Ephrussi de Rothschild Villa and Gardens.

Sorry for the long absence everybody, the SP & I have been away on an extended trip to England and Scotland (pix & stories to come) and I have neglected my blogging duties for far too long.

A large Sevres vase is the centerpiece of this flowerbed, part of the celebrated Sevres Garden

With sister Kathryn, Cap Ferrat, September 2014

Today I'm going to be sharing with you the delights of the amazing Ephrussi de Rothschild Villa and Gardens in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat which I visited last month whilst in Nice for the QCI annual meeting.

The villa was the winter residence of Beatrice Rothschild who built the house after her separation from her husband Mr Ephrussi in 1904, and on the death of her father Baron Rothschild one year later.

Beatrice was extremely rich and spared no expense in the creation of the villa, she was able to afford anything she wanted and furnished the house accordingly. 

Painted wall panels in the Directoire bedroom

With it's triple aspect windows looking out over the gardens and towards the sea, furnished with both French and Italian pieces and a Meissen chandelier the nicest bedroom on the first floor was reserved for Beatrice's guests

Guest bedroom

An upstairs inner hallway looking out onto the gardens

Russian icon

Each of the bedrooms had it's own bathroom, she also installed many new fangled inventions such as a telephone, a lift and central heating!

When it came to designing the gardens, and there are nine of them (click here to learn more), she called her servants together and made them into a living garden dressed as trees and holding long swathes of fabric to represent rivers and ponds, pathways and flowerbeds.

As the servants moved around the grounds Beatrice was able to picture the garden exactly as she wished it to be before instructing famous landscape designers to create it for her.

A view of the Spanish garden

Looking into the Florentine garden

Many varieties of cacti are at home in the Exotic Garden

Kathryn in the Florentine Garden

A view of the Sevres Garden from the first floor balcony of Villa Ephrussi Rothschild

The view out across Cap Ferrat from the Rose Garden

Joining Beverly @ How Sweet The Sound

for Pink Saturday.

Click on the link to see who else is in the Pink this week.

Shadow Shot Sunday in Provence

the view from the hotel B4 Plaza's roof terrace
across the beautiful Jardin Albert 1er to vieux Nice town

I recently spent six wonderful days attending the Quimper Club International's annual meeting in Nice on the Cote D'Azur, my sister Kathryn came along too which made the trip even more amazing.
Once I've sorted through my photographs I'll tell you about some of the things that we did and the gorgeous places we visited.
But for now I just have two shadow captures to share.
The first one was taken in the jam making area of the Confiserie Florian des Gorges du Loup during our guided tour last Friday.

jars of citrus jam ready to be transported to the store

This shot was taken through the open window looking down on the swift flowing river that runs alongside the Confiserie down the gorge to the sea.

sharing these Provencal shadows also with 

Gemma for Scenic Weekends

and everyone joining in 

@ Shadow Shot Sunday 2

bon dimanche a tous

A Few of My Favourite Things Saturday

The warm spring days we’ve experienced lately have not only brought out vibrant daffodils and wonderful bright yellow forsythia they’ve tempted me away from my cosy fireplace too.
Spring for me always means a return to my attic hideaway, where I can happily sit and blog and also create scrapbook pages without worrying about the mess, surrounded by some of my favourite things.

My Amish 9 star wall hanging which I bought at the end of a wonderful evening in Churchtown. PA. My dear friend Diane & I with other liked minded “tourists” had the pleasure of dining with a delightful Amish family. It was a wonderful experience and one which I shall always treasure.
Diane & I have seen many interesting places together, over the years, since we met in 2000 at the Quimper CIub annual meeting held that year in Washington D.C.

In 2008 we toured the Tutankhamun exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art, then wandered through the galleries, where I fell in love with John Singer Sargent’s “Portrait of Dorothy, 1900”

A few years earlier, with her sister Susan on the way from Texas to the QCI meeting in Chicago in 2005, we took a slight detour and visited the King at Graceland, Memphis, TN.
That was a fun trip!

