Montélimar, South France

This is the villa that we resided in for our trip down to Montélimar. I just love the way it looks, with ivy creeping down the walls and pastel blue shutters! It was also very decorative inside, with Rococo-Victorian-esque furnishings and pictures. Mine and my sister's bedroom is the last photo, which was very comfortable for the week we spent there. 

I did so much walking around the town, going to restaurants (my favourite was the Don Camillo, which I strongly recommend if you happen to visit Montélimar - I had the biggest and best paella ever there!) and museums, such as the Modern Art museum and the Minitures museum, which also has some interesting exhibitions on Oriental hair accessories and hair. 

Most of the days it was sunny and hot, so we even drove down to the beach on one of the busiest days of summer (did you know that apparently everyone from Paris comes down to the South of France beaches on a certain day?). It only rained for two days, and even then we made the most of it by walking into town and going in the pool. 

Our bedroom, with traditional rugs and a light, airy feel.

Some framed pictures I particularly liked, of Georgian/Rococo scenes. I did a sketch of this one, as I'd like to make the dress and caplet some day.

Here is the house after an evening walk with my dad. We saw bats clearly in the twilight sky!

Some street art in the town, which is famous for nougat. They also have a lot of curious cicada emblems in the gift shops, which is strange seeing as I didn't hear or see any during our stay. Maybe the cicada season was over already?

Fontainebleu, France

A few weeks ago, at the end of August, I went on holiday to France with my extended family, including grandparents and my Aunt, who came over from Australia. We all had such a great time soaking up the atmosphere and relaxing by the pool at our villa, and I got to take a lot of scenic photos of the very French surroundings! I've read a lot, done some sketching, a tiny bit of writing, and a LOT of walking. And for the first time in years, I've swam in a swimming pool and in the Mediterranean sea!
For the first evening and early morning, we stayed at Fontainebleu, which is one of the most charming little towns I've ever had the pleasure of visiting. All the restaurants and cafes are lively and atmospheric, and of course the food is always a delight! I've never eaten such lavish food before, so it's a shame my appetite wasn't very big when we were in France. The presentation is always great, too; we ate at L'Ovale on our first evening in France, and I had the melon and parma ham, and in the morning we sat at a "Tea Place" and drank hot chocolate - however, we didn't have it in those bowls, like we were expecting.
Then we had a promenade around the town, taking pictures with my photographer Granddad in the evening. I also went for little walks with my brother and dad, to take the photos in daylight. :)

We didn't stay for long (only one night), but I'd certainly love to come again. There is a stately home/palace that I haven't visited yet!