The Dordogne

The magical Dordogne region in France, named after its river, is where Tim's Mamie Annick lives - in a teeny tiny village called Baneuil. We have been visiting as much as possible whilst living in Lyon. Time slows down there, immediately I feel a sense of calm. If it's winter, we huddle inside around the fire, keep our bellies full with French deliciousness, and go for frosted walks trying to spot deer. Last week we took two of our closest friends and spent five days in the 30 degree Spring heat. Our days were spent discovering little villages, canoeing down the Dordogne River, eating ridiculous amounts of cheese and wine, and talking with Annick (she speaks only French so we did our best). 

My most favourite villages in the area are very quiet ones, with not much going on. Then, there are some absolutely breathtakingly beautiful, rather famous ones too. Some of my favourites:

Quiet ones
-Urval
-Cause-de-Clérans 
-Baneuil

Famous ones
-Limeuil
-Beynac
-Monpazier
-La Roque-Gageac

Settled in Lyon

Being cosy is my favourite thing. I love spending time at home, especially in Winter - all rugged up with tea, a book and Tim. I was pretty excited when we decided to settle in Lyon; the prospect of an apartment of our own in the beautiful French city and being able to unpack my suitcase, finally! After travelling for six months we decided on Lyon because we had met a few lovely people and we liked the small scale compared to Paris. We had darn good luck and found a beautiful, luminous apartment to sublet for six months (on Le Bon Coin). We are very lucky - our little home is situated in the Croix-Rousse, has a huge food market each morning literally right at the doorstep and it came with a little, rather cuddly cat called Estimée. Since we have a few more weeks of the bitter cold, I look forward to spending time inside weaving, cooking and eating yoghurt (one of my favourite things about France is the yoghurt aisles in the supermarkets...)

Our circle window - view over Les Pentes

The wood in Japan is beautiful everywhere and especially in Kyoto. This country is so stunning it makes it hard to believe I was there. The Japanese appreciation and love of beauty and aesthetics is hard not to see in every detail, down to the placement of these shoes. The last three shots were taken at Tofukuji, a beautiful Temple we visited.