My Texan Eiffel Tour (a souvenir from the Dallas 2009 meeting).

Last but by no means least my Keep Calm and Carry On notice, a gift from the QCI members attending the 2010 meeting in Savannah which I co-hosted.
I was also presented with a signed copy of Paula Deens book "Savannah Style" which the above mentioned Susan (currently serving at President of the QCI) obtained after standing in line to meet PD when at a book signing in Dallas last year.
Click here to go to the QCI blog and read Susan's hilarious account of that day.

The hub.

Hilton Head is never far from my thoughts.

Miz Geraldine, the rabbit that started it all.
There must be music.

Splendour in the Grass and Sympathique by, a favourite band, Pink Martini.
I have so enjoyed revisiting A Few of my Favourite Things with y'all today (there's that Texan/Southern influence coming through!)
Of course I'm joining Laurie for A Few of My Favourite Things Saturday with this post, hope you'll pop over and visit Laurie and all the other bloggers participating there this weekend.
I never realised before writing this post how many of them are linked to the QCI and the friends I've made through the Club.

E is for EXCITED!!!

As you probably already know, tomorrow Mr B & I are leaving on our long anticipated and planned for trip to the US, that is if the striking French workers allow us to travel.

First stop Charlotte, NC, where we will rest briefly after our trip, before driving down to Savannah, Georgia to co-host the 12th Annual meeting of the Quimper Club.



Savannah Square shaded by moss draped oaks.



We have a planned a fabulous 5 day extravaganza of tours, events with guest speakers, a ceramics restoration seminar, Riverboat cruise and delicious dinners in interesting and exciting restaurants.

Mrs Wilkes Dining Room

We're even throwing in a private Plantation Tour "a la Tara"!!

I think even Scarlett O'Hara would be impressed.

After all the madness.................two weeks R&R in our home from home on Hilton Head where days will be spent relaxing, reading and enjoying the wide empty beaches.

Building sand castles

There will also be plenty of  much needed retail therapy going on too.

My trusty pink laptop will be coming along for the trip, so I'll be able to visit your blogs, whenever I get 5 minutes and hopefully will also find time to blog about some of the Savannah activities over on the QCI blog and share some more magical Hilton Head shots here on this blog

Whilst we're off having fun, Mr Ben will not be neglected, not at all. His favourite sitters Leighton & June will be here to pamper him and make sure all is well in the home.

Beach boardwalk HHI

Joining Mrs Matlock once again this week for Alphabe-Thursday, click on the AT button on my sidebar to see all the amazing topics which begin with the letter E.
See you in Savannah!

Normandy delights: Calvados and Cows

Today my friend and fellow Quimper faience collector Cerelle, has blogged about her love of cows on the QCI Blog.
Followers of my blog will already know that I too love cows.
Well, as cows spend a great part of the year in the fields surrounding our home here in the Calvados region of Normandy, I guess I have to love 'em!

"Bossy" Cerelle's favourite cow has six little cups hanging from her sides and a spigot beneath.

If she were a souvenir of Normandy and not Auvergne, Cerelle supposes that she might be dispensing some of Normandy's famous apple based liquer, Calvados.

One of the sweetest Quimper faience services, designed for serving our special "eau de vie de cidre", that I ever came across, is the one shown here.

In the very popular Ivoire Corbeille decor a pomme shaped jug/decanter complete with apple shaped stopper and six small cups sit nicely on a round serving tray, parfait!
à votre santé

Q can only mean ...........................Quimper

The subject of this weeks Alphabe-Thursday assignment is the letter Q and for me that can only mean Quimper pottery, a tin glazed earthenware which has been produced in western Brittany, France for over 300 years.

An assortment of Quimper cheese dishes.

Many of you will know that I also manage the blog for the Quimper Club International .

