We had a wonderful weekend away in Belgium. Jo & Dirk, our friends we made in Glasgow, finally decided to tie the knot this month in Belgium after 10 years together. Joanne is Scottish and Dirk is Flemish and the wedding was a cool mix of both. We left a little early, took Friday off and visited Antwerp which turns out to be a very cool & hip city. We stayed here and loved it and had some fabulous meals, but the trip was too short, we’ll go back. The wedding was held at a beautiful old priory. As usual in France & Belgium the real wedding is at the city hall, the church wedding is a beautiful option, and in Jo & Dirks case, even more beautiful than normal. Sadly I’ve gone through my photos and they’re all out of focus, save a few.

The reception was lovely, the company hilarious, and the Scottish Ceilidh dancing exhausting! When it was all over with and Jo & Dirk were beaming with happiness – we jumped back on a train and made our way to Brussels along with almost everyone else in Belgium. It was ‘car free’ day in Brussels on Sunday and everyone was there, and I mean everyone. We ate mussels, fries, drank beer, and window shopped for chocolate.

A perfect ending to a wonderful weekend away.

Here is one half of the super hillwalking team, who took a day off from the swimming pool, the garden and the sunshine we were enjoying in Puyvert to go climb the Mont Ventoux. They left at 6am, all chatty and excited and got home at 9pm exhausted with blisters to a fabulous meal of mackerel & rosemary….

From the 16th – 22nd of August, we rented a house in Arles with Mum & Pete, and were joined for the weekend by Anne & Olivier. It’s the second time I’d been to Arles, the first time was just a brief day visit in the spring. Arles is a very tiny town, it’s got loads of character and it hasn’t been all shishy’d up. There are still daggy buildings, dirty back lanes but it’s beautiful all the same. I loved it. Top it off, Les Rencontres d’Arles was still on at the time of our visit. Michelle and I bought unlimited passes and we went from one exhibition to the next over 3 full days. I saw some brilliant work, and really enjoyed the entire exhibition, the way it was organised, the way it was presented, the content and the enthusiasm of everyone involved. If we’re still here next year we’ll try and go during the opening week to see all the evening projections and walks with the artists themselves.

Christian Lacroix was the guest curator of Arles 2008

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And if you ever plan to go to Arles, we came across this lovely looking hotel with a swimming pool in the centre of town, Hotel D’Arlatan – and while I’m giving plugs we came across this great store, where we bought years of supply of table runners, not to mention drawer stuffers, and a christmas present for my mum, and a handbag for Jo’s wedding next weekend… La Poule Blanche

On our last 2 nights away this summer we travelled to Uzes which is technically in Languedoc not Provence. The town is lovely, lots of nice interior design stores, a ravishing market on Saturdays, plenty of great restaurants and a great small town home away from home feel. We stayed in two different ‘chambres d’hotes’ the first was a last minute pick and the owner, M. Fagot was very kind and very accommodating and the rooms were perfect. He sent us off to his favorite restaurant which was a good pick and he helped equip us for a picnic at the Pont du Gard on Saturday afternoon with a cooler bag, glasses, knives etc etc. Everything we needed for a picnic by the river.

The second night we were staying at the Maison de la Bourgade. This was planned in advance and specifically chosen for the pool and the tasteful decor. We weren’t disappointed. The rooms were gorgeous, as was the entire house and the garden was something you can only dream about. By this time, the last day of our holidays, Michelle and I decided to forego the tourist thing and take our book, a bottle of rose, and sit beside and in the pool all afternoon. It was fabulous. As was the breakfast the following morning, the charming hosts and everything else about the place. We have plans already to return….