except of course when it’s cancelled or held up by the wrong sort of leaves or by vandals removing the copper from the electric cables, as happened to us recently in Sweden. … Continue reading
Chèque ou Espèces? Cheque or Cash
It often takes a holiday in another country to throw into relief the quirks of the one you live in. We returned recently from 10 days in Sweden (hence the blogging hiatus), where things are a bit different from France. … Continue reading
Posted in French life
Tagged cash in France, cheques in France, credit cards in France, France, French money, living in France, Moneo, SW France
16 Comments
All Fired Up: Bread Ovens
You may have seen these small, domed buildings, often tacked onto the back of a house, in French villages. They’re part of le petit patrimoine, not significant enough to merit historic monument status but important vestiges of past times, nonetheless. … Continue reading
Posted in History, Places
Tagged baking bread, bread, communal bread oven, Flouquet, four à pain, four banal, French bread, patrimoine, rural life, SW France
14 Comments
Getting a (Social) Life in France
Making friends is difficult when moving to a new country. Twenty years ago, our Brummie removal men asked, “Do you know anyone here?” When we said no, they shook their heads in disbelief. If you move to la France profonde, … Continue reading
Preparations for the Fête at Teysseroles
I haven’t written much recently about the church at Teysseroles, which we are helping to restore. This is mainly because not a great deal has happened. I have to admit I find the sporadic activity on the restoration frustrating, but … Continue reading
Ma Vie Française #4: Janine Marsh and the Good Life
Today, I’m excited to welcome someone who not only lives in France, but also has visited every corner of it. Janine Marsh runs a phenomenally successful website, The Good Life France and edits a free ezine, The Good Life France … Continue reading
Restoration of the Lavoir in Caylus
Lavoirs, or wash-houses, are features of the landscape around here. In times past, this is where the women (naturally…) did their laundry. They were normally constructed by a spring or a stream, so if the women were lucky, there was … Continue reading
Posted in History, Places
Tagged Caylus, Caylus Notre Village, lavoir, lavoir de Caylus, patrimoine, rural life, SW France, wash-houses
10 Comments
French Flavours: D is for Diablotins au Roquefort
I have been continuing my researches to bring you another in my series of recipes of Southwest France. Here’s one you’ve probably never heard of – diablotins au Roquefort. I certainly hadn’t. Easy to make, with readily-available ingredients, they are … Continue reading
Posted in Food/drink/recipes
Tagged amuse-bouche, Aveyron, Diablotins au Roquefort, French flavours, recipes, Roquefort, Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, SW France, walnuts
8 Comments
Finding Our House in France
Today is a very special one on La Lune. It’s 20 years ago to the day since we first saw our house. During our five days’ house-hunting in France, among the legion of properties we saw only two fitted the … Continue reading
Posted in French life, Places
Tagged Aveyron, French property, living in France, Lot, property-hunting in France, real estate, rural life, SW France, Tarn-et-Garonne
22 Comments
#Paris in the Springtime #2
Here’s part 2 of the story of our first visit to Paris in 15 years. We had only three days in the capital, and so we were determined to make the most of it. Our shoe leather was definitely more … Continue reading
Paris in the Springtime #1
People often say to us, “You must visit Paris all the time!” Actually, we’ve been there only twice as tourists in our 20 years in France, and I’ve been there for the day (!) a couple of times for work. … Continue reading
Posted in Places
Tagged France, Impressionist painting, Impressionists, Latin Quarter of Paris, Marais, Montparnasse, Musée d'Orsay, Musée du Louvre, Paris, Vermeer
5 Comments
Tree Pests: Pine Processionary Caterpillars
I trained my binoculars on the tree and zoomed in. My suspicions were confirmed. There was no doubt that the beginnings of a white cocoon about halfway up were the work of pine processionary caterpillars. If you look closely, you … Continue reading
Cattle Country
Considering we are surrounded by them, I’m surprised I haven’t written more about these mainstays of local agriculture. Perhaps it’s because I have a love-hate relationship with them, especially when marauding herds have trampled down our garden. What am I … Continue reading
Posted in Food/drink/recipes
Tagged Beef, beef consumption, boeuf, cattle farming, farming, food, rural life, SW France, transhumance
27 Comments
Can Spring be far Behind?
The literary-minded will notice that the title is a quotation from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s ‘Ode to the West Wind’, written in 1819 while the poet was staying in Florence. The poem can be interpreted in various ways, the most simplistic … Continue reading
Posted in Weather
Tagged frost, rainfall, Shelley Ode to the West Wind, signs of spring, spring, SW France, Weather, winter weather
7 Comments
French Flavours #3: C is for Cassoulet
I can’t allow the letter C to pass by without writing about cassoulet, the signature dish of southwest France. It’s been around for a long time and the correct recipe is the subject of controversy. What is it? A stew … Continue reading
Ma Vie Française #3: Author Angela Wren
Today, I continue my occasional interview series with people who have made their life in France or who have a particular attachment to it. Author Angela Wren is in the latter category. Let’s find out why she finds France so … Continue reading
Posted in Ma Vie Française Interviews
Tagged Angela Wren, author, books, camping in France, Cevennes, France, French life, Messandrierre, visiting France
15 Comments
Puylaroque: Tranquil Village with a Turbulent History
The panorama from the viewpoint at Puylaroque is magnificent. Beneath the rocky outcrop on which the village stands, the plains of southwest France roll away towards the Pyrénées. On a clear day, you can see the mountains, but that is … Continue reading
Forgotten Love Letter Saved for Posterity
Sometimes fate works in mysterious ways. In this case, it saved for posterity a wonderful letter that would otherwise have been consigned to the flames with a heap of junk.
Posted in History, Places, World War I & II
Tagged Espinas, farming, Flouquet, living in France, love letter, rural community, rural life, SW France, World War I
4 Comments
French Flavours #2: B is for lou Bajanac
In my A-Z of traditional French recipes, I’m trying to focus on those that originated in southwest France, where we live. So I’ve eschewed boeuf à la Bourgignonne or blanquette de veau, delicious though they are. Surprisingly, I found a … Continue reading
Posted in Food/drink/recipes
Tagged Aveyron, châtaignes, chestnut soup, chestnuts, French recipes, Laguépie, lou Bajanac, Rouergue, SW France, traditional French recipes
8 Comments
Beyond Time: A Journey Back to Prehistory Part 2
Last week, I started a journey back in time to look at some of the many prehistoric relics left in this region by our ancestors. This week, we’re dropping in on the artists who used cave walls as their canvas … Continue reading
Beyond Time: A Journey Back to Prehistory Part 1
Ours is one of the more rural French regions, but transport networks criss-cross the countryside and commercial suburbs mushroom around its historic towns. And yet this part of France is peppered with the works of prehistoric artists and builders. They … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged Aveyron, cave paintings, Dolmens, Grotte de Foissac, Menhirs, Musée Fenaille, prehistoric art, prehistoric sites in SW France, prehistory, SW France
5 Comments
