SAINT-BENOIT du Sault.....

.... has been called 'the most beautiful village in France'.

I'm sure there are many beautiful villages in France, but this one is certainly worth a visit. Situated in the south of the Centre region, near the borders with Limousin and Poitou-Charentes, the village owes its origins to the benedictine monks who established themselves in the area around the 10th century, having chosen the site on a raised rocky outcrop because of its defensive advantage.

The village of today, with its pretty, narrow streets of medieval houses, dates from the 15th-16th century. The centre of the town is set around the Church, priory and fort, and was protected by a stone wall around its perimeter.

Richard and our fantastic host, Frankie, admire the roses.

More Belgium - ANTWERP

The city of Antwerp is the second largest in Belgium and surely a shopping mecca for all of Europe, hence the countless clothing, perfume, jewellery, shoe and handbag stores in the city centre.

Lovely shops selling quality merchandise - although not to me; I had to keep in mind those weight limits on luggage...lol. However, we were more than compensated by the many beautiful buildings.

Meir Street

Antwerp Railway Station - exterior...

.... and interior

More beautiful buildings

An up-market shopping mall - goldleaf and all.

Antwerp Cathedral

Peter Paul Rubens - Antwerp's most famous son.

Two more cathedral photos.....however this beautiful building deserves a posting of its own.

An organ grinder....I think the monkey took the photo...lol.

....continuing Beautiful Belgium

I'm glad you liked the photos in the last posting, Shannon, as seen and appreciated through our eyes and camera lenses.

Here are some more random shots of your beautiful village and lovely people.

(Click on photos to enlarge them if you wish.)

"Three little ducks went out one day....."

Restaurant boat at anchor.

Russell taking his ladies for a stroll.

Just the place for a relaxing coffee.

View from the bathroom window onto the back gardens.

View from the dining room down to the loch.

Wartime artillery on the river bank.

A barge on the river.

Making adjustments before continuing the walk.

Which way is up?

At the far end of the canal.

The boats come and they go.....oh, what a life!

Relaxing in comfort.

It's getting a bit crowded in here.

Museum.

All tied up for the night.

Mothers' Day.

If I could just get my hands on those!

One of the many lovely areas to walk in the village.

Loch-keeper to the rescue.

Now that's big....complete with a band and a BBQ.

Freedom on the river.

Who will be asleep first?

Gathering the brood on the canal.

Adventures.

Wistful serenity on our last evening.

Beautiful Belgium

Over three weeks spent with Russ, Shannon and baby Evelynne in this beautiful little village in Belgium was sheer delight.

The village has a river on either side and a 600 year old canal running through the middle. Many boats are permanently moored on the canal and move through the loch out into the river. We had a wonderful view of the loch and all the action from the their third floor apartment.

Here are just a few of the views in and around the village - views we never tired of looking at and photographing.

The houses along the cobbled streets vary in size, style and colour, and are always interesting.

The canal is bordered by well-tended gardens and lawns.

View towards the bridge which opens to allow the boats through the loch to the river.

View from the kitchen window ... what a view!

The chestnut trees were in full bloom throughout our visit.

A familiar sight - schoolchildren cycling home for lunch.

Arriving home - or maybe about to depart.

Down the canal.

Bridge reflections.

Turn the corner to find a village full of surprises.

The bridge opens to allow another boat into the loch.

Boats moored whilst waiting for the loch gates to open.

Houses of every shape and colour.....

.... and boats, both large and small.

Six Months Already!

Where does the time go? Our beautiful grandaughter, Evelynne, is six months old today.

We recently spent 3 and a half weeks with her and Russ & Shannon in Belgium. What a wonderful time it was, getting to know them all as a family and seeing the beautiful part of the country in which they live so happily.

Happy half Birthday, darling Evelynne.

(Photos all taken between 28/4 and 22/5)

Brrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

We really needed a sense of humour to appreciate Canberra weather's cruel joke on Friday! Having arrived back in Sydney at 6.00am to sunshine but a chilly wind, we boarded the bus to bring us back to Canberra. Very smooth ride, but somehow having just travelled about 24,000km to get home, that last couple of hundred seemed the hardest - especially when we spied the temperature outside the ABC ..... 3º at midday!!! Almost enough to make us turn around and catch the first plane back to Europe.

Jet lag hasn't been an issue ..... just the cold! Thank heavens for ducted heating, although even that was working overtime to heat a house that had been closed up for a week. We've been pretty lazy since arriving home, apart from finding the car battery flat, and after charging it all night, discovering that it had actually 'died', necessitating a new battery before we could go and do any shopping, going to one hockey match, and downloading about one third of approx. 9000 photos. A good many of them will be culled since we seemed to spend our time both taking photos of the same things.

So, I'd best go and turn the heater up a notch ..... and see if I can brighten up these pages with a few photos.

It's almost over.....

.... and time to leave the beautiful scenery of Europe in the summer and return to Australia in the winter. However, we've had six fantastic weeks which we'll relive over and over for many years.

After leaving Belgium we spent 6 days in a tiny village in the Berry Province of France with a new friend, Frankie. What fun we had visiting so many quaint little villages, travelling country lanes and learning French customs, especially in relation to food. Thanks Frankie, it was wonderful...and I hope your little village is appreciating the vast improvements to its musical culture!!!.....lol.

A somewhat roundabout plane trip from France and two bus rides eventually brought us to Bristol, England, to stay with my cousins, and fall in love with England all over again. A week in a little village in NW Wales brought us some more highlights....stunning scenery, adventurous train rides, and a delightful day spent with Marion (Reflections through the Seasons) were other memorable treasures of our trip.

Since returning to Bristol we've caught up with other cousins and my niece from Australia, and enjoyed the first rain since arriving in Europe on 28 April.

Now we have only two more days before we begin the journey home on Wednesday afternoon, hopefully arriving by Friday afternoon, ready for a good sleep no doubt.

What an amazing time we've had, meeting new people, including our beautiful grandaughter, Evelynne, and catching up with friends and family in three countries. We've seen new places, experienced new cultures, and made new friends......and along the way we've taken several thousand photos!!!

Oh what joy it will be to sort through the photos and relive so many wonderful moments all over again. I'm looking forward to sharing many of them with you in the coming weeks.