La Chatte Gitane (or The Gypsy Cat) was the name we chose for our cottage in France at the time. We chose it while on the road, moving house the first time round, from Ireland to France with 2 dogs and 7 cats in the car.
This blog began its insignificant life as a recipe book for friends and family who would ask me repeatedly for a recipe of this, that and the other.
Since then it has taken many different directions, like we did and like gypsies tend to do. Sometimes making a U-turn and revisiting familiar roads and taking a break when necessary.
You'll find recipes here, but also musings about the places we've called home, the gardens that we've established, not always successfully, the homes we've improved and the environments we've lived in. Currently, after yet another stint in Ireland, we're back in France @ Le Mas d'Ayen

Saturday, September 05, 2015

Short trip to Belgium....

....has come and gone.  And I'm glad to be back home.
Nothing beats the clean air of Ireland, the beautiful sea and mountains, the relative peace and quiet.



I stayed at my mother's place, in a small town. Her house and little garden are an oasis in the urban sprawl that is Belgium, Flanders in particular. Nevertheless it is surrounded by other houses, schools, busy roads and an awful lot of air traffic.
Traffic ! Traffic ! Traffic ! Traffic everywhere, Traffic jams everywhere.  Road works. Road blocks. Diversions that have diversions ! It is enough to suck the life out of everyone who has to use the roads on a daily basis, twice, to get to and from work.
We visited my brother and his family with boy (8) and girl (4) and they too have their own oasis in another town/village. What was a reasonably quiet street when they moved there,  is now a neighbourhood where many houses have sprouted out of the ground and there is very little green left. Still, it is a village atmosphere and they seem to have pleasant neighbours.

I wish they could all move here too. They love it here. They are nature people. They want the children to know and love nature. They love the sea, the mountains, The walks. The clean air.

Maybe one day they will...

I miss them, but it's good to be back home.

Patricia xxx...x





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