I am blogging over there this month as part of my duties as co-organiser of this years Annual Meeting October 24 -27 in Savannah, GA.
We are thrilled to have the renowned Breton artist Philippe Lalys as one of our guest speakers at the meeting, the collage below is of some of his wonderful pieces.

But this post is all about the pottery not the meeting, so for your delectation a selection of Quimper eye candy.

The croisille decor is one of my favourite border designs.

I know, it's all gorgeous isn't it?

Or maybe it isn't your cup of tea? Either way I'd love to hear from you. If you love it or hate it, leave me a comment so I'll know.

Now scoot over to Mrs Matlock's class and hand in your homework or you'll get a detention!

Sunday Favourites Rerun.

We are very lucky that twice a week a very nice man in a white van delivers fresh bread to our door.
Whether or not he'll be able to get through the snow to us today I don't know, but I really hope he does.
The reason being, is that, we have ordered from him a very special cake a "Galette des Rois" and since we don't like marzipan our galette will have a filling of apple compote.
The custom of sharing a cake on January 6th, associated in Catholic countries with the visit of the Wise Men to the baby Jesus, dates to pre- Christian times.

Post Script.

He made it!! He had to park in the lane and come up the drive on foot but he did it!!

And, here's the proof.

A special treat for afternoon tea.

For Chari's Sunday Favourites meme @ Happy to Design, here is a post that I wrote a little while back about fèves, the small epiphany trinkets which have been the QCI Meeting Farewell Dinner party favours in years past.
There is also a Sunday Favourites Rerun on the QCI blog today,please be sure to visit Chari and all today's participants.

It's Three or more Tuesday over at Tam's The Gypsy's Corner, a great show & tell party that's a treat for the eyes.

So, today I'm showing off my collection of fèves.

Followers of my blog may have gathered by now that I collect the French pottery known as Quimper faience. Yes, really!
You probably also know that the 10th Annual meeting of the QCI will be taking place next month in Dallas.

Click here to go to the QCI Blog to read all about the fun in store.
I have attended the past 9 meetings, starting with Washington in 2000, up until Philadelphia last year. I even co hosted the 2007 meeting here in France and will be co hosting again next year in Savannah, Georgia.
The meetings are always great fun and a wonderful way of connecting with fellow collectors and meeting up with friends discovered through our shared love of Quimper.

The Grand Finale of these events is always the Farewell Dinner and in recent years each guest has received a small party favour of fèves (epiphany trinkets) as they take their places at table.
In France “La galette des Rois” ("the king's cake") celebrates the Epiphany and is traditionally sold and consumed a few days before and after January 6 (although today in France, it is available in bakeries for the entire month of January). The cake consists of flaky puff pastry layers with a dense center of frangipane, raspberry, apple, and other flavors, as the baker is inspired.

In times gone by, a dried bean was hidden in the cake, and the person who found it was king for the day. The French word for bean is "fève"; however, although beans were replaced in 1870 by small figures in porcelain and, more recently, plastic, these trinkets are still called “fèves.”

The "fèves" are generally produced in theme series, with every possible theme imaginable, including Disney figures, regional motifs, ceramics, antiques, every aspect of modern life, etc. They have become very popular collectibles and can often be bought separately. Any series is generally produced for one year only.

For several years the fèves presented at the Q Club dinner were tiny figurines of Breton people.
In 2008 our gift was a tiny plate decorated with a traditional Quimper motif.

Over the years I have accumulated quite a collection of figurines and I was so enchanted by the little plate last year that I purchased the complete set.

The series of Quimper plates was produced for Epiphany 2008. It consists of ten pieces, each a miniature reproduction of a real Quimper plate, either Henriot or HB. Many "fèves" are titled, and these are marked "Les Assiettes de Quimper" (The Plates of Quimper) on the reverse side.

I believe that stocks are limited but if you would also like to add a set of plates or figurines to your Q collection click here

à bien tôt
Maggie